Best Mini Breakfast Quiche Recipe: Can Make Ahead

This mini breakfast quiche recipe can be made ahead and frozen until serving day. The quiches (or should we call them ‘quichelettes’?)  can be filled with the ingredients that suit each individual’s tastes. In fact, a make-your-own mini-quiche bar would be simple to organize and would cater to those varying tastes.

I’m still noodling recipes for our graduation weekend.  As we are renting an Airbnb, the recipes need to be simple and easily portable; in the perfect world, I will do much of the prep work in advance, in my own kitchen.

Graduation weekend falls on the same weekend as Mother’s Day, so we will be combining all sorts of celebrations. If the events all go according to plans (yeah, I know…you don’t have to tell me), most of us will gather in the outdoor stadium early Sunday morning for the official graduation and then head back to our rented home away from home for brunch. It’s this brunch menu that I am trying to nail down now.

With a gathering of many, it is likely that there will be many different food preferences. Take asparagus, for example. I absolutely adore this springtime vegetable while my son would happily sit for a hunger strike before he would willingly partake. That’s why this mini breakfast quiche recipe is so perfect…the quiches can be easily customized to suit each preference. I am going to keep mine simple, offering asparagus, ham, onion and Gruyére cheese for the quiches.

What are some Quiche Filling Ideas?

Truly, the beauty of quiches is that with this basic quiche recipe, you can put what you want in your quiche. These are some of my favorite quiche filling ideas.

Cheese:

If it is not written in the Quiche bible somewhere, then it probably should be…you can’t have a quiche without cheese…IMHO. That being said, for my lactose intolerant friends, there are recipes that use nut milks and eggs and leave out the cheese altogether. While I think all cheeses are good cheeses, I would tend more towards the ‘drier’ cheeses over goat cheese or similar. Try some of these cheese varieties in your quiche (and don’t be afraid to use more than one type!):

• Asiago
• Cheddar
• Gruyére or Swiss
• Monterey Jack
• Fontina
• Mozzarella
• Brie
• Parmesan

Vegetables:

With the exception of spinach, I would sauté the chopped vegetables prior to adding to them to the quiche:

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Onions and Scallions
• Mushrooms
• Bell Pepper
• Spinach
• Zucchini
• Sun-dried tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, take the pulp and seeds out to reduce the moisture)

Herbs:

• Basil
• Parsley
• Thyme
• Sage

Meat:

• Cooked and crumbled bacon
• Cooked and crumbled sausage
• Diced Ham
• Crabmeat
• Diced Shrimp

If I were home, in my own kitchen; another option would be to set up a mini quiche bar so that each guest could make their own quiches with a variety of ingredients.

Set up your Make-Your-Own Mini-Quiche Bar:

• Chop and saute all of the vegetables and meats
• Grate all the cheese
• Butter all the ramekins
• Mix the egg/cream mixture and store it in a pitcher
• Make the pie crust and cut out the disks. Freeze or refrigerate until needed.
• Let each guest fill their ramekin with their choice of fillings, pour over their egg/cream mixture, top with a pastry disk and bake! By putting one or two pieces of their filling on top of the pie crust, it will be easy to tell whose quiche is whos!

Mini Quiche Recipe

Yield: 6 8-ounce mini quiches

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

These individual mini quiches can be customized. I have listed some of the quiche fillings we enjoy, but feel free to use your own.

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Ingredients

Quiche Filling

• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/3 cups heavy cream (or 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk)
• 2/3 cup diced ham or cooked and crumbled sausage or bacon
• 10 Fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces
• Medium onion, thinly sliced and cut into half-moons
• Olive oil to saute vegetables
• 1 1/4 cup grated cheese such as Gruyère, Swiss Cheese, Cheddar, Monterey Jack
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Quiche Pastry (based on Martha Stewarts Pâte Brisée Recipe)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/8 cup ice water, plus a little more as needed

Instructions

For the Pastry

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
2. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Roll dough to 1/8" thickness and using the base of your ramekin or jar, cut out 6 circles. Refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes.
5. If freezing your quiche to be baked a later time, you could also freeze the 6 disks. Just put a piece of parchment or wax paper between each disk and wrap them well in plastic.

For the Quiche Filling:

1. If you are going to be eating these immediately after preparing, then preheat your oven to 450°F
2. Butter the individual ramekins. (I used my Weck 1/5 Liter Jars)
3. Saute the vegetables in olive oil on medium heat, just until slightly softened. Don't let the onion brown.
4. Combine the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix well by hand or in a blender.
5. Put the asparagus, onions, cheese, and meat (or your substituted filling) in the buttered ramekin, to about halfway, and then pour over the egg/cream batter into each ramekin.
6. If baking now, place a chilled dough disk on top of each ramekin and place each ramekin on a baking sheet.
7. Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F, then, keeping quiche in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 10 minutes until the quiche is lightly browned on top.
8. Serve immediately
9. If freezing, cover the filled ramekins with their lids (if using Weck Jars) or with tin foil. Freeze the pastry separately. On the day you wish to serve, let the quiche come to room temperature (about 2 hours) or place in the refrigerator 24 hours before. Place a chilled disk on the thawed quiche filling and bake as instructed in item #7 above.

Notes

You can easily substitute your favorite vegetables, cheese, or meats in these mini-quiches. Here are some suggestions:

• With the exception of spinach, I would sauté chopped vegetables prior to adding to them to the quiche: asparagus, broccoli, onions and scallions, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, take the pulp and seeds out to reduce the moisture). Herbs like basil, parsley, and thyme and sage. Meats such as cooked and crumbled bacon and sausage, diced ham, crabmeat, and diced shrimp. Substitute the Gruyere with Asiago, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Fontina, Mozzarella, Brie or Parmesan

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Weck 741 - 0.25 Liter Mold Jars with Lids - 6 Rings and 12 Clamps
• 
  Cuisinart FP-11SV Elemental Food Processor, Silver
• 
  Happy Belly Nutmeg, Ground, 3.25 Ounces

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 992Total Fat: 86gSaturated Fat: 50gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 30gCholesterol: 399mgSodium: 1009mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 27g

Did you make this recipe?

It would be great if you could take a minute and leave a comment below, as well as how many stars you think it deserves. Help other readers by asking any questions you have or sharing any modifications to the recipe. I'd love to hear how you served it! If you are on Instagram, then tag @nourishandnestle on Instagram and hashtag it #nourishandnestle! Many Thanks

These individual breakfast quiches will be served with a simple green salad, these simple cheese puffs, my Vanilla Tea Cakes, and Ramos Gin Fizz for the cocktail.

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If you liked this breakfast idea, I have another savory breakfast idea that can also be made ahead, my sausage, egg, and cheese waffles!

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