Cheddar Broccoli Quiche

This Cheese and Broccoli Quiche with Onions and a homemade Quiche Pastry is a delicious vegetarian dish that is perfect for every meal of the day. Enjoy it for breakfast, brunch and lunch or serve it for dinner, this veggie quiche will be loved by the whole family!

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I don’t often cook with Broccoli, but when I do, I go all in… Wrap it with a delicious flakey butter pastry crust and surround it with delicious cheddar cheese – broccoli has never tasted better!

For me, this recipe is the best broccoli quiche ever. The quiche filling is so quick and easy to make – it will be ready to be baked with the pastry in less than 10 minutes!

Make your own pastry or use a store-bought one for an even quicker meal, this broccoli pie recipe will make an absolutely delicious meatless meal or side dish the whole family will love.

Want more vegetarian quiche inspiration?
Check out my favourite 18 Vegetarian Quiches!

Ingredients

Both the Quiche Pasty and the Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche Filling are made with a few ingredients only and can be easily customised to suit your taste – or throw in some extra ingredients you might need to use!

Tart Pastry

The Quiche Pastry recipe used here is my usual savoury shortcrust pastry I basically use for every single one of my savoury tarts, galettes or quiches. It only requires 4 basic ingredients and is super quick to make.

For a savory shortcrust pastry, you will need (scroll down to recipe card for all quantities):

• Plain / All Purpose Flour
• Salt
• Unsalted Butter – very cold
• Cold Water

Yup, that’s it! You could also add any spices or dried herbs you want as well – I personally love to add Cumin (either ground or seeds), Garlic Powder or Dried Herbs like Oregano to my pastries.

Broccoli and Cheese Filling

The filling of this quiche is just as easy and is made with 5 ingredients and your choice of seasoning or spices. The Cream and Eggs are the base of every quiche, to which I added Broccoli, Cheddar and some slices of Brown Onion.

To make the Quiche Filling, you will need (scroll down to recipe card for all quantities):

• Heavy / Thickened Cream
• Eggs
• Broccoli – I used fresh Broccoli
• grated Cheddar Cheese
• Brown Onion
• Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder – but you can also add any spice you like.

Can I use frozen broccoli for the quiche?

I personally used Fresh Broccoli, but you can absolutely use some frozen Broccoli instead. Simply make sure they are completely thawed and drained before adding them to the filling to avoid adding any water.

Can I use another cheese?

Cheddar Cheese works really well with quiches, but you could substitute it for any hard cheese of your liking. As long as it can be grated, it will work. I would only avoid using a cheese with a mild taste as broccoli is not the most flavourful veggie.

Alternatively, you could also go for a softer cheese like Goats Cheese or even Feta Cheese cut into small cubes.

Or even pick 2 or 3 different cheeses instead of 1 (let’s be honest, the more cheese the best!)

How to make Broccoli Quiche from Scratch

If you are making the pastry from scratch, you will want to start there. Prepare the pastry and let it rest in the fridge before blind baking it.

Once the base of the quiche is ready, you will then start preparing the quiche filling by chopping the veggies and mixing the quiche ‘appareil‘ (mix of eggs and cream).

Savoury Shortcrust Pastry

Making your own pastry can be a bit intimidating if you have never tried to make one at home but do not worry – it is actually much easier than you think! I always make my pastry in the food processor, which make the whole process super quick, easy and clean too.

• Place the Flour and Salt in the bowl of your food processor and pulse for a couple of seconds to mix.

• Add the cold Butter cut into small cubes and blend until it resembles thick sand. You should see very small crumbs, but no thick pieces of butter anymore.

• Pour in the cold Water a little bit at the time while blending. Stop as soon as the dough starts to come together.

• Tip over a large sheet of baking paper and assemble into a ball with your hands. Slightly flatten the ball with your fingers then cover with a second sheet of baking paper. Roll the pastry into a large circle using a rolling pin. Place the tart pan over the rolled pastry to make sure you have enough pastry to fill it.

• Place over a flat tray and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour (can be made up to 2 days in advance as well) to rest.

• Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave for 5 to 10 minutes to get back to room temperature, then place in a Quiche Pan with removable bottom (*). Use your fingers to patch up the pastry if needed and remove any excess pastry with a small pairing knife. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork then place in the freezer while the oven is pre-heating.

• Cover the pastry with a sheet of baking paper and baking beads (or dried beans, rice,…) and blind bake in the warm over for 10 minutes. Remove the baking beads and baking paper and place back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. The bottom of the pastry should feel dry to the touch.

Note: if using a store-bought pastry, you still want to blind-bake the pastry before baking it with the filling.

(*) I used a 11 inch / 28 cm Quiche Pan with Removable Bottom

Cheese and Broccoli Filling

While the pastry is blind baking, prepare the quiche filling:

• Chop the Broccoli Head into small pieces, thinly slice the Brown Onion and grate the Cheddar Cheese. Set aside.

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Eggs and Cream. Add the Salt, Pepper (and spices if you want) and Grated Cheese. Whisk until combined.

• When the pastry has finished blind baking, place the chopped Broccoli and sliced Onions on the bottom of the pastry. Cover with the Egg/Cream liquid. Optionally, top with a little bit more grated cheese for colour.

• Bake for an another 35 to 45 minutes, or until the filling has set (it shouldn’t move or jiggle when you shake the tart pan) and is golden brown.

Note: if the pastry seems to get a very dark colour before the quiche filling is baked, cover with aluminium foil and continue baking until done.

Should I pre-cook the veggies?

It is completely up to you – and depends on how you like your veggies. I personally like them to be still crunchy so I did not pre-cooked the Broccoli and Onions, but if you like them to be more soft, you can absolutely pre-cook them.

Simply place them in a non-stick pan with a little bit of olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes until softer.

How to store this vegetarian quiche

If not served straight away (or if you have leftovers), this dish should be kept in the fridge. Leave it to cool down first, then cover with wrap or foil and store in the fridge for up to 3 days (although better eaten straight away!).

The leftovers can be re-heated in the microwave, but preferably in the oven covered with foil to keep the pastry flakey.

If you are making this quiche in advance to be served at a later date, I recommend under-baking the quiche the first time and finishing the baking in the oven, covered with aluminium foil, just before serving.

Can I freeze this broccoli tart?

Quiches do freeze really well! You can freeze it whole, or freeze individual slices if preferred. And they can also be frozen unbaked as well!

To freeze the whole quiche, leave it to cool down completely first, then cover with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminium foil. Place over a flat tray and put in the freezer for a few hours, or until completely frozen. You can then remove the tray.

Individual slices can be frozen with wrap/foil or in freezing bags.

When ready to be re-heated, place in the pre-heated oven straight away without thawing.

More Quiche and Savoury Tarts Recipes:

• Simple Quiche from The Home Cook’s Kitchen
• Spinach and Feta Quiche
• Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart
• Cheese and Tomato Quiche
• Feta and Asparagus Quiche
• Smoked Salmon Quiche with Leeks
• Leek and Gruyere Tart