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 but just never got around to actually trying my hand at making one. So today we’re doing an early morning spin on the traditional quiche with a hash brown breakfast quiche. Because everyone loves hash browns!
This delicious breakfast quiche is made with a shredded hash browns crust instead of a traditional pie crust. It’s like a bigger, quiche version of hash brown egg nests! You can even prep it the day before because not everyone likes mucking about the kitchen for an hour in the morning. So this is good for a make-ahead breakfast for those busy or lazy mornings.
For more breakfast ideas try out this easy hamburger quiche or a cheesy sausage hash brown breakfast casserole (great for Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings). Or if you like making your breakfast with a muffin pan, try some healthy egg white muffin breakfast cups or these on-the-go breakfast muffins. In the meantime, let’s make a breakfast quiche!
How To Make Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche (1 Min Video)
What You Need For Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche
HASH BROWN BREAKFAST QUICHE RECIPE TIPS
Grease the pan before packing it tightly with the hash brown mixture. You’ll want the hash brown shreds to resemble a pie crust, so pack it on the bottom and the sides with your fingers. I also used the back of a spoon and pressed along the edges to lift the sides up a little more.
It’s okay to be messy. The important thing is to make sure the bottom of the pan is completely covered. Then we blind bake the crust which is pretty much just baking the crust without the filling. We do this so the crust isn’t soggy and stays firm once it’s baked with the filling and custard.
While that’s baking, we start sauteing the zucchini and mushrooms. Don’t worry if the mushrooms look super bulky, they will shrink once cooked down. When that’s done, drain off any excess liquid since you’ll want the veggies nice and dry so they don’t dilute the custard.
Zucchini has a ton of water content so they are a huge culprit in retaining moisture. Sauteing them should take care of it a little, but you can always squeeze any excess moisture out with a mesh strainer. After it’s all said and done, you should end up with about two cups worth of cooked-down veggies for the filling.
Once the hash brown crust is done blind baking, spread a layer of cheddar cheese on it. Then we top it with the cooked veggies and some bacon bits.
Finish with another layer of cheese for a rich and cheesy quiche. I used 1 1/2 cups of cheese in this recipe and divided it in half. You can opt for 2 cups of cheese instead for a richer quiche, or skip the cheesy top layer for a lighter, healthier version.
Then we 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 a ratio of two eggs to one cup of milk. Pour the custard over the fillings and you’re ready to bake the final time!
Baking will take some time to allow the custard to set. You’ll know it’s done when a butter knife inserted in the center of the quiche comes out clean. Let it cool down a little before slicing and serving since it’ll need some time to set.
The good news is this breakfast quiche is really versatile. You change your fillings with whatever you have in the fridge. Some ideas are fresh bell peppers, leeks, or spinach. Just make sure the fillings don’t have a ton of moisture content and come up to about two cups worth of filling so there’s room for the custard.
And that’s it. Happy brunching and let me know what fillings you ended up using in the comments below.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES TO TRY
- Hash Brown Egg Nests
- Easy Hamburger Quiche
- Cheesy Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
- On-The-Go Breakfast Muffins
- Healthy Egg White Muffin Breakfast Cups
Hash Brown Breakfast Quiche
- 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 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Mix the hash browns, 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a large mixing bowl.
- Grease a 10″ oven-safe skillet or pie dish and add the hash brown mixture, pressing down to pack it tightly on the bottom and sides to form a pie-like crust.
- Bake at 425°F or until the edges have browned, about 25 minutes.
- Over medium-high heat, saute zucchini and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes until tender. Drain any excess liquid.
- Once the hash brown crust has finished baking, spread half of 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 the egg mixture into the crust.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350°F or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
Comments & Reviews
Omg, I absolutely love your hash brown quiche recipe. I’ve made it twice in the last 2 weeks and served it yesterday at my “girlfriends brunch” that I hosted at my home. AMAZING! So delicious and even better with hash browns then having to make a crust! Ty for a spectacular keeper of a recipe.
You’re very welcome, Leslie! Hey, thanks for trying it out again and again. Always love hearing a recipe worked well for someone!
Do you brown the hash browns before putting in pie plate if you do it that way? Also should they be thawed?
I personally don’t own a pie plate but I think you should be fine just blind baking it the same way as the recipe does it in a skillet before adding the filling and baking again. Yes they should be thawed. Just so they are pliable enough to shape around your pie plate and not clumpy. Hope this helps!
I have made this similar quiche and wanted to share with you.
Breakfast – Bird’s Nest Quiche With Hash Browns Preheat oven to 375
Note: This can be prepared the day before serving, just cover with foil, place in refrigerator, then reheat for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool 10 minutes to serve easier from the iron skillet.
Ingredients:
o 1 lb. of bacon cooked, broken into small bite size pieces
o Or 1 lb. Bob Evans sausage, cooked in small pieces
o 15 oz. Oreida frozen shredded hash browns, thawed, pat with paper towels
o 3 Tbl.olive oil, divided
o 1½ cups Colby jack cheddar cheese, shredded
o 3 eggs, beaten with whisk
o 1 pint ½ and ½ cream
o ½ cup milk
o ½ tsp. dry mustard
o Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Mix hash browns, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a mixing bowl.
2. Heavily grease a 10″ iron skillet with olive oil on both the bottom and sides.
3. Add the hash brown mixture, pressing down to pack it tightly on the bottom and sides forming a pie-like crust. Pan fry it for 5 min. on medium, just until it is lightly formed.
4. Then bake at 375 degrees until the edges have browned, about 10 more minutes.
5. Combine meat and cheese, and once the hash brown crust is ready, sprinkle along the bottom of the crust.
6. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste until frothy. Pour egg mixture into the crust. If excess, keep for an omelet.
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, and it will come out easier to serve from the iron skillet.
9. Can be made the day before, refrigerate it. Preheat oven to 375, bake covered for about 15-20 minutes, let stand 10 min. before serving.
Thanks for sharing, Judy. Mustard is an interesting addition!
I am curious what your recommendation would be for temp/time to reheat in the oven? I know it easy mentioned it would take longer but I am bringing as a potluck dish and would like it warm. Any suggestions? It is baking now and smells AMAZING.
I would reheat it at 325 degrees in the middle rack for about 10-15 minutes and keep a watchful eye on it after the 10 minute mark to make sure it doesn’t brown on top too much.
Could you use hashbrown rounds instead of shreds?! My husband is not a huge fan of shreds, but does like the rounds! Can’t wait to try this! Also, how would you go about this recipe to include bacon in it? Cook bacon beforehand then add to quiche and bake?! Any advice here would be helpful! Can’t wait to try it!
You could try it with hash brown rounds. Arrange them as a bottom layer and make sure they cook fully during the blind baking stage before you add in the filling and bake it all again. The rounds will be slightly thicker so will probably need more baking time. Also make sure they fully cover the bottom and you coat it well with a cheese layer so the custard doesn’t pass through to the bottom and stays on top. As for the bacon, cook it beforehand, chop it up into bits then add it along with the zucchini and mushrooms in step 6. Good luck, Emma!
Brilliant idea to use hash browns as a crust ! Love it and I am going to give it a try this weekend .
Hope you enjoyed it, Roshni!
Looks delicious! If made the day before, how do you recommend reheating it?
Reheat the slices you want to eat in the microwave, about one minute or so until it’s nice and hot. You could also bake it to reheat, but it’ll take longer. Microwaving might make it a little soggy, baking will crisp it up more.
Hello,
Can I freeze these slices so my kids could microwave for a fast morning breakfast?
I personally haven’t done it but a quick search says you can. So I’ll defer to the wisdom of the internet. Here’s a good guide on various ways to freeze it. For microwaving it, I’m not sure if it should be from frozen or thawed first, so I suggest trying each out or going with your discretion.
First, I wanted to let you know how much I absolutely LOVE this recipe. It is so beautiful and delicious. Second, where did you get the table you took these pictures on. I MUST have it! It’s absolutely incredible!
Thank you, Matt! I hate to disappoint you but that table isn’t really a table, it’s a board prop for food photography. Just one of the tricks we do in the trade cause we need so many kind of backgrounds it’ll take a really big room to fit all them if they were all tables! That being said, you might have some luck searching for tables made out of barn wood cause that’s what my board is made out of! Hope this helps!
This looks delicious. I’m still an under confident cook but I can’t wait to try this. Thank you
Well then, good luck Amna! If it doesn’t work out, don’t fret, it’s all about trial and error in the kitchen and learning from experience. I’ve had my fair share of mess ups.I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Instead of using an oven-safe skillet, could you also use a pie dish to make this quiche?
Absolutely! Just make sure to grease it beforehand!
a shredded potato crust for a quiche = brilliant
Must have hash browns for breakfast!
This quiche is marvelous. I made it yesterday and it is gone! Passed on the recipe to my friend and then my daughter, it was THAT good. This will be added to my frequently made favorites. Thanks so much!
That’s GREAT! You’re very welcome, Carol, and thanks for trying this one out. 🙂
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it.
Appreciate it, Jessica. Good luck if you ever do try it and happy noms!
Farah, I love roesti (hashed browns) for dinner, but never used it for a quiche. Yes, what a great idea!! I will do it tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes…
Have a great weekend!
All the best,
I hope it turned out well for you! I’ve been thinking about the potato crust and I think another alternative for an even crispier one would be to pan-fry it on the stove top on both sides in a 12″ skillet. Then transfer that to a 10″ skillet oven-proof so the sides are curled up. But that’s if you don’t mind the extra dishes.
Hi Farah! This would great for a holiday breakfast/brunch! The possibilities for swapping ingredients is limitless. Ham and asparagus with Gruyere cheese would be tasty! I love the potato crust!
Yes! You can go crazy with the possibilities, Dorothy! I’d love to see more ideas of what else people substitute with or build on 🙂