Classic cheese and onion quiche made that bit more special with sweet shallots softened and caramelised in butter and plenty of seasonal wild garlic for good measure. Simple to make and most of all delicious.
Whether you're catering for a party, al fresco picnic, lighter dinner or lunch, this cheese and onion quiche recipe should definitely be taken into consideration.
This is classic cheese and onion quiche reinvented and it's truly special. Made with sweet shallots, caramelised gently and slowly in butter and with addition of my seasonal favourite - wild garlic.
It is made with eggs but dairy-free, so perfect for those with allergies or simply avoiding dairy although you are welcome to use dairy equivalents if you prefer.
It is also really simple to turn this quiche vegan, details on that below.
Make sure to check out my other quiche recipes: Smoked Mackerel Quiche with Horseradish and Vegan Quiche with Asparagus.
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's a great British classic quiche recipe reinvented.
- Perfect lunch, brunch, picnic, party or light dinner offering.
- Dairy-free quiche that is easy to adapt to your diet.
- Shallots and wild garlic can be easily substituted too depending on seasonal availability or the content of your pantry.
- The fact that this quiche is delicious is an understatement! It's absolutely glorious!
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Cheese and Onion Quiche:
Flour(s) - I use half and half plain (all-purpose) and wholemeal flour here as I'm trying to sneak extra fibre goodness wherever I can. Feel free to use all plain (all-purpose) flour if you'd rather.
Butter - I use dairy-free salted block butter but feel free to use regular dairy butter instead.
I also use block butter for sautéing the shallots. Feel free to use olive oil or mixture instead.
Water - The amount of water you will need might differ depending on the flour you use so make sure to use a little bit at a time. For me it's usually anything between 1-2 Tbsp.
Shallots - I absolutely adore shallots and they work so beautifully well in this quiche. The key is to cook them first in plenty of butter until falling apart, soft, sweet and caramelised.
If you don't have shallots any onions will do but make sure to cook them first low and slow.
Wild garlic - This spring delicacy can be used really generously here as its flavour really mellows when cooked so don't worry about that garlicky harshness.
Outside of wild garlic season you can use green onions or chives, baby spinach or chard leaves. Mixture of fresh herbs like parsley and dill will work really nice too.
Eggs - As we do occasionally eat organic eggs, that's what I used here but you can easily make this quiche vegan. Details in FAQ section below.
Cheese - It is cheese and onion quiche after all. We don't eat dairy and so I've used Cathedral City "Our Plant Based" Extra Mature (UK) but feel free to use your favourite dairy or different plant based cheese instead.
I would recommend strong flavoured cheese here though.
Cream - I use organic soya cream but feel free to use dairy cream here instead.
If you don't happen to have any cream, use your favourite plant or indeed dairy milk instead.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Put flour and cold butter in a bowl of your food processor and pulse until you've got sand like consistency. If you don't have food processor simply use your hands to rub butter and flour together to the same effect.
Add cold water, drop at a time and pulse or mix it in gently with your hands until your dough starts coming together into a ball. Turn it out onto a floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap it into wrap of your choice and put in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Roll out the pastry to fit loose-bottomed tart tin (23-25cm/9-10inch).
***Quick Tip*** Roll the dough out a bit bigger than the bottom of your tin so that it will cover the sides as well. To transfer it into a tin, use the rolling pin to help you lift it over. Don't worry if the dough tears (it almost always does for me) as it's easy enough to patch up with excess pastry.
Line the tin with pastry (bottom and sides) and trim any overhanging bits with the stroke of a knife against the edge of the tin. Save excess pastry for later in case you need to patch any holes.
Line your pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans to blind bake first. Bake in preheated oven for 15min.
Next, remove the paper and beans, patch up any holes with the saved pastry (if necessary) and return (uncovered) to the oven for another 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes is up take the pastry out of the oven and set aside as you finish preparing your filling. Lower oven temperature down to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
You can start working on your filling whilst the pastry is chilling or baking depending on your individual serving timeline.
Peel and halve shallots or if using regular or red onions that are larger then you would halve them first and then slice quite thickly (4 slices per half an onion).
Melt the butter in a shallow frying pan with a lid and sauté the onions low and slow until they start falling apart, get soft and caramelised. Set aside.
Wash and dry wild garlic thoroughly and roughly chop it.
In a medium size jug mix together eggs and (soya) cream, salt and pepper.
Add chopped up wild garlic and mix it in.
Transfer cooked shallots/onions onto pre-baked pastry case and spread them out evenly.
Pour over egg mixture, levelling it off gently so that it fills pastry case nice and even. Finish off by sprinkling over some grated cheese.
Bake in preheated oven (temperature lowered to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 5) for approx. 30-40 minutes until set. Take the quiche out of the oven and let it cool down in a tin for a bit before slicing and serving.
🥡 Storing
Store: The quiche can be stored in the fridge (covered) for 4-5 days.
Reheat: This quiche is great both warm and cold. The best way to warm it up would be in the oven or an air-fryer to prevent the crust from going soggy. Having said that, if you don't mind soggy crust (I don't) you can also give it a few seconds in the microwave.
Freeze: Cheese and onion quiche freezes really well. You can freeze it whole or in portions. Make sure it's completely cold, wrap it well or place in suitable freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost: Defrost in the fridge overnight.
💭 Pro tips
Don't skip pre-baking your pastry. This way you will have beautifully crispy crust, no soggy bottom.
Chill your pastry before rolling it out. Just 15 minutes will make it easier to handle.
Don't get disheartened if your pastry is breaking as you're trying to lay it neatly over the tin, it happens. Do your best and any holes and cracks can be easily patched up with excess pastry. It doesn't need to look perfect.
Use tart tin with loose bottom for easy removal of your quiche. I've been using this 23cm (9inch) one and highly rate it.
Consider investing in inexpensive ceramic baking beans. They do come handy if you happen to bake lots of pies, tarts, quiches etc. However, if you don't have them you can use any dried beans instead, just to weight the pastry down, although these won't last indefinitely.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Cheese and onion quiche works well served on its own with some side dishes but also as a part of larger picnic/party spread.
We often eat it as dinner offering accompanied by homemade potato wedges, my baked polenta chips or potato salad and a simple green salad or steamed veg.
Try is served for relaxed summer lunch with some mizeria (Polish cucumber salad), air fryer asparagus and Russian salad (Olivier salad).
Don't forget to take it to your next picnic. It will provide great sustenance after fun and games.
❓ FAQ
Yes, you can. Instead of using eggs you can use 300g silken tofu (this is the type of tofu that doesn't need to be refrigerated), 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour or potato starch and 2 heaped tablespoons of chickpea flour. You simply blend them with soya cream and milk as per recipe and season to taste. This is your "egg" mixture.
If you wanted to take it one step further, you can use black salt (kala namak) instead of regular salt for that authentic eggy, sulphur like flavour.
Yes, it will work just fine.
Absolutely. Cheese and onion quiche can be made in advance and either stored in the fridge or frozen until needed.
Have you tried my Cheese and Onion Quiche?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More picnic recipe ideas
Tomato and Asparagus Puff Pastry Bundles
Savoury Vegetable Muffins (Vegan)
📋 Recipe
Cheese and Onion Quiche (with Wild Garlic)
Equipment
Ingredients
Pastry
- 125 g plain wholemeal flour
- 125 g plain white flour
- 125 g salted block butter cold and cut into cubes, I like Flora Plant
- 2 tablespoon icy cold water you might not use all of it, depending on your flour
Filling
- 500 g shallots or regular white onions shallots peeled and halved; if using regular onions, peel and thickly slice them
- 40 g salted block butter for sautéing shallots; see notes
- 50-100 g wild garlic washed, dried and finely chopped; see notes
- 3 large eggs see notes
- 200 ml soya cream or use regular dairy cream if consuming; see notes
- 65 g your favourite cheese or dairy free equivalent I use and love Cathedral City "Our Plant Based" Extra Mature;
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Making Pastry
- Put flour and cold butter in a bowl of your food processor and pulse until you've got sand like consistency. If you don't have food processor simply use your hands to rub butter and flour together to the same effect.125 g plain wholemeal flour, 125 g plain white flour, 125 g salted block butter
- Add cold water, drop at a time and pulse or mix it in gently with your hands until your dough starts coming together into a ball. Turn it out onto a floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap it into wrap of your choice and put in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.2 tablespoon icy cold water
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.Roll out the pastry to fit loose-bottomed tart tin (23-25cm/9-10inch).Quick Tip: Roll the dough out a bit bigger than the bottom of your tin so that it will cover the sides as well. To transfer it into a tin, use the rolling pin to help you lift it over. Don't worry if the dough tears (it almost always does for me) as it's easy enough to patch up with excess pastry. Line the tin with pastry (bottom and sides) and trim any overhanging bits with the stroke of a knife against the edge of the tin. Save excess pastry for later in case you need to patch any holes.
- Line your pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans to blind bake first. Bake in preheated oven for 15min.
- Next, remove the paper and beans, patch up any holes with the saved pastry (if necessary) and return (uncovered) to the oven for another 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes is up take the pastry out of the oven and set aside as you finish preparing your filling. Lower oven temperature down to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Filling
- You can start working on your filling whilst the pastry is chilling or baking depending on your individual serving timeline.Peel and halve shallots or if using regular or red onions that are larger then you would halve them first and then slice quite thickly (4 slices per half an onion).500 g shallots or regular white onions
- Melt the butter in a shallow frying pan with a lid and sauté the onions low and slow until they start falling apart, get soft and caramelised. Set aside.40 g salted block butter
- In a medium size jug mix together eggs and (soya) cream, salt and pepper.3 large eggs, 200 ml soya cream, salt and pepper
- Add chopped up wild garlic and mix it in.50-100 g wild garlic
- Transfer cooked shallots/onions onto pre-baked pastry case and spread them out evenly.
- Pour over egg mixture, levelling it off gently so that it fills pastry case nice and even. Finish off by sprinkling over some grated cheese.65 g your favourite cheese or dairy free equivalent
- Bake in preheated oven (temperature lowered to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 5) for approx. 30-40 minutes until set. Take the quiche out of the oven and let it cool down in a tin for a bit before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is per serving (based on 8 servings) and will differ depending on the ingredients used. It should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- I like to sauté my onions in plenty of butter. Feel free to use olive oil instead. You can also use mixture of butter and oil or reduce the amount of butter as per your own preference.
- Use as much or as little wild garlic as you like. I tend to use a lot here as cooking mellow its flavour and there is no garlicky harshness. In the absence of wild garlic use chives, green onions, mixture of soft herbs (dill, parsley) or baby spinach/chard leaves.
- If you don't eat eggs and would like to make this quiche vegan, see FAQs above for instructions.
- Cream can be substituted with your favourite plant/dairy milk.
- Keep in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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