Kale and Mushroom Quiche
Want an easy, foolproof vegetarian quiche recipe that the whole family loves? This kale and mushroom quiche delivers. It’s packed with fresh fresh vegetables and gruyere cheese, with an quick, egg custard filling. Use a ready made pie crust to keep the prep simple and enjoy this tasty, cheesy kale quiche for weekend brunches or even a light dinner. This easy quiche dish can be made ahead and it freezes well too!
This post has been updated for recipe, content and photography since its original publication in 2014.
Table of Contents
- 1 Quiche is a family favorite brunch dish
- 2 Ingredients for kale mushroom quiche
- 3 Sweat the vegetables
- 4 Prepping kale for quiche
- 5 Recommended cheeses for this recipe
- 6 Assembling quiche filling
- 7 Fill & bake
- 8 Swaps & variations
- 9 For a make ahead quiche dish
- 10 Reader comments on mushroom kale quiche:
- 11 Kale and Mushroom Quiche
- 12 Pin “Kale and Mushroom Quiche” for later!
Quiche is a family favorite brunch dish
Quiche has always been a favorite savory brunch item in our family. When we’ve got visiting friends or relatives who are staying overnight, it’s an easy make-ahead brunch item with a little more polish than a dump-and-go egg casserole and it will easily serve 6 hungry diners or 8 as part of a larger meal.
Ingredients for kale mushroom quiche
- 9″ Pie Pastry
- Button Mushrooms
- Onions
- Curly Kale
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Fresh Thyme
- Kosher Salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Cream
- Nutmeg
- Black Pepper
- Gruyere Cheese
Sweat the vegetables
This savory vegetarian quiche recipe starts with the mushrooms, which naturally contain a lot of water. In fact, if you heat a dry pan over a medium high heat and add sliced buttons or creminis to it, within a minute or so, they’ll actually start to give up their liquid and you’ll find them wet with their own juices – despite the fact that the pan was dry to start.
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I’m saying this because the amount of oil may seem like it’s not enough, and the mushrooms will automatically soak up what’s there — and you’ll think, “Geez, I need to add more oil”.
Don’t. Just give them a few minutes and they’ll release the liquid. That’s when you add the onions, red pepper flakes and bundle of thyme.
Curly kale is a great way to add fiber to this this quiche dish, but it does need to be wilted before mixing it with the other vegetables.
Prepping kale for quiche
- Remove the tough stems from the kale and discard.
- Roughly chop the kale and transfer to the sauté pan, stirring while the kale sizzles.
- Stir in the water and cover the pan to give the kale a brief steam, which will wilt the leaves.
- When the kale is softened, add the ‘shroom and onion mixture and stir to combine.
You can customize this vegetarian kale quiche recipe with just about any cheese that you have on hand. My personal favorite is Gruyere, but any of the ones listed below will be deliciously balanced in this kale and mushroom quiche. When you’re shredding the cheese, use the fine side of the box grater, so that the shreds are whisper thin and melt easily into the quiche custard.
Recommended cheeses for this recipe
- Gruyere
- Swiss
- Emmental
- Fontina
- Monterey Jack
- White Cheddar
Assembling quiche filling
Nutmeg is a classic ingredient that elevates everything from classic white sauce (béchamel) to egg custards for quiche recipes. You don’t need a lot, but it adds an interesting (not sweet) flavor that enhances the gruyere, swiss or emmental cheese in any quiche recipe, including this mushroom and kale quiche.
Pro-Tip: Don’t buy nutmeg that’s already been ground. Instead use whole nutmeg and grate it yourself using a microplane. The flavor is much more pronounced when it’s freshly grated and the spice will last much longer.
Just whisk the custard ingredients and grated nutmeg together until well combined and then fold in the sautéed vegetables and grated cheese.
Fill & bake
- Fill the par-baked 9 inch pie crust with the kale and egg custard filling.
- Sprinkle a little extra cheese over the top and bake the kale quiche until the filling is set.
- Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it.
I love the way the house smells while the kale and mushroom quiche is baking. Its savory aroma will make your tummy rumble. It takes about an hour (maybe a little more) to bake and while it does, you can make some bacon or sausage to go with it and you’ll definitely want to pour some mimosas or bloody marys too.
Swaps & variations
- If you don’t have kale for the quiche, swap it out for about 6 ounces of fresh spinach leaves or 1 box of frozen chopped spinach, that’s been thawed and squeezed of all its excess moisture.
- You can add other veggies to the kale quiche to amp up the nutrition. Try adding leftover roasted butternut squash or diced roasted red bell peppers from a jar (just make sure to blot them dry with a paper towel before adding them to the custard to prevent weeping.
- For a heartier mushroom kale quiche, stir in cooked, chopped bacon, ham or sausage.
One of the best things about kale quiche is that you can make it ahead of time and reheat it just before serving. It even freezes well and can be kept for up to a month.
For a make ahead quiche dish
- Make the quiche as directed and let it cool to room temperature.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- When you’re ready to serve it, remove the quiche from the refrigerator and let it rest on the counter for about half an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325° and heat the quiche for 20-25 minutes or until warmed through.
- If the crust starts to brown too much, rest a piece of foil over it.
Reader comments on mushroom kale quiche:
From Cassie: “Amazing flavor! Thanks!”
From Karen: “Very good! Was easy to make and the whole family loved it!”
Betsy says: “Added this delicious kale quiche to my Mother’s Day brunch! Soooo good!”
What to serve with kale and mushroom quiche:
- Homemade Applewood Smoked Bacon
- Winter Citrus Salad with Sherry Vinegar Dressing
- Homemade Ham with Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze
- Glazed Cherry Almond Coffee Cake
- Simple Citrus Almond Salad
- Cardamom Orange Sweet Rolls
- Simple Applesauce Muffins
- Tropical Fruit Salad
More vegetarian quiche recipes:
- Roasted Bell Pepper and Artichoke Quiche
- Fresh Spinach and Goat Cheese Quiche
- Quick and Easy Crustless Vegetable Quiche
- Homemade Spinach Gruyere Quiche
- Caramelized Onion and Thyme Quiche
- Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche
- Tasty Ratatouille Quiche
- Spinach Artichoke Quiche
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Kale and Mushroom Quiche
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 9-inch pie crust
- 8 ounces button mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- scant ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme tied in a bundle
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 3-4 stems curly kale stems removed, very finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 3 tablespoons water
- 5 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 cup grated gruyere cheese can also use emmenthal, swiss, fontina
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place pie pastry into glass or ceramic pie plate. Firmly press bottom and sides into plate and finish the edges of the crust by pressing the tines of a fork against the rim of the crust, or by pursing the edges together between your thumb and forefinger. Refrigerate crust until oven has heated completely. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes until set and just starting to brown. Remove crust from oven and set aside to cool
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Sauté for 3-5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to give up their liquid Add onions and bundle of thyme. Cook 2-3 minutes, until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a small bowl.
- Add remaining oil to the skillet and add chopped kale and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook 1 minute, stirring. Stir in the water, cover and steam until kale is wilted and water has evaporated, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Add kale to onion mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl add eggs, milk, cream, nutmeg, remaining salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add kale mixture, and grated cheese to the egg mixture. Stir well to combine.
- Pour filling into pie crust and spread it out evenly. Top with additional cheese if desired. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until filling is set. Remove from oven. Let quiche rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
NUTRITION:
Pin “Kale and Mushroom Quiche” for later!
Such a gorgeous quiche. My only suggestion, is instead of discarding kale stems, chop them and sauté starting with the onions. They are a fantastic addition, and no waste! Cool all the way through with onions and mushrooms if started right away.
I’m all for the waste not, want not philosophy! Great suggestion!
The quiche turned out wonderfully, and everybody at the brunch was asking for the recipe! For anyone in a similar position of working with what’s in the fridge, here were my substitutions: I altered the mix of cheeses—half mozzarella, half cheddar—instead of fontina, used Trader Joe’s “coconut beverage” in place of the milk, but did use heavy cream since I had that available. I used a slightly-rounded 1/4 teaspoon of pre-ground nutmeg, since it’s stronger than freshly ground. A full 1/2 teaspoon of pre-ground nutmeg would have been really overpowering (and I like nutmeg!), so keep that in mind. (Probably just time to buy a real nutmeg…)
I used a grain-free, nut-free crust from the book _My Paleo Patisserie_ and highly recommend it.
I love how you made this your own, Nicole!
Wow the pictures are great! I love that there is kale and mushrooms (two of my faves) in this quiche.
I’ve been on a major mushroom kick lately so I would LOVE this! Perfect for any meal of the day.
I have a confession: I’ve never tried to make quiche! You’ve hit all of my happy spots with this recipe, though—especially mushrooms, onions, kale, and fontina—so it has now become my mission. My mom has issues chewing too, so she’ll appreciate this dish when I make it for her on Mother’s Day!
Such a fantastic story Lisa. My grandparents passed away a couple of years ago and I must say that I am quite envious that you get to take your grandpa shopping every weekend. I would have loved to see their faces when you showed up with this beauty in hand. It looks absolutely delicious. It’s no surprise that not even a crumb could be found as evidence of it’s existence.
Oh my, this quiche looks so good. I would love to have a few slices right now!
We had it for dinner tonight. I wanted to use up my heavy cream. I didn’t have fontina or a pie crust, but it was great with Mexican style cheese and no crust.
Judy
I love your rift on this — and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This sounds absolutely fantastic!
It’s a great combo, Suzy!
It is always great feeling to cook for somebody we love especially grandparents as they always given best food in the world. You made best kale mushroom quiche. I wish you can send some for me too.
LOL! – Grandparents deserve the best, don’t they?!!
Aw, that’s such a great story! I love that you cooked this for your grandparents after their years of cooking for you. Quiche really is such a great dish, but it’s one I haven’t made in ages either. Yours looks so golden and perfect, too — it’s inspired me! I definitely need to make a quiche soon!
I like to bring my grandparents homemade dishes as often as I can. They always appreciate it and quiche is one of their faves!
I love quiche – it’s one of those dishes that is appropriate any time of day and in just about every situation. I’ve been working on a cauliflower crust for mine, since as much as I love pie crust – it doesn’t really fit into my everyday eating plan. I haven’t made one in a while, though – glad I came across this post as a great reminder. I’ll try your kale and mushroom variety for dinner next week!
You’ll have to send me your cauliflower crust recipe! That sounds great — especially for a healthier eating plan!
I love making quiche and you can’t go wrong with mushrooms and kale in it.
Hi Lisa!.
Looks so refreshing and what a great flavor!
Thank for sharing
Given fresh kale from garden and farm fresh eggs.
Baking this up right now!
Do you have a farmer for a neighbor? I’m jealous!
I made it without the crust because I didn’t have one at the moment and had to replace two eggs with egg whites because I didn’t have enough–it turned out fantastic anyways! What a wonderful recipe. Thanks!
I love your ingenuity! Glad you enjoyed, it’s one of my favorites too!
Made this and realized at the last minute that I didn’t have a pie plate (still moving things to new abode). Used a slope-sided oven-proof skillet instead… A funny presentation but still delicious!
Inventive! You’re like MacGyver in the kitchen!
This sounds so great! I love putting kale in eggs – the mushrooms must make it even more fab!
Quiche is one of my favorite meals with a salad for dinner during the week and then we enjoy the left overs for a quick brunch on the weekend. My favorite is spinach and mushroom but I will be giving kale and mushroom a try here in the near future.
I think I like this better than spinach – because the kale is a little chewier – it gives a nice texture! Enjoy!
wow what a delicious quiche…I can see it from the pictures:-). This is great way to eat veggie :-).
It really is good! Thanks amallia!