Hop into Spring with this delicious and light version of quiche! This Eggless Quiche capitalizes on fresh, in-season veggies to get you out of that Winter rut. A quick no-roll crust, and egg free filling make this simple and budget-friendly meal perfect for brunches, holiday get togethers, or cozy nights in.
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This Eggless Quiche is perfect for Easter or any other Spring celebration! We use a combination of tofu, turmeric, kala namak (or black salt), and Dijon mustard to create a delicious egg-like canvas for our quiche. The black salt and Dijon mustard really add something special! Then we sauté up in-season veggies like mushrooms, asparagus, and peas for a perfectly Spring meal everyone will love!
Pair it with a simple side salad, like Arugula Avocado Salad, a fruit salad, or dinner rolls or biscuits, like Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits.
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Heart Health Benefits of Eggless Quiche
We love this recipe for being low in calories, high in protein, fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin K, as well as being a good source of monounsaturated fats, potassium, and magnesium. The tofu also lends heart healthy soy isoflavones, and the veggie variety adds to the phytonutrient and antioxidant content.
Macronutrients
Our spring veggie quiche is high in protein - offering 15 grams per serving of high quality, plant based protein. Plant protein is particularly heart healthy, since it also comes packaged with fiber (soluble fiber in particular, which can help lower your cholesterol levels), and a variety of micronutrients that animal proteins often lack. More and more studies emerge every year demonstrating the heart health benefits of consuming more plant proteins vs animal proteins (1).
This is also a good source of heart healthy fats, specifically monounsaturated fats, mostly from our use of olive oil in the crust. We know that using poly- or monounsaturated fat sources instead of saturated fat sources (like butter or tallow), can impact heart health positively, by reducing total cholesterol levels, and improving the total to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (2). Including these fats in the diet can also reduce the risk of arterial stiffness, which is a marker of future hypertension development (3).
Veggie Quiche is moderate in carbohydrates, while being high in fiber! While a heart healthy diet is not inherently low carb, people with diabetes are at risk for developing heart disease, so a controlled carbohydrate intake is necessary sometimes. And what's most important here is to make sure our carbohydrate sources are healthy more of the time, rather than refined or simple (like table sugar, white bread, etc.). This recipe contains only 34 grams of carbohydrate, but 7.3 grams of fiber. We achieve this by not only packing the quiche with veggies, but using a combination of whole wheat flour and oats for our crust. This provides more soluble fiber, and in the case of oats, beta glucan, to help lower cholesterol (4) and improve blood sugar control (5). Mushrooms also contain beta glucan!
Micronutrients, Phytonutrients, and Antioxidants
Using lots of veggies means lots of vitamins and minerals! Asparagus, mushrooms, onions, green peas, and garlic all work together to make our recipe high in iron (asparagus and mushrooms), and vitamin K (mainly from asparagus), and a good source of potassium (tofu, onion, asparagus, mushrooms, and peas), and magnesium (peas). Peas and garlic bring a good amount of vitamin C to the dish also.
Onions and asparagus contain a flavanol called quercetin, which has anti inflammatory and cardioprotective effects, among other benefits (6), and we already know that a high vegetable intake is beneficial to heart health for myriad reasons (7).
Tofu is a good source of calcium, and we see that come through in the calcium content of the dish - 20% DV per serving. This is great news, as many of us fall short of our calcium needs, even if we are consuming dairy products!
Ingredients
Don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you. This recipe comes together easily!
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- Quick oats
- Olive oil
- Cold water
- salt
- Firm tofu
- Turmeric
- Kala namak (black salt)
- Dijon mustard
- Asparagus
- Mushrooms
- Peas
- Onion
- Garlic
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Prep for this recipe takes some time, but isn't hard. Here's how!
- Step 1: Combine the pastry flour, oats, and salt in a food processor.
- Step 2: Process on high until the oats have broken down.
- Step 3: Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, with the processor running.
- Step 4: Now add the cold water until a loose dough ball forms.
- Step 5: Turn the dough out into a pie plate.
- Step 6: Press the form the dough to evenly cover the bottom and sides of the pie plate, to form the crust. Set aside.
- Step 7: Break the tofu into large chunks and add it, along with the turmeric, kala namak, and Dijon mustard, to the food processor.
- Step 8: Process on high until the mixture is very smooth. Add a tablespoon or two of milk if the machine is having trouble with it. Scoop into a large bowl and set aside.
- Step 9: Chop all the veggies.
- Step 10: Sauté the mushrooms and onions until they are soft and starting to brown.
- Step 11: Add the peas and asparagus and continue cooking until they are crisp-tender, and bright green.
- Step 12: Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more. Remove from the heat.
- Step 13: Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the tofu.
- Step 14: Combine well.
- Step 15: Transfer to the prepared pie dish, and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Step 16: Bake.
Hint: there's no need to press the tofu for this dish. In this case, a little extra moisture will help in making the filling.
Variations
Try mixing this recipe up for the seasons!
- Summer - use sundried tomatoes and bell peppers
- Fall - add cooked root veggies like carrots, potatoes, or even beets
- Winter - stick with mushrooms, onions, potatoes, or sweet potatoes
Equipment
Besides the basics, you'll need a few special tools to make this eggless quiche. First, a food processor will be needed. A blender could potentially work, but the width that a food processor offers will really be best. I like something like this Hamilton Beach 12 cup Food Processor.
Also, make sure you have either a 9 inch pie plate, or a similarly sized tart pan.
Storage
Cool the quiche completely, and cover with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for up for 4 days.
This eggless quiche can also be frozen. Slice the quiche and wrap each slice in plastic wrap, and store in a freezer bag. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Pro tip
While the quiche can technically be made without the kala namak, or black salt, it's really worth the splurge. It adds the hallmark "eggy" flavor that the dish would otherwise be lacking. It can usually be found in Indian grocery stores, or use my affiliate link for kala namak.
FAQ
Yes! Simply skip the steps for making the crust. Spray the pie plate with cooking spray before adding the filling. Bake according to the instructions, keeping a close eye on it as the end time approaches, as it may take less time to bake without crust.
Other combos you may try include potatoes and leeks, spinach and artichoke, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, or even broccoli. Quiche is really customizable, so experiment and see what you love!
Related
Looking for more Brunch recipes? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Eggless Quiche with Spring Veggies:
📖 Recipe
Eggless Quiche with Spring Veggies
Ingredients
For the pie crust
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- ⅓ cup Cold Water
For the Filling
- 14 oz block Firm Tofu
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Black Salt (kala namak)
- 1-2 tablespoon Unsweetened Nondairy Milk if needed
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 medium Onion any color, chopped
- 4 oz Button Mushrooms halved and sliced
- 5 oz Fresh Asparagus tough bottoms removed, sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup Fresh Peas or frozen
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Make the pie crust
- Add the flour and oats to a food processor, and process until the entire mixture resembles flour.
- With the processor still running, drizzle in the oil, and continue processing until combined.
- Add the cold water, a little at a time, until the dough comes together in a loose ball.
- Dump the dough into a 9 inch pie plate or tart pan, and press the dough into the bottom, and up the sides, making it as even as possible.
- Set aside and make the filling.
Make the filling
- Wash the food processor if needed, and add the tofu in chunks, along with the turmeric, mustard, and black salt.
- Process on high until very smooth. You can add the milk a splash at a time, if needed, if the tofu is too thick.
- Scoop the mixture into a large bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.
- Sauté the onions and mushrooms for about 5-7 minutes, until they are starting to brown.
- Add the asparagus and peas, and continue to cook until they are bright green, and crisp-tender, about 5 more minutes.
- Add the garlic, and sauté one more minute.
- Remove from the heat, and add the vegetables to the bowl with the tofu.
- Mix well.
- Scoop the filling to the pie crust and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
*Nutrition information is an estimate, and will change based on the brand and individual ingredients and amounts you use. This is provided for your convenience only.
Food safety
Safety is our top priority in the kitchen! Always keep these tips in mind.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands before touching food, and after touching raw meat, your hair, face, pets, etc.
- Don't leave food that should be either hot or cold sitting out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour if the weather is hot)
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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