Quiche Florentine

Name: Quiche Florentine
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 quantity homemade shortcrust pastry; 1 store-bought pie shell; 2 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry (defrosted); 30 g (2 tbs) butter; 2 medium shallots (finely chopped); 150 g (5 cups) baby spinach (or spinach, chopped); 4 eggs; 360 g (1 1/2 cups) cream (cooking, heavy or thickened); salt and pepper (to taste); 200 g (2 cups) Gruyere/Swiss cheese (grated)

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A classic Quiche Florentine made with buttery shortcrust pastry and a creamy egg, spinach and gruyere Swiss cheese filling.

Whether it's a long weekend lunch, or a light midweek dinner, this golden baked Quiche Florentine is a delicious choice.

Spinach quiche on a plate with a gold fork resting on it.

Quiche is my go-to recipe whenever I'm having friends over for lunch - whether it's my classic Quiche Lorraine, Mushroom Tart, or this Quiche Florentine, quiche is a perfectly light dish while also being completely delicious.

I like to serve quiche with a simple salad, such as my Rocket, Walnut, Pear & Parmesan Salad or my Roast Pumpkin, Spinach & Feta Salad.

If you have any leftover quiche, simply freeze it in individual portions for easy 'grab and reheat' lunches during the week.

Why You're Going To Love This Recipe

Buttery shortcrust pastry with a creamy gruyere and spinach filling... a restaurant quality dish at home!

Meat-free meal - you don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy a few meat-free meals in your weekly menu.
Basic ingredients - whilst a quiche florentine may look fancy, it's actually a very economical meal made with basic ingredients - just cheese, spinach, cream and eggs.
3 pastry options - depending on time and convenience, you can make this from scratch with your own homemade pastry, or use frozen shortcrust pastry sheets, or even purchase a pre-baked shortcrust pastry shell if you choose!
Light lunch or dinner - you can serve quiche florentine for lunch with a light salad and a dollop of chutney on the side, or make it a more substantial dinner served with lightly steamed veggies - quiche florentine is most suitable for either.
Freezer friendly - spinach quiche freezes very well, so if you have leftovers, freeze them in individual serves for easy 'grab and go' lunch box options, or meal planning ahead.

A golden quiche florentine cut, with one serve slightly removed.

What You Need

If you have time, then make your own homemade quiche pastry base from scratch (that will give you the ULTIMATE buttery pastry).

But if you're short on time (like so many of us!), there's two other very easy options that will have this quiche florentine on the table with much less time and effort!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

For The Quiche Crust (Choose 1 Option)

1 quantity homemade shortcrust pastry - click the link for my homemade quiche crust recipe.
2 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry - defrosted.
1 store-bought pie shell.

For The Filling

Butter.
Shallots - finely chopped. Shallots are sweeter ad more subtle in taste than regular onions, however if you can't locate shallots, then substitute with a brown onion.
Baby spinach or spinach leaves - washed and drained well, then chopped.
Eggs - I recommend using large free range eggs (60-70g each).
Cream - a full fat cooking, heavy or thickened cream will give the richest creamy filling.
Salt and pepper - to season.
Gruyere/Swiss cheese - grated. Gruyere and Swiss cheeses both have smooth, mild, and nutty flavours, matching perfectly with the creamy filling in this spinach quiche.

Ingredients for a florentine quiche placed on a bench top.

Equipment Required

There's only basic baking equipment required for this florentine quiche, regardless of which pastry option you choose.

Homemade pastry or frozen pastry sheets require the pastry to be blind baked with baking beads, uncooked rice or lentils - see Expert Tips and FAQs below.

Frying pan - to sauté the shallots and to wilt the spinach.
Flan or tart tin - preferably a deep round tin with a loose base.
Oven - I specify fan-forced oven temperatures in my recipes, so if you have a conventional oven, increase the temperature by between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius.

A close up showing a creamy spinach filling and melted cheese.

Step By Step Instructions

Dress up your delicious homemade quiche florentine with a simple salad and a dollop of sweet tasty chutney or relish on the side!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Step 1 - Make The Shortcrust Pastry (Optional)

If you think that homemade pastry is tricky or difficult, then think again!

My shortcrust pastry recipe is perfect for quiche crusts, pies and tarts and it's made from just 3 ingredients: water, flour and butter! Click here for the easy recipe.

Other Pastry Options Are:

Frozen shortcrust pastry sheets - this option will also require blind baking.
A pre-baked bought shortcrust pastry shell.

The ingredients for homemade shortcrust pastry.

Blind bake the pastry if you're using your own homemade shortcrust, or defrosted shortcrust pastry sheets.

Step 2 - Sauté The Shallots And Spinach

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan-forced (or 200 degrees Celsius conventional).

Melt the butter in a frying pan on the stove-top over medium heat, and add the diced shallots. Cook for 2 minutes or until softened and translucent.

Shallots being sauteed in butter in a frying pan.

Add the baby spinach and cook for about 3 minutes or until wilted. Set the shallots and spinach aside while you make the egg filling.

Spinach wilting in a frying pan with shallots.

Step 3 - Mix The Eggs & Cream

Add the eggs, cream and salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk until well combined.

Eggs and cream whisked together in a mixing bowl.

Step 4 - Assemble And Bake

A pastry shell that has been blind baked, in a tart tin.

Sprinkle the spinach and shallots over the base of the pre-cooked pastry shell.

Spinach and shallots spread over baked pastry shell.

Sprinkle half of the grated Gruyere/Swiss cheese over the spinach.

Grated cheese sprinkled over spinach in pastry shell.

Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and the filling is set.

Egg and cream mixture poured into pastry shell, then more grated cheese spread over the top.

Expert Tips

Simple, fresh ingredients make this florentine quiche a tasty and healthy choice, and as you can make this dish ahead then reheat, it's great for weekly meal prepping too.

Cream – use cooking, heavy or thickened cream (not light cream).
Pastry options - you can either use my homemade shortcrust pastry recipe, 2 sheets of defrosted shortcrust pastry, or a store-bought pastry shell.
Blind baking - if using homemade pastry or defrosted pastry sheets, then blind-bake before adding the filling (using these instructions).
Storing - quiche florentine can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing - freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

An overhead shot of a serve of Quiche Florentine

FAQs

What does it mean to blind baking pastry?

Blind baking pastry is the process of partially baking a pie crust or other pastry prior to adding the filling. This helps to keep the pie crust from becoming soggy when a wet filling is added.
It's also used when the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust, as the crust is already par-baked.
Click this link to my easy quiche crust recipe instructions, or see my notes below on how to blind bake pastry.

Why is this spinach quiche called quiche florentine?

Florentine means 'of Florence', or 'to prepare in the style of the Italian region of Florence'. And Florentine style means that it will contain spinach within, or be served on a bed of spinach, for example eggs florentine and chicken florentine.
And, of course, quiche is a French word meaning a tart or flan with a savoury egg custard filling.

A wedge of florentine quiche served on a plate.

Roll the chilled dough out and press into the baking tin.
Use a fork to gently prick across the base.
Press a piece of baking paper (greaseproof paper) onto the top of the pastry.
Fill the base and sides with special ceramic baking beads (can be purchased from supermarkets or kitchenware stores). If you don't have baking weights, you can use uncooked rice or lentils instead.
Blind bake the pastry for about 10 minutes then remove the weights and parchment paper and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes or until the base is firm and lightly golden.
Once the base is blind baked, you can add the filling and top pastry (if covering your pie) when you're ready. Then bake until the filling is cooked, and the top pastry is golden.

Looking for some more light, wholesome, and tasty meat-free meals?

They can certainly help to cut down on the shopping bill as well!

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Quiche Florentine

Why You're Going To Love This Recipe