Savory Egg Tart

Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche: Your Go-To 7-Ingredient Recipe for Any Meal

Savory ham, fluffy eggs, fresh green onions, and a generous blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheese all come together in this incredibly quick and easy 7-ingredient quiche recipe! This delightful dish is perfect for a comforting breakfast, a leisurely brunch, or even a light and satisfying dinner, promising a flavorful experience with minimal fuss.

slice of Quiche with ham, cheese, and green onions

Why This Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche Recipe Works Wonders


Quiche is a classic egg-based dish, traditionally baked in a pie crust and cherished as a versatile meal, ideal for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even a simple supper. Its adaptability truly shines, allowing for a wide array of fillings from crisp vegetables to succulent meats and fresh seafood. What makes this particular ham and cheese quiche recipe stand out is its incredible simplicity and irresistible flavor profile. We’ve streamlined the process down to just 7 essential ingredients, proving that extraordinary taste doesn’t require an extensive ingredient list or complex techniques. This recipe focuses on delivering maximum flavor with minimal fuss, making it perfect for busy mornings or when you need a quick yet impressive dish that everyone will love.

In this straightforward quiche recipe, we combine a harmonious blend of diced savory ham, fresh green onions, fluffy eggs, rich milk, and a generous medley of both mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. These delectable components are carefully layered inside a convenient deep-dish pie crust, creating a beautiful symphony of flavors and textures. As it bakes, the quiche magically puffs up, transforming into a gorgeous golden-brown masterpiece that looks as enticing as it tastes. The aroma alone will have everyone gathered around, eagerly awaiting their first bite of this comforting and hearty dish. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll want to add to your regular rotation, offering consistent deliciousness every single time.

What Exactly Is Quiche? A Brief Overview


Originating from France, specifically the Lorraine region, quiche is a type of savory custard tart. The most famous variation, Quiche Lorraine, originally featured a filling of eggs, cream, bacon or lardons, and often cheese, all baked in a pastry shell. Over time, the concept of quiche has evolved, embracing numerous fillings and even crustless versions. Essentially, it’s a wonderfully custardy egg dish that can be served hot or cold, making it a flexible option for any meal. Its rich, creamy texture combined with savory fillings makes it a universally beloved dish, perfect for family gatherings, potlucks, or a cozy weekend breakfast.

Our recipe pays homage to this classic while simplifying it for the modern home cook. By focusing on essential, readily available ingredients like ham, cheese, and green onions, we ensure a flavorful result without the intimidation factor often associated with French cuisine. This approach maintains the essence of a traditional quiche – a tender, flavorful egg custard nestled in a flaky crust – but makes it incredibly approachable for everyone, from novice cooks to seasoned chefs looking for a quick meal solution. It’s truly a timeless dish that continues to delight palates worldwide, and this version ensures it’s accessible to all.

Whole baked Quiche, golden brown and fluffy

Gather Your Simple 7 Ingredients for This Delicious Quiche


One of the best features of this recipe is its minimal ingredient list, making it a fantastic option when you want something homemade but don’t have time for extensive shopping or prep. To get started, you’ll need just seven core items, which you likely already have on hand or can easily pick up from any grocery store. For detailed measurements and a printable version of the recipe, please refer to the dedicated recipe card at the end of this post.

Here’s what you’ll need to create this comforting ham and cheese quiche:

  • Deep Dish Pie Crust: A good quality, thawed store-bought crust saves time, but homemade works wonderfully too.
  • Large Eggs: The foundation of our creamy custard. Fresh eggs yield the best flavor and texture.
  • Milk: Provides the creamy base for the egg mixture.
  • Chopped Ham: Adds a savory, meaty bite. Pre-cooked ham makes this even faster.
  • Sliced Green Onions: Offers a mild oniony flavor and a touch of fresh color.
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese: For its sharp, classic flavor that pairs perfectly with ham.
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: Melts beautifully, adding a gooey, stretchy texture and a milder, creamy note.
Ingredients laid out for Ham and Cheese Quiche

Ingredient Insights and Smart Substitution Suggestions


Understanding your ingredients and knowing when and how to make substitutions can elevate your cooking and ensure success even if you’re missing an item. Here’s a closer look at the key components of this easy quiche:

Choosing Your Pie Crust

For ultimate convenience and to keep this recipe truly quick, we highly recommend using a good quality store-bought deep-dish pie crust. There’s no need to pre-bake or partially bake this type of crust for this recipe; it will bake perfectly alongside the delicious filling, resulting in a golden and flaky base. However, if you are a baking enthusiast and prefer a truly homemade touch, feel free to use your favorite homemade pie crust recipe instead. The extra effort will be rewarded with an even more tender and flaky texture. During the last 10 minutes of baking, it’s wise to keep a close eye on your quiche. If the edges of the crust start to brown too quickly, you can easily prevent over-browning by covering them gently with strips of aluminum foil or a reusable pie crust shield. This simple trick ensures a beautifully golden crust all around without any burnt edges.

Eggs and Dairy: The Creamy Core

Eggs: The base of any great quiche is, of course, fresh, large eggs. For the best flavor and texture, ensure your eggs are at room temperature before whisking. Vigorously whisking them together with the milk is crucial for creating a smooth, consistent custard that will puff up beautifully as it bakes. The air incorporated during whisking contributes to that desired light and airy quiche texture. For those who enjoy an even richer quiche, you can experiment by substituting some or all of the milk with heavy cream or half-and-half; this will result in a more decadent and luxurious custard.

Milk: We’ve opted for regular milk in this recipe to achieve a creamy yet not overly heavy texture. This keeps the quiche light enough for breakfast or brunch while still delivering satisfying richness. However, if your preference leans towards a more indulgent quiche, feel free to use whole milk, half-and-half, or even heavy cream. Each choice will subtly alter the richness and the final texture of the custard, providing a customizable experience to perfectly suit your taste. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt and black pepper to your egg and milk mixture for foundational seasoning!

Savory Fillings: Ham, Onions, and Cheeses

Ham: Diced cooked ham is a perfect savory addition to this quiche, offering a delightful salty and meaty counterpoint to the creamy egg custard. If you happen to have leftover holiday ham, it’s an excellent way to repurpose it into a new, delicious meal. For maximum convenience, pre-packaged diced ham can be found at most grocery stores, drastically cutting down on prep time. Should ham not be available or if you’re looking for an alternative, cooked and crumbled bacon bits, browned sausage, or even smoked turkey breast can make equally delicious substitutions. Just remember that any meat additions should always be pre-cooked before being added to the quiche filling.

Green Onions: Also widely known as scallions, green onions provide a fresh, mild onion flavor that beautifully complements the richness of the ham and cheese without overpowering the dish. They also add a lovely pop of vibrant green color, enhancing the visual appeal of your quiche. If you find yourself without green onions, a very small amount of finely minced chives or a tiny bit of very thinly sliced sweet onion could serve as an alternative. However, be cautious with the quantity of stronger onions to ensure their flavor remains subtle and balanced within the quiche.

Shredded Cheeses: The combination of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses is a winning pair in this recipe, offering both robust flavor and fantastic meltability. Cheddar cheese brings a sharp, classic, and deeply savory note that pairs exceptionally well with ham. Mozzarella, on the other hand, melts beautifully, contributing a wonderful gooey and stretchy texture, along with a milder, creamy flavor that balances the cheddar. For those who love to experiment, feel free to explore other good melting cheeses such as Gruyere, Swiss, Monterey Jack, or even a pre-mixed Italian blend. The key is to choose cheeses that melt well for that perfect, irresistible gooey consistency in every slice.

Mastering Your Ham and Cheese Quiche: Step-by-Step Guide


These step-by-step photos and detailed instructions are here to guide you visually through the process of making this incredibly delicious quiche. For a convenient printable version of this recipe, complete with precise measurements and comprehensive instructions, simply Jump to Recipe at the bottom of this post.

  1. Prepare Your Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 375°F (190°C). This crucial step ensures the oven is at the correct temperature for even baking as soon as your quiche is ready to go in, which helps the crust get crispy and the filling set properly.
  2. Whisk Eggs and Milk: In a large mixing bowl, vigorously whisk together the 8 large eggs and ¾ cup milk until they are thoroughly combined and slightly frothy. This is crucial for achieving that light, airy, and fluffy quiche texture. For basic seasoning, you can add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper at this stage. egg and milk mixture whisked in a bowl
  3. First Layer of Fillings: Carefully place your thawed deep-dish pie crust into your pie plate. Then, add half of each of the prepared ingredients to the bottom of the pie crust: 1 cup of the diced ham, ⅛ cup of the sliced green onions, ⅜ cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese, ⅜ cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and finally, pour half of the whisked egg mixture over everything. Distribute them evenly to ensure every slice gets a good mix of flavors. cubed ham and sliced green onions layered in a pie shell for quichecheddar cheese added on top of mozzarella and ham in quiche pie crustquiche ingredients with egg mixture in pie shell
  4. Second Layer of Fillings: Follow the same layering process with the remaining ingredients. Add the second half of the ham, green onions, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese, then pour over the rest of the egg mixture. This layering technique helps distribute the fillings throughout the quiche, ensuring a rich and balanced bite every time. Don’t worry if it looks very full; the egg custard will set beautifully and the crust will shrink slightly. homemade quiche ingredients in a pie shell ready for bakinggreen onions sprinkled on top of quiche mixturecheddar and mozzarella cheese on top of quiche before baking
  5. Bake to Perfection: Carefully transfer the filled pie plate to your preheated oven and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. The quiche is done when the center is set (a knife inserted near the center comes out clean), and the top is beautifully golden brown. If the crust edges are browning too fast, cover them with foil.
  6. Cool and Serve: Once baked, remove the quiche from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. This resting period is important as it allows the custard to fully set, resulting in cleaner, more structured slices and preventing it from falling apart when cut. Enjoy your homemade masterpiece!

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips for Quiche Success


Can I add other ingredients or make substitutions?

Absolutely! This ham and cheese quiche recipe is wonderfully versatile and encourages customization. Feel free to substitute or add in your favorite ingredients to make it your own. Popular additions include finely chopped spinach (sautéed and squeezed dry), diced tomatoes, crispy bacon bits, sautéed bell peppers, or caramelized onions. Just ensure any vegetable additions are cooked and excess moisture is removed to prevent a watery quiche. For meats, always use pre-cooked options to ensure they are safely cooked through within the baking time.

How do you store leftover quiche?

Storing leftover quiche is simple, allowing you to enjoy it for days to come. Once the quiche has cooled completely to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container. It will keep fresh and delicious in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For best results when reheating individual slices, you can warm them gently in the microwave or in a preheated oven until heated through, ensuring the crust remains crisp.

Can you make quiche ahead of time for entertaining?

Yes, quiche is an excellent make-ahead dish, making it perfect for stress-free holiday mornings, brunch parties, or busy weekdays. You can prepare and bake the quiche a day in advance. After baking, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before storing it in the refrigerator. Cover it tightly with an airtight lid or several layers of plastic wrap to maintain its freshness. When ready to serve, you can reheat the whole quiche gently in a preheated oven (around 300°F/150°C) until warm, or serve it chilled as it’s delicious either way.

Can you freeze quiche for longer storage?

Absolutely! Quiche freezes beautifully, making it an ideal option for meal prepping or having a quick, comforting meal on hand whenever you need it. After baking and allowing the quiche to cool completely, wrap it tightly first with plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. This double-layer protection helps prevent freezer burn and maintains flavor. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply transfer it to the refrigerator overnight. Reheat individual slices or the whole quiche in the oven until warmed through, usually at 350°F (175°C) for about 20-30 minutes for a whole quiche.

What’s the best way to prevent a soggy crust?

A soggy crust is a common quiche woe, but it’s easily preventable with a few simple steps! Firstly, ensure your pie crust is thawed but still cold before you add the filling. Secondly, avoid adding overly wet ingredients; if you’re incorporating vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, or tomatoes, make sure to sauté them first and squeeze out any excess moisture before adding them to the quiche. Finally, baking at the correct temperature (375°F/190°C) is key to a perfectly golden, crispy crust that holds up to the creamy filling.

baked Ham and Cheese Quiche in a pie pan

Perfect Pairings: What to Serve with Your Ham and Cheese Quiche


One of the many charms of quiche is its versatility in serving. This delightful ham and cheese quiche can be enjoyed both warm, straight from the oven, or delightfully chilled, making it suitable for a variety of occasions. It’s an ideal choice for a comforting breakfast, an elegant brunch spread, or even a light and satisfying lunch or dinner. Consider incorporating this recipe into your holiday morning traditions for a fuss-free yet impressive meal that caters to all tastes.

To complete your meal and elevate your quiche experience, here are some fantastic serving suggestions:

  • Fresh Salad: A simple green salad with a light vinaigrette provides a refreshing and zesty contrast to the rich and savory quiche.
  • Fruit Salad: A colorful medley of fresh berries, sliced melon, and citrus segments adds brightness and a touch of natural sweetness, especially for a brunch setting.
  • Crisp Potatoes: For a heartier meal, serve your quiche alongside crispy roasted potatoes, savory hash browns, or classic home fries.
  • Toasted Bread: A slice of lightly toasted artisanal bread, a warm croissant, or a crusty baguette can be delightful for soaking up any creamy goodness from the quiche.
  • Beverage Pairings: For the adults, a crisp mimosa or a light sparkling wine pairs beautifully. For a family-friendly option, consider freshly squeezed orange juice, a glass of cold milk, or a comforting cup of hot coffee or tea.

Explore More Delicious Recipes


If you loved this easy ham and cheese quiche recipe and are looking for more delicious breakfast and brunch ideas, or comforting savory dishes, you’ve come to the right place! We have a treasure trove of recipes designed to make your meals memorable and enjoyable. Here are some other fantastic recipes you might enjoy from our culinary collection:

  • Classic Eggs Benedict: A decadent and impressive brunch staple that’s perfect for special occasions.
  • Flavorful Vegetable Frittata: A versatile and healthy crustless egg dish, packed with your favorite veggies.
  • Sheet Pan Breakfast Pizza: A fun, creative, and incredibly easy way to feed a crowd for breakfast or brunch.
  • Hearty Turkey Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole: A filling and delicious morning bake that’s great for meal prep.
  • Comforting Breakfast Casserole with Ham and Cheese: Another fantastic option for using ham and cheese in a satisfying breakfast bake, perfect for gatherings.

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Quiche with golden crust and fluffy filling

Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche

This incredibly easy ham and cheese quiche puffs up beautifully and bakes to a gorgeous golden brown, ready to be devoured for breakfast, brunch, or any meal!

4.92 from 12 votes

IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!

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Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
50 minutes
Calories: 335
Author: Amanda Davis

Ingredients

  • 1 deep dish pie crust thawed
  • 8 large eggs
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 2 cups chopped ham divided
  • ¼ cup sliced green onions divided
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
  • ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese divided

Things You’ll Need

  • Pie plate
  • Pie crust guard optional

Before You Begin

  • You may think that there are not enough ingredients when you layer everything. However, the egg will puff up when it cooks and the pie crust will shrink, leaving you with a perfectly even quiche.
  • You do not need to pre-bake or partially bake the pie crust. Keep an eye on the quiche in the last 10 minutes of baking. If you are concerned that the crust is getting too brown you can cover the edges with foil or a pie crust guard.

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 F.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.
  • To the pie crust, add half of each of the following ingredients: ham, green onion, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, and egg mixture.
  • Add remaining ingredients in the same order: ham, green onion, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, and egg mixture.
  • Bake in preheated oven 35-40 minutes.
  • Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1 slice) | Calories: 335cal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 228mg | Sodium: 641mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 515IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 2mg
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The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.