This easy Quiche Florentine is a classic brunch dish that requires very little effort unless you make a homemade crust. You only need eggs, spinach, shallots, Gruyere cheese, and half-and-half to make the filling. It's all baked in a buttery flakey pie crust.
This quiche can also be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator or freezer.
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Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.
Jump to:
- 🤷♀️ What is Quiche Florentine?
- ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
- 🔪 Recommended Equipment
- 📝 Instructions Overview
- 👩🍳 Tips for Success
- ⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- 👩🍳 How will I know when the quiche is done?
- 🧊 Storage Tips
- 💡Ideas for Possible Variations
- 🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
- 🌾 Make it Gluten Free
- Classic Quiche Florentine with Fresh Spinach
Quiches are perfect for any holiday brunch you may be planning. You can make them ahead, and if you buy a frozen crust, they're incredibly easy to make. Or include potatoes in the quiche with a hash browns crust like this Vegetarian Quiche Lorraine with a Hash Browns Crust.
Quiches are also a great light lunch with a salad or make it for dinner and serve it with hash brown potatoes. For healthy hash browns, check out this oil-free, vegan recipe that uses frozen shredded hash browns.
🤷♀️ What is Quiche Florentine?
Quiche Florentine is a classic baked French custard tart. It's made with eggs, spinach, milk, and Gruyere cheese. Sometimes it includes herbs and mustard for a more savory flavor. Traditional Quiche Florentines are baked in a buttery, flaky crust but can be made crustless.
Serve this dish for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- No fancy ingredients. You may have everything you need on hand already.
- If you use frozen pastry (not puff pastry!), the prep work goes quickly before sliding it into the oven.
- Serve it any time of day, any time of year. This is perfect for brunch, lunch or a light dinner.
- Make it ahead, cover and refrigerate, and rewarm when ready to serve.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions for this Quiche Florentine recipe, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Buttery, flaky crust - Make your own or purchase frozen pie crust dough.
- Shallots
- Fresh spinach - Prewashed baby spinach in plastic containers is perfect for this recipe.
- Eggs
- Gruyere cheese - Any Swiss cheese is fine, but Gruyere and Emmentaler are preferred.
- Half-and-half - Use heavy cream for a richer quiche, or lighten it by splitting the half-and-half amount with whole milk.
- Nutmeg
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🔪 Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list of favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
- 9-inch pie plate or 14" X 5 ½" tart pan
- Chef's knife
- Medium skillet
- Colander
- Cheese grater
- Large bowl
- Whisk
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this Quiche Florentine are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview! Quiche dishes are incredibly easy to make.
Step 1
Make the pie crust. If you make your own crust, do this first. If you use a store-bought crust, thaw it out before using. For a package of frozen pie crust dough, thaw, roll it out, and fit it into a pie plate.
Blind bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
Step 2
Sauté. Sauté the shallots and spinach. When cool enough to handle, press into a colander to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Spread over the cooled pie crust, and top with grated cheese.
Step 3
Whisk. Whisk together the half and half, eggs, and spices. Pour over the spinach and cheese.
Step 4
Bake. Bake until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
👩🍳 Tips for Success
- Cooling the crust and sautéed spinach before adding the eggs to prevent the eggs from curdling is essential.
- Be sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the spinach. Otherwise, the quiche can end up being a little watery. This is even more important if you use frozen spinach instead of fresh.
- Par-bake the crust just until it begins to set up. This prevents a soggy crust.
- Place the quiche on a baking sheet to bake in case it spills over during baking. A baking sheet also helps prevent damaging the crust when removing the baked quiche from the oven.
- If you make a homemade crust, be sure to line the dough-lined pie dish with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights for blind baking. A buttery pie crust is best for this dish.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- Purchase prewashed baby spinach.
- Use a frozen pie shell or frozen pie crust you roll out yourself.
- Instead of hand-whisk, use the whisk attachment for an immersion blender for whisking the egg mixture.
👩🍳 How will I know when the quiche is done?
- The top of the quiche will feel firm to the touch when you press in on the center with your fingertips.
- Insert a knife into the center of the quiche and remove it. The knife should come out clean. It may be moist from the spinach, but it should be clean of unbaked egg mixture.
🧊 Storage Tips
- Cool the quiche to room temperature. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake at 325˚F for 15 minutes or until the quiche is heated through. I've also kept it in a 250˚F oven to keep warm until I serve it.
- Keep in the freezer for up to one month. You can freeze it for up to 3 months, but the ingredients are best in the first month. Once the cooked quiche is cooled, wrap well in both plastic wrap and foil to prevent freezer burn. Or freeze individual slices in a freezer-safe airtight container. Don't forget to label them with the date.
💡Ideas for Possible Variations
- Add 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard for a deeper savory flavor.
- Sprinkle one to two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese on top before baking.
- If you like more of a cheesy flavor, you can substitute cheddar cheese for the Gruyere.
🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
You may need to bake the quiche up to 10 minutes longer, depending on your altitude. No other adjustments are necessary.
🌾 Make it Gluten Free
Use a gluten-free crust or make a crust out of hash brown potatoes.
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Classic Quiche Florentine with Fresh Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Buttery Flaky Pie Crust
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallots
- 5 ounces prewashed baby spinach
- ⅜ teaspoon kosher salt or half this amount if using sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese about 1 cup
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
- pinch ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Follow the directions in the linked recipe to make a homemade pie crust. When the dough is fitted into the pie plate you plan to use for making the quiche, line it with parchment paper, and fill it with pie weights.Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights when they cool. Reduce the oven to 350˚F.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, and add the finely chopped shallots. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.Add the spinach to the skillet. If it doesn't all fit, wait until some begin to wilt, and then add the remaining spinach. Move the spinach around to ensure it wilts fairly evenly. Transfer the spinach mixture to a colander and press down on it to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.Arrange on the parbaked pie crust.
- Grate the cheese. Sprinkle on top of the spinach mixture.
- Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, and remaining salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over the spinach and cheese. Set the quiche on a baking sheet and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until done. A knife inserted into the center of the quiche should come out clean.
Jules
I love recipes like this for the Holidays. We had overnight guest and putting this together took no time and everyone loved it.
Debi
I cheated and used store bought crust. But it was still super delicious. Quiche is great because it's both breakfast and dinner!
Sue Ringsdorf
This quiche turned out beautifully! Simple and full of flavor!
Jennifer
We've been making quiche for our holiday breakfasts for years because it so easy and hearty. I changed up the usual with this recipe and everyone was pleasantly surprised!
Kathleen
Eggs and gruyere go hand in hand! Thanks for the high altitude adjustments, great recipe!
Lynn
Made this for a weekend brunch and there were no leftovers! Delish!
Laura Ashley Johnson
This made for such an amazing brunch! Thank you for the recipe!
Janelle
I hosted a Christmas Brunch and this was a huge hit! Absolutely delicious!
Mandy
This Quiche Florentine was fantastic. Served it with some fresh fruits and it made the perfect bridal shower brunch.