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This super easy ham and cheese quiche recipe is loaded with juicy bites of ham, fluffy eggs, and two types of melty cheese in a flaky homemade crust. It’s ready for the oven in 30 minutes! Speed things up even more with a store-bought crust, I won’t tell. 😉
If you love classic Quiche Lorraine, I have zero doubts you’ll love this ham and cheese quiche! You might also like this vegetarian spinach quiche and these cheesy quiche muffins packed with hearty quinoa.
I feel like breakfast is an overlooked meal during the holiday season. I guess it’s easy to be eclipsed by a Christmas pork shoulder or holiday turkey, but still. After all the hustle and bustle of hosting dinners, I love nothing more than a breakfast recipe that one, I can prep with minimal brainpower (lol) and two, uses up leftovers! This ham and cheese quiche is a firm favorite. I make it often, but especially after cooking a holiday ham. It’s thick and creamy, packed with smoky flavor and plenty of melted cheese.
Things to Love About This Ham and Cheese Quiche Recipe
- Quick and easy. This ham and cheese quiche is ready for the oven in 30 minutes, even sooner if you use a store-bought pie crust.
- Extra creamy. The perfect quiche isn’t eggy or watery, with a rich, creamy filling that holds up against add-ins like ham and cheese. I’m sharing all my tried-and-tested tricks for the BEST quiche, and you can apply them to just about any recipe.
- Flexible. I meant it when I said this cheese and ham quiche is great for using up leftovers! Adapt the recipe with bacon, veggies, different cheese, and other ingredients you have in the fridge. It’s very easy to customize.
Quiche Ingredients
Below are some notes on the ingredients that go into my ham and cheese quiche. You’ll find a printable list with the full recipe details in the recipe card after the post.
- Crust – This quiche recipe calls for a pastry crust. I use my easy 3-ingredient homemade pie crust made from flour, cold butter, and a splash of ice water. If you’re pressed for time, a refrigerated crust from the store works, too.
- Eggs – You can’t make a quiche without them!
- Heavy Cream – You could also use whole milk.
- Cream Cheese – I love adding a couple of spoonfuls of cream cheese to the quiche filling, for extra richness and flavor. You could also use ricotta, mascarpone, cottage cheese, or sour cream.
- Seasoning – Garlic powder and onion powder, plus salt and pepper.
- Cheese – I use a combination of freshly grated cheddar and Edam, a type of Dutch cheese. If you can’t find Edam cheese, Gouda or Fontina are good substitutes. You could also grate extra cheddar.
- Ham – Feel free to chop up any cooked ham you have on hand (in my house, quiche is a great way to use up leftover holiday glazed ham).
How to Make Ham and Cheese Quiche
Quiche is one of the easiest brunch dishes you can make, whether you’re using homemade or store-bought pastry for the crust. Follow the steps for this ham and cheese quiche here:
First, Prepare the Crust
Homemade pie crust is actually super simple. The mantra when making a pastry crust from scratch is, keep it cold. Use cold ingredients, and chill the dough well before you bake it. Here’s how to do it:
- Mix the dough. You’ll start by cutting cold butter into flour and kneading to bring the dough together. The goal is a smooth dough with a few butter specks still visible.
- Chill. Afterward, shape the pie dough into a disc, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Shape and bake the crust. Now, roll out and press the dough into a 9” pie plate or quiche pan. Fill the pie crust with baking beads and blind bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes.
Next, Make the Quiche
Now, let the crust cool slightly while you whip up the egg filling before assembling your quiche:
- Mix the filling. Whisk the eggs with heavy cream, cream cheese, salt, and black pepper.
- Fill the crust. Sprinkle both cheeses into the crust, followed by the chopped ham. Finally, pour over the egg mixture.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Afterward, bake the quiche for 40 minutes. It should be set in the center when it comes out of the oven. Move your baked ham and cheese quiche to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for the Perfect Quiche
- Work in the butter. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, fork, or your (clean) fingertips. You can also speed things up by using a food processor to pulse the ingredients together. Just be careful not to overblend.
- Blind bake the crust. Don’t skip this step! Line the unbaked crust with parchment paper and fill it with baking beads first, to prevent the pastry from puffing up. If you don’t have baking beads, no sweat. Use rice or dry beans instead!
- Chill the dough. If you don’t chill the crust before you add it to the pie plate, I recommend chilling the dough for 15 minutes before baking. It keeps the sides of the crust from collapsing.
- Cheese first, then filling. There’s a reason we add the shredded cheese to the warm crust first. Doing so creates a light coating and acts as a buffer between the eggs and the pastry. Combined with blind-baking, this is extra insurance against a soggy crust!
- Avoid overbaking. Overcooked quiche will be eggy and crumbly rather than smooth and creamy. Quiche is done when it’s set in the middle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You should always blind-bake the pastry crust when making a quiche. This avoids a soggy, gummy crust once the filling gets added.
There are a couple of reasons why quiche turns out watery. Firstly, it just may need more time to set up fully (make sure to cool the quiche completely to room temperature). Secondly, it could be a matter of adding too much liquid, or the ingredients releasing excess liquid while they cook.
Too much moisture can cause quiche filling to sink. Ham releases excess water as it cooks, so make sure you’re using fully pre-cooked ham for best results.
Easy Variations
- Different cheese. Feel free to use any cheese you’d like. Good options are Gouda, Gruyere, parmesan, Swiss cheese, Colby Jack, or Pepper Jack for a little spice.
- Add greens. I love adding leftover chopped broccoli or asparagus tips when I have them in the fridge. You can also add greens like kale, or spinach for a ham and cheese spinach quiche. Make sure to pre-cook any vegetables before you add them to the quiche.
- Go crustless. Skip the crust and grease the pie plate or quiche pan well with butter or cooking spray before you add the filling. The baking time might be slightly less for a crustless ham and cheese quiche, so I’d check it at 35 minutes to be on the safe side.
- Egg whites only. To make quiche with egg whites, you’ll need to substitute 2 egg whites for every 1 whole egg (so for the 4 large eggs in this recipe, that’s 8 egg whites). You might also like this egg white frittata.
Serving Suggestions
Ham and cheese quiche is such a treat for a holiday brunch. I whip up a festive-sized pitcher of mimosas and serve this quiche alongside a big platter of French toast or cornbread pancakes. Or, go all-savory with savory French toast and cheesy hash browns, and sweeten things up with a cinnamon dolce latte.
I also love enjoying a slice of quiche for lunch with a salad with orzo and feta or walnut chicken salad on the side. I’ll often dollop my ham and cheese quiche with sour cream or plain yogurt, or top it with ajvar (Macedonian red pepper relish).
Storing and Reheating Quiche
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover ham and cheese quiche covered tightly in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat. Warm the quiche in the oven at 350ºF until it’s hot throughout. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
- Freeze. Quiche freezes well for up to 3 months. Store it whole or in slices in an airtight container. Thaw the quiche in the fridge before reheating.
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Ham and Cheese Quiche
Ingredients
For the Crust
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 1½ teaspoons ice cold water
For the Filling
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Edam cheese
- 1 cup diced ham
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Crust
- Prepare the dough. Add flour and butter to a bowl. Work the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or with clean fingertips until you have coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water and knead the dough until it comes together. You will want to see some butter specks in your dough.
- Chill the dough. Shape the dough into a flat disc and wrap it using plastic wrapping foil. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a crust. place the dough onto a lightly floured kitchen counter. Roll out the dough slightly larger than your 9-inch pie dish around 11 inches. Gently transfer the dough into the pie/quiche pan. Gently press the dough into the edges of the pie/quiche dish and patch the edges if needed.
- Bake the crust. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Add a piece of parchment paper over the quiche crust, then fill with baking beads. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
For the Filling
- Prep. Make sure your oven is heated to 375ºF.
- Make the filling. Whisk eggs, heavy cream, and cream cheese in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Fill your quiche crust. Add your cheddar and Edam cheese into the still slightly warm quiche crust, followed by chopped ham. Pour the egg mixture over the ham and cheese.
- Bake. Bake the quiche for 40 minutes or until the center is set.
- Cool and serve. Cool the baked quiche on a wire rack to room temperature. Slice the ham and cheese quiche and serve.
Equipment
Notes
- Work in the butter: You can work the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, fork, or clean fingertips. You can also use a food processor and work the butter into the flour with a few short blitzes.
- Blind baking: Blind baking is recommended every time you have an unbaked filling. If you do not have baking beads, you can use rice or beans.
- Chilling the dough: The dough should be chilled before shaping it into the crust. If this process takes some time for you, I recommend that you chill the dough for an additional 15 minutes before baking. This will prevent the sides from collapsing.
- For the filling: Adding cheese over the warm crust will make a gentle coating so the eggs will not make the pastry soggy. You can choose any cheese you like.
- Add veggies: If you want to add some greens, small broccoli florets or asparagus tips are great options.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
