Easy Kale Quiche Recipe (2024)

Savory

This quiche is loaded with kale in a buttery breadcrumb crust.

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

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Updated September 11, 2020

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Why It Works

This quiche is loaded with a full pound and a half of kale, a great way to use a large bunch.
A simple coating of butter and breadcrumbs will keep your pie from sticking to the pan, giving you a nice bit of flavorful browning around the edges.

If there's one thing I took away frommy month of veganism, it's that kale is one magnificent green. I've got a bit of a kale hoarding problem. When I see it on supermarket shelves or at the farmers' market, I instinctively grab a bunch. Sometimes I call my wife and ask her to pick up some kale on her way home, knowing full well that I'm going to be picking up another bunch myself, all while holding a perfectly usable bunch in my bag.

Having an overflow of kale is not a bad thing, but it does mean that I need to figure out where to put the stuff. This is not a problem. Marinated in salads, grilled, on pizza, braised in sandwiches, simmered in soups and stews, it's just so incredibly versatile and tasty that it's hard to think of a situation in which youwouldn'twant to use it.

Quiche is not one of those situations (that is, you wouldn't not want to use it in a quiche—you with me here?). Though a quiche really only has a few ingredients—cream, milk, eggs, pie crust—the concept can seem a bit daunting at first—a delicate custard set in a crisp, tender, and flaky pie crust is a great testing ground for perfectionist technique. And true, a really perfect quiche—one with a moist, barely-set center that jiggles gently under your fork pressure with no hint of curdling and the most delicate scent of nutmeg—is not an easy feat to accomplish.

Then again, not all skates are rollerblades, and there are times when I'm perfectly content to wheel around the block on my good old-fashioned boxy four wheelers.

Quiche at its heart is a rustic dishand for me, part of its charm lies in its imperfections. I like the little brown spots that form on the surface. I like that the edges are a little more well-done than the center, giving you some nice textural contrast from the first bite to the last. Besides, the version here is far more kale than it is quiche. A full pound and a half gets packed down into a single pie. It's a great way to stash an extra bunch when your vegetable drawer is already packed too tightly. (That should be all the time in the spring).

If you have the time and inclination, you could make a true pie crust and par-bake it in the shell (here's a great, foolproof recipe), butif quick and easy is your goal, a simple coating of butter and breadcrumbs will keep your pie from sticking to the pan, giving you a nice bit of flavorful browning around the edges.

Finally, cheese is not an absolutely necessary ingredient in a quiche, but it sure makes it taste better and it adds a few extra calories and calcium so you'll be extra energetic for the next round of hide the kale.

March 2012

Recipe Details

Easy Kale Quiche

Active20 mins

Total60 mins

Serves6to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 large bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) kale, thick stalks discarded, leaves roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
2 whole eggs
4 ouncesgrated gruyère or Comté cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 slices high-quality sandwich bread or rustic country bread, crusts removed
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add kale and press down with a metal fine-mesh strainer to submerge. Cook until barely tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Transfer kale to a colander and run under cold water until chilled. Squeeze out excess moisture then transfer kale to the center of a clean dish towel. Roll up towel to encase the kale, then twist the ends to wring out excess moisture. Transfer dried kale to a cutting board and chop into 1- to 1/2-inch pieces. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine half-and-half and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until hom*ogenous. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Add kale, cheese, and nutmeg and mix with hands to combine.
Place bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs are achieved. Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or a cast iron skillet with butter. Add bread crumbs and rotate plate while shaking to coat bottom and sides. Discard extra crumbs. Pour kale filling into prepared pie plate.
Place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until center is just barely set but still jiggles when touched, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Quiche can be served warm, at room temperature, or straight out of the fridge.

Special Equipment

Food processor, 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or cast iron skillet, rimmed baking sheet

Notes

If you have the time and inclination, you could make a true pie crust and par bake it in the shell, using this great, foolproof recipe.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
168	Calories
14g	Fat
4g	Carbs
8g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6to 8
Amount per serving
Calories	168
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g	17%
Saturated Fat 8g	41%
Cholesterol 86mg	29%
Sodium 370mg	16%
Total Carbohydrate 4g	2%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 3mg	13%
Calcium 208mg	16%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 106mg	2%
*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.)

FAQs

Should you saute veggies before adding to quiche? ›

Cook the Veggies First

"Vegetables will take longer to cook than your egg custard, so always sauté onions, steam broccoli, etc. before you add them to your egg mixture to ensure every bite of quiche will be perfectly cooked," says Kristin Beringson, executive chef at Henley in Nashville.

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Is milk better than heavy cream in quiche? ›

Heavy Cream and Milk – For the best tasting quiche, use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. (Or simply use half-and-half.) Using just heavy cream produces an overly thick filling. Whole milk is great, but a combo of heavy cream and milk is better.

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Do you have to bake crust before quiche? ›

And yes, as you'll see, you should always prebake quiche crust to avoid a gummy pastry. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

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What not to put in quiche? ›

Using too many eggs in the custard. The best quiche consists of a custard that's the perfect ratio between eggs and milk. Using too many eggs in the custard results in a quiche that rubbery and too firm when baked, while not using enough will prevent the custard from setting.

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Should quiche be cooked at 350 or 375? ›

BAKE in center of 375°F oven until center is almost set but jiggles slightly when dish is gently shaken and knife inserted near center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

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What is the milk to egg ratio for quiche? ›

Quiche Ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy

You'll need to increase the amount of eggs and milk based on the size of your quiche, so knowing the basic ratio makes it really easy to scale up or down. For a standard 9-inch quiche: Use 3 large eggs (6 ounces) 1 1/2 cups of whole milk or cream (12 ounces)

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Why is my quiche always watery? ›

Excess moisture is one reason why quiches collapse in a watery pool on your plate. Vegetables and meats like ham give off tremendous amounts of water when they're cooked. Therefore, if you're using vegetables in your quiche, it's imperative that you cook them first.

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Can I use 2% milk instead of heavy cream for quiche? ›

For gluten-free crust, try making a sweet potato crust. The Custard: For your custard to set properly in the oven, use this easy ratio: 1 part dairy to 2 parts eggs. Classic custards use heavy cream, but 2% milk contains a fraction of the saturated fat and is still plenty rich.

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Do you poke holes in pie crust for quiche? ›

Air bubbles can also lead to cracks, and cracks inevitably lead to leaks. Therefore, for a level, leak-proof crust, a perforated crust is key. If, however, the recipe you're working with has a particularly liquidy filling, poking the bottom isn't a necessary step.

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Why is my quiche sunk in the middle? ›

Underbaking the crust: If the crust is underbaked, it may not be able to support the weight of the filling and can cause the pie to sink. Using a filling that is too wet: If the filling is too wet, it may not set properly and can cause the pie to sink.

Should I egg wash the bottom pie crust? ›

You've spent time and effort putting the pastry together, so don't sell yourself short by skipping the final step—the egg wash for the pie crust. The truth is that cream and egg washes are a simple but vital step to improving the appearance and flavor of pies and other baked goods.

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Why did my quiche go flat? ›

If you've added too many eggs to liquid, you'll end up with a flat rubbery quiche. Overcooking will also give you a similar result.

How do you sauté vegetables without getting soggy? ›

You really want to use medium-high heat when sautéing veggies to keep them nice and crisp so that any water coming out of them will evaporate quickly and not make your vegetables soggy. Be patient with your veggies and try not to stir them TOO often in order for proper browning.

Should you sauté vegetables before making stock? ›

Cooking the vegetables before simmering can bring out more flavor along with additional sweetness. This can be done either by sweating or sauteing them in oil or by roasting them in a hot oven. Browning the vegetables also makes the finished stock darker.

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Do you cook vegetables before blending? ›

Step 1: Cook your produce

Before you can begin blending your puree, you need to soften any hard produce. Wash and cut up your fruits and vegetables, removing any stems, skins or inedible seeds. Steam, roast or sautee your fruits and vegetables using your preferred technique.

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Should I sauté veggies before adding to pasta sauce? ›

Dice up some vegetables and sauté them in a little oil before adding the sauce. Onions, peppers, carrots and garlic are all good, but you can throw in pretty much anything you like. The key is to have some kind of fresh vegetable to make it taste and look like fresh homemade sauce.

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