This simple smoked salmon quiche recipe is perfect for a cozy spring breakfast or holiday brunch! With smoked salmon, fresh asparagus, and gruyere cheese. Use store bought pie crust to keep things easy (or make your own!)
How to make an easy brunch feel fancy AF: add smoked salmon. This quiche feels rich and elegant, but only needs a few key ingredients. It's perfect for a weekend brunch or a holiday spread on Mother's Day or Easter.
Like our fan-favorite smoked salmon eggs, this recipe works best with hot smoked salmon, which flakes apart easily (as opposed to cold smoked salmon or cured salmon - like lox - which are more delicate).
Ingredients
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full ingredients list with exact quantities.
- Use hot smoked salmon here. It has a sturdy texture, flakes easily, and is darker in color compared to cold-smoked or cured salmon varieties. We love the Smoked Wild Sockeye from SeaBear and this Traditional Smoked Sockeye from Wild For Salmon. Learn more: Hot smoked vs. Cold smoked salmon.
- Fresh asparagus. Trim off the tough, woody ends, then cut asparagus into rough 1-inch pieces. Save the prettiest pieces for topping the quiche before baking!
- Store bought pie dough keeps things easy (but you can make your own pastry crust if you like!) We tested this recipe with Aldi brand pie crust and Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.
- Heavy cream gives this quiche a creamy, custard-y texture. You can exchange it for half and half or whole milk if you like! Lower-fat milks (like 1%, 2%, or skim) don't have quite as rich of a texture here, but they'll work in a pinch.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the smoked salmon for canned salmon, or use leftover grilled or roasted salmon. Crispy bacon and prosciutto are also good in this quiche.
- Add extra veggies. Fresh greens (like kale, spinach, or arugula), sliced red onion, or cherry tomatoes are tasty additions.
- Swap the gruyere for shredded white cheddar, a mild swiss cheese, goat cheese, or fontina cheese. You can also add a few dollops of cream cheese (à la our fan-favorite smoked salmon scrambled eggs). Stay away from especially rich or funky cheeses here, as they can overpower the smoked salmon flavor.
- Add herbs like fresh dill or parsley to the egg mixture.
Instructions
Par-bake the crust
Press your pie dough into a pie dish and crimp the edges, then use a fork to prick several holes across the surface (Image 1, above). This will help the crust keep its shape in the oven.
Bake the pie crust on its own for 8-10 minutes, until it has just barely begun to set (2). You'll know it's ready when most of the crust's surface looks somewhat dry and uneven, but it hasn't started to brown yet.
Equipment note: We used a 9-inch glass pie pan here. If you use a metal pie dish or tart pan, you may need to reduce the par-baking time.
Mix the eggs
While the pie crust bakes, add eggs, cream, and nutmeg to a small bowl or measuring cup with a pinch of kosher salt and a few turns of cracked black pepper (3).
Whisk until you have a smooth egg mixture (4).
Assemble and bake
Layer smoked salmon, asparagus pieces, and shredded gruyere into your pie crust (5). We like to alternate each ingredient over two or three layers for even distribution - similar to how you'd build a lasagna!
Pour egg mixture over the filling (6).
Pro Tip: Reserve a few of the prettiest salmon and asparagus pieces for topping the quiche after you add the eggs.
Top the quiche with reserved asparagus and salmon pieces (7). Bake for 35-50 minutes, until the eggs have puffed up and are just barely set in the middle (8). Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Serve this quiche as-is, or add your favorite toppings (we love adding fresh herbs, sliced red onion, capers, arugula, a pinch of everything bagel seasoning, or a dollop of crème fraîche).
FAQs
We love pairing a rich asparagus and salmon quiche with a light side salad (like our easy lemon arugula salad!) or some crusty homemade bread.
If you're making a big brunch and want to add a few sweet options alongside this savory quiche, try our overnight cinnamon buns or lemon poppyseed scones - both are easy to make in advance!
Yes! Let any leftover asparagus and smoked salmon quiche cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you're ready to eat, transfer a quiche slice to a sheet pan or small baking dish and reheat in a 350° oven for 5-10 minutes until the eggs are warmed through. (For another meal-prep friendly recipe, try adding a bit of smoked salmon to our spinach frittata!)
While we haven't tested this recipe with puff pastry, we expect it would work: Just be diligent about pricking plenty of holes in the dough before par-baking, or use pie weights to help the puff pastry keep its shape (you can see a few other puff pastry baking ideas in our puff pastry baked eggs recipe!)
📖 Recipe
Smoked Salmon Quiche
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Description
This rich and cozy smoked salmon quiche is perfect for an elegant holiday brunch!
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (see recipe notes)
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 ounces smoked salmon (about ¼ cup)
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (3 ounces)
- 1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F.
- Parbake the crust. Press pie dough into a 9-inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Place the pie pan on a large baking sheet (this will make it easier to move in and out of the oven when you add your filling). Prick the pie crust with a fork, then bake for 8-10 minutes at 375°F. Your crust is ready when it has mainly "dry" spots, where the crust has begun to set but is not yet browning.
- Prep the eggs. Whisk eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper together in a large measuring cup.
- Add the filling. Remove parbaked pie crust from the oven. Gently flake the smoked salmon into pieces; reserve a few pieces of fish and asparagus for topping the quiche. Spread a thin layer of smoked salmon across the bottom of the pie crust, then add a layer of asparagus pieces and a layer of shredded gruyere. Repeat over two or three layers for even distribution. Pour the egg mixture over the filling, then top with remaining salmon and asparagus. Remember to work carefully here, as the pan will be HOT!
- Bake quiche for an additional 35-50 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and eggs have set in the middle. If the edges of the crust start to brown too much, cover with a piece of foil or a pie crust shield until the eggs are done.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes, add garnishes, then slice and serve.
Notes
What pie crust should I use? We use a store-bought 9-inch pie crust here to keep things simple (we've tested this recipe with both Pillsbury and Aldi varieties). Use homemade pastry dough if you prefer (we share our go-to dough in our tomato galette recipe. The quick version: use a food processor to cut 1 stick cold, cubed butter into a mix of 1 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt, then add ice water slowly until the dough comes together).
To trim asparagus, place spears in a single layer on a cutting board; align the bottoms of the stems in a straight line. Cut off the bottom inch or two of each asparagus stalk to remove the tough, woody ends. Learn more: How to trim asparagus.
Substitutions. This is a very forgiving recipe: Feel free to play with the exact ratios. Swap some or all of the asparagus for sliced leeks (we recommend sautéeing them first), greens (fresh kale, spinach, or arugula), sautéed mushrooms, or caramelized onions to make this quiche a bit heartier. Add cooked, crispy bacon or pancetta pieces for a smokey note. Add an extra egg or two if you like (depending on the size of your pie pan, extra eggs can help the quiche feel more "full").
Do I have to par bake the pie crust? We really do recommend it. This step helps the crust set and solidify a bit before adding fillings, which protects it from the moisture of the egg mixture and yields a firmer crust. You can even parbake the pie crust a bit longer if you like (this will give you an even crispier crust, but you'll need to use a pie shield to prevent the edges from burning as the quiche bakes). In our testing, the timing we've provided here gave us the best crispy crust quality for the least amount of additional effort.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 0.7 g
- Sodium: 219 mg
- Fat: 14.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.5 g
- Protein: 25.9 g
- Cholesterol: 204.6 mg
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