Caramelized Onion and Pancetta Quiche

I love quiche. It’s one of those rare dishes that is perfect for any time of day. Breakfast? Obvious great choice. Brunch with mimosas? The perfect dish to impressive your friends. Lunch or dinner? Absolutely! There are endless quiche filling options – cheese, meats, veggies, the list goes on. For this Caramelized Onion and Pancetta Quiche, we’re loading it up with onions, pancetta, and spinach. You could even add cheese if you want!

What you’ll need for the Onion and Pancetta Quiche:

• Pie dough – you can make your own or buy store bought
• Small Cubed pancetta – I buy mine in the package pre-cubed in the deli
• Onion and butter for caramelizing. You can’t beat the flavor caramelized onions add!
• Baby spinach – for some color and to balance some of the richness
• Eggs, of course.
• Half and half

The first and very important step of any quiche is the crust. Buttery and flaky, it is a crucial component. For a quiche we first partially bake the crust. This helps keep the crust from getting soggy. It is an extra step, but very key. When blind baking, you’ll want to fill your crust with pie weights (dry beans is a great substitute). The weights help keep your crust from shrinking down the sides.

Once the crust is blind baked, we can pour in the fillings. If you’d like, you can blind bake the crust a day in advance to save time. It’s totally okay if the crust is cold when pouring in filling. For this quiche we’re using sautéed diced pancetta, caramelized onions, and sautéed spinach. All done in the same skillet to cut down on clean up.

The quiche bakes in a preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes. The center should be just set and the crust golden brown. I like to cover my quiche with aluminum foil when the crust starts to get golden to prevent from over browning. You’ll want to let the quiche cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving. The quiche can also be cooled completely – it’s just as good at room temperature in my opinion. Making this an easy dish to make ahead of time.

What other fillings do you love in your quiche?
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Caramelized Onion and Pancetta Quiche

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• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 120 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. Elegant enough to serve for Easter, bridal showers, baby showers, the list goes on. Filled with caramelized onions, sautéed pancetta and spinach. This Quiche is an easy yet indulgent dish. Recipe at KathleensCravings.com

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Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (store bought or homemade (recipe link in notes))
• 4 ounces minced pancetta
• 1 large yellow onion (thinly sliced)
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

1. Start by partially blind baking your crust. Roll your pie dough into a 12-inch diameter circle. Place into your pie dish and gently press it in place. Crimp the edges with your fingers. Chill the pie crust for at least 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line your crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake the chilled crust for 15 minutes – the edges should be just starting to brown.
2. While the crust is blind baking, start your filling. First, in a large skillet cook the pancetta over medium until lightly browned About 3 minutes. Remove from skillet.
3. To same skillet, add the butter and onion. Caramelize over medium heat until well softened and golden. About 15-20 minutes. Add spinach to cooked onions. Toss together until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and add back in pancetta.
4. In your stand mixer with whisk or a large bowl with a hand mixer, mix the eggs, half and half, pepper, and salt until well combined. About one minute on high.
5. Sprinkle the onion, spinach, and pancetta filling over the bottom of your partially baked pie crust. Slowly pour over the egg mixture.
6. Bake quiche at 350 for 45-50 minutes. After about 30 minutes you may want to cover with tin foil so the crust doesn’t get too brown. The quiche is down when the center is just set.

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• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: American