Quiche Florentine with Fresh Spinach

Quiche Florentine is a simple, classic French dish, made with eggs, cream, fresh spinach, and cheese baked in a flakey pie crust. It’s easy to make and perfect for a light dinner, lunch or brunch.

Homemade quiche is a favourite in our house–it makes great lunches or is an easy make-ahead dish if you’re hosting brunch. You can absolutely make your own pie crust, as I do in my broccoli cheddar quiche recipe, but sometimes a shortcut of store-bought pastry is the way to go (especially if we’re talking weeknight dinners!).

Why this recipe works

This recipe comes together quickly (I pretty much always double it!) and bakes into a custardy quiche with just the right amount of spinach and sharp cheese (in case you aren’t sure, quiche Florentine = spinach quiche). It’s the perfect light meal to serve alongside a crisp, fresh salad.

The trick is to precook the spinach and squeeze out as much liquid as you can so you don’t end up with a soggy crust or watery filling.

Ingredient notes

• Pie crust is a must. You can absolutely make your own pie crust, but recently I’ve been opting for store-bought. For this recipe, you’ll want to use a deep dish 9″ crust.
• Fresh spinach is plentiful and very affordable. You can use baby spinach or regular spinach, just give it a rough chop. The key is to precook the spinach so you don’t end up with a sad, watery quiche.
• Shallots are a little bit sweeter and more mild than onions. They are cooked with the spinach before being added to the crust. You could also use a half or quarter of yellow or vidalia onion in a pinch.
• 2% milk and 35% cream help to make the custardy filling, I find using equal parts of both gives the perfect texture without being too rich. I wouldn’t recommend swapping these out for lower fat versions as you won’t end up with a nice texture.
• This recipe calls for four large eggs.
• Cheese is an area that you can experiment with, I often use a sharp old cheddar but you could also use Gruyere cheese or Swiss cheese. The cheese is forgiving in this quiche!
• Salt and pepper are a given. Any dish involving eggs and cheese requires a good seasoning.

Expert tips

1. Sweat the shallots and spinach together to remove some of their liquid. The next and very important step is to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I add it into a sieve and use the back of my spatula to press down until no more liquid comes out.
2. Be sure to pre-bake (also known as “blind bake”) the crust for about 10 minutes, this is another trick to avoid a soggy crust, the crust will cook through properly and stay flaky. Note: I’ve also made this and completely forgotten to blind bake the crust and it turned out fine, but for the best results, stick with blind baking.
3. This recipe can be doubled and I often do! Frozen pie crusts come in packages of two, so it makes sense to double and it takes no extra effort.
4. Be sure to assemble the quiche on a baking sheet. This will make it easier to take in and out of the oven and also avoid any mess if there are any spills.

Step by step instructions

Make the spinach filling

1. Start by blind baking the crust. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for about 2 minutes until it begins to soften. Add the spinach and ¼ tsp salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook another 2-3 minutes until spinach is wilted.
3. Transfer spinach mixture into a sieve, using the back of a spatula, push and stir the mixture to draw out excess liquid. I do this about 6-8 times or until barely any liquid comes out. Spread evenly in the bottom of the crust.

Assemble the quiche

1. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the spinach.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs with remaining salt and pepper. Pour over the spinach and cheese.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in a 375F oven until quiche is golden brown and still slightly jiggly.

Frequently asked questions

What to serve this with

• To make a full meal, serve this with a light spinach salad or homemade tomato soup.