What is the difference between quiche and frittata?

It's a question that a lot of people want to know the answer to and might even think they already know. If we told you the crust is the only difference between a quiche and a frittata would you agree? You'd be correct that quiche has a crust, and a frittata doesn't, but it's also so much more than that too. It's true that both are delicious and hearty meals to feed your family, but they are versatile in the ingredients you can add and the method by which they are typically cooked.

Whether you're looking for a sumptuous breakfast to start your day or a satisfying brunch to keep your energy up, you can't go wrong with a quiche or frittata. Frittatas and quiches are both prepared using eggs, cream, whole milk, and fillings such as bacon, vegetables of your choice and cheese. However, while quiches and frittatas may have a lot in common, they can create quite different dining experiences.

There are a few key differences between them, so let's take a look at what they are.

Differences Between a Quiche and a Frittata

Crust

As you already know, a frittata has no crust and can be baked directly in a skillet. On the other hand, quiche has a crust that holds the fillings. A frittata is sometimes called a crustless quiche, and this leads people to think they are the same thing.

Fillings

When preparing a frittata, you'll use a lot more eggs than in quiche recipes because a frittata is mostly egg filling with some cream and cheese and additional ingredients of your choice. When making a quiche, which is basically a savoury pie, you'll make the egg custard from beaten eggs likely including egg yolk or egg whites, cheese, cream and vegetables.

Method

When preparing a frittata, you'll begin on a stove pot and transfer it to a broiler or the oven. Quiches cook in the oven from start to end, and of course, you use a round pie pan for baking a quiche. To bake a frittata, it's a cast-iron skillet.  

So now you know the differences, let's take a look in detail at the beauty of both of these dishes.

Frittata 

It's no secret that cooking a frittata is less labour intensive than a quiche and there's no real need to follow recipes. It's the kind of simple yet tasty breakfast you can throw together with some leftovers on a sunny Sunday morning. Frittata is an Italian word that roughly translates to 'fried'.

Just like a quiche, frittata can be made with any combination of meats like sausage, bacon or ham, soft vegetables such as spinach, caramelized onions or zucchini go particularly well, and cheese, although not in large quantities, and it can also be left out entirely.

Simply mix the whisked eggs, fillings, and full-fat dairy (half-and-half or heavy cream) together to get started. Pour the mixture into a frying pan and allow to cook on a stovetop. Then transfer the egg dish to the oven to finish cooking. You'll know it's done when the top begins to turn brown.

Avoid using a nonstick pan, especially when cooking in an oven and pour a decent quantity of olive oil into the pan to prevent your food from sticking.

Transfer the frittata to a plate straight from the oven, sprinkle some fresh herbs on top and cut into slices to share. Such a convenient way to cook and you'll feel great all day having eaten such a delicious breakfast.

Quiche

There's a practical difference when it comes to cooking these two egg dishes and it's in the preparation time. Instead of just throwing together some vegetables or leftovers out of the fridge, you're going to need to make a pie crust first.

A really simple way around this extra time needed is to buy a prebaked crust from the store. Because the filling of a quiche is egg custard, of course it's going to be quite wet, and so you need the pastry shell to be baked before pouring the egg custard in.

It's handy if you have a tart pan with a removable base as this aids with easing the pie out of the pan, however, you can also just use a regular pie pan if you don't have one.

To start gather the ingredients you want to feature in the quiche. Using recipes is a tried and true method for success, so if you're not sure what works, use a recipe from an expert. We've put together a simple recipe for you to follow for Quiche Lorraine which is popular in classic French cuisine and also the world over.

To make a Quiche Lorraine, you'll need the following:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 rindless bacon slices chopped finely
• 3 large eggs
• 300 ml heavy cream or crème fraîche
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup grated swiss cheese

We'll assume you have your pie crust ready, so next, cook the onion and bacon together in a frying pan until the onions are soft. Allow to cool on a paper towel before sprinkling into the dish. This is important so the egg doesn't cook too early.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until bubbly. Mix in cream, milk and cheese until all ingredients are completely combined and then pour the entire egg mixture into your pastry dish.

The quiche will need to be baked at 180 degrees for around half an hour until the filling is set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. A suitable accompaniment to quiche recipes is often a fresh, green salad, around two cups should be plenty for a small family.

Ham, cheddar cheese (or mushrooms) and sautéed spinach are also great choices for a tasty quiche.

Don't forget that for either dish you can mix up the ingredients to suit your tastes. Feature salmon in a quiche instead of meat. Or remove meats altogether and go vegetarian with the addition of yellow squash, zucchini, capsicum and garlic.

Or, if you don’t want to cook the quiche yourself and would rather have a night off, order a delicious Quiche Lorraine directly from Délidoor.

What is better, Quiche or Frittata?

Which one is better might be down to your own personal taste but now you know more about the difference between a quiche and a frittata you can probably work out which one will suit your lifestyle.

It's true that quiches do take longer to prepare but they also travel well so you can cut up a slice and take it to work with you the next day. Or make lots of smaller quiches that you can freeze and bring out as needed.

Just like an omelette and a scrambled egg, lots of people think that quiche and a frittata are the same. The reason why is clear - they are both egg-based dishes with similar shapes. They also feature similar fillings such as cheese, ham, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, and capsicum.

However, it's important to know the differences we've mentioned such as the quiche has a crust, the egg to dairy ratio is much higher in frittatas, and of the two egg dishes, a quiche takes longer to prepare due to the cooking of the pastry shell. Whichever dish you choose, both are going to be a great addition to your recipe repertoire.