Quiche Chevre Recipe: A French Goat Cheese Quiche You Can Make Tonight

Quiche au chevre is a Loire Valley bistro-lunch standard. Most English-language recipes load the dish with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, or roasted peppers, all of which buries the chevre under a salad of vegetables. The Loire version keeps the chevre as the headline: leeks and thyme for the aromatic base, fresh goat cheese in torn chunks for pockets of melt, a custard rich enough to set but still wobble at the center.

What You’ll Need

A 23 cm (9 inch) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (a pie plate works, but the fluted pan releases cleaner wedges), pie weights or dried beans for blind baking, a rolling pin for the pate brisee, a fine-mesh sieve for straining the custard, and a sharp serrated knife for slicing the finished quiche. A pizza cutter also works for cleaner wedges.

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Why the Loire Version Beats the Spinach Version

The Loire Valley is the chevre region of France. Crottin de Chavignol, Sainte-Maure de Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher, Valencay: all of them are AOC-protected goat cheeses from the area, and the local bistros built quiches around chevre the same way Lorraine built quiches around bacon. The leek-and-thyme base is what working-cook kitchens used because the flavors support the cheese without dominating it. Onions are too sweet and too loud; leeks are sweet and quiet, and they let the chevre carry the dish.

The torn-chunks move matters too. Crumbled goat cheese turns into a chalky, evenly distributed dust through the custard; you get a single uniform flavor in every bite and the cheese reads as background noise. Torn chunks about 2.5 cm (1 inch) across stay as pockets that melt slightly but hold their shape, so every other bite is suddenly a hit of warm chevre against the cream-and-egg base. This is how a Loire bistro plates it.

The blind-bake is doing the same job it does for any custard tart: it sets the crust before any liquid touches it, which is the only thing standing between a crisp bottom and the famous soggy quiche. Pie weights for the first 15 minutes, then 3 more minutes uncovered to finish the floor.

A Few Notes on the Ingredients

Fresh chevre: 180 g (6.5 oz) of soft fresh goat cheese, the spreadable log style. Bucheron, Sainte-Maure, or any soft American chevre. Tear into rough 2.5 cm (1 inch) chunks. Avoid pre-crumbled supermarket goat cheese; it is drier and sits as dust through the custard.

Leeks: 2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, sliced thin into half-moons (about 2 cups sliced). Wash carefully between layers; leeks hold grit. Sweat slowly in butter; never brown.

Fresh thyme: 1 Tbsp picked leaves, from about 6 sprigs. Lemon thyme works well too. Dried thyme at half the volume in a pinch.

Heavy cream and eggs: 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream and 4 large eggs. The 1-to-4 ratio is rich enough to set with a slight wobble. Half-and-half makes a thinner, less luxurious quiche; whole milk alone will weep.

Butter: 30 g (2 Tbsp) cold unsalted butter for sweating the leeks, plus 120 g (1 stick) for the pate brisee.

Pate brisee: 180 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 120 g (1 stick) cold cubed butter, 4 to 5 Tbsp ice water. Or one chilled store-bought pie crust if a shortcut is needed.

Seasoning: 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Nutmeg is the quiet move that ties leek, cream, and chevre together.

Recipe: Quiche au Chevre

Prep time: 25 minutes | Chill time: 30 minutes | Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Total time: 2 hours | Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 180 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, for the dough
• 120 g (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 4 to 5 Tbsp ice water
• 2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
• 30 g (2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, for the leeks
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 4 large eggs
• 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, for the custard
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 180 g (6.5 oz) fresh soft chevre, torn into 2.5 cm (1 inch) chunks

Instructions

1. Make the pate brisee. Pulse the flour and salt in a food processor briefly. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-sized bits of butter still visible. Drizzle in the ice water, 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing just until the dough holds together when pinched. Turn out, shape into a flat disk, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured counter to a circle roughly 30 cm (12 inch) across. Lift into a 23 cm (9 inch) tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing the dough into the corners and trimming the edge flush with the rim. Prick the bottom with a fork. Chill 15 more minutes while the oven heats.
3. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Line the chilled crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind-bake for 15 minutes. Lift out the parchment and weights, return the crust to the oven, and bake 3 more minutes until the floor is pale gold and set. Set the crust aside on a rack. Lower the oven to 175°C (350°F).
4. While the crust bakes, sweat the leeks. Melt the 2 Tbsp butter in a wide skillet over medium-low. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes, until soft, sweet, and pale; do not let them brown. Stir in the thyme leaves and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
5. Whisk the eggs and cream together in a bowl with the salt, several cracks of pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring jug for a cleaner custard.
6. Spread the cooked leeks evenly across the par-baked crust. Drop the torn chevre chunks over the leeks, distributing them so each future slice gets a few pockets. Do not press the chevre down.
7. Pour the custard slowly over the leeks and chevre, filling the crust to just below the rim. Some chevre chunks will sit slightly above the custard; that is correct.
8. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are set and pale gold but the center still wobbles slightly when you nudge the pan. The custard will continue to set as it rests.
9. Cool the quiche in its pan on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Lift out of the tart pan, slice with a sharp serrated knife or pizza cutter, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

A slight wobble at the center when you pull the quiche out is the right doneness. A firm, flat center means overbaked; the custard will read as scrambled rather than smooth.

The 20-minute rest matters. The custard continues to set as it cools, and slicing too soon means a runny center that does not hold its shape on the plate.

Quiche holds well at room temperature for up to 2 hours, which is what makes it ideal for a brunch buffet or a lunch you assemble in the morning. Reheat at 160°C (325°F) for 12 to 15 minutes if you want it warm at the table.

Tips and Variations

Pick the Right Goat Cheese

Use a fresh, soft chevre log: Bucheron, Sainte-Maure, or any creamy spreadable chevre from a cheese counter. Avoid pre-crumbled supermarket goat cheese (it is drier and dustier) and avoid aged crottin (it will not melt). A bloomy-rind chevre like Valencay works if you trim the rind first; otherwise the rind reads as bitter against the custard.

Make Ahead and Reheat

The quiche bakes a day ahead beautifully. Cool fully, wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Reheat at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes from the fridge. The crust loses a small amount of crispness compared to a same-day bake, but the flavor improves overnight as the leeks deepen and the chevre settles into the custard.

A Shortcut Crust That Still Works

If pate brisee from scratch feels like too much for a weeknight, a chilled store-bought all-butter pie crust holds up. Press into the tart pan, prick, chill 15 minutes, and blind-bake the same way. The homemade pate brisee is shorter and crisper, but a good store-bought crust will not embarrass anyone at the lunch table.

Freeze Slices for Quick Lunches

Cool the quiche completely, slice into wedges, and freeze on a sheet pan before transferring to a zip-top bag. Reheat frozen slices at 175°C (350°F) for 18 to 20 minutes directly from frozen. A reheated slice with a salad is a 20-minute weekday lunch.

Push It Toward Brunch

For a brunch context, halve the quiche and pair with a green salad dressed in sherry vinaigrette, a bowl of berries, and good coffee. Slot it into a holiday morning spread alongside the rest of your Christmas breakfast menu; it holds at room temperature long enough to survive a slow-arriving table.

Pairings

A cold glass of Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume is the Loire pairing, both Sauvignon Blanc wines from the same valley as the chevre. The acidity cuts through the cream and the goat cheese in equal measure. A green salad with sherry vinaigrette is the bistro-standard side. For a fuller summer lunch, add a cantaloupe salad or pair with the zucchini goat cheese tart from the same family for a two-tart table. The quiche also works well as the centerpiece of a Christmas lunch spread.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between quiche lorraine and quiche chevre?

Quiche lorraine is built on bacon (lardons) and gruyere over an egg-and-cream custard. Quiche au chevre swaps in leeks and fresh goat cheese as the headline ingredients. The custard base is the same; the flavor profile is brighter and tangier with chevre, richer and smokier with lardons.

Do you have to blind-bake the crust?

Yes, for a quiche the answer is yes. The custard is wet and the bake is long; an unbaked crust will go soggy from underneath before the custard sets. Blind-bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes with weights, then 3 more uncovered.

Why is my quiche soggy on the bottom?

Usually one of three issues: the crust was not blind-baked long enough, the leeks went in still warm and steamed the floor, or the oven temperature was too low and the bake took too long. Blind-bake properly, cool the leeks before assembling, and trust the 175°C (350°F) target.

What’s the right egg-to-cream ratio?

For a 23 cm (9 inch) tart pan: 4 large eggs to 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream. The 1-to-4 ratio is rich enough to set with a slight wobble. More cream gives a softer, more spoonable custard; more eggs gives a firmer, more frittata-like set.

Can you make goat cheese quiche ahead?

Yes. Bake a day ahead, cool, wrap, and refrigerate. Reheat at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes. The flavor deepens overnight as the leeks and chevre settle into the custard. Quiche also freezes well in wedges for up to 2 months.

Final Thoughts

The Loire bistro version of this quiche is quieter than the spinach-and-sun-dried-tomato variants that crowd the internet. Leeks support the chevre instead of competing with it. Torn chunks of cheese hold their pockets through the custard. Nutmeg ties the rest together.

Serve at lunch with a salad and a glass of cold Sancerre, or push it toward brunch with berries and coffee. The quiche holds at room temperature long enough to be the centerpiece of a slow weekend table.

A day-old slice reheated at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes is genuinely better than the fresh one. Make it the night before and you’ll have lunch on Tuesday.

Last update on 2026-08-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API