This Mushroom Quiche is easy to throw together, can be made in advance, and will use up any leftover holiday ham! Plus, thanks to cottage cheese, this egg dish is packed with protein!
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Quiche is one of those essential brunch dishes. It can be vegetarian, made with bacon and sausage, or packed with veggies. You could even have a brunch that only serves different kinds of quiches!
But, they can be complicated to make because they involve a crust that can easily become soggy. But, with a few simple tips and a pre-made pie crust, you can have a delicious homemade spinach mushroom quiche (or any kind!) with minimal work!
Top Tips for a Great Quiche
- Blind bake the crust: Whether you use a homemade crust or a frozen one, blind baking is the sure way to avoid a soggy crust and ensure a flaky crust. Blind baking is the process of partially baking the crust before adding the filling.
- Blend the eggs: By blending the egg mixture, you ensure a super smooth and creamy texture that is unparalleled!
- Cut everything smaller than you think: The key to a great quiche is to make sure everything is cut very small. By small, we mean ¼” by a ¼”. This ensures you get a little bit of everything with every bite.
Looking for more brunch ideas to pair with this spinach and mushroom quiche - try these!
Orange Cranberry Bread and Butter Pudding
Peanut Butter Avocado Smoothie
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Ingredients and Substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitutes unless otherwise noted.
Mushrooms: We swiss brown mushrooms because they are the most readily available. If we are feeling fancy, we will throw in a few shiitake mushrooms to enhance the flavor.
Substitutions: Any kind of mushrooms can be used.
Spinach: Baby spinach is key for this spinach mushroom quiche recipe because it is bite size meaning less chopping and thus less work.
Substitutions: We use fresh spinach but you could use regular size spinach and rough chop it. You could also use frozen spinach as long as the spinach is thawed and the excess moisture is squeezed out.
Ham: What makes this ham and mushroom quiche recipe so great is you can use leftover ham or buy ham just for the quiche. I am always at a loss for what to do with leftover Easter ham so I love that I can toss it into this quiche.
Substitutions: Any thick cut ham can be used. You could use lunch meat ham but the textures will not be as good. You could also use breakfast sausage or bacon in place of ham for a bacon and mushroom quiche.
Garlic: Of course, you need garlic for a great dish!
Substitutions: We use pre minced garlic, but you can use fresh garlic or garlic powder. For garlic powder, use 1 teaspoon in place of the 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
Eggs: Of course we need eggs for a quiche!
Substitutions: Sorry, no substitutions for this.
Cottage Cheese: I used 2% cottage cheese for this recipe, but any type of cottage cheese will work just fine!
Substitutions: Ricotta can probably be used but it'll be higher in fat. You can also try using a flavored kind to mix it up! You can also use whole milk or heavy cream in place of cottage cheese.
White Cheddar: White cheddar is the perfect complement to this quiche because it is a little sharper in flavor without the tang of traditional cheddar. This means you get the actual flavor of the white cheddar without having to add more cheese.
Substitutions: Cheddar cheese, Gruyere cheese, Monterey jack cheese, or pepper jack can be used.
Flour: The flour here is needed to stabilize the whipped eggs. Because we blend everything together, we are generating a lot of air bubbles that can collapse while being baked if not stabilized with flour.
Substitutions: Any type of white flour can be used. I have a feeling a 1:1 gluten-free flour will also work just fine but it hasn't been tested. I don't recommend wheat flour, coconut flour, or almond flour because they absorb too much liquid.
Pie Crust: We highly recommend using a pre-shaped frozen pie crust to save time and stress. Size wise, this recipe is sized to fit in a 9” deep dish frozen pie crust so just be sure you are using the same size pan if making your own crust.
Substitutions: You can make your own pie dough or use a frozen crust that you roll out into a pie tin or a tart pan.
Recipe Testing Notes
Throughout our testing of this mushroom quiche, we learned some key things that worked and didn't work. Here are the key takeaways!
Blind baking is a must: We tried this recipe with both blind baking and not blind baking. When we didn’t blind bake the crust, the bottom was soggy and the moisture from the crust seeped into the egg mixture making the filling not bake through.
Blend the egg mixture: While you can mix the egg mixture with a whisk, the texture is so great when the egg and cottage cheese mixture is blended.
Filling first, eggs last: We tested this quiche by putting the filling ingredients in before the eggs and on top. Both worked, but putting the filling in first was much easier and much less messy.
Use nonstick spray for pie weights: Pie weights are used to keep the center of a pie crust from rising when it is being baked without a filling. You can use a variety of things as a pie weight like dried beans, actual pie weights from a cooking store, or another pan. I prefer to use another pan but it has to be sprayed with non-stick spray to keep it from sticking to the crust.
Set pie on baking tray for easier transfer: This is critical for a stress free quiche. Place the pie crust on a baking tray BEFORE filling it. Then fill the quiche, place the foil over the crust, and gently place the entire tray and quiche in the oven. If you try to put the pie tin in on its own, the foil will fall off, the filling will slosh around, and it will all just be very annoying.
How to Make this - Step by Step
Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for the full recipe card for this mushroom quiche recipe.
Step one: Blind Bake
Pre-heat oven and blind bake the frozen pie crust. The first time with a pie weight and then prick holes in the bottom and bake a little longer. If using another pan as the pie weight, spray the bottom with non-stick spray before placing it in the frozen pie crust.
Step two: Cook the Filling
Sauté the veggies and ham in a large skillet over medium heat until the spinach is wilted and the mushrooms are golden brown. The large skillet allows hot air to properly circulate between the mushroom mixture so everything gets nice and golden brown and not mushy from the moisture released from the ingredients.
Step three: Blend the eggs
Blend the eggs, cheese, flour, salt, and pepper. You can also whisk eggs and the other ingredients in a large bowl. The texture will still be good, just not as great as if it was blended.
Step four: Combine
Place the pie crust on a sheet tray. Place the cooked mushrooms and other filling ingredients in the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture over, then cover the crust in aluminum foil.
Step five: Bake
Bake for 45 minutes with the foil on, then remove the foil and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes until the crust shows a little color and the egg mixture is set.
Watch How to Make This - Step by Step
Joy Tip!
Use a sheet tray to transfer the crust to the oven! Nothing is more annoying than working hard to make this beautiful quiche only to have the foil not stay on, the crust burns, and the filling comes spilling out the sides while trying to open the oven. The easy way to avoid this? Place the crust on a baking tray before filling it.
Common Questions
Using wet ingredients like tomatoes, frozen vegetables, or other high-water-content vegetables will cause the quiche to be soggy. Also, using frozen pie crust that has not been blind-baked will create a soggy quiche. This is because the water from these ingredients will weep into the quiche as it bakes.
We love white cheddar in quiches because it adds to the creamy texture and enhances the flavor. Other good options are feta, goat cheese, parmesan, or jack cheese.
Quiche Recipe Variations
Quiches aren’t meant to be fussy. There are so many ways you can mix up the flavors. Here are a few of our favorites!
- Sausage and Peppers: To make this version, simply swap out the spinach and ham with sausage and bell peppers for another delicious take on a quiche.
- Spicy Bacon and Cheddar: Swap the spinach, mushrooms, ham, and white cheddar for pepper jack cheese, bacon, and sliced jalapenos to make one of my favorite quiche flavor combos!
- Crustless Mushroom Quiche: A crustless quiche is a great way to cut the carbs or make this recipe gluten free, you can leave out the crust and swap the flour. For a crustless spinach mushroom quiche, you will want to just pour everything into a 9” pie dish and bake for 40-50 minutes until set. For gluten free, swap the flour for a 1:1 gluten free flour substitute or leave out the flour.
- Broccoli Mushroom Quiche: For a vegetarian recipe, try swapping the ham for broccoli. As strange as it sounds, broccoli has a very similar texture to ham when baked. The flavors are very different but equally as tasty!
Want to Save It For Later? Here's How!
Quiche leftovers keep really well and can be made in advance as meal prep or to save time and stress before hosting. Here are some tips to ensure you have the best leftover or stored quiche possible. Just be sure to allow the quiche to come to room temperature prior to storing it in the fridge or freezer.
Fridge: Any leftover quiche can be kept covered in the fridge for 5 days. You can also keep the whole quiche in the fridge until ready to serve.
Freezer: This will keep in the freezer for 2 months. To store, cover either the whole quiche or individual slices in plastic wrap and place them inside of a plastic bag or airtight container.
Reheating: To reheat from the fridge, heat a slice for 1 minute 30 seconds in the microwave or in the oven at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes until heated through. To reheat a whole quiche, heat in an oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through.
To reheat from frozen, let it thaw in the fridge the night before and then reheat it as noted above. You can also heat in the microwave by the slice for 3 minutes or in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes for the whole pie.
Fun Fact
Quiche originated in Germany, but the largest quiche ever made was baked in France. It used 125 quarts of milk, over 1900 eggs, 150 pounds of bacon, 130 pounds of butter, and 140 pounds of flour! (source)
More Joyful Recipes!
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Did you try this and love it? Leave us a review, we would love to hear from you!
Recipe
Mushroom Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust (will be pre-baked)
- 1 tablespoon oil (or butter)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 1 cup button mushrooms (diced, any kind of mushroom you like will work)
- 1.5 cup baby spinach
- ¾ cup ham (thick cut, diced ¼"x¼")
- 6 eggs
- 10 oz cottage cheese (about 1.25 cups)
- ¾ cup white cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Before you start!
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Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the mushrooms and ham into ¼” x ¼” cubes. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with oil or butter.
- Pre-bake crust: Spray the bottom of a pan that fits in the pie crust with non-stick spray. Place this in the frozen pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the pan pie weight from the crust. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust multiple times and return to the oven to bake for 7 more minutes. For pie weights, you can also use dried beans or pie weights purchased from a cooking store.
- Saute the veggies: While that bakes, saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, spinach, and ham until spinach has wilted and mushrooms are golden brown.
- Mix the eggs: While the veggies and ham cook, add the cottage cheese, eggs, flour, cheese, salt, and pepper to a blender and blend. You can also whisk these ingredients together.
- Combine: Place the prepared crust on a baking tray (this is crucial to avoiding having to deal with a mess when transfering .it to the oven). Then pour the cooked ham and veggies in the bottom of the crust. Pour the egg mixture over this.
- Bake: Use aluminum foil to cover the edges of the crust. Bake the quiche for 45-50 minutes and then remove the foil. Return to the oven and cook for another 10 minutes until the crust is just starting to show color.
Video
Notes
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Excellent weekend breakfast with leftovers for the week! Thanks!
Perfect recipe! Thanks!!!