Sundried Tomato & Spinach Quiche
Are you a fan of those cute little quiches that are always on offer at your local small town cafe? Filled with eggs and cream, and topped with all sorts of combinations – from sundried tomato and spinach, all the way to salmon and cream cheese.
Before I went fully plant-based, these vegetarian quiches were one of my favourite lunches out. But guess what – we can make them just as good, without the eggs, cheese, cream, white flour, and butter!
Here’s my plant-based version for you, a Sundried Tomato & Spinach Vegan Quiche – which I know you’re going to agree tastes just as good as the original.
What is quiche traditionally made of?
Quiches are typically made with a buttery flaky pie crust, filled with an eggy custard like inner. If you google “quiche” recipe, you’ll find pastries made with white flour, butter, and vegetable shortening, and fillings whipped up of eggs, cream, dairy milk, and cheese.
So whilst I like to fool myself (and they taste divine), other than spinach inner, these aren’t exactly the best plant-based option for us.
What can I use instead of eggs in a quiche?
So what can we use instead? Here’s how I’ve turned these plant-based:
- White Flour: I’ve swapped out with almonds and oats instead. If you want a gluten free option (oats aren’t gluten free), simply swap them for buckwheat or brown rice flour instead.
- Butter: Our plant-based favourite alternative – coconut oil. If you’re avoiding coconut for cholesterol reasons, you can use olive oil instead.
- Eggs: We’re swapping out our eggs with tofu for that custard-like thick filling that sets, which I’ve then added black sulphurous rock salt to for that distinctive eggy flavour. If you haven’t added black salt to your plant-based pantry yet, it’s one of my must haves – I talk more about this and how to stock your plant-based pantry in my Cooking School here.
- Cream: I’ve subbed out the traditional thick heavy dairy cream for cashews and water, blitzed in your blender to a super smooth cream.
- Cheese: I’m using our favourite nutritional yeast or nooch, a vegan classic for adding a cheese-like flavour. You could also add a dash of miso paste instead which is also great at giving a cheesy edge.
Why you’ll love this Sundried Tomato & Spinach Vegan Quiche
I hope you love this plant-based vegan quiche (or mini quiches as the case may be). They’re:
- Done in under 30 mins
- A great source of healthy plant-based protein
- Low in saturated fat
- Super cute as minis, but easily doable as one large quiche too, and…
- True egg-free quiche perfection
Once you’ve nailed this Sundried Tomato & Spinach version, the world of flavour potential is yours. Roast pumpkin and caramelised onion? Cherry toms and basil? Spring asparagus and fresh pea? I have a feeling you’re soon going to be like me, and making these gorgeously moreish savoury quiches all year long!
More warming lunch ideas
If you love the look of this quiche, here are some more warming lunch ideas to spice up your toast routine:
- Bangin Breakfast Burritos (I mostly make these for lunch)
- Creamy Butternut Mac ‘n’ Cheese
- Smashed Potatoes With Caper Aioli
If you try these Sundried Tomato & Spinach Quiches, let me know! Leave a comment below, rate them, and don’t forget to tag a photo @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics on Instagram. I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 c almonds
- 1 c oats
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sea salt
Filling
- 300 g tofu
- 3/4 c water
- 1/4 c cashews
- 2 tbsp arrowroot (or cornflour)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp black volcanic sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- 2 c baby spinach
- 1/4 c sundried tomatoes sliced
Topping
- Sundried tomatoes sliced
- Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F on fan bake.
- Grease 6 mini tart tins with a little coconut/olive oil on all sides (ideally with a removable base if possible – will make it easier to remove).
Crust
- Blitz almonds into a flour in a blender/processor and pour into a bowl. Do the same with the oats, adding to the almond flour (you can also use ready made almond/oat flour if you like).
- Add remaining crust ingredients, 1 tablespoon of water at a time, until a doughy texture results (add a dash more water if too dry, more oat flour if too sticky). Divide dough into 6, then press evenly into tart tins. Prick the bases with a fork, then pop in the oven and bake for 10 minutes while making the filling.
Filling
- Blend all filling ingredients, except spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, in a blender until super smooth. Add sundried tomatoes and pulse a few times until roughly chopped, then add spinach and pulse once or twice to stir through.
- Pour into tart tins, top with extra sun-dried tomatoes, then bake for 15 minutes until firm and golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes, the remove from tins. Top with chopped parsley and serve with relish, avocado, and a garden salad.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- Make it gluten-free: Use buckwheat or brown rice flour instead of oats.
- Make it nut free: Use sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or watermelon seeds instead of almonds and cashews. Or use buckwheat in the base instead of almonds, and the seeds in the filling in lieu of cashews.
- Make it soy free: Remove tofu, increase cashews to 1 cup, water to 1 1/4 cups, and arrowroot/cornflour to 4 tablespoons.
- You can make your own almond and oat flour as I’ve done in a food processor, or buy pre-purchased.
- I’ve made these as mini quiches, but you can also make one single large quiche, simply bake the crust for 5-10 minutes more, and add another 10-15 minutes for the filling to set.
- You don’t want to over-bake these as the filling will continue to set as they cool, so test the centre and only bake until lightly set.
- Arrowroot helps them to set, but you can also use cornflour instead.
- Black volcanic rock salt gives these a super eggy flavour (it’s sulphurous!), you can find it at most eco-friendly grocery stores. Failing that though, regular sea salt is also a good option (they just won’t taste as eggy).
- Play around with your veggie fillings, once you’ve mastered the base!
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
