Caramelized Onion Quiche
A quiche is the perfect recipe for holiday baking or when you’re having people over for brunch and want to impress. This caramelized onion quiche is full of flavor and made with the most delicious rosemary crust.
Genuinely one of my favorite quiche recipes yet (and ya girl loves a quiche).
Most mornings I’m watching the Dish podcast (on YouTube cause I like to see faces) while I eat breakfast, and when they ask, “What’s your favorite way to eat eggs?” I always think “quiche-d.”
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CARAMELIZED ONION QUICHE
This quiche is full of flavor from the crust to the custard. The crust is packed with freshly chopped rosemary (you can use dried, but I highly recommend fresh) and is blind baked to prevent that dreaded soggy bottom.
The filling consists of caramelizing onions, which takes about 35 minutes on the stove, lots of Gruyère cheese, and even more rosemary. It bakes up into this flavor-packed breakfast that gives a sweet savoriness from the onions, a little cheesy tang, and all the rosemary goodness.
Why use a blender to mix quiche filling? Blending the custard creates a smoother, creamier filling by fully breaking down the eggs and incorporating them evenly with the other ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
- All-purpose flour: The structure behind the rosemary pie crust.
- Salt: Seasons both the crust and quiche filling.
- Fresh rosemary: Adds delicious herbiness to the crust and filling.
- Unsalted butter: Creates a flaky pie crust.
- Cold water: Brings the pie dough together while keeping the butter cold for a flaky crust.
- Olive oil: Helps caramelize the onions in the filling.
- Onion: Slowly caramelizes into a sweet, savory base for the quiche.
- Garlic: Adds depth and pairs yummily with the caramelized onions.
- Eggs: Set the custard and give the quiche its hold.
- Full-fat Greek yogurt: Adds creaminess and added fluff to the quiche.
- Milk: Loosens the custard for a smooth texture.
- Black pepper: Balances the richness of the filling.
- Gruyère cheese: For a nutty, savory tang that melts into the creamy filling.
Do I need to brush my pie crust with egg wash? Brushing your crust with egg wash while blind baking helps create a firmer seal before baking with a wet filling. While not required, this works to prevent your crust from becoming soggy once baked.
HOW TO MAKE A CARAMELIZED ONION QUICHE
Make the rosemary pie crust…
In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and fresh rosemary, then rub in the cold cubed butter until the mixture has a sand-like consistency.
Stir in the cold water until the dough comes together, then gently press it into a ball, making sure there are no dry spots. I like to place a few ice cubes in a glass before filling it with water so it’s extra cold.
Place the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll it into an even ⅛-inch-thick circle. Gently peel the parchment away from the top of the dough, lay it back down, flip the dough over, and remove the top piece of parchment.
Carefully flip the dough, parchment-side up, into a 10-inch pie dish. Remove the remaining parchment, then gently shift the dough so it sits flat against the bottom and sides of the dish.
If you have more than 1 inch of excess dough around the edges, use a butter knife to trim it and redistribute the excess to any areas where the crust is too short. Tuck the remaining dough under itself around the edge of the pie dish to form your crust.
To crimp the crust, make a peace sign with the pointer and middle fingers of one hand and place them along the edge of the dough. Use the pointer finger of your other hand to pull the dough into the space between your two fingers, creating a crimp; repeat around the entire edge.
Place the crimped crust in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°F.
Blind bake your quiche crust…
Once chilled, prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork to prevent it from puffing during baking. Crinkle a piece of parchment paper, place it inside the crust, and fill it with baking weights.
Bake the crust for 11 minutes, then carefully remove the parchment with the weights. Crack one egg from the quiche filling into a large mixing bowl, whisk it, and use a pastry brush to coat the inside of the crust with a thin layer of the egg.
Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 7 minutes, until the bottom is no longer wet-looking and has a slight golden color from the egg wash. Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the quiche filling.
Caramelize the onions…
While the crust cools, cut the onion in half lengthwise, place each half flat-side down, make a vertical cut through the middle, then slice into ¼-inch pieces to create quarter-moon slices. This will give you even distribution of your onions throughout the quiche.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the sliced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeply caramelized, about 35 minutes, stirring more frequently toward the end to prevent them from burning.
Add the minced garlic, stir, and cook for another minute before removing the pan from the heat. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Make the quiche filling…
In the large mixing bowl with the whisked egg, add the remaining seven eggs, salt, black pepper, rosemary, Greek yogurt, and milk. Whisk until thoroughly combined, or use an immersion blender for an extra-smooth and creamy quiche filling.
Assemble and bake your caramelized onion quiche…
Stir ⅔ of the shredded Gruyère into the egg mixture. Once the crust has cooled completely, sprinkle half of the caramelized onions and garlic evenly over the bottom.
Pour the quiche filling over the onions, then top with the remaining cheese and caramelized onions. Gently shimmy a fork through the filling to help distribute the cheese throughout rather than leaving it sitting on top.
Bake the quiche for 40–45 minutes, until the edges are set and slightly browned and the center still has a very slight wobble. Let the quiche cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
3 reasons you’ll love this caramelized onion quiche…
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Finely chop your fresh rosemary! You want to see specks of rosemary throughout the crust and the quiche filling, without biting into big chunks.
- Measure your dough when rolling your crust. You’re looking for ⅛”-inch thickness so that it’s wide enough to hang over your pie dish. This way you can tuck the edges along the rim to prevent it from collapsing in the oven!
- Pay attention to your onions as they cook down. At first, you just need to stir them occasionally, but as they begin to darken in color, you’ll need to stir them more regularly to prevent them from burning.
- If you don’t have Greek yogurt on hand, substitute for sour cream! You can also swap in for extra milk, though I love the fluff and extra creaminess from the yogurt.
- It can be hard to find Gruyère cheese on its own. A blend of Gruyère and Swiss cheese is totally fine!
- To check if your quiche is done, tap the side of the dish in the oven (with a mitt on), and if it gives just the tiniest wobble, it should be ready to pull.
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
To save time the day of, you can prep your rosemary pie dough and form it in the baking dish the night before. Cover and place it in the fridge, then follow the directions to blind bake the next day.
Once baked, your caramelized onion quiche will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months. I like to freeze quiche in slices and reheat in the microwave for an easy breakfast grab!
Note that freezing your quiche will likely change the texture of the filling slightly, but it’ll still be delicious.
MORE BRUNCH RECIPES TO IMPRESS
- Spinach and Feta Quiche
- Pumpkin Scones with Brown Butter Glaze
- Double Chocolate Muffin Tops
- Strawberry Coffee Cake
- 4 Flavor Muffins from One Batter
EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED
- 10-inch Pie Dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Knife
- Spatulas
- Frying Pan
- Whisk or Immersion Blender
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- Pie Weights (I used uncooked dried rice/beans)
Equipment
- 10-inch Pie Dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Knife
- Spatulas
- Frying Pan
- Whisk
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- Pie Weights I used uncooked dried rice/beans
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary 2 tsp dried
- ¾ cup unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 4 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion approx. ½ pound
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 eggs
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary 1 tsp dried
- 1 ½ cups Gruyère cheese shredded
Instructions
- Start by prepping your crust. In a bowl, stir together your flour, salt, and rosemary. Rub your butter into your flour mixture until you have a sand-like consistency
- Stir in your cold water (I like to put a few ice cubes in a glass before filling it with cold water to make sure it’s extra cold). Then press the dough into a ball until there are no more dry spots
- Place your dough between two large pieces of parchment paper, and roll into a circle that’s ⅛” thick. Make sure your dough is an even thickness throughout
- Gently peel the parchment back from the top layer, lay it back onto the dough, flip all of it over, and repeat with the bottom (now top) layer of parchment.
- Removing one side of the parchment, carefully lay that side face down into a 10-inch pie dish and remove the top layer of parchment
- Carefully shift the dough to ensure it lies flat in the pan and along the sides. If you have more than an inch excess, use a butter knife to cut away any extra and redistribute to other spots where the crust is shorter
- Tuck under the excess dough around the edges to form your crust
- Make a peace sign with your pointer and middle fingers on one hand, and place it along the edge of your crust. With the pointer finger of your other hand, point toward the center of the peace sign and pull back the dough in the center of your fingers. This will form a crimp. Repeat along the edge of your crust until complete
- Place your pie dish with the crimped crust in the fridge for 15 minutes
- Preheat your oven to 425°F
- Once chilled, remove your pie dish from the fridge and prick the bottom and sides of your crust with a fork to prevent the crust from puffing when you bake
- Crinkle a piece of parchment paper and lay it carefully in your dish before pouring in your baking weights
- Bake your chilled crust for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully lift out the parchment paper and baking weights
- Before returning your crust to the oven, crack one egg from your quiche mixture into a large mixing bowl, whisk, and use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer along the inside of your crust. This will help bake a barrier between your crust and filling to prevent a soggy bottom
- Bake for an additional 7 minutes until the inside bottom of your crust is no longer wet-looking and has a slight golden hint from the egg wash. Cool completely before adding your below filling
- Cut your onion in half lengthwise, then lay each half on the flat side and make a vertical cut down the middle, before slicing into ¼” slices. This will give you quarter-moon slices so the onions distribute better in your quiche
- In a frying pan, add your olive oil and sliced onions. Place over medium heat and cook down, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelized – about 35 minutes. Towards the end, be sure to stir regularly to prevent the onions from burning
- Add in your minced garlic, stir, and cook for another minute before removing from the heat
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- In the large mixing bowl with your one egg, crack in your remaining seven eggs, salt, pepper, rosemary, yogurt, and milk. Whisk until thoroughly combined. You can use an immersion blender for an extra creamy filling
- Stir in ⅔ of your cheese into your egg mixture
- Across the base of your cooled crust, sprinkle half of your onions and garlic in an even layer. Cover with the egg mixture, and top evenly with the remaining ⅓ of cheese and the other half of your cooked onions and garlic. Use a fork to shimmy around gently and make sure the cheese is mixed into the egg mixture (not just sitting on top of it)
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the edges are set and slightly browned and the center of the quiche barely gives a wobble
- Cool for 15 minutes, then cut and serve!
