These mini vegan quiche cups are perfect for the festive season, special holidays, buffets, and as a delicious dinner party starter.
Or simply enjoy along with a big bowl of tasty salad for a wholesome lunch or as a quick snack straight from the refrigerator.
The flavours and textures of these little vegan quiches are similar to regular quiches and flans, and are packed with savoury veggie bacon, sweet red peppers and onions, and cheesy goodness.
These tasty wee vegan quiches are easily prepared as gluten-free as they are crust-less quiches which instead sit on an almond and spinach leaf crust.
Fresh baby spinach leaves are used to prepare a flour-less crust which holds the tasty savoury and cheesy filling.
These bite size [ok 2 bites tops!] morsels are perfect for vegan appetizers, party spreads, buffets, and pot-lucks, as once chilled they can easily be picked up by hand.
Or pop a few on a bed of crisp lettuce leaves and enjoy as a special vegan starter for the festive season and beyond.
How to prepare vegan mini quiche cups
These individual vegan quiches are deliciously creamy on the inside, and packed with the savoury flavours of veggie bacon and the sweet flavours of red pepper and onion.
There is no need to prepare a flour crust as these easy quiches have a simple crust of fresh spinach leaves and ground almonds [almond meal] making them perfect for gluten-free diets.
First prepare the filling.
Cook the red pepper, onion, garlic and vegan bacon for 5 minutes.
Set aside to cool.
Next prepare the filling base.
Add the cornflour [corn starch], silken tofu, plant milk, nutritional yeast flakes, garlic and onion powders, mustard powder [or white miso paste], white pepper and salt, to a food processor or blender.
Blend until smooth.
Grease the muffin cups with a good amount of vegan margarine.
Sprinkle the ground almonds [almond meal] to cover the muffin cups.
Line the muffin cups with a good layer of baby spinach leaves.
Divide the cooked mixture between each cup.
Pour the quiche filling over each muffin cup.
Sprinkle with some grated/shredded vegan cheese.
Finish with a dash of red pepper flakes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
The fresh colours of these tasty bitesize vegan party quiches is just lovely and are sure to tempt anyone, vegan or not! Its incredibly difficult to just eat one so maybe best to prepare a double batch...
Recipe notes
Storage
- Mini Quiches can be stored within the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Or frozen for 2-3 months.
- Enjoy chilled straight from the refrigerator or reheat in a warm oven or for a few minutes in an air fryer.
Yes, these mini vegan quiches are easily prepared as gluten-free as no wheat pastry crust is required. Instead the little individual quiches have a ground almond and fresh spinach leaf crust that forms a wee basket so that the quiches can be picked up by hand.
Although do ensure that the vegan bacon is fine for a gluten-free diet.
We used This isn't bacon plant based rashers which according to their website do not contain gluten, but can not be safely labelled as gluten-free as they are prepared in a factory where gluten ingredients also reside.
If vegan bacon is not enjoyed then simply omit and perhaps use a diced veggie sausage, burger or other vegan pieces. Alternatively smoked tofu would be a wonderful replacement as it would bring the smoky savoury flavours comparable to veggie bacon.
If the veggie bacon is omitted and not replaced then perhaps add a teaspoon of smoked paprika, or a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the quiche base for extra savouriness.
As well as including the extra flavourings such as smoked paprika, the vegan bacon can be replaced with cooked diced carrots, cooked frozen peas or sweetcorn, cooked chopped broccoli [small pieces], etc. Which is perfect for using up a few tablespoons of leftover cooked veggies.
More tasty vegan starter ideas
Vegan Chickpea 'Tuna' and Potato Mornay
[bake this in individual ramekins for a tasty start to a meal, or for lunch or a light dinner]
[a retro British classic packed with refreshing flavours]
[Fruity, nutty, creamy, savoury and crisp. Perfect for a fresh vegan starter or a light lunch over the festive season.]
Classic Ploughman's Sandwich or Platter
[Prepare this ploughman's lunch on individual mini platter boards for a tasty, easy and impressive looking starter or light lunches.]
[A sure-fire old-fashioned family favourite!]
Cream of swede [rutabaga] soup with home-made rustic crunchy croutons
[Make good use of those inexpensive in-season swedes and transform them into a tasty creamy savoury soup. In Scotland swedes are actually known as turnips and overseas rutabagas]
If some of the ground almonds or almond meal comes off whilst removing from the muffin pan then do save it as its a tasty salad, soup and stew garnish.
📖 Recipe
Mini Vegan Quiche Cups
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin pan
- Food processor or blender
- small skillet/fry pan
Ingredients
For the crust less base:
- 3 tablespoon vegan margarine
- 60 gram ground almonds [almond meal]
- 50 gram baby spinach [or ordinary spinach but do chop the pieces to baby spinach size]
Quiche Base:
- 225 gram silken tofu
- 200 mililitres soya milk [or oat/or your usual milk]
- 4 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 3 tablespoon cornflour [or corn starch]
- 1 teaspoon onion powder [or granules]
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder [or granules]
- 1 pinch white pepper [or black pepper]
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder [or 1 teaspoon of white miso paste, can be found in many UK supermarkets such as Asda]
Quiche filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil [or rapeseed/vegetable or your usual oil, or replace with ½ cup veggie broth]
- 65 gram vegan bacon diced [a few veggie rashers]
- 70 gram red bell pepper [1 small or ½ large pepper] diced
- 70 gram onion [about 1 small or ½ medium] diced
- 1 garlic clove fine diced/minced or 1 teaspoon garlic paste
Topping:
- 20 gram vegan cheese [fine grated/shredded, can use more if liked]
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes [optional] [or paprika/chilli flakes, etc, or even a fine diced spring [green] onion]
Instructions
Prepare the filling:
- Heat the oil or veggie broth in the small skillet or fry pan. Over a medium heat cook the diced pepper, vegan bacon, onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Set aside to cool.70 gram red bell pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 70 gram onion, 65 gram vegan bacon, 1 garlic clove
Prepare the quiche base:
- Add the silken tofu, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, garlic and onion powders/granules, mustard powder, cornflour [corn starch], salt and white pepper, to a food processor or blender.225 gram silken tofu, 200 mililitres soya milk, 4 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes, 3 tablespoon cornflour, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 pinch white pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- Whizz until smooth and well combined. You may need to stop and open up the processor to scoop down the insides if any ingredients have splashed up the sides.
Preheat the oven to 170 Fan / 190C / 374 Fahrenheit / Gas 5. Prepare the muffin tray:
- Use the vegan margarine to grease the muffin tray cups really well. It may look a lot but it helps the ground almonds to stick to the spinach so use more margarine if required.3 tablespoon vegan margarine
- Place a heaped teaspoon of ground almonds into each muffin cup and lift the muffin tray up to disperse the almonds around the sides. Turn the tray around to change the angle and use your fingers to carefully pat the almonds around the sides. Use more ground almonds if required.60 gram ground almonds
- Line each muffin cup with a layer of spinach leaves, overlapping the leaves if necessary. ***[see the 'how to prepare' section of this recipe post above for photos of how to prepare each of these stages]***50 gram baby spinach
Assemble and bake:
- Divide the cooked vegan bacon mixture between each of the muffin cups.
- Divide the quiche base between each of the muffin cups, it will work out about a ¼ cup each of the whipped base. A silicone spatula is a really helpful tool as it can scrape all the liquid out of the food processor or blender, so that none is wasted.[before using the quiche base give it another whizz just to ensure its all fully combined after its been sitting waiting]
- Sprinkle the grated vegan cheese over each muffin cup and sprinkle a little red pepper flakes to finish.Use more cheese if liked.20 gram vegan cheese, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes [optional]
- Bake on the middle shelf for 25-30 minutes, until the quiches are set and firm [but still soft inside], and tinged with golden.
- Leave to cool a little in the muffin tray before carefully removing. A cake palette knife is good as its bendy and can get under the bases easily.The quiches will firm up more as they cool. [Don't worry if some of the ground almonds come away from the bases. These pieces can be used as a tasty salad sprinkle if serving the quiches with a salad, or store in the refrigerator and use as a soup or stew topping]
- Enjoy warm or chilled. These quiche cups are particularly tasty as part of a buffet and can be made a few days in advance.
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not intended to be an exact analysis as ingredients can vary.
- Mini Quiches can be stored within the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Or frozen for 2-3 months.
- Enjoy chilled straight from the refrigerator or reheat in a warm oven or for a few minutes in the air fryer.
- The vegan bacon used was This Isn't Bacon Plant Based Rashers which comes in packs of 120grams, and only half the pack is required for the recipe. However any type of vegan bacon is fine.
- The type of silken tofu used was Mori Nu Silken Tofu Firm. Silken tofu is shelf stable and can usually be found in the World Foods section of the supermarket.
- Don't use firm tofu that is found in the refrigerated section as it won't blend smoothly enough.
- The vegan cheese used was Violife cheddar flavour.
- Nutritional yeast flakes can be found in most UK supermarkets, a tub will do for many meals.
- Some of the ground almonds may fall off as they are removed from the muffin cups whist warm, the quiches will firm up more as they cool in the pans.
- Do grease the muffin cups really well as this will ensure the almonds stick to the sides forming a thin crust layer.
- The flaky bits of almonds that fall off can be saved and used as a salad sprinkle if serving the quiches with salad leaves. Or store the almond sprinkles in a small tub in the refrigerator/freezer and use them a tasty garnish for stews and soups.
- The ground almonds can be omitted if preferred and a few extra spinach leaves added instead.
Nutrition
Prepared these tasty wee mini vegan quiches?
We would love to know how you got on with the recipe, so do pop us a comment below and click the recipe star rating above.
Thanks so much! Jacq x
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