Quiche Lorraine

Name: Quiche Lorraine
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6 to 10 servings
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: Pastry for a one-crust 9-inch pie (see pastry recipe); 4 strips bacon; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 1 cup Gruyère or Swiss cheese, cubed; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan; 4 eggs, lightly beaten; 2 cups heavy cream or 1 cup each milk and cream; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; Tabasco sauce to taste

By Craig Claiborne

Updated Feb. 3, 2025

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Rating: 5(4,429)
Comments: Read comments

The first quiche to come to the attention of the American public was the quiche Lorraine in the 1950s. Craig Claiborne, who started as food editor of The Times in 1957, created this classic recipe with bacon, onion and cheese to fill a pie dish. If you use a tart pan, expect to have extra custard.

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:6 to 10 servings

Pastry for a one-crust 9-inch pie (see pastry recipe)
4strips bacon
1onion, thinly sliced
1cup Gruyère or Swiss cheese, cubed
¼cup grated Parmesan
4eggs, lightly beaten
2cups heavy cream or 1 cup each milk and cream
¼teaspoon nutmeg
½teaspoon salt
¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Tabasco sauce to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step 2
Line a nine-inch pie plate with the pastry. By all means build a rim with the pastry and flute it. This is essential for the amount of custard indicated in this recipe.
Step 3
Cover the bottom of the pastry with a round of parchment paper and add enough dried beans or peas to partly fill the shell. Bake 10 minutes.
Step 4
Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Remove and discard the beans and parchment paper and set the pastry-lined pie plate aside.
Step 5
Cook the bacon until crisp and remove it from skillet. Pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat remaining in the skillet. Cook the onion in the remaining fat until the onion is transparent.
Step 6
Combine the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle the bacon, onion and cheeses over the inside of the partly baked pastry.
Step 7
Strain the cream mixture over the onion-cheese mixture. Slide the pie onto a baking sheet.
Step 8
Bake the pie until a knife inserted one inch from the pastry edge comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Let stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

FAQS

In its most traditional French form, a quiche is composed of a buttery crust filled with a savory egg custard. The pastry is known as pâte brisée. Fillings can include any combination of cheese, herbs, vegetables and smoked meat or fish.
Quiche tastes best when served after 20 to 30 minutes of cooling and within an hour of baking. It can be completely cooled, then covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days, but the crust will get soggy. It's better to keep a fully baked quiche at room temperature for up to 6 hours and then reheat it, uncovered, in a 300-degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes. (If it has been in the refrigerator, add another 10 minutes or so.) You also can prepare the dough up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it or par-bake the crust up to a day in advance and keep it at room temperature.

Ratings

5 out of 5

4,429 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Travis Creston7 years ago

Something that really helps prevent soggy bottoms: after taking any pie crust out of the oven once you blind bake it, remove the beans or pie weights & parchment, paint the bottom with egg white & place back in the oven for a good five minutes or so. The EW will crisp up & create a nice barrier to prevent a soggy bottom! Works every time.

Mike Haller7 years ago

FYI I'm a real greenhorn but my experience on my second try w this:
1. Used a prefab 9" frozen crust.
2. Cut up a large onion used about 3/4 of it.
3. Cut gruyere into very small cubes.
4. Used 3 eggs and 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
5. Put extra leftover cooked onions on top of custard before baking.
6. Baked for 35 min at 400 (elec oven)
I'd love to post a pic. Wish I could.
NYT Cooking is helping me learn cooking at age 71. THANKS.

Kristin PC7 years ago

Flavors were great, but I had a few baking issues. I'd make it again with these adjustments:

ISSUE: The bottom of the finished quiche was VERY soggy. A good bit of liquid actually seeped through the crust onto the baking sheet.
FIX: After the 10 minute par-bake, remove weights and parchment. Continue to par-bake for 6-8 more minutes. Before adding ingredients and egg mix, protect the edge of the crust with foil strips.

ISSUE: Under baked.
FIX: Cook for 28-30 minutes.

Tim W3 weeks ago

I be don’t understand why this recipe has as many stars as it does. While I enjoyed making the dough, the filling was disappointing. The cheese overwhelmed the dish and kept the custard out of the spotlight. I prefer more custard in a quiche than this recipe produces.

Tim W3 weeks ago

@Tim W I don’t know where the “be” after the “I” came from in my sentence. Unfortunately, I can’t edit it away.

Sue Bell1 month ago

This is my go to quiche recipe. It’s creamy and delicious every time.

jon1 month ago

An odd way to do cheese measurements. I am use to amounts in ounces.

Private comments are only visible to you.