My countertops are just about the same height as my four year old son. Every time I go to the kitchen to cook, I see a little set of eyes peering over every surface in search of tidbits he can sneak. The problem is that since I’m often styling and photographing food, things aren’t always in their containers. He has on more than one occasion eaten a spoonful of salt thinking he was sneaking sugar, or even more often he gets palmfuls of flour and gags when he realizes it isn’t the powdered sugar. Unsweetened pastry dough looks deceivingly like sugar cookie dough, and crisco can appear to be vanilla frosting. He’s slowly starting learn his lesson and often reaches up and then retracts to take a closer look. So part of me felt bad when I was preparing this quiche and he came in for his regular surveying. He gets excited anytime he sees the roulpat and a rolling pin so with eager eyes he asked if it was sugar cookie dough. I told him it was pie crust dough and he replied “Ohhh that’s even better! Mom I LOVE pie. I love apple pie, and cherry pie, and chocolate pie, so I’m not even going to steal any dough so I can have pie when it’s done.” I knew what was coming next. “What kind of pie is it??!” With all of the enthusiasm I could muster, I exclaimed, “Zucchini Pie!” For a woman who always has a camera around her neck you’d think I would have thought to take a picture because the look on his face was priceless.The best part is that I can thank a reader for this one. Kate and I always love reading your comments (and we wish you’d comment more, we love to hear from you!) and we love to click on your profiles in a non-stalker-ish manner and check out your blogs too. I have found SO many cool people and interesting blogs just from looking at the people commenting here. We have such a talented audience! That’s just last week I stumbled upon Susan and her blog MyEyeQ. The first thing that caught my eye was her photography (drool!) and the next thing was a recipe for zucchini quiche. Tis the season for zucchini and I knew I had to try it. I changed the recipe from the original, mostly to accommodate a single 9-inch crust as opposed to 2 8″ ones. My family and assorted taste testers loved this one and I think you will too!
If you have a mandoline or a food processor, then slicing the zucchini will be a cinch and you’ll get perfectly even sized pieces. If you don’t have either, then no worries, just use a knife.
Set those aside and melt some butter in a large skillet. Cook a little garlic and onion (I use red onions for color, but white or yellow work just fine too)
When they’ve softened up a bit, toss in the sliced zucchini and and salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes longer.
You could really use just about any fresh herb in this. I have tons of oregano in my garden so I used that. Basil or thyme would be great too.
Now we can’t have quiche without eggs, right? Pretend there’s 3 in this bowl! I was adjusting as I went and ended up adding an extra one at the end. Beat those up and add a touch of dijon mustard, some red pepper flakes, and the herbs.
Now comes my favorite part of quiche. Cheese. It’s actually my favorite part of any dish that requires cheese. Gruyere is a little pricey but it’s worth it. You could substitute a good Swiss, but try the Gruyere if you can, it’s awesome! It melts beautifully which is why you often see it in fondue and baked pasta dishes and it has a strong enough flavor that it comes through in a dish like this. I also love it when it comes in a fancy paper package. This one says Switzerland and that makes me happy. I’ve been to Switzerland and they have the most beautiful cows I’ve ever seen in my life. So apparently beautiful cows make beautiful cheese.
Mix the egg mixture with the zucchini mixture and pop it all in the pie shell.
Sprinkle a little Parmesan on top (or you could just use a little extra Gruyere). I also sprinkled a few extra pepper flakes on top for color- but be careful if you do that because it might turn out spicier than you expected!
Bake it up in the oven until the top is golden and your house will smell soooo yummy.
Quiche is a great dish because it’s so flexible. You can serve it for breakfast or brunch along-side fruit and sweet rolls, or you can have it for dinner with a salad. It can be served warm or at room temp, or even cold out of the fridge. I actually think this tasted better room temp than it did when it was warm. I like how it sets up once it cools and I could taste all of the flavors better.
Zucchini Cheese Quiche
adapted from MyEyeQ
1 single 9″ pie crust (Click here for recipe)
1 lb zucchini, thinly sliced (about 3 small-medium zucchini)
1 Tbs butter
1/2 C diced red onion
3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
kosher salt
black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 Tbs dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbs fresh chopped oregano (or 1 1/2 tsp dry)
1/8 – 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
5 oz gruyere cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place rolled out pie crust in a 9″ pie plate and flute edges. Place in fridge until ready to use.
In a large skillet on the stove-top, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add sliced zucchini and add a sprinkle of salt (about 1/2 tsp) and a few cracks of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until zucchini is softened. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs. Add dijon mustard, oregano, red pepper flakes. Whisk until combined and then gently stir in Gruyere cheese.
Add egg and cheese mixture to zucchini mixture and toss until combined. Place mixture in prepared pie crust and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set and top is lightly golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Can be served warm, at room temp, or even cold.
For more zucchini love check out:
Chocolate Zucchini Bread (a reader favorite!)
Zucchini Bread
Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccini
Grilled Stuffed Zucchini
Tortellini Sausage Soup
Questions & Reviews
Was checking my stats today and saw a link from your website, followed it and there you were…or rather there I was! So tickled you liked my Zucchini Quiche recipe. Guess what I polished off today for lunch? Yup, the last of 2 quiches I made last week, so yes, it actually does taste better the next day, or several days later. I also made my mine this time with yellow and green zucchini.
Just wanted to say 'thanks' for another keeper! The toddler, once again, ate his entire serving. I ended up using an extra egg and extra cheese b/c of using a bit more zucchini but that just made for a bigger quiche. 🙂 Thanks again!
I made this the other night and had a tiny bit of swiss and some Flagship cheese. Delicious! I had to tell you though, as I was putting the crust into the pan my daughter said, "Oooh! What kind of pie are you making?" When I said zucchini, even though she loves it she said, "Ugh." Then everyone got sick so I've been the only one who's been able to enjoy. I have a whole pie sitting in my fridge (minus 2 pieces). Oh well, more for me. It was fabulous!
I made this today for our Sunday late lunch, which passes for dinner and lunch on Sunday at our house. I used Swiss instead of Guyere because that's what I had. Absolutely delicious. Try it; you'll like it!
I made these in my mini (3 1/2-in.) tart pans today for a grab-n-go breakfast during the week. So tasty AND convenient!
I made this this week with yellow squash. I thought it turned out great! Thanks for sharing. (And it was even better the next day!)
I just found your blog and now use it as my inspiration for my daily dinner dilemma! . I was tentative about the zucchini quiche but I had some much in my garden I had to try it – what a hit! I used fontina cheese instead s(since that was on hand!) but the rest I followed to a t and it was FABULOUS!! I made a version of your other quiche for the kiddies and they loved it too. Thanks for tall the inspiration!
I was planning on making sausage quiche tonight, but saw this post and decided to give it a try instead. Unfortunately I didn't have the gruyere, so I had to go with Swiss and Parmesan tonight, but I'll have to try the gruyere sometime. I just wanted to say that used the side of my box grater to slice up the zucchini and it worked beautifully! Thanks for the recipe. This is my favorite recipe website!!!
Oh, I'm sorry girls- 375!
What temperature do you cook this at?
I'm just getting ready to pop this in the oven but I don't see what temp to cook at! Please help!!
Thanks Karla!
What a great meal!
I just made this for dinner and plugged it into my calorie/nutrition counter and thought I would share:
Serving = 1/8 of the dish (131g)
Nutrition Facts
Calories 279
Calories from Fat 174
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19.4g
Saturated Fat 8.7g
Cholesterol 96mg
Sodium 132mg
Total Carbohydrates16.3g
Dietary Fiber 1.3g
Sugars 1.8g
Protein 10.7g
Just made this last night, delicious! Posted it on my blog: http://selaandfamily.blogspot.com/2010/08/tasty-tuesday-zucchini-cheese-quiche.html
Thanks for a tasty recipe!!
Any ideas on calories for this bad boy? Want to try this and log it into Livestrong.
I came over from another blog and oh, I arrived at a great time. This zucchini cheese quiche sounds delicious. I'm definitely going to try this recipe!! YUM!!!
This looks super tasty but I am commenting to share something else that blew my mind…look at this undoubtedly busy Moms…
http://chickensintheroad.com/blog/2010/01/03/homemade-hamburger-helper/
love zuchinni and quiche! i eat gluten free though, wonder if you could do it crustless?
Oh, this looks yummy and so pretty! I am always looking for a new zucchini recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe – I'm about to have oodles of zucchini from my garden. Can't wait to try this recipe out!
I've got zucchini in the kitchen that needs to be cooked. It's going to be "what's for dinner" tomorrow evening. Looks delicious!
I am in love with your blog! I discovered it a month ago with the post for tie-dyed cupcakes and now I check it out every morning to see if I need to adjust what we're having for dinner 🙂
My kids are in love with the pizza rolls and I loved the pico de gallo. Yum Yum Yum!
I'd love to try this but I'm allergic to mass quantities of eggs 🙁
I LOVE quiche (since I'm obsessed with France and anything that has to do with France). And I have zucchinis coming out of my ears in my garden. I even have gruyere in my freezer. But I'm nursing a baby right now who can't handle dairy, so I'm dairy free at the moment. Waaaaa! I have to try this as soon as I possibly can. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for a great zucchini recipe. I have so many zucchini in my fridge that need to be used up.
This looks delicious! So glad zucchini is in season. Yum!
You know, We love Quiche around here, but I've never tried Zucchini Quiche! I will have to put this on the menu in the near future. Oh, and thanks for the recommendation on the cheese. I've never tried that kind. Mmmmm.
Te ha quedado preciosa, una obra de arte.
Un beso
Definately going to try this. We tried John Besh's Zucchini Frittata and loved it (http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/goat-cheese-and-zucchini-frittata-with-butter-lettuce-salad-recipe.htm) and this sounds similar.
I can not wait to try this, zucchini is so plentiful here right now, and I have a ton of fresh garlic,basil and oregeno. My kids might even like this with all the cheese! I read your blog all the time and I love it, I am horrible about leaving comments, but I am working on it, I know how much I love getting comments. I am always reading and oohing and ahhing in my head, but you can't hear me in there! Thanks for the great recipe!
I have always made this and everyone LOVES it, even my picky 3 year old…. but I use refrigerated crescent rolls as the crust…. just unroll them and spread them out in a pie plate, blending the edges together with your fingers – one regular size tube covers a pie plate. Then spread the mustard all over the crust instead of mixing it in with the egg mixture.