Puff pastry appetizers are always a hit at any gathering and tend to disappear from the table as quickly as other popular finger foods like cocktail meatballs or chicken wings.
These mini quiche bites are no exception. If you are stuck for time, you can make them ahead and reheat in the oven before serving. That is what I often do!
Plus, they are great for school lunch boxes, picnics or brunch menus.
We love this flavor combination, but you can tweak the recipe to your liking.
How to make mini quiches with puff pastry
The first step is sauteing finely diced vegetables with seasoning. In this case, it is salt, pepper and herbs.
Next, beaten eggs with cheese are added to the cooled veggie mixture. If you rush this step, you could end up with scrambled eggs!
Thinly rolled out puff pastry is cut into squares. They then go into a muffin tray – preferably lined with cupcake paper cases. And the filling goes in.
The last step is baking them until nicely puffed and cooked through.
Ingredient substitutions
- Olive oil – Any cooking oil you have on hand will work.
- Spring onion – I use spring onion when it is in season, or I have it in the fridge. But, if not, I use white or yellow.
- Red bell pepper – Any mild pepper is a good substitute. If you don’t like peppers, try mushrooms instead.
- Parmesan – Try Cheddar, Gouda, Mozzarella, Grana Padano or Pecorino.
Julia’s tips
- Since these are mini quiches, I suggest chopping the produce finely. This way, each bite is full of flavor.
- They are delicious served warm, but also taste great cold.
- If you use frozen (thawed) puff pastry, but it is still too cold, it can affect the overall baking process. The top will be nicely puffed, the filling will be set, but the bottom and any folds in the pastry will more likely stay raw or undercooked. You want the pastry to be at room temperature. When you touch it and you feel it is cold, wait more. To avoid this, let the puff pastry come to room temperature before working it. If it feels very cold to the touch, wait longer.
- Sauteed vegetables add a ton of flavor to these puff pastry mini quiches. They cook in less than 10 minutes, but they need an extra time for cooling. I put them in the fridge to speed up the process. You can prep them a day in advance too!
Yes, you can. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to serve, I recommend heating them through for 8 to 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C) before serving. They keep well in the fridge up to 3 days!
More easy puff pastry recipes for you to try
- Bacon Puff Pastry Twists – Puff pastry and bacon baked into simple, crispy twists.
- Mini Pigs in a Blanket – Small sausages wrapped in pastry and baked until golden.
- Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Puffs – Bite-size bakes filled with chicken and sun-dried tomato.
- Ham and Cheese Pinwheels – Golden, flaky pinwheels filled with ham and melted cheese.
Puff Pastry Mini Quiches Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (see note 1)
- 1 spring onion (see note 2)
- ½ red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 garlic clove (pressed)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup spinach (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup parsley (finely chopped)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or less)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (see note 3)
- 17 ounces puff pastry (ready to use, see note 4)
Instructions
- To a skillet/frying pan, add oil, finely diced onion, bell pepper and oregano. Sautee for about 4 minutes before stirring in a pressed garlic clove. Wait until it releases its aroma, then add finely chopped cherry tomatoes, spinach and parsley.
- Saute for a further minute before turning off the heat. Move to a small bowl and let cool, about 20 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. To this, add salt, black pepper, parmesan and cooled veggies. Mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Meanwhile: Roll out the puff pastry thin, about the thickness of a nickel (2 millimeters). Cut into squares, approximately 4 inches (10 centimeters) wide, or slightly larger.
- Line a muffin pan with cupcake cases. Place one puff pastry square into the paper case, pressing gently on the case to form a hole with sides high enough to hold the filling. Repeat with the rest.
- Spoon the vegetable egg mixture into the pastry cups.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 17 to 19 minutes or until the pastry is puffed, the bottoms are cooked, and the filling is set.
- Enjoy warm or cold.
Notes
- You can use any cooking oil you have on hand.
- Any kind of onion will work – spring, white, yellow or green.
- My favorite cheese to use is Parmesan. Pecorino or Grana Padano are other options. Or, try with Mozzarella, Cheddar or Gouda.
- When working with frozen puff pastry, make sure to have it fully thawed, then check how cold to touch it is. If you feel some areas are extremely cold, wait longer. Using pastry that has not been thawed properly will lead to undercooking the bottoms. You can use chilled (ready-rolled) or frozen (and thawed) puff pastry. Chilled pastry does not need to be rolled out anymore!
- Store for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat up for 8-10 minutes before serving or serve cold.
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