This creamy Broccoli and Stilton Quiche bakes right in a cast iron pan and is good any time of the day, from brunch to dinner. Enjoy the goodness of tender broccoli, the richness of Stilton cheese, and the zesty pop of sun-dried tomatoes.
I can't remember the last time I made a quiche. I've had several rubbery, bland quiches at cafes, which has somewhat dampened my interest in them. Yet, as is so often the case, when I went to make one of my own, it turned out so much better. It was silky and creamy in a way that seems really impressive for something that's more or less beaten eggs and cream baked in a pie crust with some add-in ingredients for flavor.
This is the perfect breakfast dish - suitable for a lazy weekend at home, yet also nice enough for a gathering. It also works well for any meal of the day. It's just as tasty cold from the fridge as it is warm from the oven. You know, just in case you want to go back for another slice a little later on. And, spoiler alert, you will.
For a special brunch occasion, pair this quiche recipe with my Easy Cheese and Chive Scones, maybe this Cauliflower Potato Leek Soup, or these Danish Pancake Balls. For drinks, a Gin and Elderflower Tonic, a Cucumber Gin Cocktail, or this Frozen Matcha Latte.
And for another fun egg dish, try my Baked Scotch Eggs.
🥦Ingredients
All you need are six ingredients to make this quiche. And salt and pepper, but who's counting?
- Pie dough makes a tender crust for the quiche. Use store-bought if you don't have time to make your own, otherwise, use your favorite recipe to prepare one layer of pie crust dough. You can always make a double batch (or a standard recipe that makes enough for a top and bottom crust) and freeze half for future use. If making your own, add a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves to the dough for some extra earthy flavor.
- Light cream or half and half makes for a rich custardy egg filling for the quiche.
- Of course, you can't have a quiche without eggs.
- Broccoli works well as a vegetable in this quiche because it cooks nicely within the egg mixture when chopped up small.
- Stilton cheese is a soft and crumbly English blue cheese that creates a creamy texture when it melts into the quiche.
- Sun-dried tomatoes add a fun bite of savory tomato flavor. If your sun-dried tomatoes are packed in olive oil, pat them dry before using. These ones from Bella Sun Luci are a good choice if you need a recommendation.
See the recipe card below for all of the specific quantities.
Let's be clear, the star of this dish is the Stilton cheese. Stilton is an English blue cheese made with locally produced and pasteurized milk from three counties in central England.
Stilton is creamy, crumbly, and savory with some salty and nutty notes. Like any good cheese, it's complex. I don't always enjoy blue cheeses, but I find Stilton to be less overwhelming than others, and it melts beautifully into the egg custard of this quiche.
If you can't find Stilton, a good substitute is Gorgonzola. Although Gorgonzola is an Italian cheese, people often mistake Stilton and Gorgonzola for each other because they're just that similar.
🧀Substitutions and Variations
I'm always substituting and changing recipes. Here are a few ideas on how you could alter this Broccoli, Stilton, and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche and make it your own.
- Swap broccoli for asparagus. Chop it up small and use an equal amount.
- Try another cheese. I mentioned that Gorgonzola is a good alternative to Stilton, but feel free to play around with other cheeses as well. Even a basic cheddar would be a good choice.
- Swap out the cream for milk if you're looking to save a few calories. But honestly, I'm not sure it's worth the sacrifice in flavor and creaminess. I find that half and half is a good compromise. If you don't already have half and half, use half cream and half milk in the recipe.
- Skip the cast-iron pan. In the recipe, I tell you to make the quiche in a cast-iron pan. But that's not essential. I think the cast iron helps ensure a well-baked crust, and it's a good option if you don't have a pie pan. But it's not necessary. If you do have a pie pan handy, feel free to use that instead.
🍳Instructions
Here's how to make this Broccoli, Stilton, and Sun-dried tomato quiche.
Start by pressing your pie dough into the bottom of a 9-inch cast-iron pan. Place the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes, then use a fork to prick holes throughout the dough. This helps to reduce puffing up while it bakes. Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place parchment over the dough and add pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F, remove the weights and parchment, and bake for another 10 minutes. This process is called blind baking.
Chop the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and Stilton. Set aside a small amount of tomatoes and cheese for topping.
Whisk the eggs, cream, and salt until the mixture is smooth.
Sprinkle some of the Stilton across the bottom of the baked quiche crust.
Pour in the beaten egg mixture.
Add the broccoli, more cheese, and sundried tomatoes.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325 degrees until mostly set and just slightly wiggly in the middle. Let cool for 15 minutes, then top with the remaining tomatoes and cheese before serving.
Hint: Don't worry if you don't have pie weights! You can use dried beans or rice as an alternative. You need just enough to mostly cover the bottom of the pan and the dough. The purpose of the weights is to prevent the dough from puffing up or shrinking during the blind baking process.
🥡Storage
One of the reasons why I think quiches in restaurants aren't always very good is that they're often not fresh. That said, store this quiche wrapped in the fridge and eat it within two days for the best taste and texture. After that, it'll be fine to eat for another day or so, but just not as good in quality.
You can also remove it from the pan, wrap it well, and freeze this quiche after baking. Eat within two months by reheating in the oven at 350 degrees F until defrosted and warmed through.
Either way, don't let the quiche sit out for more than a couple of hours on the counter at room temperature.
📋FAQ
You can prevent a soggy quiche bottom by blind-baking the crust. That's what you call it when you pre-bake a crust without the filling and that's exactly what I have you do in this recipe. Quiche filling is just too liquidy to skip the blind bake part of the recipe.
You don't need to grease the cast iron pan for this quiche. if you're using a pie or tart tin, you don't need to grease those either. There is enough butter in the pie dough that it'll keep things from sticking.
It depends. In this recipe, the broccoli is chopped up so small that it cooks fine in the time that it takes to bake the quiche. But if you were using other vegetables, like onions and peppers, I'd suggest cooking those before adding them to the quiche.
Definitely. This quiche would be great baked a day in advance and kept wrapped in the fridge until ready to serve. You can warm it up in the oven to your liking or let it get to room temp first. Though, it's even good cold from the fridge.
📖 Recipe
Broccoli and Stilton Quiche
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings as a main dish 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This creamy broccoli, stilton, and sun-dried tomato quiche bakes right in a cast iron pan and is good any time of the day, from brunch to dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust or pie crust dough (enough for just the bottom of a pie)
- 5 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups light cream or half and half
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup chopped broccoli florets
- ½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, drained and patted dry
- ¾ cup crumbled Stilton cheese
Instructions
- Prep the crust. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place your unbaked pie crust/dough into the bottom of a 9-inch cast iron pan. If using homemade pie dough, you'll want to roll it out and evenly press it into the pan, going up about an inch on the sides. If using a store-bought crust that's already shaped, just place it in the pan. Put the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, then use a fork to prick holes throughout.
- Blind bake the crust. Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper or foil. Pour in pie weights (or dried beans or rice) onto the parchment so that the bottom of the pan is mostly covered with weights. Bake for 12 minutes. Lower the oven to 350, remove the weights and parchment, and bake for 10 more minutes until just lightly golden brown.
- Prep the filling. While the crust bakes, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Chop the broccoli and sundried tomatoes. Crumble the cheese. Set aside about ¼ of the tomatoes and cheese for topping after baking.
- Assemble and bake the quiche. Sprinkle half of the cheese across the bottom of the crust. Pour in the egg mixture. Add the broccoli, sundried tomatoes, and remaining cheese. Lower the oven temperature to 325 and place the quiche in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the quiche is set almost all the way through. The very center should still have a little wiggle to it.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes, then top with the reserved tomatoes and cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
No pie weights? Dried beans and rice will also do the job.
Feel free to use a regular 9 inch pie tin if you don't have a cast iron pan.
This makes about 4 servings (2 pieces per serving) as a main dish with a side salad. But if you're serving it as part of a meal with a few other dishes, you can easily stretch this to 8 servings (1 piece per serving).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Steve says
I really like how the stilton melts into the egg quiche and the sun dried tomatoes add a pop of extra flavor.