Can You Freeze Quiche?

Yes, you can freeze a quiche.

A quiche is a pastry case filled with a savory egg custard. The most popular quiche is Quiche Lorraine, a ham and cheese quiche from Lorraine in France.

It is eaten for all meals of the day and is an excellent picnic food.

Quiches can be frozen to make for a simple dinner or stress-free picnic.

Despite the poor reputation eggs have for freezing, quiches are very robust and hold up well in the freezer.

If you follow our instructions correctly, you can store a quiche in the freezer for up to 4 months.

How to freeze quiche

There are many ways to freeze a quiche at various stages of completeness.

You can freeze the filling and pastry crust separately for a crispy and flaky pastry. Make the filling, but do not cook. Place into a ziplock freezer bag, leaving an inch or two of space at the top. Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Label clearly and place it in the freezer.

To freeze the crust, roll out your pastry and line a pie dish. Place the dish in a large ziplock freezer bag and press the air out. Label clearly and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. The longer you leave the pastry in the freezer, the less likely it is to be crispy.

You can freeze an unbaked, filled quiche, and cook when required. Line a large pie tin or mini quiche tins with pastry. Make your quiche filling and fill the cases. Aim to fill them about an inch or two under the lip of the tin.

Place the quiche, or quiches, in the freezer on a level surface. Leave for a few hours to freeze solid and then remove from the freezer. Wrap the quiche tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and place in an airtight freezer bag. Label with the type of quiche and the date made and return to the freezer for storage.

To make life easier for your future self, we encourage you to freeze your quiches after they have been baked. When baked, you have the flexibility to decide whether you freeze the quiche whole or in individual portion sizes.

Allow the baked quiche to cool completely, and we advise placing it in the fridge for a couple of hours prior to freezing. If slicing, portion out at this stage.

Place in the freezer, uncovered, for a few hours to freeze. Once frozen solid, wrap tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and place in a labeled ziplock freezer bag.

If you are freezing a slice of quiche, follow the same steps but wrap the slices individually. The smaller size means that you will be able to wrap them more tightly and this could prevent freezer burn forming.

How to defrost quiche

If you have frozen the crust and the filing separately, remove both from the freezer the night before you wish to cook the quiche.

Place in the refrigerator and allow to thaw completely. Assemble and bake as you want.

If you have frozen a filled quiche, you can cook this straight from frozen. Simply place in the oven at the specified temperature in the original recipe. For large frozen quiches, add 10 to 20 minutes cooking time. For mini quiches, add 6 to 10 minutes of oven time.

The same process applies to already baked quiches. Place in the oven for around 25 minutes to thaw and heat through completely.

If you want to eat your quiche cold, remove from the freezer the night before you wish to eat. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.

Factors to consider before freezing quiche

If you are baking a quiche specifically for the freezer, we advise whisking some additional flour or cornstarch into the custard filling. This will help to bind the filling and prevent moisture weeping out upon thawing.

We do not advise filling your quiche with ingredients with a high moisture content – such as fresh tomato, zucchini, and spinach. Their texture is likely to alter after thawing and they could cause problems with your quiche’s structural integrity. We recommend substituting for dried versions which will pack an intense flavor hit.

We recommend labeling your quiches with not only the type of filling but whether they were baked or unbaked prior to freezing. This seems like it will be obvious, but when they’re frozen it could be difficult to tell. The plastic wrap and freezer bag may also hide how clearly you can see the crust.

Allowing your quiche to cool in the refrigerator prior to freezing will mean that the temperature is consistent throughout. This cooler temperature will also mean that it will freeze more evenly and quicker than if just at room temperature.

Unbaked quiches will be more similar in appearance to freshly baked quiches once thawed and cooked. The only issues are that the pastry case can become soggy due to the melting ice crystals and the cooking time will be slightly increased.

Quiches that have been baked prior to freezing can also develop soggy pastry. The best way to avoid this is to allow it to cool before slicing. For the easiest task, freeze individual portions that you can heat up as you need.

Summary

Quiches are very well suited to freezing and there are many different routes that you can take. You can freeze the quiche at any stage of preparedness and still get a good result.

Freezing the pastry separately to the filling is the best option if you want a really crispy pastry base.

Unbaked quiche will be most similar in appearance and taste to a fresh quiche, although your base may be soggy. You can freeze baked quiches whole or in individual slices.

Freezing in single-serve portions means that you can only take out what you will eat and makes for a quick and mess-free dinner. This will reduce food waste.