Quiche Florentine (Spinach Quiche)

This delicious Quiche Florentine recipe is a French classic with a filling of fresh spinach, melty gruyere cheese, and a rich custard, all baked inside a flaky, buttery crust. It’s the perfect meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Jump to:

• What’s a quiche?
• What is quiche Florentine (and why this one is so great!)
• Ingredients needed.
• How To Make A Quiche Florentine: 
• What to serve with quiche Florentine. 
• Variations on quiche Florentine
• FAQs & Tips
• Other Delicious Breakfast Recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What’s a quiche?

The quiche originated in France and is a savory tart that contains eggs, milk or cream, spices, and usually cheese. It also generally contains various vegetables, cooked meat like bacon or ham, or even seafood. A good French quiche has a crispy, flakey pie crust with a custardy egg filling, and makes a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

What is quiche Florentine (and why this one is so great!)

Quiche Florentine is a classic spinach quiche that’s made with fresh spinach, eggs, milk, a few spices, and delicious gruyere cheese, all baked in a flakey, buttery pie crust. It’s a great light meal for any time of day and goes great with a light side salad or a side of fruit. I love any type of quiche, but this one is a true favorite for a few reasons:

• It’s loaded with fresh spinach. Quiche may not be the healthiest of meals, but at least when you fill it with fresh good-for-you-greens, like spinach, it helps to offset some of the cream, cheese, and that ultra-delicious buttery crust!
• This fresh spinach quiche is a great make-ahead dish. Prepare the custardy filling, place it in the pie crust, and freeze for an easy meal later on. Or, prepare and bake the whole quiche ahead of time, keep it in the fridge until you need it, then heat it up while you’re prepping other dishes or entertaining guests. 
• Quiche florentine is a great meal for company. I love serving this quiche as a main dish for brunch with friends, alongside a simple green salad and fruit.
• Great for any meal of the day! This quiche can be served for breakfast or brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. 
• Versatile. I love this as a main dish with a simple side like a green salad, roasted veggies, or a simple tomato relish.

Ingredients needed.

Here’s what you’ll need for this easy quiche Florentine recipe.

• Whole leaf spinach. Fresh spinach is the key defining ingredient in this easy quiche. Avoid using frozen spinach here as the taste won’t be as good and it won’t mix with the custard as well as using whole leaf spinach in this fresh spinach quiche.
• Sweet Onions. The onions add a nice, sweet taste to this dish.
• Eggs & Whole Milk. The eggs and milk are used to create the custardy quiche filling here. Make sure to use whole milk here for a richer custard filling. 
• Nutmeg. Adding a dash of nutmeg to your custard mixture takes the custard filling to the next level.
• Gruyere Cheese & Parmesan Cheese. Using Gruyere cheese in this easy spinach quiche adds richness to this dish. The melty gruyere easily blends with the custard and a touch of Parmesan cheese adds a slightly fruity, nutty taste which tastes great in this spinach and cheese quiche. 
• Pie crust. I used a homemade pie crust for this Florentine tart (instructions below) because I had the time, and I prefer the taste and texture. But you can absolutely use a frozen or premade pie crust here to save some serious time and make this an easy weeknight dinner.

How To Make A Quiche Florentine: 

Making the quiche crust:

My favorite pie crust is made with just 4 simple ingredients (only 3 if you don’t count the water!): flour, COLD butter, salt, and water!

1. First, simply add a small dash of salt to your flour, then combine the flour and cold butter with a pastry cutter or food processor. 
2. Next, slowly add the cold water until you’re able to form the dough into a ball. At this point, you can either roll out the dough or place the dough ball into the fridge for when you’re ready to use it. 
3. When you’re ready to make your quiche, roll the dough out (allow it to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes to soften if it was in the fridge) and place the rolled dough in a greased pie pan.  
4. Pre-bake (blind bake) your crust.  This is non-negotiable if you’re using homemade crust. You need to prebake the pie crust a bit before you add the filling to make sure you don’t end up with a soggy mess on the bottom of the quiche.
   
   When pre-baking your pie crust, you’ll want to use some type of weight to prevent the pie from bubbling up on the bottom. You can purchase pie weights for this exact use, or if you don’t have those, cut a round piece of parchment paper to fit the inside of your pie crust, and fill it with dried beans before placing it in the oven. Pre-baking the crust will ensure that your quiche has a beautifully crusty, flakey consistency all the way through.
   
   Prebake the crust by placing the pie crust, with the weights in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the pie crust from the oven, remove the weights, and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Then, place the pie crust back in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until the base has started browning slightly.

Time Saving Tip:  buy a ready-made crust! While I love a homemade crust, if you just can’t make that happen, I hear you. Use a store-bought crust for a super fast and easy meal.

How to make the custardy quiche filling:

While your crust is pre-baking, prepare your filling. 

1. Start by sauteeing your onions in some butter until they’re translucent. 
2. Next, add your spinach, a handful at a time, stirring to combine as the spinach begins to wilt in the pan. (It feels like a lot of spinach but it cooks down quite a bit!)
3. Prepare your egg and milk custard mixture by whisking the eggs, then slowly add your milk and seasonings. Continue whisking to combine. 
4. Assemble your spinach quiche with gruyere by placing the spinach and onion mixture into the tart pan. Be sure to press out the liquid from the cooked spinach, and use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the pie crust. This will help prevent too much liquid from forming on the bottom of your crust, which can make it soggy. 
5. Top the spinach and onion mixture with the gruyere and parmesan cheese, then slowly pour the egg custard over the top of the spinach and cheese mixture.  
6. Place the pie pan on a lined baking sheet to catch any spills, and place the quiche in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 375 degrees. 
7. Remove the spinach quiche from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

What to serve with quiche Florentine. 

We love serving this easy spinach quiche with a simple green salad, a side of fruit, cooked breakfast meats, like bacon, or even some easy quickbread. 

Quiche Florentine can be enjoyed hot or cold and is great for any meal of the day. 

Variations on quiche Florentine

This easy spinach quiche recipe is a timeless classic, but you can mix it up any way you choose depending on your preference, or what you have in the fridge!

• Use a different type of cheese. Gruyere is so great because it melts so easily and the mild flavor pairs well with the acidic, savory taste of the cooked spinach and onions. But you can absolutely try a stronger flavored cheese, like cheddar, for a bit more bite, or even something like Feta cheese to add a Greek flair to the quiche.
• Use cream instead of milk. I like using whole milk in this recipe instead of cream because it cuts down on calories, especially in this cheese-heavy quiche. But if you want a super luxurious, silky smooth custard filling, try cream, or even half n half instead.   
• Add Mushrooms. This easy addition adds more flavor and texture to this spinach quiche and is a natural veggie addition to a quiche Florentine. 
• Try a different crust. While I love this basic pie crust, you can radically change the taste of your quiche by making a different crust. Try a whole grain crust, a gluten-free crust, or even a nut crust, using nuts like almonds or pecans for a crunchier texture. 
• Go crustless! Want to forego the crust altogether? Make a crustless spinach quiche! Just increase the amount of spinach x2 to bulk up the filling a bit, grease your pie pan, and bake for the same amount of time.

FAQs & Tips

• How do I know my quiche is fully set? Depending on your oven you may need to allow your quiche to bake for a longer or shorter period of time. You’ll know when your quiche has fully set in the middle when the mixture jiggles just a bit in the center when you tap the side of the pie pan, but the sides of the quiche don’t shift. 
• Can I freeze the quiche? Yes, you can! In fact, not only can you freeze the cooked quiche florentine, but you can also cook the whole thing before you even bake it.
  • To freeze the cooked quiche. Allow the spinach quiche to cool completely, then place the quiche in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and place it in the freezer for up to 2 months. 
  • To freeze an unbaked quiche. Wrap the top tightly in plastic wrap and freeze the quiche on a cookie sheet to keep it level. Once fully frozen, place the quiche in a plastic bag and seal it tightly. 
  • To reheat a frozen quiche.  Bake, from frozen, at 375 degrees for 1 hour, covered. Then uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
• Avoid a soggy crust! To avoid a soggy crust, make sure to blind-bake the pie crust before you add the filling. You should also drain as much moisture from the cooked spinach as you can before placing it into your crust so the excess liquid doesn’t soak into your crust. 
• Don’t overfill the pie crust! You may end up with too much filling, and it can be tempting to try to squeeze every last drop into your pie crust, but don’t do it. Filling the pie crust too full will cause the mixture to run over. A super full pie pan can also make it harder for the middle of the quiche to set.  Leave a little room at the top of the pie, as the egg custard will bubble and rise a bit. 
• Prevent a mess! Use a rimmed baking sheet to avoid any spills. Place your pie plate atop a baking sheet before putting it all in the oven so that it can catch any spills. 
• Don’t let the top of the quiche burn! Because of the cheese, the top of the quiche can sometimes cook too quickly. Keep an eye on it, and if it looks like it’s starting to brown too early, cover the top with a piece of foil until the spinach quiche has finished cooking. 

If you make this Quiche Florentine recipe, let me know what you think in the comments below. And don’t forget to tag me with a pic on Instagram Chocolate bark

Other Delicious Breakfast Recipes

• Smoked Salmon Breakfast Pizza
• Easy Blueberry Waffles
• Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Creamy Scrambled Eggs
• Blueberry French Toast Casserole
• Egg Muffin Cups
• Sheet Pan Pancakes From Mix

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