Asparagus Goat Cheese Sourdough Quiche – Sourdough Brandon

Made with a flaky and savory sourdough quiche crust, this Asparagus Goat Cheese Sourdough Quiche is perfect for breakfast, brunch, dinner, or hosting guests.

The Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts where I live is often considered the asparagus captial of the world, with an annual Asparagus Festival to celebrate the spring crop. Asparagus is a great springy addition to quiche with creamy and tangy goat cheese, any fresh herbs you have on hand, bright lemon zest, and scallions or green onions.

The asparagus and goat cheese quiche filling is baked in a savory version of my flaky Sourdough Pie Crust made with sourdough discard, garlic powder, and thyme.

Follow the detailed tips, images, and instructions below on how to make this spring sourdough quiche recipe.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Flaky, buttery, and savory sourdough pie crust.
• Can serve to guests for breakfast, brunch, dinner at room temperature, warm, or chilled.
• Sourdough discard tenderizes the quiche crust.
• Filled with spring vegetables and any herbs you have on hand.
• Tangy and creamy goat cheese balances with the fresh herbs and earthy asparagus.

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• Baking scale
  • Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Measuring your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Mixing Bowl
  • I mix the sourdough quiche crust by hand with a fork, but you can use a food processor as well.
• Whisk
• Bench Scraper
  • Helps bring the dough together.
• Rolling Pin
• Pie Pan
  • For best results, use a 9″ aluminum or ceramic pie pan. They cook more evenly than glass, cause less crust shrinking, and won’t break in your oven from thermal shock.
• Pie Weights
  • I use dried beans and lentils for pie weights when blind baking.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions for the flaky sourdough quiche crust and filling below.

Sourdough Pie Crust

• All-purpose flour
  • You can substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.
• Salt
• Unsalted butter, cold
• Garlic Powder
  • For a savory element to the crust.
  • Substitute with onion powder or leave out.
• Thyme
  • I like fresh herbs when they’re in season, but you can use dried thyme as well.
  • Other woody herbs like rosemary or sage are great too.
• Sourdough Discard
  • Like adding vinegar to pie dough, sourdough discard adds acidity to the pie crust and reduces gluten development, leading to a more tender crust. It also adds a slight more depth in flavor.
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips and other sourdough discard recipes.
• Ice Water
  • Helps bind the crust together.

Asparagus Goat Cheese Quiche Filling

• Asparagus
  • Trim and discard the woody ends.
• Olive Oil
• Scallions or Green Onions
  • Garlic scapes, leeks, ramps, or a white onion would be fine to use too.
• Eggs
  • The freshest eggs will make the best quiche.
• Goat Cheese
  • I used plain goat cheese, but herbed goat cheese would be nice too.
  • Substitute with another creamy cheese like ricotta, cream cheese, or feta.
• Heavy Cream
  • I think heavy cream makes the richest quiches, but you could use half-and-half.
• Salt
• Lemon Zest
• Mix of Fresh Herbs
  • Use any seasonal herbs you have. I had tarragon, parsley, dill, and chives on hand from my garden.

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👨‍🍳 How to Make Asparagus Goat Cheese Sourdough Quiche

Follow this detailed recipe guide with step-by-step images as you make this delicious sourdough quiche.

1. Make the Sourdough Pie Dough

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Toss in the cold, cubed butter and use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut it into pea-sized pieces.

Then, pour in the sourdough discard and toss it all with a fork to start forming clumps (image 1). Drizzle in the ice water until larger clumps form, but you still have a shaggy, dry dough.

Dump the pie dough out onto a work surface and use a bench scraper to chop the dough, which will distribute the liquid (2 & 3). Then, use your hands and bench scraper to gather the dough together and gently knead it a few times to bring it together. Add any dry bits on top to incorporate, and only add more ice water if it’s not hydrating.

Bring together into a cohesive disc, and wrap it in plastic wrap (4). Press the dough to the edges of the plastic wrap to shape it.

Chill the sourdough pie dough for at least two hours and up to 3 days.

2. Blind Bake the Crust

Blind baking a quiche crust is crucial for creating a hard outer shell that allows your quiche to bake evenly. This prevents a soggy bottom and ensures a flaky crust.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC).

Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for five minutes to become pliable.

Beat with a rolling pin and roll it out into a 12-13″ circle on a lightly floured surface (image 1).

Unfurl the dough into the pie plate and trim the edges so there’s an inch overhang. Then, crimp the edges with your fingers and dock the bottom of the dough with the tines of a fork to prevent too much puffing (2).

Place a large sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil in the pie and fill with pie weights. I use dried beans and lentils (3).

Bake on a large baking sheet to catch any drippings for 15-17 minutes, or until the crimped edges start browning. Then, lift and remove the parchment paper with the weights and continue baking for another 7-10 minutes until the bottom of the crust is dry, baked, and light golden brown (4).

Let cool completely before adding the filling.

3. Cook the Asparagus Mixture

As the crust is blind baking, you can cook the asparagus mixture.

Trim the woody ends off of the asparagus and discard. Then, cut the spears into ½” pieces, reserving the top inch of the asparagus tips for assembling the quiche. Chop the white and most of the green parts of the scallions or green onions.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the asparagus and scallions with a big pinch of salt for a few minutes until bright green and softened. Remove from the heat to cool.

4. Whisk the Quiche Filling and Assemble

Lower the oven temperature to 350ºF (177ºC).

Transfer the cooked asparagus mixture into the bottom of the cooled quiche crust.

Whisk the quiche filling (reserve ¼ of the goat cheese for topping) in a large bowl and pour it on top of the cooked asparagus. Top the quiche with the reserved asparagus tops and crumble the remaining goat cheese on top.

5. Bake

Bake the asparagus goat cheese sourdough quiche on a baking sheet for 50-55 minutes, or until the center is a little wobbly and the edges are firm, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.

Tent with aluminum foil halfway through baking if the edges are becoming too dark.

Allow the quiche to cool for at least an hour for easier slicing and clean serving.

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How to Store and Serve

Sourdough quiche is best served slightly warm or at room temperature after it’s made or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

The crust will become more soggy over time, but you can reheat it slightly to recrisp some.

While the unbaked crust can be frozen for a few months, I personally don’t recommend freezing quiche as the cooked egg and cheese filling can become gelatinous when thawing and take on freezer smells over time.

You can serve quiche for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner and it’s great for hosting guests.

This springy quiche is excellent served with hot sauce or accompanied by a simple side salad, such as arugula, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. For dinner, pair it with soup, crusty sourdough bread or sourdough focaccia, and side vegetables like green beans or other seasonal options.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

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Other Sourdough Discard Recipes You May Enjoy

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