The Best Vegan Quiche Ever: Perfectly cheesy soy-free creamy filling over whole grain crust topped with crunchy asparagus. 40 minute easy recipe from start to finish!
Believe it or not but it’s the best vegan quiche I’ve ever tried. It also happens to be one of the easiest ones, taking 40 minutes to make from start to finish.
No waiting for the crust to rest, no baking for an hour (in fact, the baking time is just 20 minutes + 15 minutes pre-baking), no boring tofu in the filling, and no white flour in the crust.
Instead, you have a flavorsome whole grain olive oil crust (you literally just need these two ingredients plus some salt and water) that is super easy to prepare, any veggies of your choice. Think:
- zucchini
- leeks
- broccoli
- bell peppers
- dried tomatoes
- asparagus – because it’s spring!
Finally the most important part – delicious cheesy filling that I will reveal how to prepare down below, so keep reading. 🙂
When I first made this quiche, I was really looking forward to my husband to try it and let him guess what he thinks it is made of.
Since he didn’t know the quiche was vegan, he took a bite and said: “Mmm, cheese!” But he couldn’t be more wrong. It’s true that it tastes like cheese but it’s completely plant-based. Intrigued? He was too.
One of my favorite quiche recipes is ricotta spinach quiche, but this time I challenged myself to make a vegan one and it turned out to be a complete success!
It took me a while to get ready to make this vegan quiche and take pictures, since my baby was interrupting the process instead of helping it 🙂
I was really looking forward to making this quiche not only because of the recipe itself but also because I bought a new quiche pan with removable bottom and was dying to bake something in it 🙂 And I’m more than happy with the result!
You can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s so easy, your kids could make it. It’s seriously a matter of 40 minutes and baking time takes the most of it. Here is how to make this vegan asparagus quiche step-by-step.
How to Make Vegan Quiche Crust
Quiche starts with a crust. The easiest, the quickest, the healthiest and the most delicious vegan quiche crust is the one I used for this recipe. Seriously, look no further! Whole wheat flour, olive oil, salt, water and 5 minutes to knead and roll.
Transfer it to a rectangular quiche or tart pan (mine is 25 x 20 cm or 10 x 8 inch). You can also use other sizes like 14 x 6 inches, 12 x 12 inches or even round-shaped ones (if you’ll manage to arrange asparagus on it). Removable bottom definitely makes serving easier but if your pan doesn’t have it, it’s OK too.
Prick the crust all over with a fork and pre-bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes.
This crust is so universal, it’ll fit to whatever filling you want. For sweet tarts, put a bit less salt and add some sugar.
This vegan quiche crust doesn’t even require greasing of the pan, since it contains olive oil. It doesn’t stick to the pan at all, which makes it really easy to serve.
It has a rich taste by itself, nutty, aromatic, crunchy but moist.
If you like baking with whole grains, you know what I mean. No other crust is a better addition to this vegan quiche!
How to Make Vegan Quiche Filling
Now when the crust is baking in the oven, we come to the filling. OK, it’s time to reveal the secret ingredient: soaked CASHEWS!
They give the most creamy consistency to the filling. For the cheesy flavor I added Marmite (nutritional yeast will work too), which are both available on Amazon (yey!).
Other ingredients of this vegan quiche filling include lemon juice, water, garlic, herbs (oregano, thyme and wild garlic for spring flavor), nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne, salt and black pepper. You can even swirl wild garlic pesto in it to make it unique and even more nutritious.
Nothing too fancy, but believe me, it has tons of flavor and it’s almost impossible to believe it’s completely vegan unless you made it yourself.
So, to start with, soak the cashews over night. The longer the better as it gives the most silky structure to the filling. Wait, I should have started with this, right?
No worries if you don’t have much time, 1 hour would be sufficient too. You will just probably have to pulse you cashews longer in your food processor or blender.
Place soaked cashews, garlic, water, lemon juice, nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne in the bowl of your food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth and silky.
I really love my Phillips blender and this time it worked perfect, making the filling very smooth and creamy. Highly recommended!
Add more water if you think it’s too thick (it should have the consistency of hummus or a bit thinner). Add chopped herbs, salt and black pepper to taste.
In fact, you can already eat it. It’s delicious! Not only as a quiche filling, but also as a bread spread or pasta sauce. I should make more recipes with it!
Once you are done with the filling, it’s time to assemble the quiche.
How to Make Vegan Quiche
If you choose to use asparagus in your quiche (hello, spring!) I would recommend to blanche it first. Trim the ends and put asparagus in salted boiling water vertically (stems down) for 5 minutes.
This way you will pre-cook the thickest parts of your stems while the tops will be nice and crunchy.
If you make your quiche with any other vegetables from the list above (except of dried tomatoes), you should pre-cook them too. The quiche takes 20 minutes to bake, so the veggies won’t be completely done if you put them raw into the pan.
Stir-fry or steam them before adding. If you are not sure how to prepare your veggies, leave a comment below and I’ll help you. I’ve done this quiche with zucchini as well and it worked great too.
Now when your veggies (asparagus in my case) are ready, spread the filling over the crust. Arrange asparagus on top and gently press it, so that it’s half drown in the filling.
Bake for 20 minutes or until he top is golden. The middle should be a little unset, but if you want it to be rather firm, increase the baking time to 30 minutes.
That’s it, the quiche is ready! Let it cool and enjoy! Serve it with asparagus cannelloni, asparagus radish salad or wild garlic soup for a spring feeling.
Check the full recipe below for more details. Hope you enjoy it!
The Best Vegan Quiche Ever
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
FOR THE FILLING:
- 125 grams or 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water over night (see notes above)
- 160 ml or 2/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon Marmite or nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- a pinch cayenne
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped herbs (I used wild garlic, oregano and thyme)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
FOR THE QUICHE:
- 7 spears asparagus (alternatively, you can use other veggies - see notes above)
Instructions
PREPARE THE CRUST:
- Preheat the oven to 180 ℃ or 355 F. Combine whole wheat flour, salt, olive oil and water in a medium mixing bowl. Knead until the dough forms a ball. Roll it and transfer to a rectangular quiche or tart pan (mine is 25 x 20 cm or 10 x 8 inch). You can also use other sizes like 14 x 6 inches, 12 x 12 inches or even round-shaped ones. Bake for 15 minutes.
MAKE THE FILLING:
- Place soaked cashews, garlic, water, lemon juice, nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne in the bowl of your food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth and silky. Add more water if you think it's too thick (it should have the consistency of hummus or a bit thinner). Add chopped herbs, salt and black pepper to taste.
PREPARE YOUR VEGGIES:
- If you choose to use asparagus in your quiche, blanche it first. Trim the ends and put asparagus in salted boiling water vertically (stems down) for 5 minutes. This way you will pre-cook the thickest parts of your stems while the tops will be nice and crunchy.
- If you make your quiche with any other vegetables from the list above (except of dried tomatoes), you should pre-cook them too. The quiche takes 20 minutes to bake, so the veggies won't be completely done if you put them raw into the pan. Therefore, stir-fry or steam them before adding.
ASSEMBLE THE QUICHE:
- Spread the filling over the crust. Arrange asparagus on top and gently press it, so that it's half drown in the filling.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until he top is golden. The middle should be a little unset, but if you want it to be rather firm, increase the baking time to 30 minutes. Let it cool and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Other Vegan Recipes You’ll Love
Ayesha I
Friday 23rd of October 2020
Hello, Can we use homemade Hummus instead of Cashews?
Elena Szeliga
Sunday 25th of October 2020
I think so, yes! Let me know how it turned out :)
Pil
Monday 8th of July 2019
Is it possible to freeze this type of quiche? I’m having a wedding celebration in August and I want to prepare as much as I can beforehand :)
Elena Szeliga
Friday 12th of July 2019
Hi Pil, how exciting! I don't think asparagus freezes well but you can definitely freeze the crust before baking it. You can use dried tomatoes instead of asparagus to be able to freeze the whole quiche. Hope that helps!
Jessica
Monday 5th of March 2018
I am not vegan, but I have been eating a lot of vegan meals and having vegan days. Definitely saving this quiche to make on one of those days.
Elena Szeliga
Tuesday 6th of March 2018
Thank you Jessica! I'm sure you'll love it!
Kristina
Monday 5th of March 2018
This vegan quiche recipe looks amazing! I'm loving the fresh asparagus as well, it's asparagus season and I'm excited to have another recipe to try them with. And husbands don't recognize it's vegan? Perfect!
Elena Szeliga
Tuesday 6th of March 2018
Me too, already excited to make all the asparagus recipes soon! This quiche doesn't taste like it's vegan at all! You can test it with your husband ;)
Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade
Monday 5th of March 2018
This is such an interesting recipe! I've never heard of a quiche that doesn't use any eggs. And I love that you use a combination of veggies too. I'll have to check out this recipe for sure
Elena Szeliga
Tuesday 6th of March 2018
Thank you Karyl! Cashews hold everything together without eggs in this quiche. Amazing but true :D