Rich and creamy with fresh spinach, crisp bacon, and sliced cherry tomatoes, this recipe for Spinach Bacon Quiche with Tomatoes is quick, easy, and delicious.
The book, Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche, which was popular in the 80s, helped to popularize quiche in this country. Before the book, quiche was relatively unknown and not a familiar dish on American tables.
Why quiche is a perfect dish:
- Quiche is versatile; you can add just about any veggie, meat, or cheese you like.
- It’s delicious whether served hot or cold, and it’s relatively healthy and low in calories.
- Quiche can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Quiche is a home run in my book, and, in case you are wondering, yes, “real men do eat quiche”!
Where did quiche originate?
According to the Website Food References, “Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is from the German ‘Kuchen,’ meaning cake.”
Here’s what’s in it:
Full of protein, quiche is a savory dish with milk or cream, eggs, cheese, meat, and or vegetables cooked in a pie crust.
Cheeses:
If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know I love cheese. In fact, “the cheesier, the better” is my motto.
I used a combination of gruyere and swiss cheese in this recipe because it’s what I had on hand. You could just as easily use all gruyere or all swiss. Manchego, cheddar, or fontina would be delicious as well. Use what cheese you have on hand or what you like.
Whole Milk, Heavy Cream, or Half-and-Half:
Honestly, all are delicious! I have made quiches with all three, and the only difference is the consistency and, of course, the calories. Half-and-half is what I used in this recipe, and it was a little lighter than the quiches I make with heavy cream.
Again, use what you have on hand. I have never tried skim or low-fat milk, but if you decide to go this route, be sure to drop me a comment and let me know what you think.
Vegetables:
I used fresh baby spinach and sliced cherry tomatoes in this quiche recipe because I wanted to ramp up the nutritional value. It also makes it colorful. The saying that “we eat with our eyes” couldn’t be more accurate.
The red tomatoes and green spinach make each slice a kaleidoscope of color and very appealing. Of course, you can easily substitute broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, caramelized onions, etc.; you can see where I’m going with this.
Meats:
Crisp, smoky bacon is my meat of choice for this recipe. It is called Spinach Bacon Quiche for a reason! But again, feel free to substitute ham, Canadian bacon, or sausage.
Pie Crusts:
I have made plenty of pie crusts in my day, but now I almost always use frozen pie crusts. If you are a baker, feel free to make your own. I also like to partially prebake the pie crusts for quiches and think that the bottom crust stays flakier.
However, plenty of quiche recipes call for just adding the ingredients to an unbaked crust. So again, try either way and see which approach works best for you.
How to make it:
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F.
Blind bake the pie crust 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Combine the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt in a medium-size bowl and whisk well. Set aside.
Place the chopped spinach and shredded cheese in the pie crust. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle the sliced tomatoes over the top.
Carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach, cheese, and tomatoes. You may have a small amount leftover.
Top with the crumbled bacon.
Place the quiche on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is puffed and set.
When the quiche is done, place it on a wire rack to cool briefly. Cut into wedges and serve.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
I usually slice the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle a little salt over them, and then place on a paper towel to drain off any excess liquid before adding them to the quiche.
For a light lunch or dinner, serve your quiche with a simple side salad or fruit salad.
Check your quiche at about 20 minutes to make sure the crust isn’t getting too brown. If it is, cover the edges loosely with a small piece of foil.
To make ahead, cook the quiche as directed, cool completely, cover, and refrigerate. When reheating, loosely cover with foil and heat in a 325-degree oven for about 20 minutes.
To freeze, cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Allow the quiche to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as directed above.
For the best results, before prebaking the crust, place a round piece of parchment paper over the bottom and add pie weights, dry rice, or dried beans to cover. Remove after baking. Or, before cooking, generously prick the bottom and sides of the dough to keep it from puffing up as it bakes.
More quiche recipes:
You can guess that as much as I have raved about quiches, I would have several on my website. Check out these popular recipes:
Foolproof and Flavorful Ham and Cheese Quiche
Roasted Tomato Quiche with Goat Cheese, and
Canadian Bacon and Brie Crustless Quiche.
My Loaded Cast Iron Breakfast Skillet and Easy Broccoli Mushroom Frittata made with eggs are also good “quiche-like” choices. Need more breakfast ideas? Check out all of my breakfast recipes here.
★ If you make this dish, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
Spinach Bacon Quiche with Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust frozen, deep dish (9-inch)
- 2 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere or Swiss Cheese
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach stems removed and chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes sliced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups half-and-half
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Pie Crust Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F.
- Blind bake the pie crust 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let cool for a few minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Quiche Filling Directions
- Combine the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt in a medium-size bowl and whisk well. Set aside.
- Place the chopped spinach and shredded cheese in the pie crust. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle the sliced tomatoes over the top.
- Carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach, cheese, and tomatoes. You may have a small amount leftover.
- Top with the crumbled bacon.
- Place the quiche on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is puffed and set.
- When the quiche is done, place it on a wire rack to cool briefly. Cut into wedges and serve.
Notes
- I usually slice the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle a little salt over them, and then place on a paper towel to drain off any excess liquid before adding them to the quiche.
- For a light lunch or dinner, serve quiche with a simple side salad or fruit salad.
- Check your quiche at about 20 minutes to make sure the crust isn't getting too brown. If it is, cover the edges loosely with a small piece of foil.
- To make ahead, cook the quiche as directed, cool completely, cover, and refrigerate. When reheating, loosely cover with foil and heat in a 325-degree oven for about 20 minutes. To freeze, cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Allow the quiche to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as directed above.
- For the best results, before prebaking the crust, place a round piece of parchment paper over the bottom and add pie weights, dry rice, or dried beans to cover. Remove after baking. Or, before cooking, generously prick the bottom and sides of the dough to keep it from puffing up as it bakes.
It was delicious!!!!! I have a quiche that I have used for years, both of us said we liked that one and the change ups but this one was somewhat different and we like it just as much. Plus it felt healthier with the spinach and tomatoes. Great recipe and your most recent post sounds really good too.
Carolyn
This will be our dinner tonight, it sounds delicious. WEH even saved your column for me on my island. He didn’t want me to forget. I think it sounded good to him too.
Carolyn