Make the best of the summer’s bounty with this zucchini tomato quiche. With fresh grated zucchini, colorful cherry tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan, it’s just the thing for brunch, or a make-ahead breakfast or lunch.
One thing we gardeners can count on in the peak of summer is a surplus of zucchini and tomatoes, right? That basil plant in the corner of the garden bed is pretty happy, too.
If you are looking for ideas about what to make with the most summery of summer produce, check out this zucchini tomato quiche!
Ingredients for this quiche
It’s simple enough as quiches go—shallots, shredded zucchini, an assortment of colorful cherry tomatoes, basil, and herbs with a custard base of eggs, milk, cream, sour cream, and Parmesan.
Tomatoes, basil, and zucchini play well together as a matter of principle, and they work beautifully in this quiche. Every bite is a taste of summer.
Blind Baking the Crust
To make the quiche the first thing I do is blind baking (pre-baking) a homemade pie crust. Blind baking browns the crust all over—bottom, sides, and top, and helps prevent the crust from getting soggy from the quiche filling.
The best crust for quiche
It helps to have a crust all ready to go. For this recipe I’m using my favorite all-butter crust with a ratio of 1 stick of butter to 1 1/4 cups of flour.
You can use crusts with a higher fat ratio (like this no-fail sour cream pie crust) but with more fat in the crust you risk get more slumping when you pre-bake. (It can be done, just form the sides higher and use these blind baking instructions with sugar for pie weights.)
Can’t be bothered with a homemade crust? I understand. See my review of the Best and Worst store-bought crusts.
I’ve tested this recipe with the best of that bunch, the Wholly Wholesome Organic Traditional 9-inch pie shell, and it worked fine. The package instructed not to pre-bake if making a quiche, so I didn’t. But you could if you wanted to, if you want the bottom of the crust to get browned.
If you’re using any other store-bought crust, you can defrost it and skip the pre-baking or partially-pre-bake it using the instructions for pre-baking on the package.
Make ahead!
One of the best things about quiche is that you can make it ahead. I let the quiche cool all the way, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Over the next few days, I can take a slice at a time, reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds, and have a delicious instant breakfast or lunch.
What about freezing quiche?
You can freeze quiche, either baked or unbaked. Here are some general guidelines, which may vary depending on your oven and how thick or thin the quiche is.
- Fully baked: Preheat the oven to 350°F and put the frozen quiche in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s fully heated through.
- Unbaked: Place the frozen quiche in the oven and add 10 to 20 minutes to the cook time for this recipe.
- You can also thaw a fully baked quiche in advance, overnight in the fridge, and then reheat at the same temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF QUICHE? Try These!
- Asparagus Quiche with Fontina Cheese
- Mushroom Quiche
- Spinach and Artichoke Quiche
- Caramelized Onion Quiche
- Quiche Lorraine
Zucchini Tomato Quiche Recipe
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Pre-baking Crust time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
There is enough filling in this quiche for 1 homemade pie crust, 1 store-bought, deep-dish frozen pie crust, or 2 shallow store-bought frozen pie crusts.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 recipe for all butter crust pie dough, rolled out and lining a 9 or 10-inch pie plate, frozen for at least 30 minutes.
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup sliced shallots or spring onions
- 1/2 pound zucchini (about 1 1/2 cups shredded)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs de Provence (can substitute Italian herb blend)
- 10 basil leaves, sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (3 ounces) packed, shredded Parmesan cheese
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
Method
1 Pre-bake the crust: Heat oven to 350°F. If using a homemade pie crust, freeze it for at least 30 minutes.
Line the inside of the crust with heavy duty aluminum foil. Fill the pie crust to the top with pie weights—either sugar, dry rice, or dry beans. (I prefer to use sugar).
Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil and pie weights from crust. (See my detailed instructions on blind baking a crust.)
Note: If you’re using a store-bought crust, you can defrost it and skip the pre-baking, or partially-pre-bake it using the instructions for pre-baking on the package.
2 Prep the zucchini: Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a box grater. Set the grated zucchini in a mesh sieve set over a bowl to drain off excess moisture.
3 Cook the shallots: Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced shallots or spring onions and toss to coat with the oil. Lower the heat to low and cook gently for several minutes, occasionally stirring.
Once softened and lightly browned, remove from heat.
4 Make the filling: Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the milk, cream, and sour cream. Whisk in the dried herbs de Provence, the fresh sliced basil leaves, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and the grated zucchini.
5 Assemble the quiche: Spread cooked shallots over the bottom of the pre-baked shell. Pour the zucchini filling mixture on top. Arrange cut cherry tomatoes on the top of the filling, pushing each one in about half way.
6 Bake: Bake for 45 to 55 minutes at 350°F, until set in the center. If the edges of the crust look like they might get a too browned, tent them with foil or a pie protector. Note that if you are using a store-bought crust that is more shallow than a homemade crust, the quiche will cook more quickly.
Remove from oven when the center of the quiche has set and the top is lightly browned.
Let it cool completely before serving.
