Easy veggie quiche recipe that uses milk instead of cream and loads of veggies to lighten up this breakfast classic while keeping it simple & quick to make.
(Recipe originally published January 31, 2014, but pictures and post text have since been updated)
I think I can safely say that quiche is one of my all time favorite things to make. Quiches are one of those breakfast foods that make it look like you went all out and spent a lot of time and effort, when in reality they are soooo easy. Seriously, I can have one prepped and ready to go in the oven in under 15 minutes, making this a perfect brunch for vegetarian (or meat eating!) guests, holidays, a potluck, or just to eat and horde to yourself.
Plus, its a great way to use up leftover veggies before they go bad! Although ham or some other breakfast meat can jazz things up, with all of the eggs, milk, and cheese, you really don't need to add any meat since there's already a good amount of protein and tons of flavor. Case in point - check out all these awesome veggies:
See? The meat just isn't necessary here. Use a good cheese and you're good to go. I love using either a sharp cheddar or gruyere but any cheese is welcome here. I've even done feta which was a nice change of pace. Each generous slice has 12 grams of protein and less than 300 calories, and that's using whole milk too.
This easy veggie quiche reheats well too for quick weekday breakfasts that are actually satisfying! Screw the cold cereal. The crust won't be quite as crisp reheated in the microwave, but eh, that's to be expected. The flavor is all still there.
Or, make it for a weekend brunch and impress the homies. It'll seem way fancier than it actually is and people always seem to be impressed by it. They don't need to know the crust is store-bought. Secret's safe with me.
And when I labeled this EASY veggie quiche, I did so for a reason. It truly is simple to make. And not using meat means the veggies cook up fast, there's minimal cheese to grate, and the filling just takes a couple cracked eggs and a minute or two to whisk up.
It takes a fair amount of time to cook, but the hands-on time is minimal. The steps below show how simple it is to assemble this easy veggie quiche. Veggies, cheese, then pour on the egg/milk filling and bake. Boom. Done.
My love affair for quiches really started when I discovered refrigerated pie crusts. I use the Pillsbury brand and know they are far from healthy and don't use butter from grass-fed cows or organic flour or anything that I normally would opt for, but they work. All of the fancy-shmancy organic, natural brands I've tried have sucked. They either break as you're spreading them out, aren't quite the right size or suffer from some other less than preferable crust characteristic. If you have a recommendation, please let me know and I'll be sure to update this post if I find one myself! For now, Pillsbury it is.
Sometimes I even just go crust-less, but the crust is really one of my favorite parts so, I only do this when I'm on a solid clean eating streak. I use one of these silicone baking moulds when I do a crustless quiche so that the egg doesn't stick but you could probably just grease a pie tin instead.
I also usually use one of these pie shields to keep the top crust from getting overly browned. It isn't entirely necessary for quiches since they aren't in the oven as long as pies, but it helps sometimes. I certainly wouldn't rush out and buy one to make this recipe, but if you already have one, bust it out.
If quiche just isn't your thing, I've got a strawberry banana steel cut oat bake that is simply divine, some delicious oat flour waffles, and a ton of other breakfast recipes for you to check out. I know you'll find something you'll like!
Easy Veggie Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. avocado oil (or whatever type of oil you prefer)
- 1/2 onion, sliced into thin strips
- 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups loosely packed spinach
- 1 refrigerated pie crust
- 1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole milk but 2% is fine)
- 5 eggs
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 cup grated cheese (sharp cheddar, swiss, or gruyere work great)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat oil in a medium sized pan. Add onions and peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions start to turn translucent.
- Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until mushrooms are cooked through, approximately 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook 1 minute longer until spinach is wilted. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Unroll refrigerated pie crust and press into 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.
- Crack eggs and whisk until frothy. Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk to mix in.
- Remove any excess liquid from the cooked veggies by squeezing them in a kitchen towel or paper towels over the sink (this keeps the crust from getting soggy).
- Place veggies on top of crust in pie pan in an even layer. Sprinkle cheese on top. Pour egg mixture evenly over the veggies and cheese.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until starting to brown on top. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Can I bake this ahead and freeze it?
I've never tried it but I've heard of people doing that with quiches. I've made all the fillings (eggs, milk, ham, etc.) and frozen that in a bag, defrosted over night and then poured into a pie crust the day of before baking but haven't tried freezing a whole baked quiche. If you do let me know how it reheats!
Love this recipe and I make it frequently! Looks appetizing, tastes wonderful and it freezes well. I am a vegetarian and I eat eggs, so quiche is a dish I enjoy often. My husband is not, but he likes this, too. I have a 9" pie pan and it just barely fits, but it does not over flow. Thanks for coming up with the recipe. Like the nutmeg especially.
That makes me so happy! That pinch of nutmeg is barely noticeable but I just love it. 🙂
Hi. Looks awesome:) I am a vegetarian, can I avoid the egg part?
Egg is the main ingredient in this recipe so it would be hard to replace. I've heard they have a good vegan egg replacement now though that you could try but I'm not sure how it would turn out.
Egg is not vegan, but vegetarian
After reading the responses. and not having a large pie dish. I opted to use my casserole dish. Worked great but did bake about 12 minutes longer due to thickness. But wonderful recipe.....thanks.
Make your own crust...it's SO easy!! Butter, flour, and a bit of ice water..that's it! Love an easy quiche recipe. Thank you!
I used to but now I'm way too lazy! I need to just make up a few and keep them in the freezer since the dough freezes pretty well. Thanks for the tip, you're inspiring me to give it another go!
This definitely needs a deep dish pie crust. I could only fit about 2/3 of the egg mixture into my regular crust and even then it overflowed quite a bit.
Good to know Allison! Mine are 9". I'll make a note of that in the recipe.
I definitely had to take the second pie shell out of the box and split all the ingredients into two pies! But I like the recipe 🙂
Oh no! Was your pie dish under 9 inches? I've got an 8 inch one and I know it won't all fit in that one. I'm glad the recipe worked out and was delicious anyways. 🙂
Best family recipe = so easy to make and you can basically use whatever veggies you have in the fridge.
I always make crust from oats and add Greek yogurt to the mix 🙂
5-star recipe - it seems i cannot rate it below.
Ana,
http://www.shinemommy.com
Awesome! Not sure what's up with the rating and why it wouldn't work but so happy to hear you liked it! And I'm going to have to try that crust. 😉