Spinach Quiche, served with Cornmeal Crust

At a glance

What stands out: A straightforward-to-make cornmeal crust elevates this simple spinach quiche. You may never go back to a regular pie crust. Although a quiche may sound fussy, it’s a straightforward main dish that is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s great reheated, too.

How long it takes: Just over an hour
Equipment you’ll need: medium-sized bowl, pie dish
Servings: 6 to 8

Our mom always made a spinach quiche similar to this recipe when we were having a “breakfast for dinner” type meal. We don’t recall ever having quiche for breakfast but we know it appeared at many brunch occasions.

We have such fond memories of eating this spinach quiche. We think it was our mom’s go-to recipe when she didn’t have meat thawed out, or if it was getting toward the end of the week before she grocery shopped. If mom didn’t happen to have Swiss cheese in the fridge, she’d use whatever she had on hand.

A Crunchy Cornmeal Crust

The crust elevates this recipe. What we particularly love about this quiche recipe is the cornmeal crust. Because the (forgiving) pastry is made with a combination of flour and cornmeal, the crust has a crunchier texture and doesn’t taste as rich as regular pastry. The cornmeal pastry, along with lots of fresh green spinach, creamy Swiss cheese, and a rich egg filling, makes a memorably rich quiche.

The pastry is straightforward to roll out. If you’re like us, you don’t like to spend time fussing with tricky pastry. That’s one of the reasons why you’ll love this quiche recipe. If it falls apart a little, or a hole appears where isn’t supposed to be, or it isn’t centered quite right, no problem. The consistency of the pastry dough is a bit like from-scratch play-dough. It’s straightforward to press out and squish together any problem areas. Bonus: It doesn’t need to be chilled before rolling it out.

The crust doesn’t require a blind bake. Often you have to pre-bake the crust before adding the filling to avoid a soggy crust (a blind bake). This extra step is not necessary with this quiche recipe. The quiche is started out in the oven at a higher temperature and then the oven is turned down for the remaining baking time. The crust turns out evenly crisp and never soggy.

About this spinach quiche Recipe

Quiche is a (fairly) lighter vegetarian meal. With lots of eggs, cheese, and milk, quiche is high in protein and calcium. The spinach adds lots of veggie power. A slice of this quiche runs about 326 calories (but we admit, we usually eat 2 slices).

This recipe is straightforward to adapt to your family’s preferences. Don’t care for spinach? Try broccoli or asparagus. Not a fan of Swiss cheese? Cheddar is great. Like bacon or ham in your quiche? Go for it.

What goes in

• Cornmeal: Choose regular grind all-purpose yellow cornmeal. It’s usually found near the baking supplies and often used to make cornbread or cornbread muffins.
• All-Purpose Flour: Combining the cornmeal with flour keeps the pastry from becoming too crumbly and difficult to work with.
• Butter: It’s best to use unsalted (sweet) butter when you bake. The butter should be chilled; leave it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
• Eggs: Four large eggs are the foundation of the creamy custard filling. They are nutritious and rich.
• Milk: Although you can use low fat milk, whole milk or 2% will give you a standby results. You can use heavy cream or half & half if you want extra creamy custard.
• Swiss Cheese: Shred your own for a standby flavor and texture. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-clumping additives that inhibit melting. You’ll mix the shredded cheese with a couple tablespoons of flour to keep the cheese from sinking to the bottom.
• Spinach: There are two options you can choose from. Use fresh baby spinach leaves and sauté them briefly or use a package of frozen spinach, thawed. Personally, we think the fresh spinach has better flavor than frozen.
• Nutmeg, Salt, Pepper: Simple pantry seasonings that enhance the flavor of the quiche.

How it comes together

Make the pastry. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Sprinkle in the water while tossing the mixture with a fork. You may not need it all. Once the pastry dough holds together and begins to form a ball, use your hands to gather it together and shape a firm ball.

Roll the pastry out. Place the pastry ball on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle it with additional flour. Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin until it’s the right size for your pie plate. Fold the round in half and gently place it in the pie dish; unfold and position. Crimp around the edges to form a decorative (or not) edge.

Arrange the spinach in the crust. It’s important that the spinach is somewhat cooled off before you add it to the crust. Be sure all the liquid has been pressed out.

Add cheese. In the same bowl you used to make the crust, toss the shredded cheese with a couple tablespoons of flour. Evenly spread the cheese/flour mixture over the spinach.

Make the custard. Once again in the same bowl (straightforward clean-up!), whisk the eggs until they are blended. Add the milk and seasonings. Whisk well to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the pie pan.

Bake. Carefully transfer the quiche into a preheated oven on the center rack. Bake until the quiche tests done. Bake time depends a bit on the size of your pie dish. If your quiche is shallower, it will need less time to bake.

Serve. Allow the quiche to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing it. It can be served warm, room temperature, or even cold.

How To Tell If A Quiche Is Done

To test if your quiche is done, insert a knife in the center. It should come out clean. The quiche may look a bit wobbly in the center but it will continue to set as it cools. Ideally, it should cool at least 10 minutes before serving. If your quiche is watery, it could be a bit overcooked. If the eggs cook too long, the proteins bind together, leaving a watery substance.

What To Serve With Quiche

Muffins and breads are always a good idea. We have many muffin and speedy bread recipes. Triple chocolate banana muffins are always a hit and our apple cinnamon muffins are evenly tasty, too. Try our snickerdoodle bread with layers of fragrant cinnamon or pumpkin struesel bread.

Salads go well with quiche, too. Try a straightforward citrus salad with honey lime dressing or Brussels sprouts salad with apples, cranberries and walnuts.

If you’re looking to add meat to the menu, cook up a batch of bacon or sausages. Baked bacon and air fryer bacon are straightforward options. Did you know it’s straightforward to mix your own breakfast sausage patties? Try pork and apple sausage with tender bits of shredded apple and fragrant spices.

Make Ahead Ideas

• Make the crust: The cornmeal crust can be made up to a day ahead. Either refrigerate it as a ball in a plastic bag or roll it out, put it into the pie pan, cover and refrigerate.
• Prep the filling ingredients: Shred the cheese ahead of time, too. You can even cook the spinach ahead of time. It will be a breeze to get this quiche in the oven!

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Let the quiche come to room temperature before covering it. Leftover quiche can be stored in the fridge for up to four days.

Freeze: Freeze individual slices of quiche in freezer-safe containers for up to three months. Reliable for a speedy meal when you don’t have time to cook!

Reheat: Spinach quiche is great reheated in the microwave (15 second intervals). Don’t overheat it; it seems to heat up rather more quickly than you would anticipate.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #54. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 35 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the Crust

• ½ cup cornmeal
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons cold water

For the Filling

• 10 ounces baby spinach leaves (see note)
• 2 cups ( 8 oz.) shredded Swiss cheese
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (2% or whole milk)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Combine cornmeal, ¾ cup flour, and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium sized bowl. Cut in cold butter, using a fork or pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water in while tossing the mixture with a fork, and continue to stir lightly until dough can be shaped into a ball.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Fit loosely into a 9-inch pie pan (see note), fluting edges. Don’t worry if the crust falls apart a bit. Just patch up any holes with extra dough. Put the pie pan in the freezer while you prep the spinach and grate the cheese.
4. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat a tablespoon of water and sauté spinach until wilted, about 5 minutes. Drain spinach well, pressing out excess liquid. Cool slightly before spreading it evenly over the bottom of the crust.
5. In the same bowl you used for the pie dough, toss cheese with 2 tablespoons flour. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the spinach.
6. In the same bowl, lightly whisk eggs until blended. Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture into crust.
7. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and set in the middle. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Quiche can be served warm, room temperature or cold.
8. Let the quiche cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges. Quiche can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

Notes

Pie pan: For best results, use a clear glass pie dish or metal pie pan rather than a ceramic pie dish. We tested all three types and found that the crust turned out best when we didn’t use a ceramic dish.

Using frozen spinach: A 10 oz. package of frozen spinach can be substituted for the fresh spinach. Thaw completely. Press out excess liquid before adding to crust.

Recipe variations: If desired, substitute a different vegetable for the spinach, or add ham, bacon, or crumbled sausage.