Bacon and Spinach Quiche

Easy from scratch bacon and spinach quiche recipe to make for a brunch or holiday breakfast! Or even for dinner with a light salad!

Quiche is one of my favorite egg dishes. Granted, it feels a little decadent with the pie crust and all. But, it’s sooooo yummy! And it’s even better when you add bacon. I’ve made a Bacon Quiche with Broccoli &Cheddar before. This time I paired bacon with spinach and swiss cheese. Pure heaven.

Years ago a friend of my mom’s introduced us to quiche. (I hadn’t yet made it to France.) In 1982 it was kind of a novelty at our house. Her recipe was so easy, especially since it used milk instead of cream and you could vary the ingredients to suit whatever you have in the cupboard. Here I’ve tweaked it so that you can have bacon and spinach – a delicious combination.

WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS BACON AND SPINACH QUICHE?

• Pie crust – You can use a homemade pie crust recipe or a store-bought pie crust. You will just need a single pie crust to make this bacon quiche.
• Spinach – I used frozen spinach. Spinach has a lot of water, so be sure to thaw it out and give it a good squeeze to get out the extra moisture. 
• Salt and pepper – A little seasoning of course.
• Bacon – You can’t go wrong with bacon! I used one slice of bacon, cooked and crumbled but you can always add a bit more. You can cook it in a skillet, microwave, but my favorite method is cooking bacon in the oven.
• Swiss cheese – Swiss cheese melts wonderfully.
• Flour – I use just a little to coat the cheese before adding to the quiche.
• Half and half –  You are essentially making a custard here with the milk and eggs. You can also use equal parts milk and cream.
• Eggs – Three whole large eggs is all you need for this ham quiche!

How do I make this bacon spinach quiche?

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a pie or quiche pan on a small baking sheet to make it easier to handle and to catch the drips. Lay the prepared pie crust into the quiche pan and trim the edges.
• Layer the spinach in the bottom of the prepared pan. Combine the cheese with the flour in a small dish and toss to coat. Sprinkle this over the spinach Sprinkle the bacon over the cheese.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the fillings in the pie shell.
• Bake the quiche for 30 to 40 minutes or until set and golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Can I use a different cheese?

You can definitely use another cheese like cheddar, pepperjack, or gruyere. 

What if I don’t have half and half?

Half and half is basically equal parts cream and whole milk. So if you don’t have any, just swap it out and use equal parts cream and milk.  

Can I freeze this bacon and spinach quiche?

Recently I made several of these to freeze unbaked. It’s a little tricky as you want to get the pie in the freezer so that it can lie flat until it freezes solid. Then rewrap it more tightly and return to the freezer.

I like to wrap with foil and then place in a freezer bag. To bake after freezing, thaw completely and then bake according to directions below.

HOW I MAKE THIS GOOD:

Whenever possible I like to cook with plain old ingredients. While the convenience of mixes and canned sauces is nice, I feel better about feeding my family just real food whenever possible. (Go here for some of my reasons on all that.)

For this particular dish, the only “processed” item is the bacon. Read labels and find the best quality bacon to fit your budget. All the other ingredients in this Bacon Quiche are just regular foods: broccoli, cheddar, eggs, flour, butter, half-and-half (aka cream and milk). In other words, if you were Ma Ingalls, you could grow, harvest, or make any of these ingredients yourself.

HOW I MAKE THIS CHEAP:

Quiche is not something we would call a “cheap food”, at least not with bacon and cream and butter, items that at full price cost a pretty penny. There are some strategies, however, to make this Bacon Quiche recipe a verified good cheap eat.

• Do a price comparison. I know that Costco is the best place to buy ingredients like eggs and butter when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where.
• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on eggs, I buy a lot. This often happens at Ralphs where I’ll find organic eggs marked down for less than $2. I recently found Applegate uncured bacon on manager’s special. I loaded up my freezer with all that was there.
• Use a lower priced alternative. Cream is generally more expensive than half and half. Using half and half instead reduces the price of the dish.

TOOLS I USE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE EASY:

This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment. However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.

• plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
• Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
• large skillet with lid – I have two of these since I love this model so much.
• Pyrex measure bowl – Great for measuring and mixing in one spot.
• whisk – Get one with a sealed barrel so you can’t throw it in the dishwasher.
• pie plate – I love this USA pan; the quiche practically jumps out of the pan onto your plate.

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5 from 1 vote

Bacon and Spinach Quiche

Quiche is a welcome entree morning, noon, and night. This Bacon and Spinach Quiche is full of flavor and very freezer-friendly.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: American, French

Servings: 8

Calories: 220kcal

Author: Jessica Fisher

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 round single pie crust unbaked
• ▢ 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
• ▢ 4 oz Swiss cheese (shredded) (1 cup)
• ▢ 2 tbsp unbleached, all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 slice bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
• ▢ 3 egg
• ▢ 1 1/2 cup half and half
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a pie or quiche pan on a small baking sheet to make it easier to handle and to catch the drips. Lay the prepared pie crust into the quiche pan and trim the edges.
• Layer the spinach in the bottom of the prepared pan. Combine the cheese with the flour in a small dish and toss to coat. Sprinkle this over the spinach Sprinkle the bacon over the cheese.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the fillings in the pie shell.
• Bake the quiche for 30 to 40 minutes or until set and golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Notes

To make as a freezer meal: Assemble the quiche and place the unbaked quiche on a level shelf in the freezer until frozen solid. Wrap well and label.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unwrap the frozen quiche and place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills. Do not thaw. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1424IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 1mg

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