This delicious Zucchini Quiche with Ground Beef is filled with a flavorful beef and zucchini mixture, cheese, fresh herbs and spices. Perfect for brunch or even dinner, it’s beyond scrumptious and will have you coming back for seconds!
Love zucchini? Try this Zucchini Zoodle Salad for dinner.
Why We Love Zucchini Quiche with Ground Beef
- Ground beef adds a savory flavor and heartiness to the zucchini quiche.
- Easy to customize with your favorite ingredients.
- It can be made in advance.
Ingredients
- Deep pie crust shell – Make your own or use a store-bought crust to save time.
- Lean ground beef
- Zucchini
- Green onions
- Flour
- Eggs
- Milk
- Shredded Swiss cheese
- Thyme: Fresh thyme provides a more vibrant taste (and makes all the difference, in my opinion), but dried thyme can be used in a pinch.
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
Step 1: Line the deep dish pie shell with a sheet of tin foil and some pie weights, dried rice or dried beans and blind-bake it for about 8 minutes. This helps prevent a soggy crust.
I usually use my pie weights but I couldn’t find them today, so I used rice. Pie weights are so much easier and less messy, though.
Step 2: Chop the zucchini and green onions. I like using a mini food processor to chop the zucchini. I cut the zucchini into slices and let the food processor do the rest.
Step 3: Remove the excess moisture from the zucchini.
How to Remove Excess Moisture from Zucchini
Muscle power. Zucchini is full of water and you have to work pretty hard to squeeze it all out.
My go-to method is to put the chopped zucchini inside a clean tea towel and then just wring it out over a bowl as hard as I possibly can. The amount of water in zucchini is ridiculous!
Step 4: Brown the ground beef until it’s nearly done, then add the chopped and squeeze-dried zucchini and green onions. Cook until the veggies are tender and the beef is fully cooked. Add the flour and cook another a couple more minutes.
Step 5: Place the meat mixture in the blind-baked pie crust.
Step 6: In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, cheese, and seasonings, then pour that into the crust with the meat. (See below tip for filling a quiche.) And bake!
How to Fill a Quiche Without Spilling
This method is pretty fool-proof. Preheat your oven, then place the quiche crust on the oven rack. Pour the filling into the crust while it’s on the oven rack, using a spatula to press down the ingredients and disperse the liquid as needed. No more carrying a full quiche over to the oven and spilling!
Step 7: Let the baked quiche sit 15-20 minutes before cutting to serve.
Recipe FAQ
Quiche should be baked until the edges are set but the center still has some jiggle.
Cool the zucchini quiche with ground beef for about 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving. I personally like quiche when it’s hot but it can also be eaten at room temperature or even chilled.
Sure! Bake and refrigerate it, then reheat slices in the oven for optimal texture. Alternatively, you can assemble the quiche and refrigerate overnight, baking it fresh the next day. If freezing, wrap the quiche tightly and thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating for the best results.
Zucchini Quiche with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch unbaked deep crust pie shell
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium zucchini shredded
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- dash ground red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line pie shell with foil; fill with pie weights (or dried beans or rice). Bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven; carefully remove foil and pie weights and return to oven to bake 4 more minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Brown ground beef in large skillet; drain off extra grease. Add zucchini and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are tender. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- In medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, cheese and seasonings. Stir into ground beef mixture; pour into crust. Bake 35 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
