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Buttermilk Quiche

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Buttermilk quiche is a classic French egg custard tart kicked up a notch with the tang and zip of creamy buttermilk! Savory ham, cheddar, and chives, plus homemade flaky pastry seals the deal for a delicious meal.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Chilling Time 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
A whole sliced buttermilk quiche with two slices removed.

I love custard! Cherry clafoutis, homemade lemon curd ice cream, bread pudding—I love it all! And quiche has always been high on my list of perfect meals.

I made this made buttermilk quiche with ham and cheddar, however, use whatever meat, cheese, or vegetables you have on hand. Think of the pastry and custard as a blank canvas for any flavor combinations you like!

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📋Ingredients

For The Pastry

  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt
  • Shortening
  • Butter
  • Ice water

For The Buttermilk Filling

  • Cheddar
  • Ham
  • Onion
  • Chives
  • Eggs
  • Buttermilk
  • Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

👩‍🍳Step-By-Step Instructions

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the shortening and butter and rub them into the flour with your hands until the mixture is coarse and sandy with some larger bits of butter. Place the bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes for the butter to harden.

Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the ice water to the bowl by the tablespoon and mix it with a fork. Around the 5 to 6 tablespoon mark the dough should hold together in a ball when pressed together with the fork.

Unmixed and mixed pie dough in a bowl.

Dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Flour the top of the dough and gently roll it with a rolling pin. Roll the dough slightly larger than the circumference of a 9-inch/23-cm pie plate.

Gently turn the pie plate upside down on top of the dough. Use a paring knife to cut around the pie plate, leaving a 1-inch/2.5-cm border around the dish.

Hands rolling pie dough and cutting the edges to fit into a pie plate.

Starting at one edge carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin all the way to the other side.

Gently lift the rolling pin up and over onto the pie plate and roll the dough so it drapes over the entire top of the plate. Carefully adjust the dough to center it in the pie plate if necessary.

Rolling pie dough over and into a pie plate.

Use your hands to gently and quickly pat the dough all around into the edges of the bottom of the pie plate.

Press your fork around the edges of the entire plate to crimp the dough.

Hands pressing a crust intot a pie palte and crimping the edges with a fork.

Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess dough from the edges and to round out the circumference of the dough. Leave a small excess of dough hanging over the plate, about ¼-inch/5-mm to account for shrinkage in the oven.

Hands using scissors to trim the edges of a pie crust.

Prick the bottom of the pie dough evenly all over with the fork to make steam vents.

Place the dough in a preheated oven and bake it for 20-22 minutes. While the dough is in the oven check on it periodically for puffing. You may need to poke a few extra holes with the fork in puffed up spots as it bakes.

Poking an unbaked pie shell with a fork, and a par-baked pie crust.

While the crust is baking get your filling ingredients ready. Grate the cheese, chop the ham, onion, and chives, and whisk the eggs, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper.

Remove the hot crust from the oven and scatter half of the cheese in the bottom. Top the cheese with the ham, onion, and chives. Pour in the egg custard and finish with the remaining half of the cheese.

Adding filling ingredients to par-baked pie crust.

Dip a pastry brush into the egg filling along the edges and brush the egg over the exposed crust, around the entire quiche.

Place the quiche in the oven and bake it for 30-33 minutes more. Cool the quiche for a minimum of 30 minutes before slicing.

Brushing the edges of a quiche with egg wash.
A whole baked quiche shot from overhead.

📝Recipe Notes

  • You can make the pastry with only shortening, or only butter, however, I find the mix of both yields the best texture and flavour.
  • Don’t skip freezing the flour mixture! Mixing room temperature butter and shortening in the flour, then freezing it for a short while, makes for a quick, easy, and flaky pie crust.
  • When your buttermilk quiche is near the end of its baking time, carefully reach in (with your hand in an oven mitt) and jiggle the pie plate to check for doneness. I usually check my quiche around 30 minutes. If the quiche is still visibly liquidy in the middle I give it a few more minutes before checking again. A perfect quiche will be wobbly in the middle but not liquidy! It will continue to set as it cools on a rack.
  • Wait at least 30 minutes before slicing, although an hour would be better to let the custard completely set.

Storage

  • Quiche will keep in the fridge, stored in a container with a lid, or on a plate tightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to four days.
  • To reheat slices of quiche we microwave them so as not to heat the oven for a slice or two, however, if you have a toaster oven, use that instead. If you are reheating a whole quiche bake it in the oven for 12-15 minutes at 350ºF/180ºC until heated through.
  • Buttermilk quiche freezes beautifully! Simply wrap individual slices tightly in double layers of plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to three months. To defrost, let pieces sit on the counter for one hour before heating.
A slice of buttermilk quiche on a plate with a fork.

More Egg Recipes

Did you make this buttermilk quiche? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!

Printable Recipe Card

A whole sliced buttermilk quiche with two slices removed.

Buttermilk Quiche With Ham, Cheddar, And Chives

Author: Kelly Neil
Buttermilk quiche is a classic French egg custard tart kicked up a notch with the tang and zip of creamy buttermilk! Savory ham, cheddar, and chives, plus homemade flaky pastry seals the deal for a delicious meal.
4.84 from 31 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Chilling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Course Pies & Tarts
Cuisine French
Servings 8 servings
Calories 315 kcal

Special Equipment

  • Freezer
  • Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Pastry blender optional
  • Fork
  • Rolling Pin
  • 9-inch (23-cm) oven-safe pie plate
  • Paring knife
  • Scissors
  • Pie weights optional
  • Cheese grater if not using pre-grated cheese
  • Sharp knife
  • Cutting board
  • Whisk
  • Pastry brush optional
  • Wire cooling rack
Need Metric Measurements?Use the button options below to toggle between US cups and Metric grams.

Ingredients
 
 

For The Crust

  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ice water

For The Buttermilk Filling

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated, divided
  • 1 cup ham, chopped
  • ¼ cup onion, diced
  • ¼ cup chives, chopped

Instructions
 

Make The Pie Crust

  • Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the shortening and butter and rub both into the flour using your hands until the mixture is coarse and sandy with some larger bits of butter. Place the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the ice water to the bowl by the teaspoon, mixing well between each addition with a fork. Once the dough can hold itself together in a rough ball when pressed with the fork, it's ready.
  • Dust a work surface lightly with flour and turn out the dough. Lightly flour the top of the dough then gently roll it out with a rolling pin. Roll the dough slightly larger than the circumference of a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate.
  • Once rolled, gently turn the pie plate upside down on top of the dough. Use a paring knife to trim around the pie plate, leaving a 1-inch (2 ½-cm) border around the edge of the dish. Starting at one edge of the dough, carefully roll it around the rolling pin all the way to the other side. Lift the rolling pin up and then over onto the pie plate. Unroll the dough so it drapes over the entire top of the plate. Carefully adjust the dough to center it in the pie plate if necessary.
  • Use your hands to gently and quickly pat the dough down and into the bottom of the pie plate, as well as up and over the edges of the plate. Press your fork around the edges of dough around the entire plate to crimp. Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess dough, leaving a small perimeter of dough hanging over the plate to account for shrinkage in the oven. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough evenly all over with the fork to make steam vents.
  • Place the pie plate in the preheated oven and par bake it for 18-20 minutes. While the dough is in the oven check it periodically for puffing. You may need to poke a few extra holes, or gently press down any puffed up air bubbles with the fork as it bakes.
  • Once baked, remove the plate from the oven and set the crust on a wire rack to cool.

Make The Quiche Filling

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper together until smooth.
  • Scatter half of the cheddar over the the bottom of the pre-baked crust. The crust can be warm or cooled. Top the cheese with the ham, onion, and chives. Pour the egg custard over everything and finish the top with the remaining grated cheese.
  • Dip a pastry brush into the egg filling and brush the outer crust edges around the entire pie plate. Carefully place the quiche in the oven and bake it for 30 to 33 minutes. Transfer the quiche to a wire rack and let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before slicing. Serve the quiche warm or at room temperature, alone or with a simple green salad.

Recipe Notes

  • You can make the pastry with only shortening, or only butter, however, I find the mix of both yields the best texture and flavor.
  • Don’t skip freezing the flour. Freezing it for a short while makes for a flakier pie crust.
  • If the quiche is still visibly liquidy in the middle after baking, give it a few more minutes before checking again. A perfect quiche will be wobbly in the middle but not liquidy! It will continue to set as it cools on a rack.
  • Wait at least 30 minutes before slicing, although an hour would be better to let the custard completely set.

Nutrition

Serving: 113gCalories: 315kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 13gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 710mgPotassium: 174mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 450IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 164mgIron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Let me know on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or tag #kellyneil!

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10 Comments

  1. You are speaking my language here, I LOVE quiche, always have. I can’t wait for this – we just picked up some ham this weekend!

  2. I happen to have just bought ham! I don’t have buttermilk but will try adding vinegar to my milk and see what it’s like! I look forward to breakfast next week.

  3. You know what Kelly, I’m sitting here absolutely exhausted just looking over the pictures or this quiche. It is exactly what I need right now, now I just need to muster the energy to make it!

  4. Nothing like starting off my day reading and learning about something cool. Your blog post accentuated my breakfast perfectly! Thank you 🙂

  5. Wow! I am so glad I came across your blog. Your quiche looks beautiful. I am going to save it to hopefully try soon. The buttermilk sounds like a great addition.

  6. 5 stars
    Thank you! I really appreciate this lovely recipe! I appropriated it for a mushroom and Swiss quiche for which I hoped to use up some soon-to-expire buttermilk. I wasn’t sure I could use buttermilk in place of the usual dairy options. But you nailed this – and I’m Very happy with the results and this recipe that presents an ideal for any combo of fillings in similar ratio to your original. Thanks again!

  7. 5 stars
    Thanks for this recipe, I was in same boat as another comment above, can I use buttermilk in this quiche I’m throwing together at this instant? Let me check, I already had some potatoes browning in an iron skillet and some italian sausage with onion in another. I had cheese and chopped spinach for last. you’re recipe confirmed that of course this is a thing! I used your ratio of buttermilk to eggs (I had to increase because of my filling amount) and yes to the dijon mustard! We love dijon but it hadn’t occurred to me to use it here tonite. Delicious!

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