On Sunday afternoon I realized that Easter was only a week away. It completely snuck up on me! (To be fair, most holidays seem to do that to me.) Luckily I'd been working to perfect this recipe for the last couple of weeks, so it seems meant to be that it happened to be ready just in time for Easter!
These Mini Spinach & Mushroom Quiches are the perfect vegan dish for your Easter brunch. To make things super easy this weekend you can even make them ahead of time and reheat them on Easter morning. Since quiche is sort of a mini meal all by itself I'd suggest serving it with a nice fresh fruit salad, but it would also be a great dish to have as part of a larger brunch buffet.
Before going vegan, quiche was one of my favourite foods. To be honest, I feel kind of silly for not trying a veganized version earlier because it really is so good. I think I've made it about 5 or 6 times in the last 2 weeks and somehow I'm still not sick of quiche. I've tried changing it up a couple of times by using different vegetable combinations, usually mixing and matching spinach, mushrooms, roma tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, and red bell pepper. I've loved every combination so far!
One thing I really love about this recipe is the crust. I absolutely hate making pastry crust (perhaps that's why I haven't made vegan quiche yet!) Luckily, this crust is super easy to make, and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish! Not only is it simple. gluten free, and full of healthy ingredients, it's also really really delicious. The walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and buckwheat give it a lovely richness while a few dried herbs really make the flavour pop. Since I have been eating rather a lot of quiche in the last week, I decided to try a lighter version of the crust too. You can find the necessary recipe alterations for that version at the bottom of this post.
While these directions are for mini quiches, I've also made the recipe a couple of times using a 9" pie plate with great results. These quiches are gluten free, low sugar, no sugar added, and can easily be made nut free too.
What You'll Need
For the crust:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup (60 ml) walnuts
- ¼ cup (60 ml) raw buckwheat groats (or toasted groats for an earthier flavour)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) oats
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground flax seed
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried thyme
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
- ½ tbsp (7.5 ml) coconut oil, melted
- 2+ tablespoon (30+ ml) water
For the filling:
- 1 12 oz (350g) block firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed
- 1-2 tablespoon (15-30 ml) unsweetened almond milk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
- 5 tablespoon (15 ml) nutritional yeast
- 2-4 tablespoon (30 ml-60ml) fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground flax seed
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) oregano
- ¾ + ¼ teaspoon (3.75 ml + 1.25 ml) salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) coconut oil
- 2 cups (500 ml) sliced mushrooms (equal to one 7 oz (200g) package or 14 small-medium sized mushrooms)
- ¼ cup (6o ml) red onion, finely chopped (about ¼ large onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 roma tomato, diced, with seeds removed (or sub with ¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper)
- 2 cups (500 ml) chopped baby spinach, with stems removed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds (optional but recommended!)
Supplies: Food processor, measuring cups & spoons, mixing bowls, spatula/wooden spoon, chef's knife, cutting board, large skillet, and 12 cup muffin tin (or 8" pie plate for 1 large quiche)
Dietary Requirements: Gluten free, nut free option, no sugar added, and low sugar.
Directions
Preheat your oven to bake at 350°F. Gather all of your ingredients and supplies.
Making the crust
In a food processor, combine the pumpkin seeds, walnuts, buckwheat groats, oats, ground flax seed, oregano, thyme, and salt and pulse until you have a coarse flour. Empty into a mixing bowl and add the melted coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well until the liquids are completely incorporated into your crust mixture. Test the dough my squeezing some in your palm, if the dough doesn't stick together easily when pinched, add another ½ tablespoon of water. Continue adding water in ½ tablespoon increments until the mixture sticks together when squeezed. You should only have to add 1-3 tablespoon of water total, after that be careful not to over-do it.
Fill a 12 cup muffin tin evenly with crust mixture (about 1.5 tablespoon per cup) and press firmly into each cup, building it up slightly at the sides. I used a small jam jar to press the mixture evenly into the tins, I found it a lot easier (and less messy) than using my hands. Make sure the mixture is nice and compact to ensure that your crusts stay intact! Bake the crusts for 10 minutes in your preheated 350°F oven.
Making The Filling
While the crust is baking, you can get to work prepping your vegetables for the filling. Thinly slice your mushrooms, take care not to make them too thin or they'll just turn to mush when you cook them. Remove the seeds from your roma tomato before dicing it into even pieces, again making sure not to chop it too fine or it will disintegrate completely when you cook it. Finely dice your onion. Gently pinch the ends of the stems off of each spinach leaf, the quiche will have a nicer texture this way. Coarsely chop the spinach. Mince your garlic cloves, and your vegetables are all ready for you to start cooking!
Prepare the filling by combining the tofu (broken into 4-6 big chunks), nutritional yeast, dill, ground flax seed, oregano, ¾ teaspoon of salt, and pepper (to taste) in your food processor. Process until the tofu resembles curds and the ingredients are well combined. Scrape down the sides of your processor with a spatula as needed. If the mixture doesn't clump together (like in the second picture below) add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk and continue processing. Err on the side of caution and add less liquid rather than more as the mixture will pick up some more moisture from the cooked vegetables. If you do happen to accidentally add too much liquid, try adding 1 extra tablespoon of ground flax, depending on how much liquid you've added, it might be enough to help the mixture firm up.
Make sure you've prepped all of your vegetables before getting started with the cooking process. Begin by heating 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until the onion appear translucent but not browned. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes, season with ¼ teaspoon of salt, and cook until most of the water has evaporated, approximately 7-8 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute or until it wilts.
Gently fold the cooked vegetables into the tofu filling mixture, mix until the ingredients are completely incorporated.
Spoon the filling evenly into the pre-baked crusts, about 2 tablespoon of filling per quiche. Gently smooth and flatten the mixture using the back of a spoon. If you desire, top some or all of the quiches with a little pinch of Daiya shreds before baking. If you have an oven that tends to over brown the bottoms of baked goods, double up your muffin tin or put it on a cookie sheet instead of straight on the racks. Bake on the middle rack for 13-17 minutes - until the tops are golden and the quiche is firm to the touch. In my experience, 15 minutes is perfect.
Notes on Substitutions:
For a nut free crust: Omit the walnuts and replace with pumpkin seeds.
For a lighter crust use these amounts for the first 4 ingredients:
- ⅛ cup pumpkin seeds
- ⅛ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup raw buckwheat groats
- ½ cup oats
Feel free to experiment with different vegetables in this quiche. I'd steer clear of high moisture vegetable like zucchini or fresh tomatoes. Every time I've made this recipe I've used spinach and mushrooms, I find them both to be a really lovely component to this recipe. Some substitutions I've enjoyed:
- Substitute the roma tomato for ⅓ cup of finely diced red bell pepper
- Decrease the amount of spinach to 1 cup and add 1 cup of finely diced broccoli florets or 1 cup chopped asparagus (add at the same time as the mushrooms.)
Storage & Reheating:
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat leftovers, simply microwave for about 45 seconds or place on a baking sheet and oven bake for 10-15 minutes at 350°F.
PrintVegan Spinach & Mushrooms Mini Quiches
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Snack, Appetizer, Brunch
- Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free optional
Description
Spinach & Mushroom Mini Quiches - the perfect addition to your Easter brunch! Vegan, gluten free, and with a nut free option, these quiches are a nutritious all-in-one meal that can be served any time of day. This recipe can also be made ahead of time for convenient grab & go meals!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup (60 ml) walnuts
- ¼ cup (60 ml) raw buckwheat groats (or toasted groats for an earthier flavour)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) oats
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground flax seed
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) dried oregano
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) dried thyme
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
- ½ tbsp (7.5 ml) coconut oil, melted
- 2+ tablespoon (30+ ml) water
For the Filling:
- 1 12 oz (350g) block firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed
- 1-2 tablespoon (15-30 ml) unsweetened almond milk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
- 5 tbsp (15 ml) nutritional yeast
- 2-4 tablespoon (30 ml-60ml) fresh dill
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground flax seed
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) oregano
- ¾ + ¼ teaspoon (3.75 ml + 1.25 ml) salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) coconut oil
- 2 cups (500 ml) sliced mushrooms (equal to one 7 oz (200g) package or 14 small-medium sized mushrooms)
- ¼ cup (6o ml) red onion, finely chopped (about ¼ large onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 roma tomato, diced, with seeds removed (or sub with ¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper)
- 2 cups (500 ml) chopped baby spinach, with stems removed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds (optional but recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to bake at 350°F. Gather all of your ingredients and supplies.
Making the crust:
- In a food processor, combine the pumpkin seeds, walnuts, buckwheat groats, oats, ground flax seed, oregano, thyme, and salt and pulse until you have a coarse flour.
- Empty into a mixing bowl and add the melted coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix well until the liquids are completely incorporated into your crust mixture. Test the dough my squeezing some in your palm, if the dough doesn't stick together easily when pinched, add another ½ tablespoon of water. Continue adding water in ½ tablespoon increments until the mixture sticks together when squeezed. You should only have to add 1-3 tablespoon of water total, after that be careful not to over-do it.
- Fill a 12 cup muffin tin evenly with crust mixture (about 1.5 tablespoon per cup) and press firmly into each cup, building it up slightly at the sides. I used a small jam jar to press the mixture evenly into the tins, I found it a lot easier (and less messy) than using my hands. Make sure the mixture is nice and compact to ensure that your crusts stay intact!
- Bake the crusts for 10 minutes in your preheated 350°F oven.
Making The Filling:
- While the crust is baking, you can get to work prepping your vegetables for the filling. Thinly slice your mushrooms, take care not to make them too thin or they'll just turn to mush when you cook them. Remove the seeds from your roma tomato before dicing it into even pieces, again making sure not to chop it too fine or it will disintegrate completely when you cook it. Finely dice your onion. Gently pinch the ends of the stems off of each spinach leaf, the quiche will have a nicer texture this way. Coarsely chop the spinach. Mince your garlic cloves, and your vegetables are all ready for you to start cooking!
- Prepare the filling by combining the tofu (broken into 4-6 big chunks), nutritional yeast, dill, ground flax seed, oregano, ¾ teaspoon of salt, and pepper (to taste) in your food processor. Process until the tofu resembles curds and the ingredients are well combined. Scrape down the sides of your processor with a spatula as needed. If the mixture doesn't clump together (like in the second picture below) add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk and continue processing. Err on the side of caution and add less liquid rather than more as the mixture will pick up some more moisture from the cooked vegetables. If you do happen to accidentally add too much liquid, try adding 1 extra tablespoon of ground flax, depending on how much liquid you've added, it might be enough to help the mixture firm up.
- Make sure you've prepped all of your vegetables before getting started with the cooking process. Begin by heating 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until the onion appear translucent but not browned. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes, season with ¼ teaspoon of salt, and cook until most of the water has evaporated, approximately 7-8 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute or until it wilts.
- Gently fold the cooked vegetables into the tofu filling mixture, mix until the ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Spoon the filling evenly into the pre-baked crusts, about 2 tablespoon of filling per quiche. Gently smooth and flatten the mixture using the back of a spoon. If you desire, top some or all of the quiches with a little pinch of Daiya shreds before baking. If you have an oven that tends to over brown the bottoms of baked goods, double up your muffin tin or put it on a cookie sheet instead of straight on the racks.
- Bake on the middle rack for 13-17 minutes - until the tops are golden and the quiche is firm to the touch. In my experience, 15 minutes is perfect.
Notes
For a nut free crust: Omit the walnuts and replace with pumpkin seeds.For a lighter crust use these amounts for the first 4 ingredients: ⅛ cup pumpkin seeds, ⅛ cup walnuts, ¼ cup raw buckwheat groats, ½ cup oats. All other ingredients can be left as is.Feel free to experiment with different vegetables in this quiche. I'd steer clear of high moisture vegetable like zucchini or fresh tomatoes. Every time I've made this recipe I've used spinach and mushrooms, I find them both to be a really lovely component to this recipe. Some variations I've enjoyed are: Substituting the roma tomato for ⅓ cup of finely diced red bell pepper. Decreasing the amount of spinach to 1 cup and adding 1 cup of finely diced broccoli florets or 1 cup chopped asparagus (add at the same time as the mushrooms.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 259
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 446 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sneha
Hi! Thank you for this vegan recipe. I want to definitely try it. Is it ok to replace buckwheat groats with quinoa or amaranth seeds in this recipe? I'm new to baking so a bit under-confident in playing around with ingredients
Cheryl
Just rediscovered this wonderful mini quiche recipe! It's delicious and quite high in protein, low sugar and amazingly gluten free. Found it in your Recipe Index---wow---great stuff for every occasion 🌱Love your work.
★★★★★
Sue
Thank you for this great recipe! I made them for my husband, but I think I've eaten as many as he. They are solo good.
★★★★★
Pongodhall
Your crust ideas are amazing, I won't use the tofu but I'll do the veg. With a chickpea flour mix and make it ok for me. I just can't resist having a go.
★★★★
Brittany
Thanks so much! I love the crust on this quiche, it's so good!
Cheryl
Oh, just wanted to add that the ILV recipe for a basic pie crust might be delicious for this quiche too.
CM
Mmmm...love quiche. Thanks for the vegan recipe ILV people🌱
★★★★★
David
Good that you used metric for measurements -- except for the oven temperature. I need to know it in Celsius otherwise recipe is no good for me. Most of the world does not use Fahrenheit.
Brittany
Thanks David! I've noted your comments for all my future recipes, thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!
Zoe Blarowski
Hi, I'm a writer with Care2.com and I'd love to include a link to this recipe in one of my articles. Is it alright if I also use one of your photos of the recipe? Thanks!
Brittany
Hi Zoe! Yes, feel free to include a link to the recipe and 1 image. Thanks!
Zoe Blarowski
Great, thanks Brittany!
Amy Longworth
Hi! These sound amazing, I was just wondering if you could freeze them?
Thanks!
Amy
Brittany
I haven't tried freezing these yet but I think they would freeze quite well. But to be honest, I find it reeeally hard to make this recipe last very long. It's really good!