Simple Quiche with Hashbrown Crust

This simple quiche recipe will make the pickiest of eaters happy. Replacing the traditional crust with hashbrowns adds a nice twist and has all of your favorite breakfast options together in one dish.

Crust:

2 cups shredded hashbrowns

1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Filling:

1/2 pound cooked and crumbled bacon

1 cup grated gruyere cheese

8 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 tbls cream or whole milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dry

Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9" tart pan with cooking spray.

For the crust - mix all the crust ingredients together in bowl. I use shredded hashbrowns from Costco that you have to rehydrate. If you are using frozen, make sure you squeeze as much water out of them before using. You can also use shredded cooked potato. Do not use raw potato as it won't cook properly.

Pour crust mixture into 9" tart pan and press firmly up the sides and on the bottom of the pan. Similar to how you would line the pan with a pie crust. Another option is to use a springform pan and remove the outside ring the last 10 minutes of baking.

Bake in 425 F oven for at least 20 minutes, you want to see some browning on the potatoes.

After crust is baked turn oven temperature down to 375 F.

For the filling - crack eggs into a bowl, whish in cream, salt, pepper, and thyme. Make sure the egg mixture is fully incorporated with the cream. Once crust is done baking remove from oven. Layer the cooked bacon and gruyere on the base of crust, I do this rather than mixing into the egg mixture to ensure the bacon and cheese are distributed evenly. Pour egg mixture over crust and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes. Do not over bake, it will result in a spongy/dry filling.