Last Updated on 25 September, 2026 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry
This bacon and feta quiche with capsicum brings smoky bacon, salty little pockets of feta and sweet chargrilled capsicum together in a creamy filling, then puts the whole lot inside crisp, buttery pastry.
I make the pastry from scratch because the crisp, crumbly base is absolutely worth it, but shop-bought pastry is your best friend if it is 5.30 pm and everyone is circling the kitchen. My shortcrust pastry guide covers the full technique, although I have also included complete blind-baking instructions here.
The 35-40 minute bake gives the custard time to set properly while keeping the centre soft and creamy. Start checking at 35 minutes and trust the wobble, not the clock alone.
Serve this capsicum quiche warm for dinner, at room temperature for brunch or cold in lunchboxes the next day. It travels well, reheats well and looks impressive sitting in the middle of the table.
Why This Bacon And Feta Quiche Works
The flavours are bold but balanced. Bacon and feta both bring salt, so they need something sweeter beside them. Chargrilled red capsicum does that beautifully, while onion and garlic build a savoury base without elbowing their way to the front.
The filling stays creamy. Cream softens the eggs and gives the filling a smooth custard texture. The quiche is baked only until the edges are set and the centre has a small wobble, then rested so the residual heat can finish the job. Keep baking until it is rigid and the eggs will become bouncy. Nobody asked for a quiche that fights back.
The pastry is properly cooked. A wet filling needs a head start beneath it. Blind baking for 10 minutes with weights, followed by 5 minutes without them, sets the pastry before the custard goes in. That extra 15 minutes is the difference between a crisp base and a damp beige apology.
It is genuinely useful. Eat it hot, warm or cold. Make it ahead. Pack leftovers for lunch. Take it to a picnic. Add a salad and call it dinner.
If you prefer the traditional bacon quiche, my creamy quiche Lorraine is rich, classic and unapologetically cheesy. For a meat-free pastry option, try the caramelised onion and goat’s cheese tart.
Bacon And Feta Quiche Recipe Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry: Plain flour, cold butter, egg yolk, salt and cold water make a crisp, tender shell. Add only enough water to bring the dough together.
Bacon: Lean bacon gives plenty of smoky flavour without leaving a layer of fat across the filling. Dice it fairly small so each slice gets a decent share.
Feta: Choose a creamy feta that crumbles into small, soft pieces. Very dry feta can become chalky in the oven.
Chargrilled red capsicum: Jarred capsicum is sweet, smoky and extremely convenient. Drain it, but do not pat it dry. You want the capsicum moist, not accompanied by a pool of jar oil.
Eggs and cream: These form the custard. Cream gives the filling a richer, softer finish than milk alone.
Onion and garlic: Cooking them with the bacon removes the raw edge and creates the savoury base of the feta quiche.
Oregano, salt and pepper: Oregano works beautifully with capsicum and feta. Go carefully with the salt because both bacon and feta are already doing plenty of work.
Capsicum is also called bell pepper or red pepper outside Australia, so a red pepper feta quiche and a capsicum feta quiche are the same delicious idea.
How To Make Capsicum Bacon and Feta Quiche?
Step one – make the pastry. Add the flour, salt, cold chopped butter and egg yolk to a food processor. Run it on low-medium speed and drizzle in the cold water gradually. Stop as soon as the dough gathers around the blade. It should hold together without feeling sticky.
Step two – chill the dough. Wrap it well and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This firms the butter and relaxes the gluten, making the pastry easier to roll and far less likely to shrink in the oven. Do not skip the rest and then glare at the pastry when it retreats down the side of the tin.
Step three – line the tin. Roll the chilled pastry between two sheets of baking paper until it is about 2-3 mm thick. Ease it into a lightly greased 23 cm quiche tin and press it gently into the base and fluted sides. Do not stretch it to fit. Trim the edge and patch any small tears with the scraps.
Step four – blind bake. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill it with baking beads or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then carefully lift out the paper and weights. Return the uncovered shell to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the base looks dry and is just beginning to colour. The weights stop the centre inflating while the uncovered bake seals the surface.
Step five – cook the bacon mixture. Cook the finely diced onion in olive oil for a minute, then add the bacon and garlic. Continue cooking until the onion is soft and the bacon has browned at the edges. Remove it from the heat and leave it to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Step six – mix the filling. Whisk the eggs, cream, oregano, salt and pepper just until evenly combined. You are not trying to whip air into it. Stir through the drained capsicum, half the feta and half the cooled bacon mixture.
Step seven – assemble and bake. Place the pastry tin on a flat baking tray before filling it; this makes it much easier to move without decorating the oven floor. Pour in the egg mixture, then scatter over the remaining feta and bacon. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Start checking at 35 minutes: the outside should be set and slightly puffed, while the centre should move with one small, gentle wobble.
Step eight – rest before slicing. Leave the quiche in the tin for at least 10 minutes. The filling will settle and finish setting and the pastry will hold together more neatly.
How Do You Know When Bacon And Feta Quiche Is Cooked?
Give the tin a gentle nudge. The outer section should look set and slightly puffed, while only the centre 3-4 cm should wobble softly as a single piece. It should not ripple, slosh or look wet. If the whole filling waves back at you, give it another 5 minutes.
The quiche continues cooking after it leaves the oven, which is why a slight central wobble is exactly what you want. Waiting for every millimetre to become completely firm usually means the edges are already overcooked. Rest it for 10 minutes and the centre will settle into a creamy sliceable custard.
Tips For A Crisp Crust And Creamy Filling
Keep the pastry cold. Use cold butter and cold water, then chill the finished dough for the full 30 minutes. If it becomes soft while you roll it, refrigerate it for another 5-10 minutes before lining the tin.
Do not stretch the pastry. Ease it into the corners and sides. Stretched pastry springs back in the heat and can shrink below the filling line.
Patch first, bake second. Press a scrap of dough over any hole before blind baking. Egg filling has a way of finding every pinprick.
Cool the bacon mixture. Five to ten minutes is enough. It does not need to be fridge-cold; it simply should not be steaming when it meets the eggs.
Drain the capsicum. Let the loose oil or brine run away, but do not pat the pieces dry. This keeps their chargrilled flavour without watering down the custard.
Put the tin on a baking tray. A removable-base quiche tin full of liquid filling is not the moment to test your grip strength.
Leave a little room at the top. Stop pouring if the custard reaches the rim. The filling puffs as it cooks, and extra filling will happily overflow.
Rest before cutting. Ten minutes gives a warm, neat slice. For very clean slices on a platter, let the quiche cool further and reheat it gently if you want to serve it warm.
Variations And Substitutions
Use shop-bought pastry. Fit a sheet of thawed shortcrust pastry into the tin, patching with another strip if needed, then blind bake it as directed. Homemade pastry has a better buttery flavour, but the shortcut version still makes an excellent dinner.
Use fresh capsicum. Roast a red capsicum until the skin blisters, cover it for a few minutes, then peel, deseed and slice it. Cool and drain it before adding it to the eggs. Raw capsicum releases moisture and stays too firm, so roasting is the better option.
Make it vegetarian. Leave out the bacon and replace with cooked mushrooms, wilted spinach or roasted zucchini. Cook the vegetables first and remove excess moisture. Watery vegetables dropped straight into the custard will turn your beautiful filling into egg soup.
Make it gluten-free. Use a reliable gluten-free shortcrust pastry or bake the filling without a crust in a well-greased dish. Check that the bacon and other packaged ingredients are labelled gluten-free if required.
Make it crustless. Add an extra egg, grease the dish thoroughly and bake until the centre is just set. For a recipe designed to be crustless from the beginning, my bacon and egg bake is the easier option.
Lighten the filling. Replace up to half the cream with full-cream milk. The result will be a little less rich and slightly firmer. I would not replace the cream with skim milk.
Change the herbs. Thyme, parsley or basil all work. Dill is lovely if you want the feta to stand out more strongly.
What to Serve with Quiche?
For brunch or lunch, a crisp Greek salad with homemade dressing cuts through the rich filling and keeps the meal fresh. The feta appears twice, yes. I have considered the matter and decided this is excellent news.
For dinner, add crispy semolina potatoes and a pile of green leaves dressed with lemon. The crunchy potatoes make the meal feel more substantial, while the sharp salad stops the plate becoming too rich.
It also works brilliantly on a picnic platter with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, fruit and chutney. Let the quiche cool completely before packing it.
Bacon, Feta And Capsicum Quiche FAQs
Can I use shop-bought pastry?
Yes. Use thawed shortcrust pastry, fit it into the tin without stretching and blind bake it before adding the filling. It is the best shortcut here; skipping the blind bake is not.
Do I have to blind bake the pastry?
For this creamy capsicum quiche filling, yes. Ten minutes with baking weights and another five minutes uncovered sets and dries the base so it can hold the custard without becoming soggy.
Can I make this quiche with fresh red capsicum?
Yes, but roast it first. Peel, deseed, cool and drain it before adding it to the feta quiche filling. Raw capsicum stays firmer and releases moisture as the quiche bakes.
Why is my quiche watery?
The usual causes are loose liquid from the capsicum, watery vegetables, a bacon mixture that was added while piping hot or a centre that has not finished baking. Drain the capsicum, cook any extra vegetables first and bake until only the central 3-4 cm wobbles gently.
Can I use milk instead of cream?
You can replace up to half the cream with full-cream milk. The bacon and feta quiche filling will be a little lighter and firmer. Replacing all the cream gives a less silky result, so it is not my first choice.
Can I make bacon and feta quiche ahead?
Yes. Bake it completely, cool it promptly and refrigerate it covered. It is excellent cold, or you can reheat it gently in the oven before serving.
How long does bacon and feta quiche keep in the fridge?
Store it covered and use it within three days. Cool leftovers promptly rather than leaving the quiche sitting at room temperature for hours.
Can I freeze bacon and feta quiche?
Yes. Cool it completely, wrap it well and freeze it whole or in slices for up to two months. Thaw it in the fridge, then reheat it in the oven to help the pastry crisp again.
Feedback and More: Did you try the capsicum bacon and feta quiche recipe? I’d really love to know how it was. Select a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. Cheers, Elby!
If you liked this quiche recipe, check out some of my other tasty pastry dishes. Also, check out more easy dinner ideas and one pan meals on The Tasteful Pantry – there are plenty to choose from.
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Bacon and Feta Quiche with Capsicum
*Note: Adjusting servings will not adjust the ‘light grey’ quantities
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup flour - plain
- ¼ tsp salt
- 75 grams unsalted butter - cold and chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp cold water - approximately
Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion - finely diced
- 100 grams lean bacon - diced
- 2 garlic cloves - minced or finely diced
- 5 large eggs
- 80 ml cream - thickened
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 125 grams marinated chargrilled red peppers - drained but not patted dry, then chopped
- 100 grams feta - crumbled
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 190°C conventional or 170°C fan-forced. Lightly grease a 23 cm quiche tin.
- Place the flour, salt, butter and egg yolk in a food processor. Process on low-medium speed while gradually adding the cold water. Stop as soon as the mixture comes together as a dough. It should be soft but not sticky.
- Remove the dough from the processor, wrap it completely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper until it is approximately 2-3 mm thick. Ease it into the prepared tin without stretching, press it gently into the edges and trim the excess. Patch any holes with pastry scraps.
- Line the pastry with baking paper and fill it with blind-baking beads or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the paper and weights, then bake the pastry uncovered for a further 5 minutes, or until the base looks dry and is beginning to colour. Set aside.
Filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C conventional or 160°C fan-forced. Place the pastry tin on a flat baking tray.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the bacon and garlic, then cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the onion is soft and the bacon is browned at the edges. Remove from the heat and cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Whisk the eggs, cream, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl just until combined.
- Stir in the drained capsicum, half the feta and half the cooled bacon mixture.
- Pour the filling into the blind-baked pastry shell. Scatter the remaining feta and bacon mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Begin checking at 35 minutes. The outer filling should be set and slightly puffed, while the central 3-4 cm should have a small, gentle wobble without looking wet.
- Remove the quiche from the oven and rest it in the tin for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutrition and calorie figures are estimates only.
Very nice! I doubled the cooking time in end … suspect our oven.
Thanks Bronski – this is one of my faves.