Mini Quiches with Hash Brown Crust

Mini Quiches with Hash Brown Crust  couldn’t be easier, and  you can customize each one with the filling(s) of your choice so everyone’s happy!  They’re perfect for every day or for holiday brunches.

I owe the idea for these little Mini Quiches with Hash Brown Crust to my mother-in-law.  We went to her house last weekend for a family brunch and she made a pie-sized quiche with a hash brown crust.  I loved the idea and got right on it, because these are just the perfect things to serve for Easter brunch. 🙂

While my mother-in-law did one large quiche, I went mini for a couple of reasons.  Mainly, some people like quiche loaded with veggies, some people prefer them completely veggie-free and loaded with ham or bacon, and some like a combination of both.  This way, you can customize them and make everybody happy.  That’s a tough gig to pull off, so when you find something like this that makes it easy, you just gotta go for it.

I used a combination of asparagus and mushrooms since I had some already cooked up in the fridge, and I had part of a ham steak leftover that cubed up.  Bacon, sausage, scallions, jalapeños, or whatever you have on hand would be great additions to these mini quiches as well.

The other reasons I chose to make mini quiches are that everything bite sized is much more fun, and with these, the hash browns actually resemble bird’s nests.  If that doesn’t scream Easter, I don’t know what does. 🙂

Most quiches are notorious for being extremely unhealthy, but not these.  I’ve told you I’m a cream-a-phobe — I don’t like super rich food most of the time — so instead of adding a lot of heavy cream to the eggs, I used just a bit of skim milk.  The egg yolks add enough richness for me, and the cheese sprinkled  over the top to makes these perfect for me.  I got zero complaints.

Crustless quiches are a great way to keep the calories down in quiche as well, but the hash browns here make these more substantial, and who can resist a golden brown, crispy hash brown crust?  Not this girl.  And like I said…they resemble bird’s nests, and it is Easter time. 😉

You can use frozen hash browns for this, just be sure to thaw them and squeeze out the liquid or they won’t get crisp.  The same goes for freshly grated russet potatoes — place them in a towel and get as much liquid out of them as you can.  Toss them in oil, and press them into the bottoms and up the sides of your generously greased muffin cups or ramekins, and bake till crispy.

Place your filling(s) into the bottom of each muffin cup and pour the egg mixture over the top.  Top with the cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes until puffy and set, and your quiches are done.

Once they’ve cooled about 10-15 minutes, run a knife around the edges and work them out.  They come out surprisingly easy, but I did lose a couple of patches of hash browns here or there in a few muffin cups.  If you don’t want to worry about getting them out, ramekins are a great idea.

These mini quiches are the kind of food that’s special for holiday brunches, but perfect for every day as well.  They’re nice and portable for breakfast on the go, and when you want breakfast for dinner, these are your guys.  These will be in the regular rotation here…we could eat them every day of the week. 🙂

More Easter brunch ideas!

Blueberry Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal

Coconut Greek Yogurt Waffles

Egg & Bacon Breakfast Cups

Raspberry Coconut Baked French Toast

Beautiful Breakfast Tart by The View from Great Island

Cinnamon French Toast Cups by Pumpkin ‘N Spice

Sweet Potato Hash by Cooking on the Front Burner

Zucchini, Onion, & Tomato Frittata by Inspiration Kitchen

Mini Quiches with Hash Brown Crust

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Mini Quiches with Hash Brown Crust are healthier quiches complete with a gluten free hash brown crust, and they're perfectly customizable so they please the pickiest of eaters!

Author: Flavor the Moments

Serves: 12 mini quiches

Ingredients

For the hash brown crust:

• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and grated (2 cups), or use thawed frozen hash browns*
• 2-3 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Filling options:

• Sauteed mushrooms, leeks, onion, bell peppers, or jalapeños
• Steamed broccoli, chopped fine
• Fresh spinach, chopped or frozen, thawed and wrung out
• Sauteed or roasted asparagus, chopped small
• Crumbled bacon or sausage cooked according to package instructions
• Ham, cut into small dice

For the quiches:

• 6 large eggs
• ½ cup low fat milk*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup of your favorite grated cheese
• Scallions, for garnish (Optional)

Instructions

Prepare the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Generously grease (12) standard muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the grated potato or thawed hash browns in a bread towel and wrap tightly. Wring out as much liquid as possible as the potatoes won't crisp if there's too much moisture. Place the potatoes in a medium bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
3. Place about 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture in each muffin tin and press it into the bottom and up the sides. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-30 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Prepare the fillings:

1. Whatever vegetables you decide to use, make sure to chop them fairly small. Saute or roast your veggies, or use whatever leftover veggies you have cooked up in the fridge. I used roasted asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, and diced ham that I had in the fridge.
2. To roast asparagus: Preheat the oven to 375. Remove the tough bottom stems and toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 6-8 minutes until the asparagus is crisp tender. You can also chop them into small pieces and sauté them with the mushrooms!
3. To saute mushrooms: Remove the stems on the mushrooms and chop them in fairly small chunks. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and add the mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned.
4. Place about 1½ tablespoons of filling into the bottom of each muffin cup.

Prepare the egg mixture:

1. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
2. Place the eggs, milk, salt and pepper, to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Divide the mixture equally in the muffin cups, and sprinkle some cheese over the top. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the quiches are puffed and set. It's ok if the centers are just a tiny bit wiggly. Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minute until cool enough to handle. Run a knife around the edges and gently work the quiches out. Serve immediately with the scallions, if using, and enjoy!

Notes

Ramekins may also be used for the quiches if you don't want to mess with removing them from the pan, just make sure they're the same size for even cooking.
*Be sure and use russet potatoes here as they're the starchiest potato and will get nice and crispy for you.
*Low fat milk may be substituted with whatever you have on hand -- whole milk, dairy free, or half and half to make more indulgent.
Recipe by Flavor the Moments.

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