Broccoli Cheddar Quiche features tender broccoli, sharp Cheddar cheese, and creamy egg custard. Easily customizable and made simple with a store-bought pie crust!
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
This Ham and Cheese Quiche was one of the most popular recipes of 2020, so I thought I’d combine my love for broccoli and Cheddar (this broccoli cheddar soup is one of my favorites!) into a similar quiche recipe.
And this quiche has totally hit the spot the last few days at my house — it’s pure comfort food for any time of the day! My kiddos especially love it as a mid-morning or afternoon snack.
Let’s talk bacon
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche starts with bacon. The bacon adds great flavor and texture to the quiche, and it also is used as a garnish after the quiche is baked.
The fat rendered from the bacon is also used to enhance the flavor of the onion, garlic, and broccoli. After cooking the bacon, carefully remove it with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate. See the “quick tip” below for how to deal with extra bacon grease!
Quick Tip
If the skillet has more than 1 tablespoon rendered bacon grease, drain off the extra. To do this, line a small, heat-proof cup or bowl with heavy-duty foil. Carefully pour the bacon fat into the lined cup immediately after removing the bacon and let it stand at room temperature until the bacon grease is solidified. At this point, you can fold the foil around the solidified fat and discard it or save it to use in future recipes.
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche Crust
To keep things simple, we use a store-bought frozen pie crust. You can make your own, of course, or even prepare this quiche without a crust. I’ll break down all these options below:
- Store-bought: Be sure to get a 9-inch, deep-dish pie crust so all the ingredients fit into the crust. You’ll find these pie crusts among frozen pie baked goods, bread, frozen puff pastry, and other frozen desserts in the grocery store.
- Homemade crust: Try this recipe!
- Crustless: Simply prepare the recipe as written, omitting the crust. Be sure to generously spray the pie pan you are cooking the quiche in with a non-stick spray. Cook for 35 -42 minutes.
Quick Tip
When using the store-bought crust, be sure to keep it in the freezer right up until it’s time to bake it. We want the crust as cold as possible when going into the oven. If the crust does sag or fall down a bit in the oven, it’s okay. Simply let it cool to warm and then gently press down the center and coax up the sides with your fingers. Work carefully to avoid ripping the par-baked crust.
Do I need to bake the crust first?
Blind baking (also called pre-baking) is the process of baking a crust first without the filling. It’s important to blind bake the crust when it’s going to be filled with an unbaked filling. A baked crust has a firmer texture that won’t soak up the liquid filling.
If you’re opposed to baking the crust first, the quiche will still work, but the bottom of the crust may be a bit under-done or soggy.
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche Leftovers
- Fridge: You can store a baked and wrapped quiche for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: You can store a pre-baked quiche (properly wrapped in an airtight container or bag) for 1 to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Freezing does make the quiche lose texture and become a bit watery.
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche Tips
- Chop the broccoli very finely. Once the broccoli is added to the quiche, it doesn’t get too much more tender. Make sure to very finely chop it and sauté it until crisp-tender to avoid hard/crunchy bites of broccoli throughout the quiche.
- Freshly grate the cheese if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has a cellulose coating (to keep it from clumping) that resists melting and can make the quiche a little bit greasy. I also recommend using extra sharp or sharp Cheddar cheese for maximum flavor.
- Watch the quiche as it bakes. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover the outside ring of the crust with a foil (or a pie shield) to keep it from browning further. I recommend baking the quiche on the lower or middle oven rack.
- Don’t over-bake! Bake until the edges are set, but you still have a little wobble in the center. (The best quiche will jiggle a little when you cut into it which tells you the quiche is extra creamy.)
More breakfast or brunch recipes
- Breakfast Potatoes and Bacon with bell peppers
- Honey and Banana Sandwich breakfast “grilled cheese”
- Cinnamon Banana Bread with a simple streusel topping
- Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls with a lemon glaze
- Quiche Lorraine with bacon and chives
Cheddar Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) frozen ready-to-bake pie crust (must be a deep-dish crust)
- 7 slices bacon hardwood smoked
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (~1 medium onion)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (~1-2 cloves)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup broccoli very finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon EACH: ground mustard, paprika
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Optional garnish: chopped chives, crumbled bacon
Instructions
- PAR-BAKE CRUST: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place unwrapped frozen pie crust on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to slightly cool. (Keep crust on the baking sheet.) Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. If the crust fell down a bit, wait for it to mostly cool, and then gently coax the sides of the crust up with your fingers; it should slide up without much resistance.
- BACON: Meanwhile, cut bacon into thin strips. Add bacon pieces to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until golden. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and allow to slightly cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon for a garnish for the top.
- ONION, GARLIC, AND BROCCOLI: Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat (See Note 1 for how I do this). Add 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet with the bacon fat. Add the diced onion and cook until it starts to become soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add in the very finely chopped broccoli and cook, stirring frequently for 3-5 more minutes or until crisp-tender. Add in the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds to a minute. Remove skillet from heat, set aside to cool.
- EGGS AND CHEESE: In a large bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, and the dried thyme, ground mustard, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. (I add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper.) Whisk until completely smooth. Add in all but the reserved 2 tablespoons bacon, the onion, garlic, and broccoli mixture, the sharp Cheddar cheese, and the Parmesan cheese. Stir until smooth.
- BAKE: Pour this mixture into the par-baked pie crust (still on the baking sheet) and bake on the middle or lower oven rack (not the top one) for 35 to 45 minutes (my oven takes about 38-40 minutes), or until the quiche is set and has a very slight jiggle in the center. (It will finish firming up outside of the oven.) Avoid overbaking the quiche -- if there is a slight jiggle, it's done.
- SERVE: Serve warm with reserved bacon pieces and fresh chopped chives sprinkled on top.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
As your sister I have to say that this broccoli quiche is THE BEST! It’s my favorite way to get the kids to eat broccoli because they love it and bonus we love it! And trust me if you want to blow everyone away at a brunch bring this quiche! Thanks for the great recipes as always Chelsea!
Yay! So happy to hear how much you and your family love this Broccoli Cheddar Quiche! Thanks!
This quiche is always such a hit at my house! Thanks for the great recipe as always Chelsea!
Thanks Cody! 🙂
Can chopped frozen broccoli be used?
Sure, just completely thaw it first 🙂 And maybe chop it a tiny bit more!