Make the best vegan quiche with my customizable base recipe. The flaky and delicious vegan pie crust is filled with a super creamy, rich and cheesy filling and you can use any of your favourite quiche mix-ins like spinach, broccoli, vegan meats, tomatoes and mushrooms etc. Lots of flavor suggestions are included!
The main issue with most vegan quiches? The texture. They don't have that soft, creamy, light, slightly wobbly, and delicate texture that eggy quiches have.
That is until now because my vegan quiche is properly soft, fluffy, creamy, rich, and super delicious with silky, melting custard in every bite.
This a great recipe to have on hand when you need a super tasty crowd-pleaser for picnics, potlucks and parties. It's also great for brunch, lunch or dinner. My favourite way to eat it is with fries and a leafy salad!
Ingredients
Here is a quick rundown on the main ingredients in this vegan quiche recipe:
And some important ingredient notes:
- Vegan pie crust - You can make my vegan pie crust recipe or my healthy pie crust which is oil-free and comes with a gluten-free option. Or you can buy a store-bought pie crust.
- Tofu - This must be silken or soft tofu. Firmer tofu will not create a smooth, creamy, eggy, texture.
- Chickpea flour - Makes the filling light, fluffy and "eggy".
- Cornstarch - Thickens the filling with no flavor. This helps helps to keep the chickpea flour to a minimum.
- Mustard, dried thyme & nutritional yeast - Essential for giving the custard good flavor, masking any chickpea flour flavor.
- Vegan cheese - Cheese is pretty essential in a quiche, especially a vegan one where you are using other ingredients to replace the eggs and need to really boost the flavor. Use your favourite variety. One you like the taste of. Obviously, the tastier the cheese, the tastier your quiche will be.
Expert Tip - If you aren't opposed to using a bit of oil, a quick brush of any neutral liquid oil all over the blind-baked crust before adding the filling, will create a seal and keep the bottom crisper with even less chance of becoming soggy.
Quiche Mix-ins
In the vegan quiche pictured, I used vegan salami, green onions, broccoli and tomato.
You can use the same, or switch it up with your personal favourites. That's what makes this recipe so versatile. Use no more than 2 cups of add-ins and place them in the crust before pouring over the creamy tofu quiche filling. Mix-in ideas include:
- chopped "meats" like vegan ham, vegan bacon, tempeh bacon, salami or vegan sausage
- sauteed vegetables like onions, garlic, leeks, mushrooms, asparagus & zucchini
- vegan salmon. I love Save Da Sea salmon
- raw veggies like green onions or broccoli
- spinach (wilt it down and squeeze out all liquid before adding to the quiche)
- chopped soft fresh herbs like parsley, dill and basil
- cooked squash or potato
- sweetcorn
- cherry tomatoes, or slices of tomato on the top (like in my pics). it gets so sweet and delicious and looks really pretty!
How To Make A Vegan Quiche
- Make your own pie crust or buy a ready-made one, then blind-bake it. Blind-baking (par-baking) is recommended because the filling is wet. It ensures the very best texture and prevents a soggy bottom.
- Prepare the mix-ins. Chop and cook them if necessary then add them to the crust.
- Blend the creamy filling. Pour the mixture over the mix-ins.
- Decorate the top if desired then bake. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to remove from the pan and serve.
Expert Tip - Unlike when making a non-vegan quiche, with this vegan recipe I recommend blending the vegan cheese into the custard and not just adding it to the pie crust. This avoids the chances of it not melting well. In tests, I tried many different vegan cheese varieties and when they weren't blended, some melted well, but others didn't, leaving visible cheese shreds all the way through.
Making in advance & freezing
Vegan quiche is great for making ahead. It can be served warm or cold and reheats well.
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Bake the quiche and allow to cool completely. Cover tightly and store for 3 - 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 180C/350F.
- TO FREEZE: Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Simply grease a pie dish (or similar), put in the add-ins then pour the custard filling over them and bake. The timings will remain the same.
You can make this quiche almost oil-free. Use my healthy pie crust recipe which is oil-free instead of a regular crust. The filling is oil-free except for any oil that is present in the cheese you use. I don't recommend omitting the cheese because the flavor of the filling won't be as good and it will affect the texture a little too.
More Eggy Recipes
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
Recipe
Vegan Quiche
Author:Ingredients
Crust
- 1 x 9 inch vegan pie crust , blind-baked (homemade or store-bought)
- OR 1 healthy pie crust , blind-baked (this one has a GF option)
Custard filling
- 12 oz (340 grams) silken tofu , or soft tofu
- 1 cup (110 grams) vegan cheese shreds
- ⅓ cup (35 grams) chickpea flour
- ⅓ cup (23 grams) nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch , (cornflour in the UK)
- ½ cup (120 mls) non-dairy milk , it MUST be unsweetened & unflavored
- ½ teaspoon prepared mustard , yellow or dijon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Add-ins
- up to 2 cups of prepared add-ins , about enough to half fill the pie crust ( i.e broccoli, spinach, vegan ham or bacon, caramelized onions, tomato - more ideas in post above).
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
For the pie crust
- If your pie crust is not already blind-baked (partially baked) do that now. Preheat oven to 400°F (200 °C) with a large metal baking tray in it as it preheats. Prick the bottom of the pie crust all over with a fork then line with parchment paper. Fill with baking beans, dried beans or dried rice and put on the preheated tray in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently lift out the parchment paper along with the baking beans/rice. Then return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. It's ok if the crust is warm when you add the filling.
- OPTIONAL STEP - If you aren't opposed to using a bit of oil, a quick brush of any neutral liquid oil all over the blind-baked crust before adding the filling, will create a seal and keep the bottom even crisper.
For the quiche
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175 °C) with a metal baking tray on the bottom shelf of the oven.
- To a blender add all of the custard filling ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- Place your chosen mix-ins into the pie crust, reserving a few bits and pieces to decorate the top, spreading them out evenly and filling no more than half way.
- Pour the custard filling over the mix-ins until the top of the custard is almost at the top of the crust but not quite.
- Decorate with the reserved add-ins then carefully lift and place on the lowest shelf of the oven, on the baking tray that you preheated.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the center is just set. Don't overbake. If you poke it in the centre gently with your finger it should be just set, soft and yielding with a slight wobble.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting. It's delicious warm or cold.
NOTES
Making in advance and freezing
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Bake the quiche and allow to cool completely. Cover tightly and store for 3 - 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 180C/350F.
- TO FREEZE: Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Sorcha says
I've tried a tofu quiche before and it wouldn't set at all, even after an hour in the oven. This recipe is so easy, and was the perfect texture - I can finally recreate the mushroom quiche my mum makes for family gatherings, thank you for a fabulous recipe!
Cecilia says
I made it and tast wise it was good. My add ins were: spinach, spaghetti squash, tomato slices on top of custard, broccoli, mushrooms, vegan cheese, turkey bacon bits & egg.
The egg defeats the purpose of vegan. I didn’t have chickpea flour so I used regular. I think the egg & flour made the texture too jiggly & soft. I cooked for a while in the oven and saw it wasn’t gonna get better. So did those two ingredients mess up the texture or did anyone else think there quiche was too soft?
Melanie McDonald says
Yes, those 2 ingredients messed up the texture. Chickpea flour and regular wheat flour are nothing alike and won't perform the same, and the recipe doesn't need eggs because it's vegan. You completely changed the makeup of the filling. Follow it exactly as written and it will turn out well.
Rock Girl says
PS I made my own chickpea flour by grinding dried chickpeas in my Vitamix.
Rock Girl says
This was an excellent recipe. Flavor and texture were great. I used caramelized onions, spinach and mushrooms.
Suzie says
I made this last night. Absolutely amazing. I've had a few different store bought quiches and not one of them gets the texture right, but this was just perfect. Used half normal, half smoked nooch, mushrooms and vegan bacon as the add-ins, and it was so good. Will definitely be making this again (and again).
Patricia G says
Not sure if I have sent this suggestion in or not, but al alternative to piecrust is to lightly oil your quiche dish and sprinkle with corn meal, then pour in your quiche mixture. Bakes up great, and firms up enough to cut and serve.
Tracey says
Looks amazing. Just to clarify. If making ahead and freezing, do I blind bake the crust, add filling and bake then freeze? Or add filling and freeze, then thaw & bake at time of serving? Thank you 🙏
Melanie McDonald says
Make it as instructed, allow it to cool, then freeze. The baking after is just to reheat it and crisp up the pastry again.
KM says
This was fab. My add-ins were sautéed onions & chopped vegan bacon. My pie plate is 9.5”, and where I live silken tofu are only sold in 300g tubs so I had to alter my ratios slightly, but I found this recipe still worked really well. I’m sure it’d be even better as written so next time I’ll follow to the letter, and there will definitely be a next time.
I appreciate the detailed instructions of blind baking the crust. I loved my mom’s non-vegan quiche growing up, but she never did this step and yes it was always a tad soggy! This one was absolutely perfect texture & crust.
Danielle says
Can I ask if another flour will work if I don't have chickpea on hand? TIA!
Melanie McDonald says
No sorry, you need to use chickpea flour in this recipe.
Denise says
Hi,
I wanted to ask whether you think it would be possible to swap the vegan cheese in the custard with cashews and also how many grams of add-ins would 2 cups be. Thank you!!
Melanie McDonald says
I wouldn't sub the cheese for cashews. It will change the texture of the custard completely. The quiche needs the cheese for a good flavour and the cheese melting also helps with the creamy texture of the custard once cooked and the setting too.
As for how many grams 2 cups of add-ins is, that depends completely on what that add-ins are. 1 cup of broccoli weighs a completely different amount to 1 cup of mushrooms or 1 cup of vegan bacon. That's why there is no gram amount given. Just fill the quiche crust no more than halfway up with them.
Hope you enjoy it!
Sue says
Hi,
Is their another brand of soy free silken tofu as I try not to eat soy, I am aware of PUMFU which I really like however I have not seen it silken. Thanks I really want to try making this!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm not aware of any silken tofu that's not made from soy. Unfortunately, this recipe needs silken tofu for it to have a great texture.
Denise says
Absolutely amazing! I have tried tofu/chickpea quiches before and they always turn out too hard/dry just not a proper quiche texture. First try at this and voila the perfect quiche and I actually made it crustless as I was doing it for lunch for my grandson and didn’t have time to prepare the base. Worked perfect 🤩 filling I used was vegan bacon and fried peppers with tomato slices on top.
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you, Denise! I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. And yours is the first feedback I've received on this one. Much appreciated as always!