These tofu-based, mini vegan quiches are extremely versatile: Good hot or cold, for breakfast, in a lunchbox, or as party appetizers.
I don’t have a lot to say about this recipe. I mean, there are only so many ways I can say something’s delicious—Mmmmm! Yum! Wow! Awesome! Kid-Friendly!—without sounding like a 4th grader.
The story on these mini vegan quiches is that I saw a non-vegan recipe for mini crustless quiches in a magazine and wanted to try using silken tofu. So one night when my husband and daughter were both out for the evening, I tried these out as an experiment. I figured if it failed, it was just my dinner at risk. I wasn’t prepared for them to be so good—or for E. to come home and demand a share of them!
After initially exclaiming, “Ew, what is that?” she decided that she wanted to try one. And another. And another. And another. I’d made only 12, so my dinner was rapidly disappearing. I had to promise that I’d make a double batch soon, or there would have been none left for D. Yes, I figured he should get a chance at something this tasty.
These tiny vegan quiches are extremely versatile: Good hot or cold, you can eat them for breakfast, put them in a lunchbox, or serve them for dinner. If you’re throwing a party, try making them in mini muffin cups, and they’ll be the perfect finger food. (Reduce the baking time for smaller quiches.) Try them with different vegetables, but be careful not to add too many or they may not hold together. Most importantly, plan to either hide them from your family or make enough to share!
More Vegan “Egg” Dishes
Through the magic of tofu or chickpea flour, vegans can enjoy lots of formerly egg-based dishes. Here are a few of my favorites:
Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches
Ingredients
- olive oil spray optional
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives or one green onion
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed
- black pepper to taste
- 1 12.3-ounce package lite firm or extra-firm silken tofu drained of water, see note below
- 1/4 cup plain soymilk or other plant milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch may substitute another thickener such as arrowroot or potato starch
- 1 teaspoon tahini or cashew butter optional but preferred
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 generous pinch black salt kala namak adds an eggy taste, optional
Suggested Tools
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups well with non-stick spray or use silicone cups like these (do not use paper because it will stick).
- Heat a non-stick skillet and sauté the garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms over medium heat until the mushrooms just begin to exude their juices. Stir in the chives, rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper, remove from the heat, and set aside.
- Place the tofu and all remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth and silky. Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables and stir to combine. Spoon equally into the 12 muffin cups: it will fill regular muffin cups about halfway.
- Put the muffin pan into the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 F. Bake until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the middle of a quiche comes out clean–about 25-35 minutes depending on your oven and muffin cups (silicone will take longer than metal, so if you’re using a metal pan, check it at 20 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy! They’re light, so plan on making more of these—or serve hearty side dishes—if you’re serving more than 3 people.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share:
Lianne95519
Susan,
I cooked this last night and there are only 2 left! I wonder if I can double the ingredients and fill the muffin tins up so they are not mini? Ever try that? Thanks for another great meal.
Michelle B
I came across this recipe while looking for something to do with extra silken tofu – what a great idea! I made it with broccoli & mushrooms, and had closer to 20 oz. of tofu, so increased the flavorings accordingly. Also, ever since I bought a set of cute 8 oz. soufflé ramekins, I’m always trying to find ways to use them. This filled 4 of them nicely, and they set up well after baking for 50 minutes. One ramekin was a nice breakfast portion, served with an English muffin and some fruit. My omnivore hubby said “preferable to regular quiche”. High praise indeed!
Tracy
Is there a substitute for yeast?
Ernie
Would it be the same baking time for the mini-size muffin pans? Thank you.
SusanV
They will probably cook much more quickly. I would check them often.
Ernie
Thank you, Susan. I love your recipes!
Ernie
These were very tasty but since I used the mini cupcake size baking tins, I started checking after 10 minutes which is a bit premature. 15-20 minutes max baking time for the smaller cups.
Erin
I’ve made these several times and they are always delicious, but I can never get them to set up – they always fall apart. I’ve tried altering the cooking time & temp to no avail, also tried adding more cornstarch as was suggested somewhere above. I’m wondering if it’s because I usually add spinach (too much moisture maybe?) or if it could be an altitude thing? I live above 5,000 feet.
I love the spinach in these (I also add a drop of liquid smoke – a trick I learned from you Susan!), so I’d like to find a way to keep making them with spinach … less soymilk maybe??
I’ll keep making them because they are so yummy, but I’d like them look look as cute as they do in the picture! Any suggestions appreciated
Susan Voisin
Erin, how much spinach are you adding? Is it fresh or frozen, cooked or raw, chopped or whole leaf? And are you leaving out the peppers and mushrooms or adding the spinach in addition to those ingredients?
It’s all about balance, so I suspect the spinach is throwing off the balance of ingredients somehow, and it will just take some experimentation to figure out what you should increase or decrease in order to keep the spinach.
Erin
I would say I’m adding about a half a cup of fresh chopped spinach (it’s hard to tell because spinach cooks down so much – it’s a big handful before being sauteed), and I usually saute it for just a bit with some onions that have been caramelized before adding it. I’m leaving out the mushrooms & peppers.
Erin
ps thank you so much for always responding to my questions when I post! 🙂
SMC
Hi Susan,
Thank you for your fab recipe. I wasn’t expecting them to turn out only because I once tried your fabulous looking omelette and was very unsuccessful. However, these were fab. I’m not a great pepper fan so I substituted with some shopped fennel and sun-dried tomatoes. I was a little worried as the mixture in the blender seemed quite thick but I had followed the instructions for the wet ingredients to the letter. I baked them directly in the muffin cups without silicone. They took about 25 minutes in my convection oven and are really quite yummy. I don’t think I will use sundried tomatoes again but may use mushrooms, olives and capers and even finely chopped asparagus. I also made them with full (not lite) firm silken tofu so they probably are a little richer. All in all, delish. Oh, also, I used hemp milk because I didn’t have any soy milk. Next time however I think I will use coconut milk. They are the perfect appetiser or main with a yummy salad. Thanks Susan. I have missed quiches since turning vegan and this is a bonus indeed.
Susan Voisin
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for letting me know your variations.
Mary
I’m baking these for my housewarming party — so excited!
Crystal
Another delicious recipe! Thanks Susan! 🙂
trish
these tasted good, but did not hold together at all! (i’m av good cook so was somewhat annoyed! :-\
I used silken firm tofu (but not the mori-no tetra pack stuff), and no soy milk, baked for 40+ mins and then let sit in the warm oven for an hour. used mini silicon cups. the tops were perfect, but there’s no way the rest would hold together. would have been better in a crust of some sort. worked well as a creamy scrambled ‘egg’. next time i think i’ll add some besan (gram/chickpea flour), or even just regular flour.
for those who can’t have yeast, you could try some dijon mustard, or mustard powder and extra onion & garlic powder.
Susan Voisin
Sorry about that! It’s the tofu. Everyone who’s had that problem has used something other than Mori-nu.
Veganchica
I couldn’t find lite firm silken tofu. I went to 2 grocery stores and they only had silken OR firm. I thought it might be the shelf stable one but neither store carries them anymore.
I don’t use much tofu and decided on the silken and followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I cooked them for 35 min in my muffin pan, let them cool for 10 mins and they fell apart. So I think I should have used the firm.
The flavor was amazing!! I loved them. I think I might buy the firm tofu later and try again tomorrow. My kids wouldn’t taste them.. maybe the rosemary? But I ate half the pan already. 🙂
Susan Voisin
Glad you liked the flavor. They don’t hold together unless you use the Mori-nu tofu in the aseptic package. Firm or extra-firm, regular or lite doesn’t matter–it just needs to be the shelf-stable kind.
Veganchica
I guess I could have seen that if I would have scrolled through the comments first. LOL
Thanks!
Susan Voisin
Sorry–I should have added that to the recipe before now, but your comments made me remember to do that. If there’s an Asian grocery store in your area, you may be able to find Mori-nu there.
Charlotte
These are so cute! I was just thinking the other day how I’d love a recipe for a vegan quiche. Need to remember to pick up some tahini next time I go shopping!
Jillian
So so yummy! I’ve made these a few times, but I always do something different, depending on what ingredients I have. I also wanted to share that it does indeed work with other types of tofu, you just have to bake them a bit longer in my experience. Also, you don’t need a food processor, just a strong mashing arm! Here’s what I did today:
Used regular firm tofu, frozen kale instead of bell pepper, at least tripled the nutritial yeast, added cumin, used ground flaxseed instead of cornstarch, added olive oil to the mix. Mashed everything up because I don’t have a blender. Baked for the maximum time and then broiled the tops for a minute or so. They set up well but are a bit crumbly because of the type of tofu and lack of blending, but nobody minds around here.
Can’t stop eating them!!!
Veganice
I too, make these all the time with different kinds of tofu. I just made them yesterday and used a pkg. of silken tofu blended with med-firm tofu. (double batch) The texture is smooth, but not silky – still very egg like and the flavor is all there. I like to add extra Nutr. Yeast and a squirt or two of liquid braggs (like I do for my scrambled tofu) just decrease soy milk slightly. I also made them with leek & asparagus this time – Amazing! This is a great and very versatile recipe that I have been enjoying for years – thank-you Susan!!
Lysa
I am hooked. I made this recipe for the first time last week, and it was good but I think I added to many veggies that held water. I just had to cook them longer, but hey were great. I was so excited about vegan quiche!!!
These delicious little guys are perfect for an on the go breakfast, even when you are always in a rush(like myself).
This week I made them again, and they were even better! I put basil and sun dried tomatoes in..and by accident 1 Tbsp. of tahini rather that a tsp. I was worried, but they seemed to be fluffier and have better flavor. Thank you for such a great recipe:)
Julie
These are fantastic! Thank you for this website and your wonderful recipes. However the “bottoms” were a little bit soggy and I used the mori-nu tofu. I was wondering if there was, perhaps, too much moisture. How do you get more of the water out of silken tofu. I dumped the package into a strainer, but I don’t think it did much and I haven’t figured out how to get it out of the package in one piece, or even a few, to press. Thoughts anyone?
Ruby
Hi there! What are some good sides to eat with this? Thanks!!
Wendy
Just made these tonight, and I’m no longer missing eggs! This are super good. I used black salt, and that gave them that “eggy” taste. Awesome recipe!!!
Sara
I don’t know why I doubted this recipe. You were right to suggest making a double batch, lol. I made these for dinner last night and the plate was cleaned right at the beginning of the meal! Your recipe is incredible.
I need recipes like these, thank you so much. My mother and I decided to start eating vegetarian about 3 years ago and found our health greatly improved, but within the past year of continuing our dietary studies concluded that vegan would be healthiest for us. This recipe is going to be one of our main dinner recipes from now on.
Because I did not have some of the ingredients and because I wanted to do a little experimenting of my own these were some of my changes.
– In place of the tahini I used 1 tsp Genmai Miso from Eden
– For the tofu Nasoya Extra Firm Tofu worked perfectly
– Because I love spinach I used half the amount of mushrooms and 1/2 cup spinach
– Finally, I put the mix into a pan for 24 miniature appetizer sized cups. They turned out better then the boxed ones we used to get for New Year’s!
Thanks again for such an excellent recipe!
bluegrass2
The taste is delicious but having a hard time getting them firmed up like quiche–they are soft like custard. I followed the directions and then left them in another 15 minutes because they weren’t done and then let them cool for 15 minutes and they are still like custard. I have stuck them in again but probably won’t be taking them to an Easter dinner tomorrow. I used the paper muffin cups inside a metal muffin pan. I also used the same tofu it called for. Any idea what I did wrong?
Susan Voisin
I don’t think you did anything wrong, but sometimes the moisture content can be different from one batch of tofu to the next. Next time, try using more corn starch, which is what really holds them together. I would add an extra teaspoon or two.
bluegrass2
Thanks Susan. I also made them in the Vita Mix, perhaps that was too strong. Next time I’ll do it in the food processor. Also I might press out a little liquid from the tofu. Thanks for replying and I love love love your recipes AND voted for you in the blog contest. Happy Passover or Happy Easter to you.
Verna
I love your website and recipes. Thanks so much for sharing.
I have individual silicone cupcake “papers” (for lack of a better word). Would you put them in regular muffin tins and bake the quiches that way or is there a better way? You say silicone will take longer than metal so I am wondering.
Thanks, Verna
Susan Voisin
Yes, that’s how I do it. Just put the silicon cups in the metal pan.
Dlholteen
Hey Susan I’m a long time follower of your blog, I absolutely love your recipes! I’m planning my vegan DIY wedding this summer and I’m searching for recipes that can be made in advance and frozen, do you think these mini quiches would hold up being frozen???
Susan Voisin
I wish I could tell you, but I haven’t tried freezing them. I suggest giving it a try and seeing if you like the flavor after they’ve been thawed. To give them the best test, keep them frozen for a few days before thawing. Have a great wedding!
Alice
I made this for lunch, using different veggies, almond milk, and potato starch, and it turned out well except that I had to make it in a pie pan and the very center didn’t quite firm up as much as the rest of the dish. Need to invest in a muffin tin soon. Will definitely make again. Thanks, Susan!
Kris Wilson
I am new to vegan cooking. My husband and I are on a no oil vegan diet and are not suppose to eat Tahini. Is there a subsitute that I can use for this recipe?
Kris
Susan Voisin
You can just leave the tahini out. It just adds a little flavor.
Tamara
I didn’t have tahini or cashew butter the first time I made these, so, I threw in a handful of raw cashews and that’s how I’ve been making them. We’re doing the plant based no oil thing too.
I have THREE batches right now, two in the oven (one in a pie dish and one in 12 silicone cups). I only had 2 bricks of Nori Firm and one soft. They seem to be taking longer to firm up but still look tasty. The big one is for home, the rest will be going to a school potluck where I teach. I might get more than 24 silcone cupcake sized ones based on how much I have left 🙂
Jess
Hi! I’m planning to make these for a graduation party and was wondering if they could be prepared in advance and frozen? If not, how far in advance do you think they could be made and stored in the fridge?
Susan Voisin
I haven’t tried freezing them, but it will probably work. Otherwise, I think they’re best if used within two or three days.
savannah williams
I just made these tofu quiches and they turned out great!! My local supermarket didn’t have the brand you suggested, but they still turned out delicious (next time, I think I may try to bake them at a higher temp to make them more firm). Also, I was out of nutritional yeast so I left it out and they were still flavorful!! Thanks for sharing.
Divya
Hi Susan,
I tried out this recipe last night, and it came out great!!! I did make some changes and added a little more spice to suit my palette.
Thank you so much for sharing such a tasty and healthy recipe! 🙂
Here’s to wishing you more and more success in the kitchen!
Cheers!
Divya
Vicki-Lee
Hi, my 22 month old was keen to try the tofu quiches but hated the flavour. She kept trying and was disappointed everytime (they look like biscuits or cakes!). Do you think the recipe would work with sweet potato or fruit? Do you think I would have to change the ingredients much? I need a softer flavour.
The ones I made appeared to rise but then flopped. What did I do wrong?
(My savoury swiss chard pie was fantastic! Except the baby wouldn’t eat it!)
Marlo
I really want to try this and some other recipes, but just found I have a yeast intolerance. What can I use instead of the nutrional yeast or what will happen if I don’t put it in.
Thank you
Marlo
Opps – just say this was covered above. Sorry for posting
Missy
Is the type of tofu you are recommending non-GMO?
Susan Voisin
Yes, any organic tofu is non-GMO.
Alyssa
I see broccoli in the picture, but not in the recipe? 🙁 Can I add it and if so, how much? Thanks!
Susan Voisin
The broccoli is shown just as a side dish, but if you want to use broccoli in your quiches, chop it up very small and don’t add more than about a cup of it.
Alyssa
Thanks so much for the quick reply!