Mini Quiches with Ham, Endive & Gruyère

Cut the butter cold. Flour stays cool. That’s the whole thing with these. Make tiny quiches that come out crispy on the bottom, custardy in the middle, and they stay good for days. Takes 40 minutes to prep, 30 to bake. Total hour and ten minutes, but most of that is waiting.

Why You’ll Love These Mini Quiches

Make 24 at once. Freeze them. Grab one whenever you want something that tastes like you tried. The pastry cracks when you bite it — actually cracks. Not soft, not dense. Cracks.

They work cold the next day. Maybe better cold. Bring them to something and people assume you spent the whole morning on it.

Ham and cheese quiche, but in pieces. No cutting, no plating. Just grab one. The endive stays tender instead of wilting into nothing. Smoked turkey instead of regular ham changes everything — less salty, more depth.

Appetizer energy without the fuss. Makes 24 miniature quiches from one batch of dough.

What You Need for Mini Quiche Pies

Flour and salt go in first — just pulse them together, don’t overthink it. Cold butter, diced. The cold part matters. Sour cream instead of water or cream — keeps the crust tender. Add water only if the dough won’t hold together. Stop as soon as you have a rough ball. Don’t knead it to death.

Red onion, minced fine. Garlic, two cloves. Smoked turkey, about 280 grams — diced, not sliced. Regular ham works but tastes thin next to the turkey. Endives, two of them, ribs cut out and the rest chopped. They’re like chicory in salad but you cook them here instead of eating them raw.

Five eggs. Beaten, not scrambled yet. Whole milk, about a cup and a quarter. Aged gruyère — not young gruyère, not Swiss, gruyère specifically. Fresh chives. Salt and pepper. Twenty-four mini tartlet molds, aluminum, about 7.5 centimeters.

Olive oil for the pan.

How to Make Mini Quiches

Pulse flour and salt in a food processor — just barely, until they know each other. Drop in cold butter cubes. Pulse again until it looks like cornmeal. Rough. Grainy. That’s right.

Pour in sour cream. Pulse. If it needs more liquid, add water drop by drop. Stop the second it clumps into a ball. Do not keep going.

Turn it out onto the counter. Knead it twice. Maybe three times. Wrap it in plastic. Into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll it thin — about 3 millimeters. Use a 9 centimeter cutter, round. Press each circle into a tartlet mold, gentle, lift the dough slightly up the sides. Back in the fridge for 25 to 30 minutes. This is not optional. The dough shrinks if you skip it.

Heat the oven to 185 Celsius. Low rack. You want the bottom to actually crisp.

How to Get the Custard Perfect in Mini Quiche Pies

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Medium. Onion and garlic go in — sweat them until they turn translucent and smell sweet. Don’t let them brown. Brown means stale flavor.

Smoked turkey, diced, goes in next. Stir it around for about four minutes until it gets a little color, a little caramelization. Turkey has smoke already so it doesn’t need much.

Endives now. Two minutes. They soften a bit but they should still have some snap to them. Overcooked endives taste bitter and turn mushy. Just two minutes.

Salt and pepper. Tip everything into a bowl to cool down. You don’t want hot filling meeting raw eggs.

In another bowl, whisk five eggs with 300 milliliters of milk. Salt it, pepper it. This is custard. Custard needs seasoning.

Distribute the turkey mixture into the tartlets — spread it around but don’t crowd the edges. Sprinkle gruyère over top. Pour egg custard in slowly, just under the rim. Don’t overflow. Overfilled quiches spill and the crust gets soggy.

Chives on top.

Bake 28 to 33 minutes on that low rack. Watch for golden edges, puffed centers. The middle should jiggle slightly when you move the pan — that means it’s set but still tender. Overbaked means rubbery. Don’t overbake.

Cool five minutes before you pop them out of the molds. Warm quiches come free easily.

Mini Quiche Lorraine Tips and Mistakes

Don’t overwork the dough. Overworked dough turns tough. Pulse, don’t knead into submission. The cold butter is doing the work, not your hands.

Chill everything before it touches the oven — dough, filled tartlets, all of it. Cold dough = flaky edges. Room temperature dough = flat.

The smoked turkey thing. Regular ham works. But smoked turkey tastes better. Less salty. More going on. If you use ham, use good ham.

Endives are specific. Chicory in salad is different — too bitter raw and even worse cooked. Endives soften nicely and taste mild when cooked. Don’t skip them for something else.

Custard will look a little jiggly when you pull them out. That’s fine. Sit them down. It firms up. You’ll know because you’ve baked quiches before or you’ll figure it out watching it.

Freezing. Cool them completely. Then freeze on a tray, then bag them. Reheat in a 160 Celsius oven until warm. Takes about 12 minutes from frozen. They don’t fall apart. They stay good for weeks this way.

Mini Quiches with Ham, Endive & Gruyère

By Emma

Prep:

40 min

Cook:

30 min

Total:

1h 10min

Servings:

24 mini quiches

Ingredients

• PÂTE BRISÉE
• 440 ml (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
• 200 ml (7/8 cup) cold butter, diced
• 140 ml (2/3 cup) sour cream
• water as needed
• 24 aluminum mini tartlet molds (about 7.5 cm x 2 cm)
• GARNITURE
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 25 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) olive oil
• 280 g (10 oz) diced smoked turkey
• 2 endives, ribs removed, chopped
• 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) whole milk
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) aged gruyère cheese, grated
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh chives, cut into 1/2 cm pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. PÂTE BRISÉE
2. 1 Pulse flour and salt briefly in a food processor just to combine. Add cold butter cubes; pulse until mixture looks coarse and crumbly like cornmeal. Do not overwork or the dough heats up, toughening crust.
3. 2 Add sour cream and pulse again, adding tiny amounts of cold water if dough doesn’t come together easily. Stop as soon as a rough ball forms.
4. 3 Transfer dough to a clean surface. Gently knead once or twice to unify. Wrap in cling film; chill at least 30 minutes — helps gluten relax and butter firm for flaky pastry.
5. 4 Roll dough out thin, about 3 mm thick. Use a 9 cm round cutter to cut 24 circles. Press gently into tartlet molds, lifting dough slightly up sides for crisp edges. Re-chill 25-30 minutes so dough firms up again before baking—prevents shrinking.
6. 5 Preheat oven to 185°C (365°F). Place oven rack low for good bottom crispness.
7. FILLING
8. 6 Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sweat onion and garlic until translucent, smelling sweet and softening but not coloring—any browning dulls flavor.
9. 7 Add diced smoked turkey; stir until it begins to caramelize gently, about 4 minutes. Turkey adds nice smoky depth compared to ham.
10. 8 Toss in chopped endives; cook 2 minutes until they begin to wilt but retain some bite. Endives are delicate—overcooking turns bitter and mushy.
11. 9 Season with salt and pepper, then transfer mixture to bowl to cool slightly, so eggs won’t scramble when mixed.
12. 10 In separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Salt and pepper again; custard should be lightly seasoned for best balance.
13. 11 To assemble: distribute turkey-endive mixture evenly into dough-lined tins, avoiding crowding edges—helps custard set well and crust brown evenly.
14. 12 Sprinkle grated gruyère over each. Pour egg-milk blend slowly into tartelettes to just under rim—don’t overfill or quiches will spill and sog the crust.
15. 13 Scatter chive pieces on top for fresh herb aroma and color contrast.
16. 14 Bake 28-33 minutes on lower rack. Look for golden crust edges, puffed and just set custard with slight jiggle in center. Avoid overbaking or custard gets rubbery and dry.
17. 15 Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before unmolding. Warm quiches detach easily and filling firms up slightly at resting.
18. 16 Serve warm or at room temperature. Good with lightly dressed greens or pickles.

Nutritional information

Calories

220

Protein

8g

Carbs

14g

Fat

15g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Mini Quiches

Can I use a different kind of cheese in these egg custard quiches? Gruyère works because it melts and doesn’t separate. Cheddar gets grainy and breaks. Swiss is too mild. Emmental might work. Gruyère is the right choice here.

How far ahead can I make little quiches? Bake them, cool them, throw them in the freezer. They last for weeks. Reheat in the oven. They come back fine.

What if I don’t have smoked turkey? Ham works. Bacon works. Both taste different but quiches still set and taste good. Turkey was just what was in the original.

Can I prep the tartlets the night before baking? Yes. Fill them, cover with cling film, into the fridge overnight. Pour the custard the next morning. Bake. The edges might take an extra minute or two because they’re cold but it’s fine.

Should these miniature quiche pies be served warm or cold? Both work. Warm is better if you’re eating them fresh. Cold tastes different — the flavors flatten slightly but it’s still good. Depends on what you’re doing with them.

Why does my recipe for a ham and cheese quiche sometimes come out soggy on the bottom? Low oven rack and preheated oven. If the bottom doesn’t crisp, the rack was too high. Move it lower next time. Also don’t overfill with custard — that makes the crust steam instead of bake.

Can I make these mini quiche pies without the tartlet molds? No, not really. They need the structure. You could pour into a regular tart pan and cut into squares but it’s not the same dish at that point.