Enjoy a crispy hash brown crust in this hash brown breakfast quiche filled with custard, zucchini, mushrooms and bacon!
I’m pretty excited about this recipe. I’ve always loved a good spinach quiche at coffee places but just never got around to actually trying my hand at one. So today we’ll be trying a breakfast version, combining delicious hash brown shreds to make the crust in lieu of a traditional pie crust.
It’s like a bigger, quiche version of hash brown egg nests!
It’s good hot or cold and you can even make it the day before. Because no one is gonna muck about the kitchen for an hour in the morning for breakfast. At least I won’t. So this is good for breakfast made ahead of time, or good for a brunch and serves a pretty good amount of people.
And onto the cooking!
Grease the pan before packing it tightly with the hash brown mixture. You’ll want the hash brown to resemble a pie crust so pack it on the bottoms and the sides with your fingers. It’s also handy to use the back of a spoon pressed along the edges to lift up the sides a little more.
Not much oil is needed to saute the zucchini and mushrooms. Don’t worry if the mushrooms look like they’re too bulky to fit in the quiche, it’ll cook down and release some liquid. Once the veggies are cooked down, drain off excess liquid. You’ll want the veggies nice and dry so they don’t dilute the custard. You should end up with about two cups of veggies once they’re cooked down.
Once the hash brown crust is all browned, spread a layer of cheddar cheese along the bottom and top with the veggies and bacon bits making sure to spread them all out evenly. Then top it again with more cheese for a really rich quiche. I went with one and half cups of cheese and divided it into two for the bottom and top. For a richer quiche, use two cups of cheese or use one cup for a lighter version.
Then you make the custard by combining the eggs and milk with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk, whisk whisk until it’s frothy! A good rule of thumb for a nice quiche is to have two eggs to one cup of milk. I used large eggs for this recipe. Pour the custard over the fillings and you’re ready to bake!
Baking will take some time to allow the eggs to set. Bake it until a butter knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool down before slicing. It’ll need time to set.
The good news is this breakfast quiche is really versatile. You change your fillings as you like or with whatever you have leftover in the fridge. Other ideas would be to use bell peppers, leeks or spinach. Just make sure the fillings are dry and amount to about two cups to not overcrowd the custard filling.
And that’s it! Happy brunching!
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Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Enjoy a crispy hash brown crust in this hash brown breakfast quiche filled with custard, zucchini, mushrooms and bacon!
Ingredients
- 15 oz. frozen hash browns, shredded and slightly thawed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup bacon bits
- 1 zucchini, coarsely shredded
- 8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, diced
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Mix hash browns, 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a mixing bowl
- Grease a 10″ oven-safe skillet and add the hash brown mixture, pressing down to pack it tightly on the bottom and sides forming a pie-like crust
- Bake at 425 degrees F or until the edges have browned, about 25 minutes
- Meanwhile in a separate non-stick pan over medium high heat, saute zucchini and mushrooms in 2 tablespoon of olive oil about 5 minutes until tender. Drain any excess liquid
- Once the hash brown crust is done, spread half the cheddar cheese along the bottom of the crust
- Arrange bacon bits, zucchini and mushrooms in the pan and top with remaining cheddar cheese
- Combine eggs, milk and salt and pepper to taste and whisk until frothy
- Pour egg mixture into the crust
- Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean
- Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving
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41 Comments
Sharon Harris
January 1, 2021 at 3:43 PMWe loved it! I used O’Brien potatoes and less olive oil, the cubed ham from our Christmas dinner. Deeeelish! Thanks for the recipe.
SC
August 31, 2017 at 8:11 AMhi there! Do you need a cast iron skillet to make the hash browns crispy? I’m worried that I only have a pyrex tray and the has browns won’t get as crispy as pictured.
Are there any pre-steps I can take on the stovetop beforehand to get it crispy before going into the oven?
Thanks!
The Cooking Jar
September 2, 2017 at 4:52 PMI’m honestly not entirely sure about just how much impact a cast iron vs normal casserole would have on the crispness of the hash browns, if any. But my gut says the blind baking prior to putting in the filling should be enough for it to work with what you have. Good luck, SC!
Karen
December 25, 2016 at 6:43 PMMade this today, Christmas Day, for a brunch. Followed recipe exactly, except left out bacon, for vegetarian family members. Turned out okay, not great. Hash brown crust was dry & too crunchy. Did not overcook it in beginning. Cooked in oven after adding egg mixture for 42 min. Was done. Will not make again.
The Cooking Jar
February 20, 2017 at 10:37 AMI’m sorry you didn’t like it, Karen! I actually loved the crunchy bits of the crust but not everyone is the same. Thank you for trying it out anyway.
Karen Kehoe
December 25, 2016 at 3:19 AMhi…
Making this tomorrow morning, but as i was reading over the recipe, you don’t say how much EVOO to add to the hash browns. I am assuming it is 1 Tbsp (?) Also, you do not say “thawed” after the “frozen hash browns, but in a review, you told someone that they should be thawed. Now I’m trying to figure out what time to get up tomorrow to thaw the hash browns. Please make this more clear in your recipe. Thank you.
The Cooking Jar
February 20, 2017 at 10:33 AMGreat suggestions, Karen. I’ve gone ahead and added these to the recipe to make it clearer. Thank you!
Carrie
September 20, 2016 at 10:55 PMLooks very yummy. Is it necessary to pre-cook the “crust”? Would the hash browns cook and brown anyway as it cooks for 45-50 minutes?
The Cooking Jar
October 2, 2016 at 3:09 PMHeya Carrie! Cooking the crust before adding in the filling is called blind-baking. It’s done so the bottom of the crust doesn’t become soggy from moisture of the filling if they are baked together!