Asparagus and Bacon Quiche
With a crispy homemade shortcrust pastry base, and a creamy, cheesy, filling topped with fresh asparagus, my Asparagus and Bacon Quiche is the perfect meal for spring time. Light, hearty, and totally delicious.
Spring has finally arrived, and with it, one of my all-time favourite foods – asparagus. Pair this delicious vegetable with crisp shortcrust pastry, bacon, cheese, eggs and cream and you’ve got the most stunning springtime recipe: Asparagus and Bacon Quiche.
This is the perfect light meal for the first warm and sunny days of the year. A quiche like this can be served up for dinner with a crisp green salad (and a crisp white wine!) with the leftovers (if there are any) doing double duty as lunch box fillers the next day. Win-win.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Ingredients
To make my Asparagus and Bacon Quiche, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
- Asparagus: Of course! I could easily eat asparagus every day, but it’s also so lovely that it is a seasonal treat. Look for fresh, bright green asparagus for this recipe, with nice slender stems. They cook more evenly in the quiche than great huge stems.
- Eggs, Cream and Cheese: German medium eggs in all my recipes, these are closer to a large in most countries, approximately 55g in the shell. I usually use creme fraiche in my quiches, but you can use heavy cream or sour cream as well – check that it has a fat content of at least 30% for best results. I like a grated Gouda or Gruyere in this quiche, but it’s lovely with feta too.
- Flour, Butter, Sugar, Salt: The building blocks of our delicious homemade shortcrust pastry (truly! It’s easy!) I always use unsalted butter in my baking, so that I can control the amount of salt in the finished product.
- Bacon, Spring Onions, Peas and Garlic: These all pair perfectly with fresh asparagus and make up the remainder of the quiche fillings.
- Nutmeg, Paprika and Dijon: Round out the flavours of the quiche. Dijon mustard gives it a lovely kick and helps prevent the dreaded soggy bottom by sealing the pastry.
The complete ingredient list and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Instructions
I must have made hundreds of quiches in my life, and once you get the hang of them they are so simple (but still impressive!) To make my Asparagus and Bacon Quiche, there are only five main stages:
- First, make the pastry. Blend flour, butter, salt, and sugar into crumbs, add the egg and a splash of water, and mix to a soft dough. Roll out, press into your tart tin, and chill well. Freezing the dough at this point stops it from shrinking.
- Next, blind bake the crust. Line the pastry with baking paper and foil, blind bake until starting to colour, then remove the lining and bake briefly again to dry it out. Cool slightly and brush with Dijon mustard.
- Meanwhile, prep the filling. Whisk eggs, creme fraiche or cream, paprika garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Slice spring onions, grate the cheese, and trim the asparagus to fit your tin.
- Next, assemble the quiche. Scatter spring onions, peas, cheese, and prosciutto over the pastry base. Pour in the custard, arrange the asparagus on top, then top up with the remaining custard and sprinkle with a little more cheese (there is never enough cheese in my opinion).
- Finally, bake until golden and puffed, about 40–45 minutes. Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this quiche ahead of time?
Yes, you can. Quiche is ideal for making in advance, and is often better on day two. Bake fully, cool, then refrigerate for up to 3 days. Serve at room temperature or gently reheat at 160°C / 325°F for 10–15 minutes to take the chill off.
What can I substitute for creme fraiche?
Sour cream works well, or use heavy cream for a slightly richer finish.
How do I stop my quiche from getting a soggy base?
Blind baking is important in this particular quiche as the asparagus is a wet ingredient. I recommend always making quiche in a metal fluted tart tin, as it conducts heat much better than a glass or ceramic one.
Asparagus and Bacon Quiche
With a crispy homemade shortcrust pastry base, and a creamy, cheesy, filling topped with fresh asparagus, my Asparagus and Bacon Quiche is the perfect meal for spring time. Light, hearty, and totally delicious.
Ingredients
for the pastry:
- 250 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 125 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
for the filling:
- 12 long asparagus spears, 200–250 g
- 4 large eggs
- 300 ml creme fraiche or sour cream
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 100 g Gruyère, Gouda, or Emmenthaler Cheese,, grated
- 75 g prosciutto or bacon, finely diced
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- ½ cup cooked peas
Instructions
- MAKE THE PASTRY: In a food processor, blitz the butter, flour, salt, and sugar until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and 1 tablespoon of cold water. and pulse until it forms a dough. If needed, add cold water, a teaspoon at a time.250 g plain or all-purpose flour, 125 g cold unsalted butter, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 large egg
- ROLL AND CHILL: Roll out on a floured surface to fit a 26 cm tart tin. Press into the tin, fold over the edge to strengthen it, then trim the pastry edges and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or fridge for 30. Save trimmings.
- PREP THE FILLING: Heat oven to 200°C / 400°F. Trim asparagus to fit the quiche dish. Whisk eggs, creme fraiche, paprika, salt, garlic, nutmeg, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Set aside.12 long asparagus spears, 4 large eggs, 300 ml creme fraiche or sour cream, 1 tsp paprika powder, ½ tsp sea salt, 1 clove garlic, 1 pinch ground nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper
- BLIND BAKE: Line the pastry with baking paper and foil. Blind bake 15 minutes, carefully remove the lining, then bake 5 minutes more.
- CHECK AND BRUSH: Remove the quiche shell from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C / 350°F. Patch any cracks with pastry trimmings, then brush the shell with mustard (this helps seal it and prevents leaks – as well as tasting delicious!)2 tsp Dijon mustard
- ASSEMBLE: Scatter half the cheese, the prosciutto or bacon, spring onions and peas over the base. Pour in half the custard. Arrange asparagus on top, Fill with remaining custard, but be careful not to overfill, it needs room to puff up. Sprinkly over remaining cheese.100 g Gruyère, Gouda, or Emmenthaler Cheese,, 75 g prosciutto or bacon, 3 spring onions, ½ cup cooked peas
- BAKE: Bake 40-45 minutes until golden and set. The quiche will puff up quite dramatically when it is fully cooked, but will settle down on cooling.
- COOL: Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving, garnished with fresh herbs. A lovely spring time quiche like this is perfect with an icy cold glass of riesling.
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Nutrition
Calories: 589kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 237mg | Sodium: 899mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1198IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 208mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
About the Author
Jay Wadams is a cookbook author, food photographer, and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Gastronomy and Nutrition.
Based in Italy 🇮🇹 Germany 🇩🇪 and Australia 🇦🇺.
Hi, Jay
I look fwd to making this recipe but before i do, what is the depth of the tin you used? I sure don’t want the custard overflowing in the oven.
Thanks😀
Hi Leslie, great question! My tart tin is just over an inch deep, 3cm. Sometimes you migth end up with a little leftover custard depending on the size of your tart tin / eggs – I save it and mix it into some scrambled eggs in the morning! 🙂 I also definitely recommend placing the tart tin on an oven tray with a rim to prevent any spillage. Let me know how you get on! J.
HI,
Since I have some in the freezer, can I use frozen asparagus?
Thx
Hi, this is a great question! Frozen vegetables can be watery when they defrost, which can make your quiche soggy. If I had frozen asparagus, I’d probably defrost the asparagus, drain it well, and then fry it in a little olive oil before using it in the quiche 🙂 Happy cooking! J.
Hi, Jay
Finally got to make this recipe tonight. It was delicious & light. I used the store bought Careme sour cream shortcrust pastry. I look fwd to trying any other quiche recipes you have.
Thanks,
Leslie
Hi Leslie, oh I am delighted that this was a success for you! Good idea using a good quality store boght shortcrust, makes it super quick and simple 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know how it went – I’ve been busy making lots of cake at the moment – I think I might prefer a quiche! J.