This crustless vegan quiche is the perfect quiche to make for brunch, meal prep or even dinner! It’s full of a few of my favorites – spinach, shiitake mushrooms, and vegan smoked apple sage sausage. Swap out the traditional eggs and milk with silken tofu and almond milk. Just as silky, custard-like and delicious as the original favorite, without the cholesterol!
I think I’ve mentioned this on the blog before but I used to LOVE eating eggs. It was the last thing I gave up when I decided to go vegan as I used to eat them every single day. In college I often went to this brunch spot in San Francisco called Sweet Maple and I’d always order two sunny side up eggs. I thought the two egg yolks looked like eyes so when it came to the table I would without fail draw a smiley mouth on it with either ketchup or hot sauce and then take a picture of it…yes, I am weird! And yes, I have enjoyed taking pictures of my food for a long time.
Anyway…now that I know all of the horrible things chickens endure to give us those eggs I am happy to stop eating them. I don’t even miss them really, but I do enjoy making vegan versions that remind me of the taste.
Are quiche and frittata the same thing?
This is a big question that I know you might be thinking, especially with this being a crustless quiche so let’s note their differences!
A quiche is more custard-like than a frittata – generally has a higher milk to egg ratio to give it that creaminess and silky texture and will have a slight wobble. A quiche also generally has a crust and is baked in a pie or tart dish. This quiche does not have a crust, but it still is much more custard-like in texture than a frittata!
A frittata is more egg than milk and is more firm. It is also generally started on the stove top and then baked in the same oven-safe skillet.
If you’re looking for a good vegan frittata, check out my Sweet Potato and Kale Chickpea Frittata. It’s high in protein, healthy, and great for meal prep!
Assembling the Quiche
For this quiche, I did a quick sauté on the stovetop of onion, shiitake mushrooms, fresh spinach, and vegan apple sage sausage. I really recommend this combination. When I made this quiche for photos I ate the entire thing by myself in less than 24 hours. It’s that good!
This sausage is also by the brand Field Roast and is by far one of my favorite vegan sausages! It’s so versatile and I recently found that they are now selling it at Costco for a bit cheaper of a price than I normally find at Whole Foods! And for a super realistic vegan sausage, I’d try the Beyond Meat sausages. They are a bit more expensive than the Field Roast sausages and I have only ever seen them at Whole Foods but the first time I had them, I was blown away by the texture and flavor!
The custard is also quite easy! Silken tofu, unsweetened almond milk, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, vegan mozzarella shreds, and a little salt. Blend it in a high speed blender like the Vitamix until smooth and pour it overtop the vegetable mixture.
Doesn’t that look so creamy!?
Depending on how custard-y you like your quiche, bake anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 hour. I like it really creamy so I removed it at 45 minutes, but bake for longer if you prefer it a bit firmer. If you want something really firm, go with the Sweet Potato and Kale Chickpea Frittata!
You want there to be a little bit of a wobble, but it should still firm up enough as it cools where it can be sliced and not fall apart completely!
Serve with a side salad, fresh fruit, roasted vegetables, or even breakfast potatoes. I also love to eat it with either hot sauce or a dollop of vegan yogurt. YUM.
I hope you give this recipe a try!
More Vegan Brunch ideas:
- Chickpea Egg Breakfast Sandwiches
- Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
- Coconut and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins
Enjoy!
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Crustless Vegan Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil - divided
- ½ yellow onion - diced
- 2 cups mushrooms - sliced
- 2 vegan apple sage sausages - sliced *see notes for specific ones I used
- 2 cups spinach - tightly packed, then chopped
- 1 (14 ounce) block silken tofu
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds - *see notes for exact ones I used
- ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk - unsweetened
- ¼ cup chickpea flour - sometimes called besan flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Fahrenheit.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the diced onion for a couple of minutes in about ½ tablespoon of oil.
- Next, add in the sliced mushrooms and sausage. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Lastly, add in the chopped spinach and sauté until bright green and slightly soft. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
- In a high speed blender, blend together the tofu, vegan mozzarella shreds, almond milk, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt until completely smooth. There should be no chunks at all and resemble a custard. Set aside.
- With remaining ½ tablespoon of oil, generously oil your 10" quiche or pie dish.
- Spoon vegetable and sausage mixture into quiche dish and spread it out evenly (see photo for reference). Next, pour in the custard mixture and carefully mix it in the dish with the vegetables until they are well incorporated together. Smooth the top with the back of a spatula so it cooks evenly.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how custard like you want it. I personally remove after 45 minutes, but a longer bake will allow it to firm a bit more.
- After baking, remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. The longer it cools, the easier it will be to slice.
- Serve with a side salad, roasted vegetables, or fingerling potatoes.
- Storage: This quiche keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
- The sausages I used: Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage vegetarian sausages.
- The vegan mozzarella cheese shreds I used: Violife, Shreds Just Like Mozzarella
- I have not tried baking this quiche in a pie crust, but if you do and have good results please let me know. Be sure to blind-bake the crust before adding in the filling or it will be soggy.
- I have not tried using frozen spinach in this quiche. If you do try it and have good results, please let me know!
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
Thank you for the recipe. Going to try it soon. I’m not a fan of nutritional yeast which is a challenge for vegan recipes. Is it used in this recipe for flavor or for thickening? I’m trying to figure out a replacement.