Breakfast Quiche With a Hash Brown Crust
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but for me it’s my least favourite so I’m always looking for ways to make it a bit more interesting. Crisp, crunchy and a whole lot of fun this is a great way to make breakfast a bit more exciting. I recently saw this hashbrown crust idea on Instagram, and I instantly thought I had to make a breakfast quiche with it and I’m so glad I did. This breakfast quiche is a twist on the traditional fry-up combining some of the traditional flavours all in one cheesy eggy dish. It’s so good I promise you it’s worth giving it a go! If you are having friends over for brekkie most of the prep can be done the night before so you can make the filling and bake. It’s a great conversation starter and hey, who doesn’t like hash browns?!
When Should Breakfast Quiche Be Eaten?
Any time you like! Yes, this is a great breakfast, but it would be excellent as part of a brunch or even at lunch too. If you have guests, you can make this quiche ahead of time and heat it in a moderate to hot oven for 30 minutes before serving.
What goes with breakfast quiche?
Breakfast quiche is best served hot so you can enjoy the crispy hash brown crust, but it’s still great eaten gold. This could be eaten on its own or served with various sides. it’s your breakfast so have whatever you like. If you’re going for a full English vibe, serve it with beans and some sauteed mushrooms or perhaps some roasted tomatoes. I love to get some of my five-a-day in at breakfast so would serve this with some veggies or some salad.
How to make breakfast quiche:
Time: 2 hours (includes resting in the freezer)
Serves: 8
Skill: Easy/medium
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
750 g frozen hash browns, thawed
100g strong cheddar cheese, grated
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
For the breakfast filling:
1 white onion, finely diced
6 eggs, beaten
120ml double cream
6 rashers of streaky bacon, sliced
4 sausages, I really like the veggie Richmond ones
100 g cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Defrost the hash browns and place them into a large mixing bowl. If the hash browns feel really moist, make sure you squeeze out as much water as you can before you mix them with the cheese so they’ll get nice and crunchy in the oven. Crumble them into small pieces and then add the cheese, seasoning and mix really well.
Lightly grease a 9inch springform tin and tip in the hash brown mix. Gently press it down and use your hands (so much easier that way) to evenly create a crust that covers the bottom and sides. Think of this as your pie crust so ensure there are no holes or it will leak!
Place the tin in the freezer and freeze for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200˚C then place cold crust in and bake for 20 minutes.
In a pan on medium heat gently fry the diced onion for ten minutes in a little oil and then set aside to cool.
In the same pan cook your sausages until golden brown and set aside to cool. Veggie sausages work great here and they’re less cals!
Then, in the same pan, cook your bacon until crispy.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, cream, cheese, onion and plenty of salt and pepper.
Chop the cooled sausages and bacon into bite-size pieces, add them to the bowl and mix together really well until fully combined.
Pour the filling mixture into the par-baked crust and place it back in the oven at 180˚C to cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the tin from the oven and run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin to release the sides of the crust to loosen the springform pan from the sides of the quiche. Remove the side of the springform tin keeping the quiche on the bottom and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes so the crust can crisp up on the outside and it’s cooked all the way through.
Serve hot and eat at any time of day, or you could take slices on a picnic in the sunshine.
Notes:
Veggie sausages work really well in this recipe, and to make it properly veggie why not swap out the bacon for some sauteed mushrooms.
You could also make individual portions of this in a muffin tin!
This recipe was inspired by a hash brown crust quiche I was on Instagram a few weeks ago. When I saw it I just knew I had to make a breakfast version so thank you to Spoonforkbacon for the inspo - you are awesome!
Can you freeze breakfast quiche? Absolutely! You can freeze breakfast quiche and it will be great once it’s defrosted and heathen in the oven to crisp up the crust so it’s nice and crunchy. If you freeze it in slices it makes a great grab-and-go breakfast, just remember to put a slice in the fridge the night before so it has time to defrost!