We love this recipe for our Hash Brown Crust Bacon and Cheddar Quiche! The hash brown is actually really easy to make and gets crispy around the edge, just the way great hash browns should be. It’s a really great texture to add to the light and fluffy quiche. This quiche recipe has all your favorite breakfast items in one dish, and makes it a super good option when you’re having people over.
How to make this quiche
- Squeeze as much liquid from the thawed hash browns as possible and place into a large mixing bowl. Add cheddar, salt and pepper and stir together. This is important to make sure the crust will crisp up.
- Lightly grease a 9” spring form pan with cooking spray and evenly press the hash browns mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan, making sure you don’t have any holes within the crust. This is very important to prevent any leakage from happening when you pour the filling into the crust.
- Place the pan in the freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Place frozen crust into the oven and par-bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and slightly cool. This will also help to set the crust so it’s crisp at the end.
- In a skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and lightly caramelize for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and cream. Whisk together until light and fluffy.
- Add remaining ingredients, including caramelized onions and stir together until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour filling mixture into the par-baked crust and place into the oven.
- Lower oven temperature to 375˚F and bake the quiche for 25 to 30 minutes or until the eggs have just set.
- Remove quiche from oven and score the perimeter with a paring knife. This will help to loosen the crust from the pan without tearing.
- Loosen springform pan from sides of quiche and place quiche back into the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The extra time will help the crust get crisp on the sides.
FAQs
Can this quiche be made and frozen ahead of time?
Absolutely! To freeze quiche, bake as instructed then cool completely. Place in freezer uncovered until fully frozen. Tightly wrap with foil or plastic wrap. When ready to serve preheat oven to 425˚F.Place quiche onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until warmed through and crust is crisp. Remove from oven, slice and serve.
What about freezing individual wedges?
Yes! Just cool the quiche completely, cut into wedges and follow the same process from above, except once the wedges are frozen wrap each piece individually in foil or plastic wrap before storing in the freezer.
How long will the quiche keep in the freezer?
We recommend freezing for up to 3 months for optimal freshness.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- The most important thing about this recipe is to make sure you’ve filled in every single little gap throughout the hash brown crust. This is to make sure there’s no leakage that occurs when the filling is poured into the par-baked crust.
- I like to use the bottom and sides of a glass or measuring cup to press the crust down into the bottom and sides of the pan, which will help to give you an even crust.
Variations
- The cheddar can be swapped out for almost any cheese of your choice, like crumbled goat cheese, shredded fontina, crumbled feta, or shredded Swiss.
- This recipe can be made vegetarian friendly by swapping the bacon out for sauteed spinach (just make sure to squeeze as much liquid from the spinach before adding it to the filling mixture).
- You can also add diced and par-cooked potatoes or sweet potatoes to double down on the spuds and bulk this quiche up even more.
We also have this version with asparagus instead of bacon for a little variety. We used this spring form pan. Although it costs a little more than the average spring form pan, it’s a great quality and allows the quiche to release from it easily every time!
If you love this Hash Brown Crust Bacon and Cheddar Quiche, and just brunch in general, as much as we do, you’ll also love our :
Twice Baked Breakfast Potatoes
Croque Madame Toast
Chilaquiles
Breakfast Casserole
And finally our 12 Breakfast Ideas post!
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Hash Brown Crust Bacon and Cheddar Quiche
Our Hash Brown Crust Bacon and Cheddar Quiche is a fun twist on a traditional quiche. It has a crispy hash brown crust! This is a crowd pleaser, and easy on you too because you can make it ahead!
Servings: 8
EQUIPMENT
- spring form pan
INGREDIENTS
hash brown crust
- 20 ounces frozen hash browns thawed
- ½ cup white cheddar shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
filling
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- 6 large eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 4 rashers bacon crispy cooked and crumbled (a rasher is a slice of bacon)
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tbs chives thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Squeeze as much liquid from the thawed hash browns as possible and place into a large mixing bowl. Add cheddar, salt and pepper and stir together.
- Lightly grease a 9” spring form pan with cooking spray and evenly press the hash browns mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan, making sure you don't have any holes within the crust (this is important to prevent any leakage)
- Place the pan in the freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Place frozen crust until the oven and par-bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and slightly cool.
- In a skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and lightly caramelize for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and cream. Whisk together until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients, including caramelized onions and stir together until mixed up. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour filling mixture into the par-baked crust and place into the oven.
- Lower oven temperature to 375˚F and bake the quiche for 25 to 30 minutes or until the eggs have just set.
- Remove quiche from oven and score the perimeter with a paring knife. Loosen springform pan from sides of quiche and place quiche back into the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. (this will help the crust get crisp on the sides)
- Remove quiche form oven and cool for 10 minutes.
- Slice quiches into wedges, top with sliced chives and serve.
NOTES
- To Make and Freeze Ahead: Bake as instructed then cool completely. Place in freezer uncovered until fully frozen. Tightly wrap with foil or plastic wrap. When ready to serve preheat oven to 425˚F.Place quiche onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until warmed through and crust is crisp. Remove from oven, slice and serve.
- To Make and Freeze Individual Wedges: Just cool the quiche completely, cut into wedges and follow the same process from above, except once the wedges are frozen wrap each piece individually in foil or plastic wrap before storing in the freezer.
- We recommend freezing for up to 3 months for optimal freshness.
- The most important thing about this recipe is to make sure you’ve filled in every single little gap throughout the hash brown crust. This is to make sure there’s no leakage that occurs when the filling is poured into the par-baked crust.
- I like to use the bottom and sides of a glass or measuring cup to press the crust down into the bottom and sides of the pan, which will help to give you an even crust.
Serving: 1serving Calories: 272kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 12g Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 13g Cholesterol: 216mg Sodium: 416mg Potassium: 122mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 766IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 188mg Iron: 1mg
CUISINE: American
KEYWORD: hash brown, quiche
COURSE: Breakfast, brunch
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This is the most delicious quiche I have eaten! The instructions are simple to follow and on hand. I prepared this for the first time this past Sunday for Easter brunch. I only received rave reviews. My son n Law said he would eat this quiche any time of day. Since I only enjoyed one piece myself I made another quiche 2 days later. Thank you!
this is kind of a strange question but how would you recommend editing the recipe if i wanted to use a regular pie crust? i can’t find another quiche recipe we all love as much as this one but we can’t seem to get our hands on any hashbrowns before easter tomorrow, but i know i can make a crust. would the ingredients stay the same and i make the crust as i would for any other quiche?
Hello! Yes you can sub in a regular pie crust! The ingredients and instructions (for a regular quiche) would stay the same. You just want to make sure the pie dish you’re using has some depth, since this is a slightly thicker quiche!
I made this today for Christmas brunch, and it was fantastic! I made the crust yesterday, and froze it overnight to save that step this morning. I used chorizo instead of bacon, and followed the recipe as written. Other than the hash browns sticking a little to the sides of the pan, it was perfect. I’ll definitely make again!
I would love to make this for Christmas brunch this year. What steps would you recommend for me to make the night before?
Hi Amanda! Yes this is a good one to make the night before. We have these directions in the bottom of the recipe card:
To Make and Freeze Ahead: Bake as instructed then cool completely. Place in freezer uncovered until fully frozen. Tightly wrap with foil or plastic wrap. When ready to serve preheat oven to 425˚F.Place quiche onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until warmed through and crust is crisp. Remove from oven, slice and serve.
To Make and Freeze Individual Wedges: Just cool the quiche completely, cut into wedges and follow the same process from above, except once the wedges are frozen wrap each piece individually in foil or plastic wrap before storing in the freezer.
Looking forward to trying this out for Christmas brunch! Would it be possible to use fresh potatoes for the crust instead of frozen? I already have a 5lb bag of golden potatoes I’d love to use up. I was planning on using a cheese grater to shred them and then leave them out overnight to dry out a bit. Any insight is appreciated!
Hi! Yes you can use fresh potatoes. I recommend squeezing as much water out of the potatoes as you can before using them. I’ve never left them out overnight to dry them out, so I can say for sure about that, but if you’ve had luck with that drying method in the past go for it!
Super easy and delish way to use leftover meats and veggies in your hash brown crust quiche!
Delicious! A rule in carpentry is measure twice, cut once. In cooking it should be read the recipe twice, measure once. Despite inadvertently doubling the amount of cheese in the crust which prevented it from getting crisp, we all still loved it. Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar made is very tasty. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed this Lorrie! I think you can never have too much cheese so I am glad it worked out!
If I am making ahead to freeze, do I remove it from the pan after the initial freeze period unwrapped? Then wrap just the quiche until ready to bake?
Hi! The quiche should actually be removed from the pan once it’s cooled down, before it’s frozen. Then once it’s frozen it can be wrapped and stored. When ready to use, just unwrap it and set it onto a baking sheet and reheat!
Great!! My family loved it.
I would love to make this as it looks delicious, but have one question: can I make this, freeze it and then let it thaw before popping it in the oven?
Hi Ann! You can either freeze the crust and add the raw filling fresh before baking it or make and bake the whole quiche, freeze it, then pop it back in the oven to thaw + reheat before serving.
I’m new at this cooking thing so maybe I’m confused, but shouldn’t the 1 hour of freezing time preparation for the crust be counted in the whole “prep time” section? Saying prep time is “15 minutes” is a bit misleading when in reality I had to make the crust and wait an hour.
Thanks for catching that. Thats was omitted in the time. It’s actually a time that is counted different than prep because it’s not active time. It has been added in now. Thanks!
can you use tater tots instead?
Hi! I’ve never tried it with tater tots so I’m not sure it would work. If you’re thinking about mashing up the thawed tots, i think that may work. If you’re thinking of lining the tots up for the crust, the filling will leak through the small gaps
How much roasted vegetables to add in place of bacon for vegetarian version?
About a cup of chopped roasted vegetables :)
Ok everyone! I have some leftover mashed potatoes. I’m wondering how to convert if I could the crust to using mashed potatoes. Anybody have any ideas to do so? Please tell me your ideas!
I have made this quiche twice now and have never had an issue with the hash brown crust. It has been crisp and delicious every time with absolutely no leakage and I’m not a pro with a springform pan. I think the gals with leakage may have not had their pans properly closed. Such harsh words means the cook needs to simmer down and not get so flustered. It’s a great recipe
Can’t wait to try this! ????
Is this recipe gluten free?
Yep