Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Mini Quiches

Yummly

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Reddit

email

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.

Healthy ingredients for a healthy vegan quiche! Spices, flax seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat groats, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, garlic, roma tomatoes, oats, red onion, mushrooms, dill, Daiya cheddar, tofu, and spinach.

What You’ll Need

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!)

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 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.

Ground oats, buckwheat groats, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and ground flax seed make up the bulk of the crust for this gluten free quiche.

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.

Firmly press the dough into the muffin tins. Use your fingers to press in the dough or a flat round object like a jam jar that fits into your muffin tin.

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!

Have all of your fresh ingredients washed, prepped, and ready to go before you begin cooking for the filling. Sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, finely diced red onion, minced garlic, and diced tomato.

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.

Add the pressed tofu, nutritional yeast, dill, Daiya, oregano, salt and pepper to your food processor. Process until smooth, adding a splash of almond milk if necessary.

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.

Gently mixing the cooked vegetables into the filling mixture.

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.

Use a measuring spoon to scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of filling into your crusts. Use the back of a spoon to flatten the tops. Add a pinch of Daiya on top for extra “cheesy” flavour.

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:

• 1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/8 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 1/2 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 1/3 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.

Yummly

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Reddit

email