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It's easy to prepare this Cheesy Broccoli Vegan Quiche using a frozen gluten-free and vegan pie crust. Enjoy a slice of this tofu-based quiche its own or with some fresh fruit or a side salad. This dairy-free, egg-free quiche is perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch!
Quiche has always been a favorite of mine since I can remember.
I hate to admit it, but I used to buy those frozen mini quiches typically served at parties in bulk at Costco and eat like 10 of them for breakfast.
Fast forward to 2019 and those mini quiches are a distant memory.
Not only are they not gluten-free, but they of course, also contain eggs and dairy.
And since I have been transitioning to a vegan diet as of the beginning of this year, not to mention the fact that Greg has issues now with both eggs and dairy, quiche just isn't in the cards for us....
Or is it?
Enter tofu.
This little block of soy has allowed me to create a delicious egg-free version of my favorite breakfast.
The first time I had a tofu quiche was at a local vegan and gluten-free bakery before I even started eating this way.
I had shopped there before for the ridiculously amazing gluten-free cupcakes, but on that particular day, the quiche caught my eye.
It was PHENOMENAL!
So of course, I just had to make one myself.
What ingredients are in the quiche filling?
For the tofu base, I opted for silken tofu due to its soft consistency and "egg-like" texture.
My favorite brands are Nasoya, 365 and Greenwise.
However, if you prefer a firmer texture, you can use firm tofu instead.
For the cheesy flavor, I used a combination of nutritional yeast and vegan cheddar-style shreds.
Some brands I like include Miyoko's, Daiya, Violife or Parmela Creamery (this brand contains nuts).
Other ingredients include:
- Broccoli
- Onion
- Olive Oil (for cooking the broccoli and onion)
- Soy Milk
- Mustard Powder
- Nutmeg
- Salt & Pepper
What's the best gluten-free pie crust to use?
I'll be honest. It is very difficult to find a store-bought gluten-free AND vegan pie crust.
My go-to is the Wholly Wholesome gluten-free pie crust, which is not only certified as gluten-free but is also certified vegan.
Of course, you can use your favorite brand of pie crust, or you can even make your own if you so desire. And, if you're not gluten-free, you can just use a traditional frozen pie crust.
How to make this vegan broccoli quiche - step by step
Start by preheating your oven to 400° F.
Remove the pie crust from the freezer and allow to thaw while the oven is preheating.
When the oven is preheated, place the pie crust on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
When done, remove pie crust from the oven and lower the heat to 375° F.
While the pie crust is in the oven, drain the excess water from the silken tofu.
To do so, remove the tofu from the package and place on a plate.
Leave the tofu on the plate for 5-10 minutes. Then, carefully hold onto the tofu and tilt the plate over the sink to drain the water off the plate.
While the tofu is draining on the plate, heat olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet.
Add broccoli and onion plus salt to taste.
Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the broccoli is soft and the onion pieces are translucent.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Next, add the tofu, soy milk, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper to your food processor.
Process on low, scraping down the sides as needed.
Process on low until smooth.
Add the tofu mixture, broccoli and onion mixture and cheddar-style shreds to a mixing bowl.
Use a spoon or silicone spatula to mix the ingredients until well-combined.
Pour the combined mixture into the pre-baked pie crust.
Bake on 375° F for 40-55 minutes until the quiche is set.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes on before slicing and serving.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
Yes! If you are going to be using frozen broccoli, you will first need to bring it to room temperature.
You can microwave it on the defrost setting in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, for approximately 2-3 minutes.
Alternatively, you can place the frozen broccoli in a sealed zip top bag and cover with cold water until defrosted.
Can the broccoli be substituted with other veggies?
Yes! I've actually tried it with diced butternut squash (fresh and frozen) as well as frozen cut leaf spinach.
You can use a 12-oz. bag of either of these, and keep all of the other ingredients and measurements the same.
Just be sure to defrost the veggies first before cooking them with the onion.
Also, if you're using frozen spinach, make sure you squeeze out the excess water after defrosting or the quiche will become watery.
Storing and reheating
Cover the quiche tightly with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Leftover quiche is best enjoyed reheated in the oven on 375°F until warmed throughout, but you can microwave as well if desired.
You might also enjoy:
Cheesy Broccoli Vegan Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch gluten-free, vegan frozen pie crust (I used Wholly Wholesome brand)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 heaping cups broccoli florets, fresh or *frozen and brought to room temperature, chopped into smaller pieces if desired
- ½ cup chopped onion (yellow or sweet)
- Kosher salt to taste
- 16 oz silken tofu (refrigerated or shelf-stable version such as MORI-NU brand), **excess water drained (+See notes below for using firm tofu instead)
- ½ cup plain, unsweetened soy milk (++See notes below regarding using a different type of milk)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup vegan cheddar-style shreds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Remove the pie crust from the freezer and allow to thaw while the oven is preheating. Once oven is preheated, place pie crust on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. When done, remove pie shell from the oven and lower the heat to 375° F.
- While the pie crust is pre-baking in the oven, heat olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Add broccoli and onion plus kosher salt to taste. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the broccoli is soft and the onion pieces are translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add tofu, soy milk, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper and additional kosher salt to taste to your food processor. Process on low until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the tofu mixture, broccoli and onion mixture and cheddar-style shreds to a mixing bowl. Use a spoon or silicone spatula to mix the ingredients until well-combined.
- Pour the combined mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and bake on 375° F for 40-55 minutes (see notes below regarding cooking time) until the quiche is set. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet before slicing and serving.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs for this recipe)
Notes
Nutrition
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Laura
This absolutely did not work for me. I followed the recipe exactly and it still came out basically dripping. Honestly don't know what I did wrong but I would not recommend this recipe.
Sherri Hall
Sorry to hear that, Laura. I personally make this at least once a month and haven't had any issues. The only thing I can think of is a difference in oven temperature or if the oven temperature is not accurate. In that case, it would have to cook for a bit longer to get it to set. I do have a friend who cooks hers for about 55 minutes due to her oven differences. I am going to increase the recommended cooking range to account for such differences. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Christie
That cheesy broccoli vegan quiche sounds so good and looks so fluffy! I love that you added broccoli. Thanks for sharing this one!
Sherri Hall
Thank you so much, Christie! 🙂
Lois
I made this recipe for dinner! WOW!!! So good!!! My husband loved it also! I really felt like I was eating eggs. Can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank you! Blessings to you and your family!?
Sherri Hall
Oh, thank you so much, Lois! That means so much to me! I'm so happy you both loved the quiche! Please come back and tell me what you make next. Blessings to you and yours as well! ♥ 🙂
Ieva
Add some black salt and miso
Sherri Hall
Will have to give that a try...thank you Leva! 🙂
Alyssa
I'm so excited to try this weekend - of I can find the crust. Thank you SO much for including brand names. I'm new to gluten free baking (I'm vega) so I appreciate brand names you've tried and trust. Helps narrow it down a lot.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Alyssa! Hope you enjoy the quiche (and the pie crust)! 🙂 It can definitely be difficult to find products that are both gluten-free and vegan, and of course they have to be good, so I like to include them in the posts to help people out. Feel free to reach out to me (watchleaerneat@gmail.com or use the contact form on the contact page) if you are looking for other product recommendations and I'll do my best to help. Hope you have a great day!
Alyssa
Update I used this exact and followed the recipe and it came out so good! I added vegan sausage as well. Thank you so much !!!!
Sherri Hall
That's great to hear, Alyssa! So happy you enjoyed! And I love the idea of adding the vegan sausage...will definitely have to try that. 🙂
Jill B
Absolutely delicious! Will totally make again and experiment with the veggies. So good!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Jill! So glad you enjoyed the quiche! 🙂
Jackie
I really want this to be good... It looks amazing, recipe is easy to follow, but it's coming out like soup when I make it. Like it's thick when I put it in and then I cook at 375 for 35-45 minutes and it's thin soup... (great flavor though!!) admittedly, I'm not using crust, and I know the crust would soak up some of the moisture. But nothing is solidifying...
I've made it a few times now. The first time I doubled the recipe and didn't use a crust, so figured that was just completely my fault/bad. Tried exactly how it says to make it (minus the crust) #fail and then tried in silicon muffin cups.
Now looking for a recipe that doesn't require a crust, since this didn't translate well to a crustless quiche.
Sherri Hall
Sorry to hear that, Jackie. I'm not sure why that is happening and perhaps like you said, it might be the omission of the crust. I recently tried to make a crustless version of this in muffin cups using different veggies but the same measurements and it came out liquidy too so perhaps that does have something to do with it. I do have a friend who cooks hers a bit longer (about 55 minutes) due to her oven differences but she is using a crust so I don't know if that would change the texture for you without one. The only other thing I could think of trying is using a firm or super firm tofu instead of the silken as it might solidify better without the crust. If you're looking for an already crustless recipe, here are some from other bloggers that you may enjoy (though I haven't personally made each of these): https://www.contentednesscooking.com/crustless-quiche/, https://frommybowl.com/vegan-spinach-mushroom-crustless-quiches/, https://myquietkitchen.com/crustless-tofu-quiche/. Thank you very much for stopping by to share your experience. Have a great rest of your day! 🙂
Jenna
Do i strain the silken tofu? How long?
Can i just use any pie crust? Like the ones i buy for pumpkin pie?
Sherri Hall
Hi Jenna! You do not have to strain the silken tofu, just drain out any excess water from the package and it's ready to go. Yes, you can use any pie crust you'd like. If it's frozen, you want to thaw it while you're preheating your oven. Also, since brands of crusts (and ovens) differ, just be sure to keep an eye on the edges to ensure the quiche is not burning. You can cover the edges with foil if you need to. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the quiche! Have an awesome day! 🙂
Hannah Healy
I didn't know you could make a quiche with tofu! How creative!
Sherri Hall
It's soooo delicious! Thanks Hannah! 🙂
Julie Carlyle
What a gorgeous pic and delicious recipe, it's so nice to find healthy food recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing!
Julie
Sherri Hall
Thank you Julie! 🙂
Juli
Vegan and Gluten-Free for the win! This looks amazing! I have to make this for breakfast next week! Thank you for sharing!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Juli! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
That is really a clever idea to use tofu instead of eggs and dairy -- and the end result looks delicious! Save a slice for me.
Sherri Hall
Will do! 🙂 Thanks so much, Lisa!
Liz
Vegan quiche? YES PLEASE! I'm a vegetarian so technically I eat eggs but I'm not a huge fan. This is way more my style!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Liz! Hope you'll give it a try! 🙂