Broccoli Bacon Quiche with Feta & Nutmeg

Pancetta crisps up in the pan while onions get soft, and suddenly you’ve got the filling for a quiche that actually tastes like something. Three rounds of cooking before you even pour the custard—that’s where this works.

Why You’ll Love This Bacon and Broccoli Quiche

Takes an hour and a half total but most of it’s hands-off baking. The crust turns crispy. Real crispy—not soggy like they usually do.

Works for breakfast, lunch, or when you’ve got people coming over and don’t want to spend all morning in the kitchen. Broccolini stays tender instead of turning to mush. Pancetta instead of regular bacon means it doesn’t splinter everywhere.

Reheats perfectly. Room temperature is even better—tastes better the next day, somehow. One quiche feeds a crowd or gives you four solid meals if you’re eating alone.

What You Need for Bacon and Broccoli Quiche

Crust: 270 ml flour. Cold butter cut into cubes—not at room temp, actually cold. 70 ml ice water, maybe a splash less. Chilling matters here more than anywhere else. The flakiness depends on it.

Filling: Pancetta. Not bacon. Pancetta crisps differently, holds together better. Three slices chopped fine. One medium onion diced small. 900 ml broccolini—the tender stems work, not just florets. One garlic clove minced. Olive oil, fruity if you’ve got it. Cornstarch—this stabilizes the custard so the edges don’t get rubbery. 290 ml whole milk. Four large eggs. 200 ml crumbled feta cheese. Ground nutmeg, just a pinch. Salt and pepper.

Feta instead of cheddar changes this entirely. Sharper. The tang cuts through the richness. You could use mozzarella if that’s what you have. Won’t be the same though.

How to Make Bacon and Broccoli Quiche Crust

Pulse the flour and cold butter together until it looks like peas. Actually looks like peas—not a powder, not big chunks. Butter temperature ruins everything here. If it warms up while you’re working, the crust gets tough.

Add water one spoon at a time. Seriously one spoon. Most people dump it all in at once and then they’re dealing with soup. Stop when the dough just barely holds together. Don’t knead it. Don’t overwork it. Just enough.

Pat it into a disc, wrap it, refrigerate 45 minutes minimum. The dough needs to relax. If you freeze it, pull it out and let it warm up a bit before rolling or it’ll crack everywhere and snap back.

Flour your surface lightly. Roll the dough into a circle about 30 cm across. If the edges crack because it’s too cold, that’s actually fine—warm it slightly for a minute, then keep going. Transfer to a 26 cm tart pan. Press it gently into the corners without stretching it. Stretching causes shrinkage and tough edges later. Fold the extra dough inward, pinch it into a thick rim.

Chill it again for 20 minutes.

How to Get Bacon and Broccoli Quiche Perfectly Set

Preheat the oven to 205°C with the rack low. Line the crust with parchment paper, fill it with dried beans or pie weights, and blind bake for 18 to 22 minutes. You’re looking for faint gold on the edges and a firm feel. The bottom should be dry but not brown. Remove the weights, put it back in for 5 more minutes until the bottom really sets. This is the part that stops it from being soggy. Don’t skip it.

Drop the oven to 175°C while that’s happening.

While the crust bakes, heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta, let it sizzle slow. You want it to render its fat gradually so it crisps but stays tender—chewy bits inside. Add the onion, stir it until it goes translucent and the edges start to brown slightly. Smash in the garlic, stir for about a minute until it smells done but isn’t burning. Add the broccolini, toss it around, cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it’s bright green and just tender. Watch how wet it is. Too much moisture and the quiche comes out soggy. If it looks waterlogged, drain it off or add another teaspoon of cornstarch to the custard.

Season it with salt and pepper. Let it cool a bit.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together with the cornstarch and nutmeg until it’s smooth and emulsified. The cornstarch sets the custard gently instead of making it rubbery at the edges. Fold in the feta. Pour it evenly over the vegetables and pancetta in the crust. Should reach close to the edge but not overflow.

Bake at 175°C for 33 to 38 minutes. The center will look softly set with a slight wobble. The edges puff and brown gently. If the center is still jiggly or the top looks cracked and dry, it’s overdone or underdone. There’s a narrow window. Let it stand for at least 10 minutes after you pull it out before you slice into it. The custard keeps setting while it cools. That’s when it holds together clean instead of weeping juice everywhere.

Bacon and Broccoli Quiche Tips and Common Mistakes

Soggy crust is the most common problem. Blind baking fixes it. Don’t skip that step and don’t skip the extra 5 minutes. The bottom has to be completely set before the filling goes in.

The custard cracks on top or stays jiggly in the middle because the temperature was off or you baked it too long. Every oven is different. 33 to 38 minutes is a range for a reason. At 35 minutes, it should jiggle slightly at the very center. That’s done. It’ll firm up as it cools.

Use actual cold butter in the crust. Room temperature butter makes a dense, tough shell. Cold butter makes it flaky. Chill everything that needs chilling.

Broccolini is better than regular broccoli here because the stems are actually tender, not woody. You get more texture. Regular broccoli gets mushy.

Pancetta renders better than bacon. Bacon splinters. Pancetta stays in little crispy nuggets.

Leftover slices reheat in a 160°C oven wrapped in foil for 10 minutes. The crust stays crisp. Microwave it and the whole thing gets rubbery.

It tastes better the next day. Not sure why. Make it ahead if you can.

Broccoli Bacon Quiche with Feta & Nutmeg

By Emma

Prep:

35 min

Cook:

1h

Total:

1h 35min

Servings:

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• Crust
• 270 ml unbleached all-purpose flour (slightly reduced)
• 110 ml cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
• 70 ml ice-cold water (adjust as needed)
• Filling
• 50 ml olive oil (extra mild, fruity preferred)
• 3 slices pancetta chopped fine (replacing bacon)
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 900 ml broccolini florets and tender stems (instead of broccoli)
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 10 ml cornstarch (cornflour), about 2 tsp (increased slightly)
• 290 ml whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 200 ml crumbled feta cheese (mozzarella swapped for sharp tang)
• A pinch of ground nutmeg (new twist)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Crust
2. 1 Pulse flour and chilled butter in food processor, flaky pea size bits the goal. Butter warmth ruins flakiness; cold is key. Add water spoon by spoon till loose dough just forms, don’t overwork. Takes less water than you think. Pat into disc, wrap, chill 45 minutes minimum. Freeze works too but let relax to ease rolling.
3. 2 Lightly flour surface, roll dough into 30 cm circle. Should crack at edges if too cold; warm slightly then resume. Transfer to 26 cm tart pan, gently press without stretching—stretching causes shrinkage and tough edges. Fold excess dough inward, pinch into thick rim. Chill crust 20 minutes more.
4. 3 Preheat oven to 205°C (400°F), set rack low. Line crust with parchment, fill with dried beans or pie weights, bake blind 18 to 22 minutes. Edges turn faint gold and firm, bottom dry but not dark. Remove weights carefully, return to oven 5 more until bottom sets but not browned. Avoid soggy bottom, don’t skip blind bake.
5. 4 Reduce oven to 175°C (350°F).
6. Filling
7. 5 Heat oil in wide skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta, sizzle, render fat slowly until crisp but tender—leaving chewy bits. Add onion, stir until translucent, edges caramelize lightly. Smash in garlic, stir 1 minute until fragrant but no burn. Add broccolini, toss, cook 3-4 minutes until bright green and just tender. Watch moisture; too wet = soggy quiche. If too wet, drain, or increase cornstarch by 1 tsp.
8. 6 Season with salt, pepper; cool slightly.
9. 7 In bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cornstarch, nutmeg, until smooth emulsified. Cornstarch sets custard gently, avoids rubbery edges. Fold in feta cheese. Pour mixture evenly over veggie and pancetta bed in baked crust. Should almost reach edge but not overflow.
10. 8 Bake at 175°C for 33 to 38 minutes. Center will look softly set with slight wobble. Edges puff and brown gently. Avoid jiggly liquid or cracked dry top.
11. 9 Remove from oven. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing—time allows custard to finish setting. Crisp crust edges and custard texture make slicing clean, no weeping juice.
12. 10 Serve warm or room temp. Leftovers reheat in oven wrapped with foil for crisp crust revival.

Nutritional information

Calories

330

Protein

15g

Carbs

18g

Fat

25g

Print Recipe Save to Pinterest

Frequently Asked Questions About Bacon and Broccoli Quiche

Can I use regular bacon instead of pancetta? Yeah, it works. Bacon’s fattier so the flavor’s different—richer, smokier. It gets crumbly instead of staying in pieces. Drain off more fat if you use bacon or the filling gets greasy.

How do I know when the quiche is actually done? The center should wobble. Just slightly. Like one inch in the middle moves when you shake the pan. The edges are set and puffy. That’s done. It keeps cooking while it cools. If the top cracks or it’s totally still liquid, it needs more time. If it looks dry and shrunken, you overshot.

Can I make this ahead? Build it the night before, keep the filling separate, pour it in the morning and bake. Or bake it completely, reheat it wrapped in foil at 160°C for 10 minutes. Cold out of the fridge is actually good too.

What if the filling is too wet? Drain the broccolini after you cook it. Or add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the custard. Moisture in the vegetables breaks the quiche texture. Some of it’s normal. Too much and it won’t set right.

Is feta cheese necessary or can I swap it? Feta gives it tang. Without it, it’s just eggs and cheese. You could use cheddar, gruyere, goat cheese, whatever. Won’t taste like this version but it’ll work. Mozzarella is boring. Don’t bother.

Can I freeze it? Freeze it unbaked, wrapped tight. Bake from frozen, add 10 to 15 minutes to the time. Or freeze slices after baking in an airtight container, reheat wrapped in foil.