The Easy Fix For A Watery Quiche

While quiche is a relatively easy bake (especially if you use a pre-made pie crust), there are nonetheless plenty of pitfalls that can transform the rich, savory pie of your dreams into a crushing disappointment. One common issue with quiche is that it can turn out watery; instead of a well-cooked custard, the filling is thin and wet. To avoid this, Chowhound spoke to The Seasoned Mom Blair Lonergan, author of "The Seasoned Mom Cookbook," for her best tips for saving a watery quiche.

"A watery quiche is such a bummer!" Lonergan sympathizes. "One way to prevent this is to get the ratio of eggs to liquid correct. I typically go with 1 to 1 ½ cups of milk or cream per 4 eggs." In addition to the dairy element, many quiches incorporate vegetables, another potential source of excess liquid. Lonergan recommends that you always sauté veggies before adding them to the quiche. Or, if using frozen vegetables, thaw and drain them thoroughly. The goal is to get as much liquid out of the vegetables in advance so it doesn't leak out into your filling.

If you've already pulled your quiche out of the oven and noticed a distinct wateriness, that's another story. In this case, Lonergan says, just let it cool completely before cutting into it, as it will continue to set while cooling.

Other common quiche issues, according to Lonergan, include a bland filling and pulling an uncooked quiche out of the oven too early. And of course, there's the infamous soggy bottom. In other words, a bottom crust that is undercooked or just too moist. There are multiple tricks to avoiding a soggy bottom, including blind baking the crust and placing your pie on a pre-heated baking sheet in the oven, rather than directly onto the rack.

Lonergan has her own recommendation. "You might be able to save the soggy crust by returning the quiche to the oven on the bottom rack at a low temperature (about 325 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes or so," she says. The low temperature keeps the edges of the crust from burning, while giving the bottom a chance to firm up.

But home cooks have several options when it comes to baking these days. You don't even need to turn on the oven to make a good quiche! Cooking quiche in a slow cooker is a relatively hands-off way to ensure an evenly baked result. However, if you go this route, in addition to sautéing the veggies separately, you should lay paper towels between the quiche and the lid to absorb some of the moisture produced during the slow cooking process. And if you're an air fryer cook, go ahead and pre-bake the crust for a few minutes before adding the filling.