Mini Quiche with Four Fillings, Baked in a Muffin Pan

Mini quiche is a quiche shrunk down to a muffin cup: a round of pie crust pressed into the mold, a spoonful of filling, and a cream and egg custard poured over the top, baked until the custard is just set and the crust is golden. This batch makes twelve in a standard muffin pan or a silicone mold, with four different fillings from one bowl of custard, in 45 minutes.

In short, mini quiche are 4-inch rounds of pie crust pressed into a 12-cup muffin pan, filled with a custard of 4 eggs, cream and milk, topped with cheese and fillings and baked at 375°F for 22 to 25 minutes. The batch takes 45 minutes, makes 12, and works out at about 280 calories each.

They are the thing to make when you need breakfast for a crowd, a brunch dish that can be done the day before, or a savory bite for a party table, because they bake ahead, reheat in minutes and travel without falling apart. The fillings in these photos are bacon and ham, spinach and goat cheese, sun-dried tomato, and plain Gruyere, and the method takes any combination you like.

What Is a Mini Quiche?

A mini quiche is an individual quiche baked in a muffin cup instead of a pie dish. The parts are the same as a full-size quiche Lorraine: a pastry shell, a savory custard of eggs, cream and milk, and a filling of cheese, meat or vegetables. The difference is that each one bakes in about 25 minutes rather than an hour, sets more evenly because there is less custard in the middle, and can be picked up and eaten in three bites.

Size matters more than it sounds. Those in these photos are made in a standard muffin mold, about three inches across, which gives a proper ratio of crust to custard and a cup that holds a real spoonful of filling. Bite-size quiche from a mini muffin pan, the kind sold frozen in boxes of 48, are mostly crust with a teaspoon of egg. Both are covered here, but the standard size is the better eating.

Because the custard is divided across twelve cups, mini quiche are also the easiest way to make several flavors at once. One bowl of custard, four small dishes of fillings, and every guest gets the one they want.

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Ingredient Notes

The flat lay above is the whole set, including all four fillings. Exact quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Pie crust. Two refrigerated crusts from a 14-ounce box, rolled slightly thinner and cut into twelve 4-inch rounds. Homemade pie dough for a double crust works the same way, and that is the ball of dough in the photo.
• Eggs. Four large eggs. One egg to a quarter cup of dairy gives a tender set that does not turn rubbery.
• Heavy cream and whole milk. Half a cup of each. All cream makes a richer, softer custard; all milk makes a lighter one that can weep a little. The mix is the middle road.
• Salt, pepper and nutmeg. Half a teaspoon of kosher salt, a quarter teaspoon of pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. The nutmeg is barely noticeable, but the custard tastes flat without it.
• Gruyere. One cup, shredded, divided among the cups. Gruyere is the classic quiche cheese for its nutty flavor and clean melt. Swiss, sharp cheddar or a mix all work.
• Bacon or ham. Half a cup, cooked and chopped. The photos use both: crisp bacon in some cups and diced ham in others.
• Spinach. Half a cup of cooked spinach, squeezed very dry and chopped. Wet spinach waters down the custard, so wring it in a clean towel.
• Sun-dried tomatoes. A quarter cup, chopped. Oil-packed are softer and more flavorful; pat them dry before they go in.
• Goat cheese. Three ounces, crumbled over the spinach cups. Feta is the usual swap and is a little saltier.
• Green onions. Two, sliced thin, scattered over any cup that needs a little color.

Four Fillings That Work Together

The fillings in the photos are built so that one custard suits all of them. Each cup gets about a tablespoon of shredded Gruyere as the base, then one topping: crisp bacon or diced ham, spinach with goat cheese, sun-dried tomato with a few spinach leaves, or nothing but the cheese for the plain ones. Three cups of each flavor fills the twelve.

The rule for any filling is that it goes in cooked and dry. Raw vegetables release water into the custard and leave a wet layer at the bottom of the cup, and raw meat does not cook through in 25 minutes. Bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions and peppers all need a turn in a skillet first. Spinach needs to be wilted and squeezed. Cheese, ham, sun-dried tomatoes and herbs can go in as they are.

Keep the filling to about a tablespoon per cup, which looks like too little. The custard needs room, and a cup packed with filling has no custard to hold it together. If you want a heartier version, the breakfast burritos are the place for a full load of sausage and potatoes.

How To Make Mini Quiche

First, heat the oven to 375°F. Set a silicone muffin mold on a baking sheet, or grease a 12-cup metal muffin pan well, including the top surface between the cups where the crust edges will sit.

Next, make the custard. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them until the yolks and whites are fully combined. Pour in the cream, then the milk, then add the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and whisk until smooth with no streaks. Pour the custard into a measuring cup with a spout, which makes filling twelve small cups much easier than ladling from a bowl.

Lining the Cups

Then unroll the pie crusts on a lightly floured surface and roll each one a little thinner, to about an eighth of an inch. Cut 4-inch rounds with a cutter or a wide glass, gathering and re-rolling the scraps once to get twelve. Press each round into a cup, easing it down into the corner with your fingertips so there is no air gap, and let the edge come up to the top of the cup. Chill the lined pan for ten minutes while you set out the fillings; cold dough holds its shape better in the oven.

Filling and Baking

After that, pour the custard into each crust-lined cup until it is about three-quarters full, just below the top of the pastry. Then drop the fillings in: a tablespoon of Gruyere into every cup, and a spoonful of bacon, ham, spinach and goat cheese, or sun-dried tomato on top of each one. Adding the fillings after the custard, as in the photos, keeps them from sticking to the bottom of the crust and lets you see what each cup is getting. They sink a little and the custard rises around them.

Finally, bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the tops are puffed and lightly golden and the centers are just set. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift them out with a small offset spatula or pop them out of the silicone mold, and set them on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

How To Tell When Mini Quiche Is Done

Mini quiche are done when the tops are puffed and lightly golden and the centers are set with no wet shine, after 22 to 25 minutes at 375°F. The custard is the tell. A finished cup is puffed slightly above the crust, the surface has lost its wet shine, and the center jiggles as one piece when you nudge the pan rather than sloshing. If you press the center gently with a fingertip, it should feel set, like a soft custard, not liquid under the skin.

The crust is the second check. The edge of the pastry should be golden brown and the bottom, if you lift one out with a spatula, should be pale gold rather than white. A white bottom means the pan was too cold or the oven rack too high; move the pan to the lower third of the oven for five more minutes.

If you own a thermometer, egg dishes are safe at 160°F, and a mini quiche that has puffed and set is well past that in the center. The American Egg Board is a good reference for what a large egg brings to a dish like this one, about six grams of protein per egg, which is why four eggs across twelve cups makes a filling bite.

Make It Ahead

Mini quiche are a make-ahead dish by nature. Bake them, cool them completely on a rack and refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to four days. Reheat on a baking sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, which crisps the crust again, or for 30 seconds each in the microwave if the crust does not matter to you.

You can also assemble them the night before and bake in the morning. Line the cups, add the fillings and pour the custard, then cover the pan and refrigerate it. Bake straight from the fridge with 3 to 5 extra minutes. Do not hold them longer than overnight unbaked, because the crust softens under the custard.

The custard alone keeps for two days in a jar in the fridge. Give it a shake before pouring. The fillings can be cooked and chopped two days ahead too, which turns the morning job into lining cups and pouring.

Storing Mini Quiche

Cool the leftovers within two hours and refrigerate them in a container with parchment between the layers for up to four days. They are good cold, straight from the fridge, which makes them a very good packed lunch.

For the freezer, bake and cool them, then freeze them flat on a baking sheet until firm and transfer them to a bag for up to one month. Reheat from frozen on a baking sheet at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until hot in the center. Thawing them first makes the crust soggy, so reheat straight from the freezer. Mini quiche freeze better than a whole quiche because the small cups reheat evenly without the middle staying cold.

Variations and Substitutions

Mini Muffin Pan, 48 Bite-Size Quiche

For party-size bites, use two 24-cup mini muffin pans and cut the crust into 2 1/2-inch rounds; you will need a third crust or a full batch of homemade dough. Put a teaspoon of filling in each cup, pour the custard to three-quarters full, and bake at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes. The same custard fills 48 small cups, and they freeze and reheat the same way with about 10 minutes from frozen.

Crustless and Other Swaps

Crustless. Grease the cups well, skip the pastry, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. The result is closer to an egg bite than a quiche, with far fewer calories, and it is naturally gluten-free. Silicone molds release them most cleanly.

Lorraine. Bacon and Gruyere in every cup, with a little sauteed onion. This is the classic, and it is what to make when you want one flavor for the whole batch.

Vegetable. Sauteed mushrooms, roasted red pepper, caramelized onion, cooked broccoli or asparagus tips. Cook everything first and keep each cup to a tablespoon.

Dairy swaps. Half-and-half in place of the cream and milk together, measured to one cup. For dairy-free, unsweetened oat milk for all the dairy and a dairy-free cheese; the custard is a little softer.

Herbs. A teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves or chopped chives whisked into the custard suits every filling above.

What to Serve with Mini Quiche

For brunch, mini quiche carry the savory side of the table and need something sweet and something fresh alongside. A stack of lemon ricotta pancakes or a bowl of fruit salad does the sweet, and a green salad with a sharp vinaigrette does the fresh. A pan of chorizo breakfast hash turns it into a full spread.

For a party, put them on a board next to other small things that are good at room temperature: mini corn dogs, bacon basil cornbread muffins, a bowl of olives and some cut vegetables. Two or three mini quiche per guest is about right as part of a spread, and four or five if they are the main thing.

For lunch, two cold ones from the fridge with an apple and a handful of greens is a better lunch than most sandwiches, and it takes no time to pack.

Mini Quiche FAQ

More Questions About Quiche Cups

Line the cups, pour the custard and drop the fillings on top, and a dozen mini quiche come out of the oven in less time than one big one. Bake a batch on Sunday, freeze half, and a tray of cornbread muffins alongside makes a brunch table out of two pans.