French Leek and Gruyère Quiche

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Leek and Gruyère Quiche is a savory leek tart made with plenty of sautéed leeks and a light crème fraîche and milk custard. This French-style quiche comes together in one bowl and is perfect for lunch or dinner or weekend brunches. All you need is a whisk, a sauté pan, and a tart pan.

Want to save this recipe?

We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later! Plus get great new recipes from us every week!

What Is Leek and Gruyère Quiche?

Leek and Gruyère Quiche (“quiche aux poireaux” or “tarte aux poireaux”) is one of the most popular quiches in France, the kind you’ll find ready-made at a boulangerie or traiteur, sitting right next to the quiche Lorraine. You’ll also see it made as small individual tarts which is easy to do with this recipe.

At home, it’s often served for lunch or dinner. My French mother-in-law would make a version like this and put it on the table followed by a simple green salad with a simple vinaigrette – and of course some sliced baguette. 🙂

French people use lots of leeks in their cooking. If you would like to try more recipes with leeks, try this creamy cauliflower, potato and leek soup and this light spinach and leek soup.

You can read more about my years cooking French food on my about page, or browse more dishes like this one on my French recipes page. Every recipe on this blog, including this one, is tested in my own kitchen before it goes on the site.

Equipment

• A 9-inch (23 cm) pie dish or a 10-inch (25 cm) tart pan
• Large skillet

Leek and Gruyère Quiche Recipe Ingredients

• Short crust pie crust – homemade pie crust or store bought pie crust.
• Leeks – white and light green parts only. I use quite a bit so it’s a proper leek quiche and not a quiche with a bit of leek in it. I save the dark green leek parts of the leek to make soup stock.
• Crème fraîche and milk. Cutting it with a little milk gives a lighter, silkier custard.
• Gruyère – Freshly grated off the block if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking starch on it that keeps it from melting smoothly.
• Eggs at room temperature.
• Olive oil or butter
• Nutmeg. Just a pinch.

Substitutions and Additions

• Pastry – Shortcrust is the classic choice, but you can also use puff pastry. Skip the pie weights, just prick the base well and give it a short 5 minute pre-bake before filling.
• Crème fraîche – You can mix 2/3 heavy cream with 1/3 full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream or use half and half or just use whole milk. You can also use plant-based cream.
• Gruyère cheese– This is the cheese most French people use for quiche but they also sometimes use Comté or Emmental. You can also use any grated cheese of your choice – swiss cheese or cheddar cheese work well or a simple leek and cheese quiche. Or you can completely leave out the cheese altogether, though it won’t taste the same and you’ll lose the moisture barrier that the cheese forms with the crust and may want to blind bake a few extra minutes
• Bacon – You can add some pre-cooked chopped up “lardons” or bacon, which the French often do, but then it’s not vegetarian…

How to Make Leek and Gruyère Quiche

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

1. Fit the pie crust into the tart pan, prick the base with a fork, and blind bake for 10 minutes with pie weights. Set aside.
2. Wash the leeks very well and slice them in thin slices, rinsing them again to make sure all the sand is removed.
3. Heat the olive oil or butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks (white and light green parts of the leek only) and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender, not browned. Season lightly. Let cool slightly.
4. Whisk the eggs, crème fraîche, and milk together in a medium bowl until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

5. Sprinkle about two-thirds of the gruyère cheese directly onto the blind-baked crust.
6. Spread the cooled leeks mixture evenly over the cheese. Make sure you fill the crust generously with the leek mixture, but don’t overstuff it. The custard needs to cover it completely, so leave enough room for that.
7. Pour the custard filling over the leeks. Scatter the remaining gruyère on top.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until just set with a slight wobble in the center and lightly golden brown on top. Don’t worry if it puffs up, that’s normal, it will drop down as it cools. To test if it’s done, you can insert a thin knife in the center. It should come out mostly clean, maybe with a very faint custard trace, not a wet egg mixture. Note: If the crust edges start browning too deeply partway through, loosely cover the edges with foil.
9. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. After 10 minutes it will be still warm and mostly set for clean slicing.
10. c

What to Serve with Gruyère Leek Quiche

In France, this delicious quiche is often served as a main, after a crudité salad entrée such as creamy cucumbers or grated carrots or after a light soup, such as creamy asparagus soup or a light broccoli and asparagus soup. It would then be followed by a simple lettuce leaves only salad with a light vinaigrette.

Another option is to serve it the Baltic cuisine style, alongside an array of veggie salads which may also include Baltic style salads such as red radish salad as well as some Baltic style open-faced sandwiches, like this avocado cottage cheese toast or salmon and cream cheese bread.

More Quiches You Might Like

These are some of my favorites 🙂

• Quiche Provençale, a summer vegetable version built with ratatouille flavors
• Salmon and spinach quiche, a lighter, seafood-forward quiche
• Salmon and asparagus quiche, with no cheese and a light fresh flavor
• Authentic French quiche Lorraine, the classic bacon and cream original, no cheese
• Bacon and mushroom quiche, a heartier, savory version
• Asparagus and ricotta quiche with phyllo, a crisp, flaky alternative to shortcrust

FAQ

Want to save this recipe?

We’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later! Plus get great new recipes from us every week!

Leek and Gruyère Quiche

Marissa

A French-style leek and gruyère quiche made with a generous amount of sautéed leeks and a light crème fraîche custard cut with milk. Gruyère goes both under the leeks and on top, for a crisp, flavorful bottom crust. Serve warm or at room temperature for a lunch, dinner or a savory breakfast.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Brunch, Mains

Cuisine French

Servings 6 servings

Calories 394 kcal

Equipment

• 1 9 inch (23 cm) tart pan
• 1 Large sauté pan
• 1 Mixing bowl and whisk
• 1 Pie weights (or dried beans/rice) for blind baking

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pie crust store-bought or homemade pâte brisée, 9 inch (23 cm)
• 3 medium leeks about 1.1 lbs or 500 grams, white and light green parts, sliced into rounds
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil or butter.
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 3/4 cup crème fraîche 180 ml
• 1/4 cup whole milk 60 ml
• 1 cup 100 g grated gruyère
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• pinch Nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Fit the pie crust into the tart pan, prick the base with a fork, and blind bake for 10 minutes with pie weights. Set aside.
• Wash the leeks very well and slice them in thin slices, rinsing them again to make sure all the sand is removed.
• Heat the olive oil or butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks (white and light green parts of the leek only) and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender, not browned. Season lightly. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk the eggs, crème fraîche, and milk together in a medium bowl until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Sprinkle about two-thirds of the gruyère cheese directly onto the blind-baked crust.
• Spread the cooled leeks mixture evenly over the cheese. Make sure you fill the crust generously with the leek mixture, but don’t overstuff it. The custard needs to cover it completely, so leave enough room for that.
• Pour the custard filling over the leeks. Scatter the remaining gruyère on top.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until just set with a slight wobble in the center and lightly golden brown on top. Don’t worry if it puffs up, that’s normal, it will drop down as it cools. To test if it’s done, you can insert a thin knife in the center. It should come out mostly clean, maybe with a very faint custard trace, not a wet egg mixture. Note: If the crust edges start browning too deeply partway through, loosely cover the edges with foil.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. After 10 minutes it will be still warm and mostly set for clean slicing.
• Garnish with parsley or chopped chives.

Notes

Substitutions and Additions

• Pastry – Shortcrust is the classic choice, but you can also use puff pastry. Skip the pie weights, just prick the base well and give it a short 5 minute pre-bake before filling.
• Crème fraîche – You can mix 2/3 heavy cream with 1/3 full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream or use half and half or just use whole milk. You can also use plant-based cream.
• Gruyère cheese– This is the cheese most French people use for quiche but they also sometimes use Comté or Emmental. You can also use any grated cheese of your choice – swiss cheese or cheddar cheese work well or a simple leek and cheese quiche. Or you can completely leave out the cheese altogether, though it won’t taste the same and you’ll lose the moisture barrier that the cheese forms with the crust and may want to blind bake a few extra minutes
• Bacon – You can add some pre-cooked chopped up “lardons” or bacon, which the French often do, but then it’s not vegetarian…

 

Tips

• Make sure you wash the leeks really well. You do not want little bits of sand in your quiche.
• Cook the leeks until properly soft. Undercooked leeks release water in the oven and your quiche may not set properly.
• Let it rest before cutting for straight edges when cutting.

 

Storage and Make-Ahead

• Keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, covered.
• Reheat in a 320°F (160°C) oven or air fryer rather than the microwave, so the crust stays crisp.
• Leeks can be sautéed a day ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble.
• Freezing – This quiche can be frozen once fully baked and cooled, for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 394kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 14gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 724mgPotassium: 217mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1305IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 312mgIron: 2mg

Keyword leek and cheese quiche, leek and gruyère quiche, leek and gruyère tart, leek gruyère quiche, leek quiche with gruyère

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!