Easy Spinach Artichoke Quiche Cups

Memorial Day weekend in Oak Lawn. Steve grilled. Patty made pasta salad. I brought the spinach and ricotta pierogi, which I made Thursday evening in the Pilsen kitchen and transported to Oak Lawn in a covered pan Friday morning. Matt and Danielle and the kids came up from Springfield. Kristin, remarkably, flew in — second consecutive Memorial Day. She is either softening on holidays or the New York summers have gotten worse. Both are possible.

Babcia Rose tasted the spinach ricotta pierogi. She ate one slowly. Then another. Then she said: "The filling is different." I said yes — spinach and ricotta instead of potato and cheese. She said "Where is the potato?" I said I used spinach instead. She said "Why?" I said I wanted to try something different. A pause. She said "It is acceptable." Not traditional, not what she would make, but acceptable. That is as close as I was going to get and I will absolutely take it.

Kristin said the pierogi were excellent. Patty said "Very good." Steve ate four of them without comment, which is the Steve food review that means excellent. Jake ate two and declared them "actually good for a weird shape." Lily ate one and said "It's like a pillow." Correct. Both of them are correct. The pierogi are pillow-shaped and actually good.

After dinner I sat on the back steps with Kristin while it got dark. She said "The book is going to be good." I said I haven't written it yet, only the outline. She said "I know. It's still going to be good." Then she said "Send me a chapter when it's ready." I said I will. Then she went inside and I sat alone on the back steps in the Oak Lawn dark with the sound of Steve's TV through the window and the fireflies starting up in the yard and thought: a friend's wedding is in two weeks. I almost didn't say yes to the invitation. I'm glad I did.

The spinach and ricotta filling was the whole experiment — whether a pierogi could hold something green and Italian and still feel like itself. Babcia Rose’s verdict (“acceptable”) and Steve’s four-pierogi silence told me the filling was the right call. These spinach artichoke quiche cups are where that same filling instinct goes when you want something equally portable, equally crowd-ready, and equally likely to earn a slow, considered nod from the most important person at the table.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 22 min | Total Time: 37 min | Servings: 12 cups

Ingredients

1 package (14 oz) refrigerated pie crust (2 sheets)
1 cup fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin.
Cut pie crust rounds. Unroll both sheets of pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3 1/2-inch round cutter (or the rim of a wide glass) to cut 12 circles. Press each circle gently into the muffin cups, working the dough up the sides. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Wilt the spinach. In a small skillet over medium heat, cook the spinach with the garlic for 1–2 minutes until just wilted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then press out any excess moisture with a paper towel.
Mix the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Stir in ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, artichoke hearts, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Mix until combined.
Fill the cups. Spoon the filling evenly into the chilled crust cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake. Bake 20–22 minutes until the filling is set and the crust edges are lightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Cool and serve. Let the cups cool in the pan for 5 minutes before lifting out with a butter knife or small offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Spinach Artichoke Quiche Cups — The Filling That Got Babcia Rose’s “Acceptable”