Quiche is the perfect picnic food, it’s easy to transport and great hot or cold. This spinach and feta quiche has a rich, buttery, thyme pastry that encases a fluffy, creamy filling of spinach, feta, and shallots.
This quiche is full of delicious flavours and is a firm favourite in my house. It is just as delicious cold as it is hot and is great for summer picnics or Sunday lunch.
It’s packed to the brim with spinach, creamy feta, sweet shallots and a hint of garlic. The filling is light and fluffy and perfectly creamy. A homemade pie crust with a hint of thyme makes this quiche extra special.
Why This Recipe Works
- That pastry – perfectly buttery with a delicious hint of thyme.
- The perfect filling – light, fluffy and deliciously creamy
- Spinach – there is a lot of spinach in this quiche but trust me the kids will still love it!
- Great for Sunday lunch – looking for something new to cook for the vegetarians in your life, this quiche makes for a great Sunday lunch!
What You’ll Need
– For The Pastry
- Flour – plain/all-purpose flour.
- Butter – I use salted butter, so no need to add any extra salt to your pastry.
- Egg yolks – 3 medium or 2 large egg yolks.
- Thyme – I add a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves to the pastry for a little extra flavour
– For The Filling
- Eggs – 3 medium eggs, when making quiche I always go by the ratio of 1 egg:1/2 cup of dairy
- Cream – I use double/heavy cream for extra richness
- Spinach – Fresh is best here, you can use regular or baby spinach depending on your taste. In my experience kids prefer the milder baby spinach.
- Feta – Look for authentic Greek feta, I use three quarters in the egg and cream mixture and 1/4 spread on the pastry base.
- Shallots – I use the small round French shallots, but you can also use banana shallots.
- Garlic – If you are a fan of garlic like me, then 2 good sized cloves of garlic is perfect.
- Nutmeg – I add a little grating of nutmeg to the egg/cream mixture.
How to Make Spinach and Feta Quiche
This is just a quick visual guide, the full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Make the pastry – sift the flour into a large bowl, add the butter, mix that in using two knives. Then using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until you a crumb-like texture. Stir in the thyme leaves. Whisk the eggs with the chilled water then add a tablespoon at a time to the flour mixture. Sir with a knife then finally using your hands bring the pastry together into a ball shape. Wrap it in cling film then pop it in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes. Then blind bake the pastry.
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Cook the shallots – while the pastry is baking fry the shallots in a little oil until soft and golden brown then add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Once the pastry is cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Spread the cooked shallots over the base of the pastry followed by one-quarter of the feta.
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Sautee the spinach – cook the spinach until it is wilted then leave it to cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle squeeze all the excess water from it. Spread that evenly over the base of the pastry.
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Whisk the eggs and cream – stir in a little grated nutmeg then once they are all combined crumble in the feta, add salt and pepper then stir well. Carefully pour the mixture into the pastry case, then bake.
Tips for Making The Best Spinach Quiche:
- Butter – I use salted butter so I don’t add salt to my pastry, if you use unsalted butter then you may want to add a pinch of salt to the flour. The butter needs to be very cold.
- Knives – I use two knives like scissors to cut the butter into the flour. I usually have warm hands which are not great for making the pastry, you want the butter to stay cold, so the less you handle it the better.
- Blind Baking – When I blind bake the pastry I crumple up the baking paper before I add the baking beans, this is so that the beans will reach every corner and you will have an even pastry base.
- Cracks – Always keep a little leftover pastry to patch up any cracks after the blind bake, sometimes cracks happen, this is OK! Patch them up and the quiche will still taste great, no one will notice.
- Eggs – I use free-range, medium eggs for this recipe.
- Filling – For best results I add the shallots and the feta to the cooked pastry base before adding the filling, it gives the quiche a lovely sweetness. I then added the sautéed and squeezed spinach and pour the cream/egg mixture over into the base. I find this makes for a better quiche.
What to Serve with Spinach and Feta Quiche
This quiche is really great served with a simple tomato salad but a nice green salad would be great with it too. Boiled new potatoes or potato salad are also great with this.
FAQs:
Can I Freeze this Spinach Quiche? This quiche is best made fresh, if you freeze this it may become quite soggy once thawed and reheated. You can freeze the raw pastry crust though, you can bake the base from frozen then fill it with the filling and bake the quiche.
How Long will this Quiche Keep For? It will keep in the fridge for two days, leave it to cool completely before putting it in the fridge. You can eat this quiche hot or cold but if you want to reheat it pop it in a hot oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until it is piping hot.
Need More Picnic Food Inspiration:
Need more quiche inspiration then try my mushroom quiche or my courgette/zucchini quiche, both great for picnics. Not a fan of quiche? Try this sweet potato and broccoli frittata or my spinach and tomato frittata. Want something vegan for your picnic? These falafel bowls travel really well as does this couscous salad.
Spinach and Feta Quiche
This spinach quiche with feta cheese, sweet shallots and a thyme pastry is perfect for lunch, dinner or for taking along for a summer picnic. Great hold or cold.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 517kcal
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 175 g plain/all-purpose flour (1 & 1/2 US cups) + more for rolling out the pastry
- 100 g salted butter (4oz) very cold and cut into cubes
- 3 medium free-range egg yolks 2 if you use large eggs
- 4 tbsp chilled water
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves
For the filling
- 110 g French shallots (3 medium shallots) peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tbs olive oil divided
- 200 g fresh raw spinach (6 US cups)
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 140 g feta cheese (1 US cup) crumbled
- 300 ml double/ heavy cream (1 & 1/4 US cup)
- A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
To make the pastry
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 392 F.
- Sift 175g / 1 and 1/2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl, add 100g/ 4oz of butter, using two knives like a scissors cut the butter into the flour. Then, using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until you have a crumb-like texture. Stir in 1 tablespoon of thyme leaves.
- Whisk 3 medium egg yolks with 4 tablespoons of chilled water.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour, add a tablespoon of the egg mixture, stir with a knife. Keep adding a tablespoon of the egg mixture until the mixture comes together.
- Using your hands, bring the pastry into a ball shape, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge, roll it out on a lightly floured worktop. Place the pastry into a pie dish, trim off the edges. Place baking/parchment paper over the pastry then add ceramic baking beans. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes on the middle shelf. Until the pastry is cooked, it should be pale in colour.Take the pastry out of the oven, remove the paper and beans and check for cracks, if any are present patch them up then bake for another 5 minutes.Set aside to cool.
Make the filling
- While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling.
- Fry the sliced shallots in one tablespoon of oil over a low to medium cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, they should be golden brown and soft. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic then cook for a further minute or two. Set aside to cool until you are ready to use them.
- Sauté 200g/6 cups of spinach with one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, until it is wilted. You may need to do this in two batches. Once wilted leave it to cool then squeeze the excess liquid out.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk 3 medium eggs together with 300ml/1 and a half cups of double/heavy cream. Stir in three-quarters of the feta along with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon of cracked black pepper and a pinch of grated nutmeg.
Assemble the quiche
- Spread the cooked shallots evenly over the pastry base, crumble over the remaining feta. Spread the spinach over the feta and shallots then carefully pour over the egg and cream mixture. Make sure not to go over the edge of the pastry.
- Turn the oven down to 180 degrees C / 356 F
- Place the quiche on a baking tray then put in on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 20 minutes. The filling should be cooked through, to check it's cooked give it a little shake if it's still wobbly it's not cooked, give it another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, leave to cool slightly then carefully remove it from the tin if you wish. You can serve it in the pie dish if you want.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- Butter - I use salted butter so I don't add salt to my pastry, but if you use unsalted butter then you may want to add a pinch of salt to the flour. The butter needs to be very cold.
- Eggs - I use medium free-range eggs for this recipe and follow the ratio of 1 egg per 1/2 cup of dairy for making quiches.
- Pastry - I use two knives like scissors to cut the butter into the flour. I usually have warm hands which are not great for making pastry, you want the butter to stay cold, so the less you handle it the better.
- Baking - When I blind bake the pastry I crumple up the baking paper before I add the ceramic baking beans, this is so that the beans will reach every corner and you will have an evenly baked pie crust. Always keep a little leftover pastry to patch up any cracks after the blind bake.
- Freezing/storing/reheating - Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge once cooled. They will keep for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing quiche as you could end up with a soggy pastry and a rubbery filling.
- Nutritional Information- is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. It is based on one slice.
Nutrition
Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.7g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 38.9g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 265mg | Sodium: 450mg | Potassium: 342mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 3.7g | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 3.8mg
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*This recipe was first published on May 12, 2017. It has now been updated with new photos and a step by step guide.
Such a lovely quiche! The thyme pastry crust sounds absolutely delicious!!
Thanks Kathryn x
You can’t beat a good quiche and this one looks excellent! Also Love your overhead shots of this! Need to try!
Thanks so much Nathan 🙂
Quiche has never fallen out of favour with me! I love making them, especially in summer! This one is beautiful. Love the idea of the thyme in the pastry!
Thanks Jacqueline x
what a gorgeous quiche! i love that you used the square pan – it makes it look so rustic and pretty. it sounds just incredible with that feta cheese!
Thanks Danielle x
I love a good quiche and this one looks absolutely perfect for brunch! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Rosa x
Mmmmm! Spinach quiche is one of my favorites. Sounds perfect for our weekend breakfast! Thank you for AMAZING recipe! P.S Your photos are incredibly beautiful!
Thank you so much Neli, that’s very kind of you Xx
OMG!! This sounds so good! I wish I had some right now to eat.
Thank you x
What a delicious brunch dish this makes! Love the creamy, fluffy filling and with all the veggies, even better!
Thanks so much Abigail 🙂
I love quiche especially for summer meals – I haven’t yet made one this season. This looks like it has to be the one I make next. What an awesome combo!
Thank you so much Mireille, I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much for the tips!! It is so good!
You are so welcome Toni, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
It’s been way too long since I’ve had quiche and the flavors in this one sound amazing! Thanks for all the tips for making it also!
Thanks so much Pam x
Quiche is a favorite in my house. The filling in your recipe is wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Angela 🙂
This is so gorgeous and delicious. I think I might serve it for my sister’s bridal shower brunch coming up!
I am sure it would be super lovely but I read the 1/2 as 1 or 2 rather than HALF! Oh dear. A bit runny. But I will try again. I had added a bit of red chilli and the flavour was great. Consistency not so much but my mistake.
Oh Clarissa, I’m so sorry this happened to you! I will try and make it clearer in the future. I love your idea of adding red chilli, I’ll have to try that next time I make it x
What is the size of the pie dish that you used for this amount of ingredients? I have one in diameter of 30 cm (cca 12 inch), so I am not sure of this would be enough for it. Thanks im advance!
Hi, the pie dish I used for this measures a diameter of 24cm/ 9.5 inches and is 4 cm/1.5inches deep. So your pie dish may be a little on the big side. If this is the only dish you have I would use more pastry, the filling should be enough though. I hope this helps, let me know how you get on, Mx
This was the BEST Quiche. Im in bed reading and wondering should I or should I not get another piece before I turn in!
Thank you so much Cathy! I’m so glad that you liked it. I hope you had that extra piece 😉
I used the ratio = 1 egg per 1/2 cup of milk. I chose a full, whole fat grade of buttermilk. I didn’t have heavy cream on hand. Heavy cream is very expensive compared to buttermilk, and buttermilk has less fat, and is beneficial to your health. No, it didn’t taste sour. It brightened it up and gave it another level of flavor.
I used five eggs + 2.5 cups of buttermilk (total) in my quiche. Three just was inadequate. Four will fill a 9″ pie shell nicely, the remainder I spooned over the top halfway through baking to use up the eggs and to also give it some lift. Don’t try to overfill in the beginning.
It really does pay off to read all the notes from the chef. I really appreciated the advice about the egg/milk ratio and assembling first and pouring the eggs in last. Another good trick is to place the pie shell on the oven rack and then add the egg mixture to avoid sloshing and spilling.
I wilted two containers of baby spinach and let it cool. A half a brick of crumbled feta, plus 1/4 c. cooked minced onion. Two pinches of sea salt. I separated the spinach loosely and built the filling up 3/4 from the top before adding the egg mixture, as advised. I was very pleased the filling stayed in place.
It did take longer to cook because I added more egg/milk than the recipe called for, but this was a non-issue.
The quiche turned out very light, and held its shape beautifully. I could probably eat a second helping!
Hi Leigh, thank you so much for your comment. I haven’t made a quiche using buttermilk so will have to try that! I’m so glad you likeed it and that it turned out well with the substitutions you made. Michelle x
Would you be able to substitute the heavy cream for normal milk for a healthier option? What ratio of milk would you use instead?
Hi Candice, you could swap the cream for milk if you want. I would use the ratio of 1 part dairy to 2 parts eggs. I haven’t made this quiche this way so can’t say for sure it would work perfectly, but you could give it a go. I hope this helps, let me know how you get on. Mx