This delicious Ham and Cheese Quiche mixes up fast and has so little hands-on time. Make it for a delicious weeknight dinner or a big Sunday morning brunch!
There is something so perfect about a quiche for brunch. It feels like the fanciest of meals, but doesn’t require a lot of kitchen skills to make.
This delicious Ham and Cheese Quiche recipe is so perfect for using up left-over ham from Easter or Christmas. It comes together with just a handful of other ingredients in the perfect homemade pie crust. This is a recipe that you will absolutely love.
How to Make Quiche
While a homemade quiche can seem intimidating, it needn’t be. It is a delicious breakfast recipe that comes together in a few easy steps. For the full easy quiche recipe including all ingredients and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Make the crust. I love using my Homemade Pie Crust Recipe for this. It does require making it the day before. If a store-bought crust is more your speed, do that!
- Pre-bake the crust. Whatever crust you decide to use, you will need to bake it a little before adding the filling. Cover the crust in foil and then pie weights or coins to prevent air bubbles while baking. Be sure to evenly distribute these so that none of the crust starts to fall down the sides while baking.
- Make the filling. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until there are no streaks of eggs left. Stir in the chives, ham, and cheese. Pour the filling into the warm crust.
- Bake the quiche. Finish it all off by baking in the oven and then letting it sit for one hour before slicing.
Pie Crust For Quiche
I was a pie crust hater until I came upon this Foolproof Pie Crust Recipe. It really is simple to make and will easily become your favorite recipe. I highly recommend that you try this quiche recipe with that crust.
But, do not skip over this great ham and cheese quiche because a homemade crust intimidates you. If that is the case, simply buy a premade crust and enjoy life. If you use a store-bought crust that is already made, skip the pre-baking step.
Easy Pie Crust Recipe
Pre-Baking Pie Crust
Many recipes that use pie crust call for pre-baking it. This allows the crust to be fully cooked without burning the filling while the whole dish is in the oven. Since some fillings need less time than the pie crust itself, this ensures that the egg mixture is fully cooked while keeping the crust flakey and delicious.
The important part of prebaking a crust is using weights to keep it in place and prevent it from shrinking into the pan. You can use coins, dry beans, or these handy pie weights. As stated above, be sure to really distribute whatever you use, especially around the edges.
A pie shield can also help keep your crust perfect and not burnt when making quiche. If your pie crust is nice and golden when you take it out of the oven when prebaking, add the shield once you add the filling before baking the quiche. You can also wait and keep an eye on the quiche as it bakes to see if it needs it.
Pie Weights
Pie Shield
Leftover Ham
This is the perfect recipe to use leftover ham, especially after Christmas and Easter. If you want to make this recipe and don’t have leftovers on hand, simply buy a ham steak. Cut your ham into small cubes and be sure it is cooked before making the quiche.
Other great recipes for leftover ham:
What Cheese to Use
I love the flavor that cheddar cheese adds to this homemade quiche recipe. With that being said, other melting cheeses would also work well. Colby jack, white cheddar, Swiss, or Gruyere are all great options.
I recommend grating it yourself from a block rather than buying a bag of pre-shredded cheese. It will melt and taste so much better because it is not covered in the preservatives that prevent pre-shredded cheese from clumping together in the bag. Grating it yourself only takes a minute or two and is so worth it.
How Long to Bake Quiche
This ham and cheese quiche will bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a little over an hour. You will know it is done when a knife inserted into the middle of the quiche comes out clean. The center will be set, but soft.
What Milk to Use
This recipe works great with skim milk. Keep in mind that when you make a recipe, you can usually go up in fat content of milk without any problem, but not down. For example, if a recipe calls for whole milk, you really don’t want to use 1%. But here, we used the lowest fat content milk available, so going up in fat would just make it richer.
Ham and Cheese Quiche Tips and Tricks
- Refrigerate the pie crust: An optional step, but if you refrigerate the pie crust after rolling it out and before pre-baking it, it will help keep it from shrinking while baking. This means that your delicious filling stays in the pan.
- Pre-bake the pie crust: As mentioned above, covering the crust with aluminum foil before adding the weights keeps the crust from shrinking and also prevents it from burning while pre-baking.
- Use a baking sheet: If you bake this breakfast quiche recipe on a baking sheet, you don’t have to worry about it overflowing and making a mess in your oven.
- Wait an hour before slicing: Doing this helps your quiche hold its shape and the filling stays put. This makes it a great recipe to make the night before and pull out right before breakfast or dinner.
Other Additions
This breakfast quiche is perfect as is, but if you want to add some other additions, here are some ideas.
- Mushrooms
- Spinach
- Green onions
- Bacon (Make sure it is cooked and diced prior to adding it.)
Storing and Reheating Cooked Quiche
This quiche should be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to three days. It can be eaten warm or at room temperature. As with all leftovers, always use your best judgment when reheating and eating them. If you do decide to make this the day before but want it warm when serving, follow these steps.
- Take the quiche out of the refrigerator and leave it on the counter for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
FAQ
Yes! Just be sure to spray the pie plate with cooking spray before adding the filling so it doesn’t stick.
Quiche is great for freezing. If you plan to freeze the quiche, I recommend baking it in a disposable pie plate so it doesn’t shatter. Once it is baked and has cooled, cover the quiche tightly twice with foil or cut into slices and store in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to eat the quiche or a slice, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy cold or bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.
Absolutely! Since it has to sit for one hour before eating, this is a great recipe to make ahead of time. See my steps above for reheating cooked quiche if you prefer it warm.
The main part of this quiche recipe that will determine if it is gluten-free is the pie crust. We are using a traditional pie crust that is made with all purpose flour. If you want to make a gluten-free quiche, use a gluten-free pie crust. Always double-check your ingredients when cooking for someone who cannot have gluten.
Crustless Quiche
If you love quiches but don’t feel like fussing with a crust, you can make a crustless quiche. Here are two recipes I truly love:
What to Serve With Quiche
This easy quiche recipe can be rounded out with some simple sides! For brunch, serve with a light salad. Here are a few other ideas.
If you make this ham and cheese quiche recipe or any of my other recipes, please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!
Ham and Cheese Quiche Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust (store bought or homemade)
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cups milk 473.176 ml (I used skim, read more above)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt if you use table salt, use half
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chives minced
- 12 ounces ham or 2 1/2 cups cubed (340 grams)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (113 grams)
Instructions
- Roll out the pie crust and put in a deep 9-inch pie pan. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.1 pie crust
- Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator and take off the plastic wrap. Line the pie crust with 2 sheets of aluminum foil. On top of the aluminum foil, place pie weights or loose coins. Spread them so that they start to go up the edges. Bake the pie crust for 25 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until there are no streaks of eggs left. Stir in the chives, ham, and cheese.5 large eggs, 2 cups milk, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon chives, 12 ounces ham, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Remove the foil and loose change from the pie crust. While it is still warm, pour the filling into the pie crust until it is just full (you might have a little filling left). If the crust is a deep golden, put a pie shield over it before placing the quiche in the oven. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the quiche comes out clean. The center will be set but soft.
- Let the quiche set for at least an hour before slicing.
Jody BARTLES says
Do u have to use shelve stable milk or will regular milk work ???
Regular milk will work :)
Kimi Wei says
You need to do some proofreading of this recipe. And btw what’s the relationship between waiting an hour to cut the quiche and the quiche being good to make the day before serving it at dinner?
If you eat it directly out of the oven, you need to wait an hour before slicing. If you bake it the night before you can just pull it out of the refrigerator the next day and serve it.
clarissa says
thank Lisa is a good idea when you have company like me. I will try this.
I hope you love it, Clarissa!
jean Saloranta says
Made the hand quiche for dinner today and it was excellent.