Once upon a time, Caitlin was a novice chef and decided to give the exotic dish known as “quiche” a try. I simply googled “quiche recipes” (pre-Pinterest era, can you even imagine), and found a very basic sausage quiche recipe. It was fine. Like, edible, but not good. Years later and I’ve added, changed, and edited this recipe to the point where I don’t even have measured ingredients, it’s all just what I’m in the mood for. I found that this particular combination for this sweet bb quiche is perfect. The caramelized shallots, the cayenne/nutmeg spice combo, the swiss, the gruyere…YUM.
This is such an easy dish to throw together, especially if you’re trying to plan a last minute Christmas morning dish, or an effortless NYE morning pick-me-up. Easy to make ahead of time, and your kitchen will smell AMAZING. I’m so excited to finally share this recipe after all these years!
P R E P
I always assume the prep piece will take so much more time with this, but it surprises me every time with how quickly everything comes together. If you’re making this ahead of time you can store it in the fridge the night before, but make sure it’s no longer than 12 hours or else the crust can get a lil’ soggy.
The night before place your frozen spinach in the fridge. If you forget (and honestly, I forget EVERY. TIME.), you can place the spinach in a microwave safe bowl and heat the day of. The crust will stay in the freezer until you’re ready to add everything (unless you’re fancy and making your own crust), so you can simultaneously get the caramelized shallots and sausage going first. See? Easy prep.
What you’ll need
- 1 frozen pie crust. You can find this in the frozen dessert section of your grocery store. You can also make your own crust as well, I just tend to take the easy route.
- 1 tablespoon butter.
- 2 shallots, sliced.
- 1/2 package of sausage. I end up using the whole thing and save for another meal, OR if you’re doubling this recipe you can split it evenly. My favorite is the New York Style Sausage Company, and I go for the Hot option!
- 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed.
- 3 eggs.
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup of heavy cream.
- 1 cup Swiss cheese.
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese.
Total Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 1 hour
Total Servings: 8
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a small sauté pan, melt butter. Add sliced shallots and cook on medium low until caramelized (they should be soft).
- Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, add sausage on medium high heat. Continue to cook until cooked through.
- While the sausage and shallots are cooking (multi-tasking at it’s finest), snag a medium-sized bowl. Combine eggs, cayenne, nutmeg, and heavy cream. Use a whisk to combine, and add a little salt and pepper to your liking.
- Check your frozen spinach: Did you forget to take it out of the freezer? No sweat! In a microwave safe bowl, add a couple tablespoons of water and place in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. Once it’s thawed out, squeeze out all of the water from the spinach and place on a couple paper towels. You want as little moisture as possible left in the spinach.
- Take your frozen pie crust out of the freezer and place on cookie sheet (this is so that it doesn’t spill over while it’s cooking). Spread shallots along the bottom of the crust. Add the spinach and sausage, and press down evenly. Add majority of swiss and gruyere (you’ll use the rest to place on top).
- Gently pour egg mixture in. It’s ok if some spills off the sides, but if it looks like it’s overflowing you can omit the rest of the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Place in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Check at the 40-minute mark to see how it’s doing–it should be golden around the edges without any jiggle.
- Serve warm, and garnish with any toppings you want! My favorite is salsa, chives, diced jalapenos, but honestly plain is preferred.
Enjoy, can’t wait to hear what you think!
POST COOKING NOTES
- This will keep in the fridge for roughly 4 days. To reheat, cover with foil and heat in the oven at 350 for 20ish minutes. You can always reheat in the microwave if you’re some sort of monster.
- You can omit the sausage and replace with mushrooms, bacon, ham…anything you like! I’m biased towards sausage, especially hot sausage, since it tends to carry so much flavor and it pairs so well with the swiss/gruyere mixture.
- When I originally started creating this recipe I only used swiss, but there’s something about the nuttiness of gruyere that made me want to use them both. You can get creative with cheese if you want–cheddar could be good, too!
Basic Kneads 