Looking for a crowd pleasing breakfast, brunch, or lunch recipe that's perfect for Spring? Try this easy Salmon Quiche recipe! Full of smoked salmon and vegetables, it's a satisfying dish that easily feeds a crowd.
Need to feed a crowd for a special lunch or brunch? A quiche is the perfect way to feed a large crowd!
From a bacon mushroom quiche to a ham and spinach quiche, it's a great way to feed a crowd for Easter, Mother's Day Brunch, birthdays, or bridal showers and wedding showers.
And this quiche is something quite special. With smoked salmon, fresh asparagus, leeks, garlic, and dill, it's a hearty and oh so satisfying delicious dish. Your friends and family will all be asking you for the recipe!!
📺 Watch me make this Salmon Quiche on ABC's AfternoonLive, where I cook recipes from this blog once a month, live!
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What is a quiche?
A quiche is a classic French savory egg tart. Most classic quiche recipes consist of a pastry crust with a savory quiche filling. In addition to eggs, it usually includes some sort of meat or seafood, cheeses, and fresh vegetables.
You may have heard of a quiche lorraine, which is one of the more popular quiche recipes. It originated from the Lorraine region of France back in the 1800s, and is made with eggs, cream, and bacon.
Nowadays, a crustless quiche is just as popular as one made with a shortcut pastry. And you'll find all sorts of different versions with delicious seafoods, meats, and vegetables!
🌟 Why this recipe works
This salmon quiche is perfect for spring, and made for seafood lovers!
- Feeds a crowd - This delicious quiche can feed a crowd of six if served as the main course, or up to 10 if served as an appetizer or as part of a brunch buffet.
- Easy to make - This is a simple quiche recipe that is easy to make.
- Versatile - Feel free to substitute your favorite fish, vegetables, and herbs.
- Great make-ahead dish - You can serve a quiche hot or cold, making it a great make ahead meal! You can make this up to a day in advance and keep it refrigerated until you're ready to serve.
- Freezer friendly - You can freeze quiche for up to three months. It's a great dish to make for new parents so they have a quick and satisfying meal they can easily pull from the freezer.
🛒 Ingredient notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this seafood quiche, and everything is easy to find at almost any local grocery store.
- Pie crust - You've got options when it comes to the crust. You can make your own crust. My easy food processor pie dough recipe is actualyl perfect to use as a homemade quiche crust. Or you can use a store-bought pie crust. For this recipe, I'm using a premade pie crust that can be found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. They usually come in packs of 2 but we'll just use one of them for this recipe.
- Salmon - You also have options when it comes to the salmon you use. To save time, I use smoked salmon. It's already precooked and lends so much flavor to this dish. You can also use leftover salmon, canned salmon, or you can go ahead and cook a fresh salmon filet, then use it in this recipe.
- Eggs - This recipe calls for 5 large eggs, which results in a nice quiche that has a firmer texture. You could eliminate one egg and use four, which would result in a softer, more moist texture. I prefer my quiche to be a little thicker and sturdier, so I use 5.
- Cheese - Shredded Mozzarella cheese adds some richness and lovely texture to the quiche. See my notes below for cheese alternatives.
- Vegetables - Spring vegetables like leeks and asparagus go so well with salmon! Be sure to read the FAQs below for my tips on slicing and cleaning leeks before cooking. I also love adding spinach for extra nutrients. You'll also need a clove of garlic, but you can use up to two if you love garlic.
- Seasonings - Some fresh dill or dried dill, kosher salt, and black pepper adds great flavor to each bite.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter to cook the leeks and garlic.
Other ingredients you can use or substitute:
- For alternate vegetables, consider using spring peas, thinly sliced kale, or broccoli florets. Just be sure to use the same portions as outlined in the recipe to ensure you don't overfill the quiche.
- You can easily make this dairy free by substituting dairy-free heavy cream, dairy-free shredded cheese, and vegan butter. I've done this and it's just as delicious!
- You can also substitute whole milk or half and half for the heavy cream.
- Don't have leeks or don't like leeks? You can substitute sliced onions or sliced shallots.
- Instead of Mozzarella cheese, you could use Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, or a mix of cheeses. You could even make a goat cheese quiche!
✅ Step-by-step instructions
You'll find a full list of ingredients with measurements, as well as more detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. But here are step-by-step photos to help you make this quiche.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Start by spraying a 9-inch or 8-inch pie pan with baking spray or greasing with butter.
- Gently press the pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If any holes form as you do this, simply press the dough together until there are no more holes. You're going to pre-bake the crust first on its own at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until the crust is baked through.
- While the crust is pre-baking, heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the butter.
4. Once the butter starts melting, add the garlic and leeks and stir, sautéing for just 1 minute.
5. Add the asparagus and sauté for another minute or two. We just want to slightly soften the asparagus here. Then turn off the heat and allow the veggies to cool slightly in the pan.
6. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the eggs, cream, cheese, spinach, dill, salt, and pepper.
7. Whisk the egg filling together until well combined.
8. Add the asparagus, leeks, and garlic to the bowl and stir to combine.
9. To the pre-baked pie crust, place smoked salmon pieces in an even layer across the bottom. Save some salmon pieces to add at the end.
10. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the salmon pieces .
11. Spread out the vegetables evenly throughout the quiche. Add in the remaining salmon pieces on top so there is some salmon all around the top of the quiche. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes.
The quiche is baked when a toothpick or small butter knife inserted into the center comes out fairly clean, and the pie crust sides are golden brown. Allow the quiche to sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. This time allows the quiche filling to firm up and makes slicing easier.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
To prepare leeks: slice off the ends with the roots and discard those. Slice off the green portion and save those for another recipe; for this recipe, we're just using the white portion. Slice the white portion of the leek in half lengthwise, then slice those thinly so you end up with half-moon shaped thin slices. Place the leek slices in a collander and rinse with cold water. Leeks can hold a lot of dirt and this helps clean them out before cooking.
Yes. Trust me on this one. You're filling the crust with a very wet, very heavy filling, so it truly needs to be pre-baked (also called blind baking) before filling. If you do not full pre-bake your crust, you will most likely end up with a soggy quiche bottom, which, fellow fans of the Great British Bake-Off will know, is one of the worst things that can happen to a pastry crust!
Allow quiche to cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and/or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. It's best enjoyed within a day or two of baking.
Absolutely! This is a great freezer-friendly dish! Allow the baked quiche to cool completely. Then wrap in foil or plastic wrap, and place in a freezer safe bag or airtight container. Don't forget to label it with the date! Freeze for up to 3 months.
🍽 Serving ideas
This salmon quiche is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch gatherings. It's an easy way to feed a crowd for Mother's Day brunch, Easter, bridal or baby showers, or any at home celebration.
Serve it with a simple side salad and some pastries, and you're golden! Try serving it with Instant Pot Broccoli, Garlic Rosemary Roasted Carrots, or a Simple Fruit Salad.
🍷 🥂 Wine pairings
I love serving this quiche with classic brunch wines. Think a rosé or sparkling rosé, sparkling wine or champagne, or a crisp sauvignon blanc.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:
- Pie pan - When making a quiche, I prefer to use a pie pan or tart pan that has a removable bottom, which makes it easy to release the quiche in one piece from the pan to slice it. You can also use a springform pan, but you won't get the classic pie ridges along the edges.
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Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Salmon Quiche
Equipment
- 1 8-inch or 9-inch pie pan
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch premade refrigerated pie crust
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 leek, white parts only, halved then thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 5-6 asparagus spears, sliced into 2-inch pieces, woody ends removed and discarded (about 1 cup)
- 5 large eggs
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 ounces smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a pie pan with cooking/baking spray or grease with butter.
- Gently press the homemade pie dough or refrigerated pie crust into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. If holes appear in the dough, simply pinch together or press down on the dough until the holes disappear. Bake at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes, just until the bottom of the crust is baked through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and leeks and sauté for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and sauté for 2 minutes, until the asparagus is slightly softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, spinach, mozzarella cheese, dill, salt, and pepper.
- Mix in the sautéed garlic, leeks, and asparagus into the bowl of egg mixture.
- Sprinkle the smoked salmon evenly over the bottom of the pre-baked crust so that it covers the surface.
- Gently pour the egg mixture over the smoked salmon in the pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the quiche comes out mostly clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Pre-baking the crust is important! This helps prevent a soggy bottom, as there is a lot of liquid that sets down on the crust.
- You can make this with four (4) large eggs if you prefer a lighter, fluffier quiche. Five (5) eggs will result in a slightly firmer quiche.
- If you find the edges of the pie crust start to brown too early, you can cover the edges with aluminum foil and continue baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
Lynn J. says
The Salmon Quiche recipe was very easy to follow and it was very yummy. Smoked salmon gave it a nice flavor. It was a complete dinner by itself, even my husband loved it. Perfection at its best! Thank you so much.