Spinach quiche

Spinach quiche

1 h
Spinach quiche with cottage cheese is great for many occasions. It may be enjoyed warm for lunch and dinner or served cool at picnics and potlucks. Its versatile and tasty nature makes it a great summer dish. The fact that its satisfying filling is rich without being heavy makes it well-suited to the warmer months. Encased in a crumbly crust, seasoned with warm nutmeg and black pepper, and topped with rich grated cheese, this egg and spinach quiche is well worth a try if you are in the mood for a classic open-faced pie like this one.
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Instructions

Crust:
  • Mix graham and wheat flour and crumble the butter into the flour mixture.
  • Combine the dough lightly with water – the consistency should still be a little porous.
  • Press the dough into a pie dish (22 cm) and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 225°C (convection oven).
  • Pre-bake the crust in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Turn the oven down to 175°C (convection oven).
Filling
  • While the crust is pre-baking, mix cottage cheese, shredded cheese (save half to use as topping), and eggs.
  • Squeeze the spinach to remove moisture and add it to the egg mixture along with the seasonings.
  • Transfer the filling to the pre-baked crust, top with the remaining cheese, and bake the quiche in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes.
Recommended information

Serving suggestion

Couscous salad
30 min
Couscous salad
(0)
Enjoy!
Tips

To make an easy spinach quiche with a crust that is flaky and crispy and provides a nice contrast to the filling, you might need a few tips.

Tips

First, do not overwork the dough. Be gentle with it as handling it too much can result in a tough and dense crust. Use cold butter and combine the dough quickly by adding a bit of water at a time. Remember to allow it to chill for at least 30 minutes before you pre-bake it.

Tips

Before pre-baking it, use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust several times to prevent air bubbles from forming. This ensures a more level crust that bakes evenly. If you want to, you can place a sheet of parchment paper over the crust and fill it with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice to help weigh down the crust and prevent it from puffing up during pre-baking. Bake the crust in a preheated oven until it is lightly golden and set.

Tips

Let the crust cool before adding the filling to prevent the quiche from becoming watery. If you add the filling to a hot or warm crust, the heat can cause the moisture in the filling to evaporate and create steam, which can make the filling more liquid and difficult to set properly.

Questions about spinach quiche

With an easy-to-follow recipe for spinach quiche with cottage cheese like this one, making the perfect picnic meal is quite simple. To learn more about it, continue reading down below about this French-inspired delicacy.

How to make spinach quiche?
A tasty spinach quiche may just be one of the most perfect picnic picks! To cook one at home, start by making the crust. Crumble the butter into the flour mix before combining the dough gently with a bit of water. Press it into a pie dish to create an even crust. Chill for at least 30 minutes before pre-baking it. As it cooks and then cools, prepare the filling by mixing cottage cheese, half of the shredded cheese, and the eggs. Add the squeezed spinach to the filling and season before pouring it into the golden crust. Bake the spinach quiche for half an hour.
Can you freeze spinach quiche?
Yes, spinach quiche can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Allow your leftovers to cool completely before wrapping them tightly in cling film or aluminium foil and placing them in a freezer-safe bag or container. When you are ready to enjoy the rest, thaw it in the fridge overnight. Preheat the oven to 175°C (conventional oven) and reheat the quiche for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Note that a cheese and spinach quiche may become slightly softer and lose some of its original texture due to the moisture that is released during the freezing and thawing process.
What to serve with spinach quiche?
A light and refreshing salad with wonderful summer-ripened produce is a great companion to a rich and savoury spinach quiche. Toss together your favourite vegetables and dress with a simple but flavourful vinaigrette. Another good option is crusty bread such as baguette or sourdough bread. Bread types like these will create a great textural contrast to the tender filling. The great thing about all these side dishes is that they, just like the spinach quiche itself, are very picnic friendly since they are easy to transport and can be served at varying temperatures.
How to make spinach quiche with fresh spinach?
To make fresh spinach quiche rather than using frozen spinach, you will need to cook the leafy greens until wilted and tender before adding them to the filling. Fresh spinach contains a lot of water, and if added raw to the quiche, it can release too much liquid and make the filling watery as the fresh spinach quiche cooks. Cooking and chopping the leafy greens beforehand makes it easier for you to cook a light and fluffy quiche that is not watery. The only other difference between using the fresh or frozen variety is that, as the fresh wilts, you may need about 100 g more fresh spinach than frozen.
Why is my spinach quiche watery?
One reason your cheesy spinach quiche might be watery is the moisture in the spinach. As it naturally contains a lot of water, it can release quite a lot of moisture as it cooks. To prevent this, be sure to squeeze out any excess moisture before adding it to the filling. Another culprit might be the crust. If it is underbaked or the filling is added to a hot crust, it cannot hold the filling well due to the steam that is created. This may lead to the filling leaking out. To avoid this, pre-bake your crust before adding the filling as suggested, and make sure it is lightly golden and crispy before chilling it and adding the filling for the final bake.

Ingredients

Crust:
Graham flour (approx. 225 ml)
125 g
Wheat flour (approx. 2¼ dl)
125 g
Butter
150 g
Water
2½ tbsp
Filling
Cottage cheese, 4%
200 g
Grated cheddar and maasdam cheese
100 g
Eggs
3
Frozen whole-leaf spinach, thawed
500 g
Coarse salt
1 tsp
Grated nutmeg
1 tsp
Freshly churned pepper
¼ tsp
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Delicious spinach quiche with cottage cheese

Spinach quiche is a classic dish that never gets old! The savoury filling with sweet, earthy spinach has a rich, complex, and well-rounded flavour profile. Paired with a buttery crust, you get a great combination of flavours as well as textures, ranging from the tender filling to the delicate crust, which is both flaky and crispy.

Using a mix of regular wheat flour and graham flour serves to make a spinach quiche with a crust that is both crispy and flavourful. The graham flour has a slightly sweet and nutty flavour that complements the flavours of the filling wonderfully and highlights its taste of umami. This special type of flour also gives the crust a beautiful golden-brown colour that makes this spinach quiche with cottage cheese stand out among its peers.

Classic egg and cheese filling with warm nutmeg

A classic French quiche is made with a scrumptious savoury custard with eggs and cheese. Normally milk and/or cream would also be used but in our spin on the classic, we have opted instead for cottage cheese. This gives the filling a fresher-tasting flavour with more salty undertones. These notes as well as the fresh cheese's slight tanginess help enhance the flavour of the delicate spinach.

The best spinach quiche filling must of course be well-seasoned, and this includes more than simply salt and pepper. Nutmeg is a common ingredient in quiche fillings but that does not make it any less special. It is a versatile spice that can add a wonderful warmth and slightly sweet flavour to any filling. In our case, it complements the richness of the cheese and eggs and serves to enhance their savouriness to create an incredibly tasty spinach and cottage cheese quiche.

Perfect for a summer picnic or as an easy dinner option

A quiche with cottage cheese and spinach for lunch or dinner is sure to leave you full and satisfied. Whether you serve it with great sides like salads, roasted vegetables, or crusty bread, it makes for a filling, savoury meal. Since it may be enjoyed cold as well as warm, it works incredibly well as part of a tasty picnic spread with other light summer dishes that may be served at different temperatures. For ease, you can even prepare it the day before and bring it with you to a nearby park in your most idyllic wicker basket.

In case our easy spinach quiche with cottage cheese has inspired you to create a delectable picnic spread, you should have a look at some of our other great picnic recipes for chicken sandwiches, cheese tartlets, and savoury olive bread as well.

Try a spinach quiche with bacon

One of the most popular variations is to make a spinach quiche with bacon. Bacon infuses the dish with a lot of great additional umami flavours ranging from salty to smoky. These savoury flavours pair well with the rich egg and cheese filling as it serves to enhance its natural savouriness. The salty addition also heightens the overall flavour profile of the filling by offsetting the natural sweetness of the leafy greens.

For a heartier version of this spinach quiche with bacon, try adding your favourite mushrooms as well. The meaty and earthy mushroom flavour pairs nicely with the smoky and salty flavour of bacon. If the bacon is especially salty, mushrooms like shiitake, cremini, button and/or oyster mushrooms may serve to balance this saltiness to create a well-rounded mushroom and spinach quiche with bacon. Remember to cook your mushrooms of choice well before adding them to the filling so they do not release their liquids and make the quiche runny.

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