The details
This quiche is THE BEST!!! Butternut squash is roasty and slightly sweet, the spinach is earthy and refreshing, and a generous dose of gruyere is just decadently cheesey in this custardy quiche. Top all that off with a simple buttery, flaky crust and this Butternut Spinach Gruyere Quiche is sure to become a staple in your household just like it is in mine! It’s one of those special dishes the whole family can get behind. It’s hearty and so delicious, and I also feel good about feeding my family loads of veggies. Hello, brunch!
We have been watching A LOT of Ratatouille here in our house. It’s Hudson’s new obsession–Moana is OUT and Ratatouille is IN. Luckily, it’s not a bad change of pace and I have been seriously inspired by the French-ness of it all! This quiche reminds me of those rich, bold, and fresh French flavors. Of course, it’s got the buttery pastry and fresh herbs. You’ll love it.
The crust
The crust for this quiche is a simple, classic, and flaky all-butter pie crust. The recipe is adapted from Pie Queen Erin MacDowell’s All Buttah Pie Crust and it’s pretty much what I use on all my pies and tarts. Erin has some excellent tips and tutorial videos which I highly recommend if you are new to the from-scratch pie game.
This quiche is pictured in a 9.5 inch tart pan, though it would also work great in a standard 8-inch pie pan.
A few crust tricks I’ve learned through trials lately:
- Just use your hands to mix the crust ingredients. Some people swear by using food processors, but I found they often over-mixed the pie dough. Plus, nobody loves cleaning all the food processor parts. Am I right?!
- Massage the butter and flour together until the chunks are maybe a little smaller than a typical almond. Erin suggests walnut halves (I found this to be too big) or pea sized (I found this to be too small). So I recommend the goldilocks zone in the middle.
- Use European salted butter! It always turns out the best and IMHO has the just right salt content. No adding salt is always nice. European butter tends to have a higher fat content and lower water content than American butters which goes a long way with making this crust flaky. Plus, it is often a higher-quality dairy product.
- Don’t skip the par-bake. Par baking is pre-baking your crust (first filled with pie weights, then empty) to make sure the crust cooks through and to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom (British baking show watchers, you know what I’m talking about). You can buy ceramic pie weights meant for this, but I just used dried black beans wrapped in parchment. Erin MacDowell has some nice info on par-baking, too.
The filling
This filling is a simple mix of eggs, cream, milk, seasoning, cheese, butternut and spinach. Once your butternut is roasted and spinach is wilted, it all comes together quickly. Simply mix, pour in your crust, and bake until golden perfection.
The butternut is roasted with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. I lay it all on a baking sheet, toss with my hands, and stick it in the oven. You’ll know it’s done when the butternut quash is tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. I like to buy whole fresh butternut squash, peel, de-seed, and dice it for this quiche. 2 cups diced will be about 1/3 of a medium butternut squash. You can use pre-cut squash, but I find it doesn’t have quite the same freshness or flavor. Luckily, any leftover squash that you have cut stays good for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
The spinach is wilted stove top over medium heat with olive oil and salt. I like to wilt it until juuuust wilted but still green. Frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of moisture, could be used though I don’t think it would be quite as good here.
Good eggs are a non-negotiable my kitchen! I look for large brown, organic eggs that are pasture raised (cage-free doesn’t mean much unfortunately). These eggs have the best nutritional content and flavor.
If heavy cream sounds like A LOT to you, feel free to sub with all whole milk. The quiche will be slightly less rich and custardy, but still tasty! You could sub half and half for all dairy if you desire. I wouldn’t recommend low fat or skim milk here.
More recipes like this
If you like Gruyere and cheese-y pastry, you’ll love my Rosemary-Gruyere Scones and Blue Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits. YUM!
Bake to this music
Butternut Spinach Gruyere Quiche
This Butternut Spinach Gruyere quiche is a new staple in our household! It’s rich, creamy, and filled to the brim with delicious veggies and melty cheese. Did I mention the flaky crust?
- Yield: 10–12 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1/2 cup salted European butter (I use Kerrygold) cold and cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup ice water (ice strained out)
For the filling:
- 7 eggs, whisked
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 3 oz fresh baby spinach
- olive oil, salt, and pepper
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
Instructions
- Make your quiche crust. In a large mixing bowl, add flour and chilled, chunked butter. Using your hands, massage the butter and flour together until butter chunks are the size of almonds. Set aside.
- Mix ice water with apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly add ice water to flour/butter mixture, mixing with your hands until it JUST comes together.
- Shape dough into a flat disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Transfer to the fridge and allow to chill at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
- Roll out your crust on a well-floured surface. The circumference of the crust dough should be a few inches larger than your pie pan. Carefully transfer your crust to the pie pan and crimp/cut edges as needed.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment about the size of your pie/quiche pan, and lightly press into your pie. Fill the parchment with pie weights (or dried beans) and par-bake at 425 for 15 minutes until the crust begins to brown. Remove from oven and remove parchment and pie weights/beans. Continue to par bake for 5-10 minutes more. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Prepare your butternut squash by tossing with some olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees F for about 25 minutes, until the squash is softened. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.
- Prepare your spinach by wilting in a large pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper over medium heat. Once spinach wilts slightly but is still green, remove it from heat and allow to cool.
- Make your filling. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, and cream and whisk well to combine. Add thyme and a few turns of salt and pepper. Add roasted butternut squash, wilted spinach, and shredded Gruyere, mixing with a spoon to distribute. Pour filling into your cooled, par-baked crust.
- Reduce oven heat to 350. Bake quiche for 40-50 minutes, until the middle appears set and the top is nicely golden-browned. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, then dig in!
Notes
- Quiche can be stored in the fridge and eaten within several days. It can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
- For this quiche, I like a thick, rough shredded, medium-sharpness Gruyere cheese. That way you get nice pockets of melty cheese without having chunks.
- You can substitute 1/2 tsp dried thyme for fresh thyme in a pinch.
- For a lighter quiche, you can substitute whole milk for heavy cream.
- I like to serve this quiche with a simple arugula side salad, tossed in lemon juice, salt, pepper, and evoo.
- Category: breakfast, quiche