I have always enjoyed quiche for breakfast or brunch, any kind really I just adore an egg pie. I also love hash browns, so the idea of combining the two into one delicious dish, well count me in. The crispness of the hash browns is a delightful change up from a flaky crust of a traditional quiche. Really quite easy to make, this dish is perfect thing to serve your overnight or holiday guests, or to simply treat yourself on a lazy weekend. Mix it up a bit during the week and have breakfast for dinner, this quiche will certainly satisfy and your family will love it.
I had seen recipes floating around for this type of quiche, so I had to give it a try. It did turn out very delicious and everyone was impressed, the only thing I would suggest is to line your spring form pan with parchment. Clamp one piece in the bottom and grease the pan, then cut a strip to cover the sides. It will stick to the grease and stay in place while you build your crust. Even though I used a non-stick pan and sprayed it with oil, the hash brown cheese mixture really stuck. I lost quite a bit of the best ‘crunch’ getting it free from the pan, and also had a heck of a time with clean up. I did find that it is necessary to squeeze as much moisture out of the thawed hash browns as possible, a potato ricer works well.
It is very easy to customize this recipe by switching up the ingredients. Any breakfast meat such as ham or bacon would be delicious, shrimp or crab would be a welcome ingredient, or build a vegetarian version with broccoli and spinach.
Crisp hash browns form the crust for this delicious sausage, onion, and red pepper quiche. Perfect for overnight guests or a weekend treat for your family.
- 20 ounces frozen hash browns thawed
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ pound breakfast sausage browned and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter if needed
- 1/2 onion diced
- ¼ cup red pepper diced
- 6 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
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Squeeze liquid from the thawed hash browns and place into a large mixing bowl with ½ cup shredded cheddar, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
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Line the sides and bottom of a 8” or 9” spring form pan and lightly coat with non-stick spray.
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Press the hash browns evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze for 1 hour.
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Heat oven to 425˚F.
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Bake frozen crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and slightly cool.
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Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon reserving the grease. Crumble the sausage and place on a paper towel to drain. Add the onions and pepper to the skillet and cook until onions are lightly browned, add butter if needed. Drain onions and peppers on paper towel when cooked.
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Arrange half the sausage in the bottom of the pre-cooked crust followed by half the onions and peppers, and half the cheese. Repeat with the remainder of the ingredients.
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In a mixing bowl lightly whisk together the eggs and cream and pour over the sausage onion mixture.
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Reduce temperature to 375˚F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center is just set.
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Allow quiche to cool for 10 minutes before removing the spring form and parchment. Cool for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
I like to use a hot Italian sausage for this recipe. You could easily replace the sausage with bacon or even substitute broccoli for a vegetarian version.