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:
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) walnuts
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) raw buckwheat groats (or toasted groats for an earthier flavour)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) oats
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground flax seed
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
- 1/2 tbsp (7.5 ml) coconut oil, melted
- 2+ tbsp (30+ ml) water
For the Filling:
- 1 12 oz (350g) block firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed
- 1-2 tbsp (15-30 ml) unsweetened almond milk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
- 5 tbsp (15 ml) nutritional yeast
- 2-4 tbsp (30 ml-60ml) fresh dill
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground flax seed
- 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) oregano
- 3/4 + 1/4 tsp (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)
- 1/4 cup (6o ml) red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 large onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 roma tomato, diced, with seeds removed (or sub with 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper)
- 2 cups (500 ml) chopped baby spinach, with stems removed
- 1/4 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 tbsp 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 1/2 tbsp of water. Continue adding water in 1/2 tbsp increments until the mixture sticks together when squeezed. You should only have to add 1-3 tbsp 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 tbsp 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, 3/4 tsp 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 tbsp 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 tbsp 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 1/4 tsp 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 tbsp 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: 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/8 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats, 1/2 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 1/3 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