Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche

Bacon and kale quiche with a pie server.

This easy breakfast quiche recipe uses a prepared pie crust for convenience. It’s a homemade quiche that’s delicious for brunch or holidays. Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche will delight your guests.

This easy breakfast quiche recipe is a case of opposites attracting. How else do you explain the unholy marriage of kale with bacon and cheddar cheese? I mean a kale quiche??? My father would decry this as blasphemous — and yet, he ate two slices of this Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche. Yep.

preparing the pie crust for par baking with pie weights.

I made this on Mother’s Day with ingredients that I already had in the refrigerator. Eggs? Check. Bacon? Check. But it needed a vegetable and though I had cauliflower and snap peas — neither one seemed appropriate in this quiche recipe. That’s when I spied the kale. Kale quiche, hmm. Kind of like spinach, but heartier, right?  Able to stand up to the other ingredients without wilting. I’ve used kale in quiche before and it’s perfect because it doesn’t really detract from the other flavors while adding a ton of vitamins and fiber. (Bonus).

Let’s begin with the pastry… This may seem like a cheat, but I keep 1-2 boxes of Pillsbury pie crust in my refrigerator (and freezer) at all times… for occasions like this.  Don’t judge.

Newsletter Signup
Join our community of food lovers!

Get my latest recipes, helpful kitchen tips and more good things each week in your inbox.

How To Blind Bake Pie Crust:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Fit the pastry into a pie plate and press the bottom and sides firmly against the dish.
  3. Press the edges of the crust with your fingers to form a nice edge or alternately press the tines of a fork along the edge of the crust to form a pretty rim.
  4. Prick the bottom of the pastry several times with a fork.
  5. Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with pie weights.
  6. Spread the pie weights out evenly and blind bake the crust for 8-12 minutes or until set but not browned.
  7. Remove the parchment and pie weights and let the crust cool.
crisping bacon on a wire rack in the oven.

Cook the bacon. This is really a personal preference, but I like to bake my bacon instead of frying it on the stove.  There’s no splatters and smoke and my clothes remain blissfully grease free — that doesn’t happen when I’m jockeying bacon slices in a hot skillet — invariably the bacon grease spatters over my blouse and there goes my $14.99 TJ Maxx special.

Assembling egg custard in a bowl.

I use my standard custard for this Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche: eggs, half and half, salt, pepper and some nutmeg.  You can skip the nutmeg if you like or even switch it up with a pinch of cayenne pepper  for some heat.  Make it to your own tastes.

Mix the sautéed kale and onions into the custard mixture and add the bacon.

ProTip: When you cut the bacon, if there are any curly-que or ruffle-edged pieces, set them aside to decorate the top of the quiche before baking… It’ll give your pie personality.

Pour the custard into the par-baked pie crust and sprinkle on a final handful of cheese and those unusually-shaped pieces of bacon, pressing them slightly into the custard. Bake until set.

The baked bacon quiche resting on a sheet pan.

When baking, bacon cheddar quiche will inevitably fill your house with warm, inviting and, yes, bacon-y aromas — that’s just to get the attention of anyone in the vicinity, so they know it’s almost time to eat.  And lest you think that my Dad was just being nice having that second slice, he assured me that despite the kale, or maybe because of the bacon — this is the best quiche he’s had.

A slice of the bacon cheddar quiche with kale.




Garlic & Zest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and review.

Your comments and shares are invaluable to me and the thousands of readers who use this site daily. If you've made the recipe, leave a star rating and review. We want to hear how you liked it.

We'd love it if you shared the recipe with your friends on social media!

A bacon cheddar and kale quiche in a pie plate.
Print Pin
4.67 from 18 votes

Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche

Savory and delicious, this quiche is a great brunch dish or light main course with a green salad.
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, brunch, kale, quiche
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 9″ ready made pie crust (I use Pillsbury)
  • ½ pound cooked bacon roughly chopped
  • 2-3 large kale leaves (tough stems removed)
  • 1 small yellow onion chopped
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 4 extra large eggs
  • 1 cup half and half
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese (divided) or monterey jack, emmenthaler, asiago or gruyere)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat the oven to 375°. Fit the pastry into a pie plate and press the bottom and sides firmly against the dish. Press the edges of the crust with your fingers to form a nice edge or alternately press the tines of a fork along the edge of the crust to form a pretty rim.  Prick the bottom of the pastry several times with a fork. Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with pie weights.  Spread the pie weights out evenly and blind bake the crust for 8-12 minutes or until set but not browned.  Remove the parchment and pie weights and let the crust cool.
  • While the pastry is baking, heat a skillet (with a tight fitting lid) over medium heat.  Add the olive oil and stir in the chopped onions.  Cook until the onions are softened and slightly translucent.  Stir in the chopped kale and stir in the water.  Secure the lid and let the kale cook for about 2 minutes or until bright green but slightly wilted. Remove the lid and let the kale mixture cool.
  • In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine, then stir in the kale, bacon and 1 cup of the cheese. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  
  • Place the pie plate onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Cut a piece of foil about 10″ square and rest it over the top of the quiche.  Bake the quiche covered for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 18-25 minutes or until set and browned.  Remove the quiche from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 674mg | Potassium: 171mg | Vitamin A: 530IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 229mg | Iron: 1mg
Looking for an easy breakfast quiche recipe? This homemade quiche uses a prepared pie crust for convenience, but the egg custard and the rest of the ingredients in this Bacon Cheddar Kale Quiche are fresh and from scratch. Serve kale quiche for breakfast, brunch and as a make-ahead holiday recipe. #quiche #kalequiche #baconquiche #baconcheddarquiche #brunch #breakfast #holidaybreakfast #holidaybrunch #kale #bacon #cheddar #eggs

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

17 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was really good! Thanks so much for sharing!

  2. Sondra Ann Wilson says:

    5 stars
    Love this simple, elegant and super delicious dish! And it’s perfect for us keto eaters! I bake without the crust or sometimes I scoop it out the crust when others want it baked in the shell. I added diced ham and extra bacon. Love this recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    This quiche is superb! I used lacinato kale (that is all I ever use) and omitted the bacon. I also omitted the water but used more EVOO. I generously sprinkled garlic powder over kale while cooking. I never have half and half so I used 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup whole milk. I used less nutmeg also. I have experimented with pre cooking my pie shell and using raw (I only use Pillsbury) in other quiches and have found NO advantage to pre cooking. My quiche crust is never soggy. I followed baking directions at end of recipe but eliminated step 1. So delicious and healthy!

    1. So happy you enjoyed the quiche and love your substitutions!

  4. Amy R Folk says:

    5 stars
    So delicious. Thank you for the recipe! I used a frozen crust, but had all the other ingredients on hand & really loved this combo. ?

    1. I’m so glad you liked it, Amy. You really can’t go wrong with quiche — and believe me, I’ve got nothing against ready made pie crust!

  5. I know there is a lactose free half and half substitute. I’ll be looking that up and making this soon!!! Yummm!!!!

    1. Let me know how it works with your substitutions. I will update the post to include them as an option for dairy free.

  6. 5 stars
    yumma! I bet I could even get my family to eat this with kale because the bacon will have them not even noticing the kale!

  7. 5 stars
    Bacon and cheddar is an amazing combination and this looks like a nice summer lunch with a salad.

  8. I agree with cheating on the pie crust, as a busy mom, I have no spare time for that as well.

  9. 5 stars
    Quiche is an awesome dish to enjoy in a variety of ways. I just love bacon and totally on the same page as cheating with the pie crust – especially if one wants to enjoy this on a weekeday. You make a stunning quiche Lisa!

  10. 5 stars
    OMG this quiche looks amazing! and I’m with you on cheating on the crust. it ain’t no thing

  11. 5 stars
    I’m totally with you on cheating with the pie crust. I know homemade is better, but really, who has time for that LOL! I love baking bacon, its so much neater than frying it (and cheaper than the ruined clothes!). Love this recipe. Never thought of using kale in my quiche, I’ll def have to give it a try.