This Quiche Florentine is a classic French spinach quiche, perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a quick snack. Made with cream, eggs, spinach and gruyere cheese, this quiche is undeniably delicious and versatile.
Quiche Florentine
Both my husband and I love eggs and so any dishes where lots of eggs are incorporated, becomes a huge hit in my household, and this one is no exception. With a recipe that’s so customizable, this is the perfect opportunity to use up leftover items in your fridge.
Quiche Florentine is made with spinach as the star ingredient and lots of strong flavored Gruyere cheese that will not only melt-in-your-mouth, but also melt in your heart when you take that first bite. Using nice fresh eggs, yummy shallots, rich cream, and a heap of healthy spinach, it’s no wonder eating it any time of the day works! If you want to add in some extra love with mushrooms, different cheeses, finely diced red pepper, broccoli, or anything else.
The history of quiche, a dish we think of as quintessentially French, is actually of German origin. The word quiche comes from the German word kuchen, meaning cake. Did you know that in French cooking, any dish that has spinach is usually called “a la florentine”?
What You’ll Need To Make Quiche Florentine
- Pie crust – Make ½ of my Pie Crust recipe or buy a prepared frozen pie crust. I usually make the whole pie crust recipe and freeze half until I make another pie or quiche. The pie crust freezes wonderfully, and then I just thaw it in the fridge overnight when I want to use it.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter to control the amount of sodium in my dishes.
- Shallots – Chopped shallots will add lots of flavor.
- Spinach – Fresh roughly chopped spinach.
- Cream – Heavy cream that’s at least 30%MF works best and provides a rich creamy taste.
- Cheese – Gruyere cheese, shredded. It’s essential for this dish.
How To Make Quiche Florentine
Quiche Crust
- Prepare pie crust: If you’re making your own pie crust, roll it out and place it in a deeper 9.5-inch quiche pan or a more shallow 11-inch quiche pan, pressing into the corners.Use a rolling pin to roll over the surface of the quiche pan, to cut off the excess dough from the edges. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans or rice.
- Blind bake the crust (pre-bake): Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake the crust for an additional 5 minutes.
- For store bought pastry: If using store bought pastry, follow the instructions on the package.
Prepare Filling
- Cook the spinach: Add the butter to a large skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft and translucent. Season with pepper. Add the chopped spinach and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until cooked down. Let it cool slightly.
- Combine eggs and heavy cream: In a medium sized bowl add the eggs and heavy cream. Whisk well.
Assemble and Bake
- Assemble the quiche: Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the precooked crust then top with spinach filling. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach. Top with remaining gruyere cheese.
- Bake: Transfer the quiche onto a baking sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 375°F or until the top is golden. The center should be a bit jiggly but the rest should be set.
- Rest and serve: Let the quiche cool for 10 to 20 minutes, allowing the quiche to fully set. Cut into slices and serve either warm or at room temperature.
FAQ’S
Quiche Florentine is a classic spinach quiche recipe made with eggs, cream, fresh spinach, herbs and gruyere cheeseÂ
It’s great for brunch, but you can have it anytime really – for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or even just as a snack.
Blind baking a pie crust calls for filling the bottom crust with pie weights to keep the pastry from puffing up in the oven.Â
Many side dishes go well with quiche like sautéed mushrooms, arugula salad, baked beans, or fruit salad for just a few options. A lot will depend on when you will be eating the quiche.
You can blind bake the crust up to a day in advance or bake the entire quiche 3 days before serving. In fact, quiche will slice more cleanly when baked in advance.
Tips
- If you don’t have any pie weights, check your pantry for dried beans or uncooked rice as those are some of the best alternatives.
- Substituting the cream with a low fat milk is not recommended since the fat helps to firm up the finished quiche.
- It’s important to let your quiche rest before cutting into it. The inside will continue to cook while the outside will cool down a bit.
- Substitute Emmental, Jarlsberg, or Raclette cheese for Gruyere in quiche. Any of these Swiss cheeses will be ideal, as they give off very similar flavor profiles to Gruyere.
Leftovers
To store this quiche Florentine in the fridge, let it cool down after baking and wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 2-3 days.
Freezing Baked Quiche
It is best to freeze a freshly baked quiche, rather than one that has already been stored in the fridge for a few days. This will ensure that the quality remains as good as possible. Store for 1-2 months.
How To Reheat Frozen Baked Quiche
Unwrap the frozen quiche and bake frozen at 350°F for 25 minutes or until heated through.
Freezing Unbaked Quiche
You can freeze unbaked quiche as well, wrap it up tightly and freeze for up to a month. Bake frozen as instructed for the required time plus 10 minutes.
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Quiche Florentine
Ingredients
- ½ recipe pie crust or a prepared frozen pie crust
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 medium shallots chopped
- ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 4 cups spinach fresh, roughly chopped
- 4 large eggs
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 2 cups gruyere cheese shredded
Instructions
Quiche Crust:
- Prepare pie crust: If you're making your own pie crust, roll it out and place it in a deeper 9.5-inch quiche pan or a more shallow 11-inch quiche pan, pressing into the corners.Use a rolling pin to roll over the surface of the quiche pan, to cut off the excess dough from the edges. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans or rice.
- Blind bake the crust (pre-bake): Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake the crust for an additional 5 minutes.
- For store bought pastry:Â If using store bought pastry, follow the instructions on the package.
Prepare Filling:
- Cook the spinach:Â Add the butter to a large skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft and translucent. Season with pepper. Add the chopped spinach and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until cooked down. Let it cool slightly.
- Combine eggs and heavy cream:Â In a medium sized bowl add the eggs and heavy cream. Whisk well.
Assemble and Bake:
- Assemble the quiche:Â Sprinkle half the cheese over the bottom of the precooked crust then top with spinach filling. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach. Top with remaining gruyere cheese.
- Bake: Transfer the quiche onto a baking sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 375°F or until the top is golden. The center should be a bit jiggly but the rest should be set.
- Rest and serve:Â Let the quiche cool for 10 to 20 minutes, allowing the quiche to fully set. Cut into slices and serve either warm or at room temperature.
Video
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have any pie weights, check your pantry for dried beans or uncooked rice as those are some of the best alternatives.
- Substituting the cream with a low fat milk is not recommended since the fat helps to firm up the finished quiche.
- It’s important to let your quiche rest before cutting into it. The inside will continue to cook while the outside will cool down a bit.
- Substitute Emmental, Jarlsberg, or Raclette cheese for Gruyere in quiche. Any of these Swiss cheeses will be ideal, as they give off very similar flavor profiles to Gruyere.Â
- To store this quiche in the fridge, let it cool down after baking and wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 2-3 days.
- It is best to freeze a freshly baked quiche, rather than one that has already been stored in the fridge for a few days. This will ensure that the quality remains as good as possible. Store for 1-2 months.
- Unwrap the frozen quiche and bake frozen at 350°F for 25 minutes or until heated through.
This was incredibly delicious! I added a small amount of shredded turkey as that’s what my husband likes. The next time I’ll use a larger pie crust though because I had a little bit of the cream mixture left – no big deal.
Glad you liked it! I’m sure it was delicious with turkey!