Say hello to the ultimate in party food – super cute mini versions of the Coronation Quiche. No blind-baking is required, just press your pastry into a mini muffin tin, fill and bake.
It’s become somewhat of a tradition for a new official, Royal endorsed recipe to be released ahead of big Royal occasions. Most famously, coronation chicken, and now in honour of King Charles III’s coronation, we have a new official coronation recipe – the Coronation Quiche.
A quiche is a classic British favourite, great for picnics and parties so it makes sense Charles would go for this. While not as inventive as coronation chicken, I suspect it’ll be more of a crowd-pleaser (and vegetarian to boot). The official recipe is a celebration of seasonal ingredients – with spinach, broad beans or edamame beans, cheddar cheese and tarragon as the main feature. I’ve already delved into the recipe and adapted it to make it easier to follow, with ideas for more accessible ingredient swaps. Here’s my post breaking down how to make the Coronation Quiche.
However, these lovely mini versions of the official quiche make PERFECT party food. The process for making them is similar to the full-sized coronation quiche – but simplified. There’s no need to pre-cook or blind-bake the pastry, so you can just press the pastry into a mini muffin tin, fill and bake. You can choose between using storebought, ready-rolled pastry and making your own shortcrust, but it’s A LOT quicker and easier using storebought. A big platter of these lovely mini morsels with a dollop of sweet chilli jam on the side will make the perfect addition to any coronation party spread.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- They’re the PERFECT mess-free party finger food – no need for plates, cutlery or serviettes – or the risk of sauce spilling onto your guests.
- Easy to pick up and eat with one hand, while holding a drink.
- They look super impressive (especially all piled up on a serving plate) but are deceptively easy.
- Easily prepped ahead – they’ll last well for 3 days in the fridge and can be frozen.
- Equally delicious hot, cold or at room temperature.
- Kid-friendly and vegetarian.
Ingredients
As per the official Coronation Quiche recipe, I’ve adapted it slightly based on my preferences by adding a couple of key flavour enhancers, but these are of course optional.
- Shortcrust pastry. I tested using ready-rolled storebought, and making my own and while the taste is superior with a homemade pastry crust, it’s A LOT easier to use store-bought pastry. I’ve given you the option to make your own in the recipe card below if you’d like to give it a try.
- Spinach. I’m using fresh spinach leaves here, but you could use frozen spinach. Just make sure you defrost it first and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. It will look like a scary amount when you add it to your pan, but it will wilt down and reduce in size drastically as it cooks and water releases, so don’t panic.
- Mint. This is a change from the official recipe, which uses tarragon. I personally never have that herb to hand, and it’s often quite hard to find at the grocery store. Mint is a great, fresh alternative that still delivers the lovely spring flavour the quiche has been designed to celebrate.
- Edamame (soya) beans. This is an alternative listed on the official recipe and I prefer them to broad beans. That’s because broad beans have a tough outer shell that normally needs to be removed (you can eat it, I just don’t love the texture). You could also use garden peas. If you can find fresh, go for that, but frozen is much easier to find so that’s what I’m using here. Just submerge the beans in water for a few minutes to quickly defrost them.
How to make them
Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut out little circles in your pastry dough (they should be just bigger than the top of your mini muffin holes). Spray your tin with cooking oil, or grease it with butter. Press the circles into your tin, patching any tears up with the pastry scraps. Pop into the fridge while you prepare the filling.
The official Coronation Quiche recipe states ‘cooked spinach’ as one of the ingredients, but doesn’t share how to do that. The most important thing to remember is that spinach is SUPER watery, and so you want to get that moisture out before adding it to the quiche shells. If you add it without cooking it first, the water will release in the oven and seep into the pastry, giving you a soggy-bottomed quiche.
Cook your edamame beans with garlic, spring onions and mint leaves for a couple of minutes, then add the spinach. Stir as it wilts down and then leave it for another couple of minutes, so the water can evaporate.
Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper together. Pile a heaped teaspoon of grated cheese into the bottom of your pastry shells, then top with another teaspoon of the green filling. Carefully pour over the egg/milk/cream mix, then top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until the top is golden. Let them cool slightly in the tin, before carefully removing them. They should easily slip out if they’re properly cooked. Dolloping a little sweet chilli jam on top to serve takes them to another level!
PRO TIP: The egg/milk/cream mixture will sink through the cheese and filling after you pour it in. Let them sit for at least 30 seconds before popping them into the oven so that you can top them up and make sure they’re nice and full. The filling will puff up (a bit like a souffle) in the oven and they’ll look like that when you take them out, but as you let them rest they’ll deflate.
Got a question?
These quiches will last well for 3 days, stored in a covered container in the fridge, so they’re PERFECT for making ahead of time. Reheat them for 5 minutes at 180C/360F fan, or serve at room temperature.
Yes! Store them in zip lock bags for 3 months in the freezer, then you can defrost them in the oven straight from frozen, for 12 minutes at 180C/360F fan.
Not for this recipe! Because these pastry shells are smaller than a larger quiche (like the Coronation Quiche), they’re a lot more forgiving. There isn’t as much wet filling in these mini versions, so there’s less of a risk of it seeping into the base before it cooks.
I’m using a 24-piece mini muffin tin – you could use a regular muffin tin but the quiches will be larger and may need longer in the oven.
Like this recipe? Here are more party food ideas
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Mini Party Coronation Quiches
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini quiches 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Say hello to the ultimate in party food – super cute mini versions of the Coronation Quiche. No blind-baking is required, just press your pastry into a mini muffin tin, fill and bake.
Ingredients
For the mini coronation quiches –
- 2 packets of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
- Cooking spray or butter for greasing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped (or use tarragon, coriander, flat-leaf parsley or basil)
- 1/2 cup frozen edamame beans, defrosted (or use broad beans or garden peas)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 180g (7 cups) spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup whole milk (or use skimmed, semi-skimmed or your favourite plant-based milk)
- 3/4 cups double (heavy) cream (use regular pouring cream if you’re in NZ/AU)
- 2 eggs
- Black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
If you want to make your own shortcrust pastry (recipe in the notes) –
- 250g plain flour
- 125g butter, fridge cold and cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons milk or water
Instructions
- Press the pastry into your tin. Heat your oven to 180C/360F fan. Lightly flour a flat surface and unwrap the pastry. Use a cookie cutter (or a glass) to cut out 24 circles, just larger than the top of your tin. Gently press the pastry into your muffin tin, making sure you’re pressing it right up against the sides. If the pastry tears, use any scraps to patch them up. Place the tin in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Make the green filling. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan or skillet, then add the sliced spring onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring for 1 minute, then add the edamame beans, crushed garlic cloves and mint leaves. Cook for another minute, then add the spinach. It’s going to look like a lot of spinach, but it will wilt down as it cooks. Stir for another 2 minutes, until the spinach has softened and reduced in size, then let it continue to cook for another couple of minutes, so all the water evaporates. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Fill the quiches. Add your eggs to a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Add 1/2 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of cream, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Whisk again to combine, then transfer to a jug (or something that’s easy to pour from). Using 1/2 the grated cheese, spoon a teaspoon into the base of each pastry case, then add another teaspoon of the green filling on top. Try to get a good mix of spinach and edamame beans in each quiche. Slowly and carefully pour the egg/milk/cream mix into the cases. It will sit on top for a second, then drop through the filling, so top any up if they need it. Scatter the rest of the grated cheese on top of the filling.
- Bake the quiches. Transfer the quiches to the oven, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the pastry and the top of the quiches are golden and the filling has set. You’ll notice the filling has puffed up in the oven, but it will quickly deflate once it’s sitting at room temperature. Remove the tray from the oven, and let the quiches cool for about 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the tin. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold. A dollop of sweet chilli jam on the side would be lovely too. PRO TIP: As with anything, cooking time is dependent on the strength of your oven, so do check and see how they’re going.
Notes
TO MAKE YOUR OWN SHORTCRUST PASTRY: If you’re using a food processor: add 250g of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of salt into the bowl. Add 125g of cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs. With the motor running, drizzle in 3 tablespoons of milk or water, until you see the pastry starting to come together. If you’re making the pastry by hand, add 250g flour and 1 teaspoon of salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine them. Add the 125g of cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to press the butter into the flour. Continue in this way until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. While mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula, drizzle in 3 tablespoons of milk or water and continue mixing until the pastry starts to come together. Lay out a piece of clingfilm on a flat surface, and turn the pastry straight out onto it. Use your hands to bring it together into a rough ball, then wrap it tightly in the clingfilm, and pop it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
LEFTOVER INGREDIENTS: If you end up with any greens or egg/milk/cream mix leftover (this may happen depending on the size of your tin and how much you fill each with), you can make little crustless quiches. Grease your muffin tin, then add the greens and pour over the wet mixture. Bake for 15 minutes at 180C/360F fan. The greens are lovely mixed with grains and turned into a salad, as a sandwich filling or served with grilled meat or halloumi. The egg/milk/cream mixture also makes EXCELLENT scrambled eggs or an omelette!
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The baked quiches will keep well for 3 days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. You can reheat them in the oven if you’d like to serve them warm – 5 minutes will be fine at 180C/360F fan. The quiches will also freeze well. Freeze in ziplock bags, then you can bake them straight from frozen. They’ll take around 12 – 15 minutes at 180C/360F fan.
INGREDIENT NOTES: I’ve switched up a couple of the ingredients from the official coronation quiche here, for accessibility reasons. Tarragon is replaced with mint – tarragon isn’t a herb I tend to have to hand and I struggle to find it at the store. I’ve added garlic, spring onions (scallions) and parmesan for extra flavour, but you can skip those if you like. If you’re making your pastry, I’ve used my regular shortcrust pastry recipe which uses butter, rather than lard.
SUBSTITUTIONS: The official recipe does say it can be “adapted to suit different tastes and preferences”, so you can play around based on what you like or regularly have to hand. Use the official tarragon in place of the mint, or use coriander (cilantro), basil or flat-leaf parsley. Use frozen broad beans (I’d pod them first), or garden peas, or fresh broad beans, peas or edamame if you can find them. You could swap out the cheese or play around with the quantities too – I’ve added parmesan, but gruyere, blue cheese, gouda, pecorino, feta or manchego would be great. Adding other seasonal greens like wild garlic or asparagus would be lovely too, as would adding crispy bacon, smoked salmon, ‘nduja or crispy chorizo.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: baking
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: british
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 mini quiches
- Calories: 331
- Sugar: 1.8g
- Sodium: 458mg
- Fat: 23.7g
- Saturated Fat: 10.4g
- Carbohydrates: 19.8g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 11g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
Keywords: coronation quiche, how to make the coronation quiche, mini quiche recipe
Absolutely LOVE the idea of mini quiches!! Made these yesterday and they worked so well
★★★★★
Love it’
I’ll try and teach my children & grandkids too. Thanks.
Awww that sounds like a lovely idea!
truly the perfect bite!! so much better for a party than the big one
★★★★★
I love quiches thank-you so much definitely gonna give it a try.Looks so delicious
Yayyyyy I’m so pleased to hear that Soraya 🙂
I did a trial run for our Coronation party today. I used tarragon and Edame beans with the spinach. I think the garlic and spring onions are very good additions. Chilli Jam as an accompaniment is very tasty. Looking forward to making them for the Big Day
This makes me so happy Kay!! I love chilli jam on the side – really makes the other flavours pop doesn’t it 🙂