Asparagus and Ham Quiche with Gruyere
This asparagus, ham, and Gruyère quiche is perfect for spring brunch or Easter morning. It’s a great way to use leftover ham, and with a flaky crust and creamy filling, it’s a dish you can make ahead and simply slice and serve.
Featured Comment:
“This recipe came out delicious. I really liked your method of layering the cheese, filling, and then egg mixture. It made a difference!” -Connie
Need a brunch dish that’s always a hit? Quiche delivers every time! I love this Asparagus and Ham Quiche with Gruyere for a spring brunch or Easter dinner. It’s simple, make-ahead, and gets rave reviews.
For this recipe, I chose a store-bought crust to keep things easy. But you certainly can’t go wrong with a homemade crust, like a Crisco pie crust or a never fail pie crust.
The inside of the quiche is a velvety, custard-like texture that melts in your mouth. It’s the perfect backdrop to let the flavors of the ham, asparagus, and gruyere shine through.
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Why this Quiche Works
- Egg to half & half ratio: I used to think quiche was a whole bunch of eggs in a crust. But the truth is, the perfect ratio is quite different: it’s 50% eggs and 50% half & half. The half & half creates a light and fluffy custard-like interior that melts in your mouth, instead of rubbery eggs in a crust.
- Par-baking the crust: this is key to a not-soggy crust!
- Layering the cheese in first: the cheese “protects” the crust from the egg mixture, another step in ensuring a not-soggy crust.
- It’s versatile: this combo of ham, asparagus, and gruyere is especially great for spring, but use your favorite meat/veggie/cheese combo.
Quiche ingredients
- The base of the quiche is a store-bought pie crust. I used Pillsbury. Of course, you can make your own if you’d like. This Crisco pie crust recipe is melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
- A mixture of eggs and half & half create a seriously creamy custard.
- Asparagus, ham, and gruyere cheese are the stars of this quiche. See below for substitution ideas!
- Salt and black pepper season the quiche to perfection.
How to par-bake the crust
If you like soggy crust, be sure to skip this part (wink wink).
Seriously though, par-baking is essential to the perfect quiche. All that means is you’re giving the crust a head start in the oven. I baked the crust for 10 minutes at 425°F to par-bake it.
There’s a tricky thing about pie crust, though. It easily shrinks and slides down the edges of a pie dish. The key is to make sure that the crust is sitting on the lip of the pie plate. If your pie plate is too big or too deep, it won’t do that.
Mine is a 9-inch pie dish
from Pyrex. I folded the edge of the crust in toward the center and let it sit on the edge of pie plate. This helps hold it in place while baking.
There are two more secrets to ensure a successful par-bake of the crust:
- Poke the crust all over with a fork (this eliminates bubbles from forming).
- Line the crust with aluminum foil, then put pie weights or dried beans in the crust before baking. Fill the crust up to the top to ensure that the edges of the crust don’t slip down! This is a great tutorial if you’re a visual learner, or just want to learn more.
How to make a Ham & Asparagus Quiche
Once the crust has cooked, it’s time to add fillings! You’ll need to sauté the asparagus, but the rest of the ingredients you can stir right in.
When layering it into the crust, start with the gruyere, then top it with the ham and asparagus. The layer of gruyere also prevents the crust from getting soggy.
The last step is adding the eggs, half & half, salt and pepper. Pour them over the fillings and bake for 40–50 minutes. Give the quiche a little jostle when you’re checking it in the oven. Once it no longer jiggles in the middle, it’s ready.
Filling substitutions
This recipe is super adaptable. You can choose any veggie, meat, and cheese that you like!
- Vegetables: broccoli, red pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach
- Meat: chopped turkey or chicken, ground sausage, a mixture of ground sausage and bacon
- Cheese: cheddar, monterey jack, swiss, goat cheese
Swap any of the above for the asparagus, ham, and gruyere, and you’ll have a delicious quiche.
Frequently Asked Questions
When removing the quiche from the oven, jostle it gently. The egg mixture should no longer jiggle in the center when the quiche is cooked through.
Quiche is a great make-ahead dish. Cook completely, let cool, and then refrigerate. You can serve it chilled from the fridge, at room temperature, or warmed through.
Yes! Let it cool completely before freezing. Defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.
A leafy green salad and a hunk of baguette are ideal sides for lunch or dinner. For brunch, I love a simple sour cream coffee cake or an overnight french toast casserole. Praline bacon is delightful, too.
📖 Recipe
Asparagus and Ham Quiche with Gruyere
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces (about 12 thin spears)
- 5 eggs
- 1½ cups half & half (or use a mixture of 1 part cream to 1 part milk)
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded gruyere
- 1 cup diced deli ham (about 4 oz)
- For garnish: fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Unroll 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust and gently place it into a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the edges in slightly to create an edge, making sure part of the crust in sitting on the lip of the pie pan (this ensures that the sides of the crust won’t collapse while baking).
- Poke the crust all over with a fork. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of the crust and place pie weights (or dried beans) on top.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, or until the edges are very light brown. Remove the foil and pie weights/beans. Set aside to cool.
- Reduce oven to 350°F. Place 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the 1 cup asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 6–8 minutes).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 5 eggs, 1½ cups half & half, 1½ teaspoons sea salt, and black pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle 1 cup shredded gruyere on the partially cooked crust, then top with 1 cup diced deli ham and cooked asparagus. Pour the egg mixture over the top.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 40–50 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles when jostled lightly. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
What to serve with quiche
Here are some of my brunch favorites!
This recipe came out delicious. I really liked your method of layering the cheese, filling, and then egg mixture. It made a difference! I used grated some white cheddar I had on hand and added some baby spinach for additional color and nutrition.
The quiche baked up fluffy and beautiful. I cooked it for an hour.
Thank you.,
Sounds delicious—thanks for sharing your take on the recipe!
Delicious recipe, we had it for lunch today. It took quite a bit longer to cook than 40 minutes but that seems to happen with all quiche recipes I try. Will definitely make it again!
So glad you enjoyed it—thank you!
We REALLY, really enjoyed this quiche! I put this together on Thursday and it was gone Friday night. It’s Sunday afternoon and I am making another. The recipe is very easy to follow. It did take well over an hour to bake which is still well worth the time.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Karoline!
Looks good—trying this next week.