This ham and cheese quiche is made with a pie crust base, eggs, spinach, ham and cheese in the filling. Only takes 10 minutes to prep and is perfect for Sunday brunch or holiday mornings!
Favorite Breakfast Quiche
Whenever we have leftover baked ham or crockpot spiral ham from the holidays, this recipe is always our favorite way to use it up. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and can be easily customized based on what you have on hand. And it’s super delicious!
This ham and cheese quiche is always the showstopper at any brunch and the first dish to go! It’s made with a delicious and flaky pie crust base, then filled with a mixture of eggs, spinach, ham and cheese.
This quiche is simple to make and perfect for Sunday brunch or holiday mornings like Christmas and Easter. The best part about this recipe is that you can customize it with any type of vegetables. Some of my favorites are peppers and mushrooms.
Pie Crust Base
The quiche starts out with a pie crust as the base. I usually use a store bought crust (Pillsbury is my go to) to save time, but you can definitely make a homemade pie crust too. I prefer to use a tart pan over a pie dish for the crust because it’s a lot easier to release the quiche from the pan.
You do need to bake the crust first before adding the filling, however only for about 5 minutes. This helps to harden the crust a tad so that it doesn’t get soggy when you add the egg mixture.
Quiche Ingredients
You can easily customize this recipe with your favorite veggies or what you have in the fridge. Below is my go-to combination (amounts included in printable recipe below), but feel free to make some swaps if you’d like!
- Butter: This is used to help caramelize the onions before you add them to the quiche.
- Onions: Yellow onions are my favorite type to use. Make sure to cut the onions into small pieces first before sautéing.
- Ham: I love using spiral ham or leftover baked ham from the holidays.
- Eggs: Use large sized eggs when making this recipe.
- Half and half: This gives the quiche a rich flavor. You may also use milk if you prefer.
- Cheese: I love using a mix of sharp or mild cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan.
- Spinach: This recipe is a great way to pack in more greens without an overpowering taste. Make sure to chop your spinach before adding.
- Parsley: Dried parsley flakes (or fresh parsley if preferred) adds a great flavor.
- Black pepper: Add a small dash of freshly ground black pepper.
- Bacon: Crispy cooked bacon adds another layer of deliciousness to this dish. You could always swap the bacon with more diced ham, but trust me, it makes the quiche extra delicious.
Ratio of Eggs to Milk
The ratio that I like to use is 1/2 cup milk for every 5 large eggs. I like my quiche on the thicker side (similar to a frittata), but if you’d like to thin it out a little then add some more milk.
How to Make Ham and Cheese Quiche
- CRUST. Press the pie dough into the pan and pierce a few times with a fork. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 5 minutes.
- FILLING. Sauté the onions, ham and bacon in a pan until the onions have caramelized. Whisk together the eggs and half and half, then stir in cheese, parsley, pepper, spinach and sautéed ham mixture. Pour the filling into the pan on top of the pie crust.
- BAKE. Bake in oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the quiche has set and the top is golden. Test by sticking a toothpick in the center. When the toothpick comes out clean, that means it’s ready.
Make Ahead, Storage and Reheating
- Make ahead: To make the night before, pre-bake the pie crust for 5 minutes. You can still mix together the filling ingredients, however just don’t add to the crust yet. The next day, add the filling to the pie crust and bake according to directions.
- Storing and freezing: Let cool completely, then wrap the pan tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Place in fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the quiche for up to 2 months.
- Reheating: Cover with foil and bake at 400°F until it’s warm throughout.
5 star review
“Made this today for our family Christmas breakfast. It was phenomenal!!! Everyone said it was the best dish there. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing!”
– Kay
Cooking Tips
- Pre-bake the crust so that the quiche doesn’t get soggy. It only needs to bake for about 5 minutes before adding the filling. Just enough for the crust to harden a little.
- You can substitute milk if you don’t have any half and half on hand. My preference is half and half because it makes the quiche extra creamy and delicious.
- Let the quiche rest for a few minutes before cutting into slices. This gives it time to set, so that the slices keep their shape.
- For a crustless version, check out my favorite crustless quiche recipe. It’s super similar, just without the pie crust.
What to Serve with Ham Quiche
We love serving this ham quiche with any of the below recipes:
- Berry fruit salad
- Hash browns
- Rainbow fruit kabobs
- Skillet breakfast potatoes
- Rainbow honey lime fruit salad
More Breakfast Favorites:
- Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole
- Savory Breakfast Crepes
- Mini Egg Frittatas
- Breakfast Pie
- Ham and Cheese Crepes
Ham and Cheese Quiche
Ingredients
- 10 inch uncooked pie crust
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- 1/2 cup yellow onion , chopped
- 1 cup ham (cubed, use a ham steak or leftover ham)
- 1/4 cup cooked bacon , cut into pieces (optional)
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup half and half , or milk
- 1 cup sharp or mild cheddar cheese , finely shredded
- 1/2 cup mozzarella or parmesan cheese , finely shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2-1 cup spinach , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Press the dough around the edges of a 9-inch tart pan or pie dish. Place on a baking sheet. Pierce the bottom of the pie crust with a fork. Cook for 5 minutes and then remove from oven. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook onions for 2 minutes. Stir in ham and bacon pieces and let cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until the onions have caramelized. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half. Stir in cheese, parsley flakes, pepper, spinach, and the ham mixture. Then pour into the tart pan.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Enjoy while warm!
Very easy as promised and tasty.
I didn’t add the bacon but did increase eggs to 7 and 1/2 c. Milk plus 1/4 cup heavy cream because I only have deep dish pie dishes. I also added a few grates of nutmeg. It was a little dense, more like a frittata, but still delicious. I would add more milk next time.
Nutmeg is a great addition! Glad you enjoyed it, Shelly :)
This is my new go to. So good. Question though, do you know if I could substitute using liquid egg instead? And if so do you know what the ratio would be?
I haven’t tried, but I think that should work just fine. Usually it tells you on the carton of the liquid eggs what the ratio is, so I would look for it there :)
If freezing this, should I let it thaw before reheating?
Yes, I would if possible let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Second time making this recipe and we love it. I used mozzarella and smoked cheddar. Also added broccoli and cubanelle pepper. Big hit at our house.
Thanks for the great recipe. 🎉
Yum, your additions sound delicious! So glad you enjoyed it :)
So good and easy to make! I added mushrooms to mine and cheddar/jack mix cheese instead of juat cheddar. It made 4 quiches when I doubled it, and I used regular pie crusts, not deep dish. It was a hit!
Yay, so happy it was a hit! Thanks for your comment and review, Shannon :)