The 7 Most Important Rules for Making Quiche

Quiche is a classic crowd pleaser. The silky egg custard holds a savory filling, anything from bacon to broccoli, in a buttery pastry shell. It's a staple for brunch, lunch, and beyond. If enjoying quiche is a given, making it might not be. Some home cooks swear off quiche because they think it's tricky. We're here to tell you that it's not. To help you ace making quiche at home, we checked in with Jennifer Aaronson, global head of culinary and brand at Marley Spoon and expert quiche maker. Here, she shares her rules for quiche success.

Use a Sturdy Crust

"The biggest fail with quiche is when the custard leaks through the crust," says Aaronson. To combat this, she recommends using a sturdier pastry dough. (This is not the time to use our favorite pâte brisée). If the crust is too flaky, tiny holes will form—that's when leakage occurs. Using crust with egg in it makes for better (sturdier) structure, like the one used for this Spinach and Gruyère Quiche.

Cheese Is Optional

"In its homeland (northeastern France), quiche is not typically made with cheese—nor do you necessarily need it," says Aaronson. Too much will just weigh down the custard, whereas without it the custard remains delicate and silken, as in this Fine Herbes Quiche.

The Fillings

Whether you choose cheese or not, don't go overboard filling the custard with ingredients, you need there to be a good ratio of custard to fillings. And, says Aaronson, the best way to add the fillings is placing them in the crust before the custard is added, or placing them carefully on the filling once it's in the prebaked crust.

Pick Your Pan Carefully

A pie plate is the traditional choice for quiche but we've got some revolutionary news, Aaronson recommends using a springform pan as this will give you more filling, allowing for a luxuriously lofty custard and ample room for add-ins. Try making one of our quiche recipes in each pan and see which you prefer.

The Make Ahead Option

Quiche is best served warm or at room temperature but to get ahead you can make the dough up to three days before you plan to make the quiche and prebake the crust a day ahead.

Baking and Cooling

Place the quiche pan on a sheet pan before it goes into the oven. This will help to distribute the heat and cook the quiche evenly, and it eliminates the chance the pan will leak custard in your oven.

Never cut into a quiche while it's still hot from the oven. Allow about an hour for the quiche to cool; it will still be warm then but ready to serve.

You Can Reheat Quiche

While we wouldn't recommend making quiche ahead of time and reheating it for serving, quiche can be reheated if you have leftovers. Aaronson says the custard will hold up fine, "The crust will get soggier over time, but the custard retains its silkiness." And truly leftover quiche is rarely an issue, it tastes so good it usually goes quickly!