This mini quiche recipe uses pie scraps and mason jar lids to turn out the cutest mini quiches you've ever seen! Even better, these bite sized ham and cheese quiche are totally delicious, too...
Mini Ham and Cheese Quiche Recipe
For years I struggled with making a solid pie crust. I followed my mom's crisco pie crust recipe to the letter, and it always looked perfect right up until that moment that I tried to wrangle it into a pie plate. It all went south from there...
When I say "years," I really do mean YEARS. I'd nearly given up on ever turning out a perfect pie, and then just last year it finally dawned on me.
My mom's recipe was written to produce two 9-inch pie crusts (or one double 9-inch crust). But I've always used my favorite Fiesta pie plates — which are 10 ⅜-inches deep dish bakers. Doh!!!
I'd been rolling my crusts way too thin in an attempt to make them fit my extra large pie dish. Luckily it was a pretty simple fix! I rewrote the recipe to double the amount of dough, and now all is well.
Well, almost — now I often find myself with some excess pie crust trimmings...
What To Do With Pie Crust Scraps?
My mom always formed her pie crust scraps back into one crust, which she'd brush all over with melted butter. After topping it with a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar, she'd roll the crust up like a strudel and bake it. Mmm, SO GOOD!!
But I saw another idea in the recent November issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. It described using mason jar lids as tiny pie tins to bake pie crust scraps for mini quiche.
Pie crust for quiche? Interesting. Of course I had to give it a try... So I tested it out with my pumpkin pie crust scraps on Thanksgiving morning, and I have to say — it's a totally brilliant idea!
Just cut 4-inch rounds from the scraps and fit them into standard sized Mason jar lids. Line them with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights to blind bake the crusts.
Ham and Cheese Quiche Filling
I figured I could adapt the filling from my popular mini spinach quiche. However, I soon discovered that we were out of bacon. Whomp, whomp...
But I did have a package of deli ham on hand, and it was a delicious substitute!
First, I sautéed the ham and a bit of onion in butter to give them some color and flavor. Then I divided the ham and onion mixture among the prepared quiche crusts, about 1 tablespoon per crust, and topped each with a heaping tablespoon of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Finally, I poured the quiche filling mixture (a simple combination of eggs and sour cream) over the top and baked the mini quiches for 15 minutes.
Mini Quiches For The Win
These yummy mini quiches didn't even survive the cooling rack! It's safe to say they were an absolute hit, and I have a feeling that next time I'm going to have to make a separate pie crust just for these.
Of course, you could also just pick up a refrigerated pie crust at the grocery store. Why wait until you have pie scraps to give them a try?!
Make Ahead Quiche
If you need a make ahead quiche recipe, look no further. The pie scrap quiche crusts can be prepared several days ahead of time. Then you can fill and bake them fresh the day you plan to serve them!
These mini ham and cheese quiche are also excellent the next day. So if you want to fully make them ahead of time for a special brunch, go for it.
BTW, they're also a fantastic way to use up leftover ham from Christmas, Easter, Sunday dinner, etc.
Printable Recipe ↓
Mini Ham and Cheese Quiche
Ingredients
- refrigerated pie crust - or scraps from your favorite pie crust recipe
- 6 slices ham - chopped
- 1 small onion - finely chopped (about ⅓ cup)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- kosher salt - to taste
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
For the mini quiche crusts:
- Heat your oven to 425°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie scraps (or refrigerated pie crust) to ⅛-inch thick. Cut out twelve 4-inch rounds.
- Place each round in a standard Mason jar lid (2 ¾-inch diameter), and slightly crimp the edges.
- Line each round with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake at 425°F until beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool while preparing the filling.
For the ham and cheese quiche:
- Heat the oven to 375°F.
- Sauté the ham and onions in butter over medium heat until the onions are translucent and the ham is browned. Allow to cool slightly.
- Divide the ham and onion mixture among the 12 quiche crusts, about 1 tablespoon per crust. Top each with a heaping teaspoon of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Divide the egg quiche filling mixture evenly among each crust.
- Bake at 375°F until just set, about 15 minutes. Cool before serving.
More Easy Egg Recipes
If you like these pie crust mini ham and cheese quiche, you might also enjoy these other delicious & easy egg recipes:
- Mini Spinach Quiche
- Bacon Breakfast Casserole
- Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos
- SheetPan Eggs For A Crowd
- How To Make Shirred Eggs
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your mini quiches turn out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
kelly rae says
I would make bacon and butternut squash
Courtnie Miller says
I'd like to make carbonara
Lori Jackson says
Too many recipes in my head that call for bacon, but the one that stands out the most that my family loves, is my bacon and parmesan penne pasta. Never have leftovers when I make it!
Tee Anderson says
I would make a quiche with mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, cheese and bacon!!
Jessica To says
I would make boneless chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and baked in the oven.
Natalie says
I would make a chicken and bacon homemade pizza!!
David says
I would make a ham and cheese hashbrown casserole.
Christine Labelle says
We are a pretty simple house. I think I would make some bacon cheeseburgers. Can't go wrong with that!
aaron reck says
I like to eat bacon and egg sandwiches. Put some salsa on that and cheese and it's good to go!
Nancy Loring says
I have a recipe where i soak bread crumbs in egg , some spices, cheddar cheese and lots of bacon. I let it soak for an hour or so and then I line a pan and I pour it in and I add more bacon and cheese and then i cook it. It is such and easy meal and it works great when you have bread that you need to get rid of.
Elena says
I would make a cobb salad
Mita says
I would make a cobb salad.
Cindy says
I absolute love Bacon Carbonara and that is what I love to make, only Tara's little tarts are something that I definitely want to give a try! They sound delicious. I don't think I have ever had eggs and sour cream mixed together. This has me intrigued!
Laurajj says
Oh I would make Bacon 'n' Egg Lasagna!!! I found a recipe online last year and we made it for the holidays for family...oh it was so good! We are doing it again this year!
Laurajj says
Oh I would make Bacon 'n' Egg Lasagna!!! I found a recipe online last year and we made it for the holidays for family...oh it was so good! We are doing it again this year!
shelly peterson says
I would make bacon wrapped lil smokies covered in bbq sauce.
Misty Swearingen says
Mmmmmm, bacon!! Everything is better with bacon! Especially bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalapeño poppers! So good!
HS says
I will make ham and cheese hash brown casserole.
Jaime T says
What a great idea - I'll have to try this out :)
mami2jcn says
I would make a cobb salad with bacon.
Karen says
BLT's of course!