Quiche Lorraine (Failproof & Extra Savory!)

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Super easy to achieve, this quiche lorraine is made with a homemade shortcrust pastry and loaded with a savory egg custard, smoky bacon, grated gruyère and onions for extra taste. The combination of cream and milk makes it light and creamy. Coupled with green salad, this is the perfect appetizer, brunch or lunch!

What is quiche lorraine?

Quiche Lorraine is one of the most iconic French dishes, a savory pie from the Lorraine region in France. Its name quiche derives from the word “küchen” in Lorrain patois. The quiche Lorraine as we know it today appeared in the 19th century. Before then, there was no bacon instead some butter bits were spread around the quiche before baking it.

According to its tradition, today the authentic quiche Lorraine includes 3 ingredients: eggs, cream and bacon. However, you will find two regional variations: the quiche vosgienne (from the Vosges region) with cheese, and the quiche alsacienne (from the Alsace region) with onions.

Quiche Lorraine has become popular around the world so you will now find quite a few variations of it as most people like upgrading the traditional way to adapt it to their own taste.

As I grew up here in Belgium where the cuisine has many similarities with France, quiche is a very common meal that people often make at home or eat out for a quick lunch. If you receive guests, quiche or mini quiches also make a great appetizer!

What are the components of this quiche Lorraine recipe?

• Pastry – this recipe is 100% homemade so I have prepared shortcrust pastry. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and 4 basic ingredients: flour, salt, egg yolk, and butter. You could also use puff pastry which goes great with quiche as well! Personally, I love both, so I tend to alternate once in a while. But to tell you the truth, when going for puff pastry, I just buy it from my supermarket : ) Puff pastry is so time-consuming, you’d need at least 2 days off work to make it. Anyhow, to prepare it in a flash after a long day, feel free to buy the pastry. Your quiche will be done in 10 minutes and on your table 30 minutes later.
• Egg mixture – I normally use a combination of cream and milk with a smaller proportion of the latter. I find that adding a tiny bit of milk gives a lighter texture. Some will use a 50/50 ratio but personally, this is too much milk for me. I find that the quiche loses its creamy texture when incorporating so much milk. But again, this is a matter of preference.
• Bacon – I like using very thin bacon bits. As opposed to regular-sized bacon bits, they are much thinner and contain less fat. It’s not a matter of calories though, I just find those more graceful : ) But any bacon bits will do!
• Grated cheese – when including cheese, the usual pick is the French gruyère. It goes perfectly with quiche Lorraine. However, depending on where you live, this cheese may not be available. In this case, use any grated “gratin” cheese. Be aware NOT to use strong cheese such as parmesan, that would be way too empowering for a quiche Lorraine. You can either sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the egg mixture for a thin cheese or mix it in your egg mixture to integrate it into your egg custard.
• Onions – minced onions add extra taste so I tend to use onions in pretty much every type of quiche I make.
• Butter – this is optional. I like sprinkling some butter dice on the surface of the pastry just like the old way to make quiche Lorraine. In my opinion, it brings more moisture to the egg mixture.
• Salt, pepper, nutmeg – be very cautious to add a very tiny pinch of salt since the bacon is already very salty.

What to serve with?

In winter, you can serve quiche lorraine with some warm soup.

In summer, a green salad with fresh vegetables and a nice dressing is perfect to serve with!

How to prepare quiche Lorraine?

1. Make the shortcrust pastry by mixing all ingredients in an electric robot for about 5 min or until all ingredients are well combined together (alternatively, mix and knead manually for 15 min).

2. Wrap the dough with cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

3. While the dough is resting, combine all ingredients together to prepare the egg mixture.

4. Heat up a pan with 1 tsp cooking oil over medium heat. Add onion and bacon strips and cook for 3 min. Set aside.

5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and transfer it to a working surface dusted with flour. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough to prevent it from sticking. Flatten the dough using a rolling pin and roll it until you obtain a very thin layer (+/- 1mm thickness).

6. Lay some baking paper at the bottom of your mold so that the dough does not stick when removed from the mold.
7. Roll the shortcrust pastry around your rolling pin and unroll it gently over your quiche mold. Fit the dough into the mold. If using a pie mold, once the dough is in place, cut out the excess dough by rolling a rolling pin over the mold to get clean edges.

8. Poke the base of the dough with a fork.

9. Place 20g of butter (in small dice) on the shortcrust pastry surface.

10. Sprinkle bacon and onion. Then pour in the egg mixture.

11. Bake at 180°C (360 F) for 30-40 min. All ovens are different so check carefully the quiche, it could take you more or less time to cook depending on your oven. You know the quiche is ready when the egg mixture is firm (stick the tip of a small knife in) and when the top of the quiche is slightly golden brown.

Want more French recipes?

• Mandarin Chocolate Macarons
• Baked Camembert with Pear
• Salmon and Spinach Quiche