Spinach and Artichoke Quiche

Spinach and artichoke quiche! With chopped spinach and artichokes hearts, shallots, goat cheese, green onions, eggs, and cream. Perfect for a Sunday brunch!

Spinach Artichoke Quiche
Elise Bauer

The trees outside my bedroom window decided to leaf out this week, signaling that spring is in full bloom here. A week ago all I could see was filaments of grey and brown, and now the view is awash in the bright lime green of budding leaves.

Here's a quiche to celebrate the green of spring, with spinach, artichokes, shallots, and goat cheese. So good!

Spinach Artichoke Quiche
Elise Bauer

I have a couple insights to share regarding making quiche.

The first is that even though every proper quiche recipe recommends that you pre-bake or "blind bake" the crust, I haven't found it necessary. I use a frozen crust (I make my own, but you can easily use store-bought) because it holds its shape better when you bake the quiche in it.

Spinach Artichoke Quiche
Elise Bauer

The second insight has to do with a homemade crust for quiche. The trick to a perfect pastry crust for this quiche is just to make sure you have enough fat in the dough. A ratio of a 1/2 cup of butter for every 1 cup of flour is perfect.

No need to chill the butter or the water. No need for any gadgets, you can easily make the dough using your hands and a bowl.

The classic egg to liquid ratio for quiche is 1 egg for every half cup of cream or milk. In this quiche because it's so packed with spinach and artichokes, I've added another egg for more structure. Even with that extra egg, the quiche just holds together.

Enjoy!

Spinach and Artichoke Quiche

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Making Homemade Crust 2 hrs
Total Time 3 hrs
Servings 6 to 8 servings

We give instructions for making your own crust from scratch. You can also easily use a frozen pie shell, just keep it frozen, do not defrost.

We use goat cheese in this recipe. You could easily sub with grated Gruyere or Monterey jack.

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, 8 tablespoons) butter

  • 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons water

Quiche:

  • 1/2 cup, packed, finely chopped artichoke hearts (cooked fresh or canned artichoke hearts packed in water)

  • 6 ounces cooked spinach (if using frozen, thaw first), squeezed to remove excess water (wrap in clean tea towel or several layers of paper towels and squeeze), finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • 1/2 cup minced shallots

  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

  • 4 large eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 4 ounces goat cheese

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons minced chives or green onion greens

Method

1a Make the dough for the quiche crust:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Cut the butter into cubes and use your (clean) hands to work the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that looks like a coarse meal with pieces of butter no bigger than a pea.

Sprinkle water onto the flour mixture a little at a time, and work the dough with your hands until the dough can be formed into a ball.

Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.

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Elise Bauer
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Elise Bauer
1b Roll out the dough:

When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the disk from the refrigerator and let come to room temp for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a diameter 2 inches wider than your pan (I used a 9-inch pie pan). Drape the rolled out dough over the pie or tart pan and press the dough into the sides of the pan. Trim and crimp the edges.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

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Elise Bauer
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Elise Bauer
  1. (Optional) Pre-bake the crust:

    At this point, if you want, you can "blind bake" or pre-bake the crust. Pre-baking the crust will ensure that the bottom crust is browned and won't get soggy. I often skip this step and find that although the bottom crust might not get browned, it's usually perfectly palatable.

    To pre-bake a store-bought crust, just follow the directions on the crust package.

    To pre-bake the homemade crust in this recipe, line the inside with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights such as beans. The foil and the pie weights will help keep the sides of the crust from sliding down as it bakes.

    Bake for 15 minutes at 375°F, then remove the foil and weights, prick the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork , and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool down a bit before filling with the quiche custard filling.

  2. Cook the shallots:

    Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add the minced shallots and cook 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Remove from heat.

    spinach-artichoke-quiche-method-600-5
    Elise Bauer
  3. Prepare the filling:

    Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the goat cheese and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the milk, cream, salt, pepper, chopped spinach, chopped artichokes, the cooked shallots, lemon zest, and the chives.

    spinach-artichoke-quiche-method-600-6
    Elise Bauer
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    Elise Bauer
  4. Bake the quiche:

    Pour filling into the frozen pie crust. (If you are using a tart pan with a removable bottom, you may want to put the pan on a foil lined or rimmed sheet pan.)

    Place in oven. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and cook for 30 minutes, or until the center of the quiche has set.

    spinach-artichoke-quiche-method-600-8
    Elise Bauer
  5. Let cool before serving:

    Remove from oven and let sit and cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
329 Calories
25g Fat
18g Carbs
10g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 329
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 31%
Saturated Fat 15g 75%
Cholesterol 153mg 51%
Sodium 691mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 18g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 5mg 24%
Calcium 123mg 9%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 282mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.