Vegan Quiche Florentine Miniatures – Egg, Oil & Gluten-Free

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These quiches make the perfect Easter brunch or party-platter h’orderve

 

Some people think that Easter Brunch is inseparable from eggs, but I’m here to tell you that there is a better solution! Chickpea flour, also known as Besan, can make a remarkable base for vegan-izing even the eggiest of recipes, and these miniature vegan quiches are here to prove it!

These mini-quiches are just as delicious without the crust for a low-fat, gluten-free, everyday snack.

This egg-free, dairy-free recipe below is inspired by PowerHungry’s take on a crust-free mini quiche recipe. I have modified the filling to make it oil-free.  However, I then decided that since Easter is a special occasion, a proper quiche needs a proper pie-crust, so I borrowed this recipe from The Minimalist Baker (which is NOT oil-free or gluten-free).

If you want to make a batch of these and freeze them for more of a day-to-day snack food or grab and go breakfast, I recommend following the crust-free instructions.  But I recommend lining your muffin tin with parchment muffin papers in order to avoid having to oil the tin.  But for Easter Sunday, or for special-occasion party hors d’oeuvres, it’s ok to live a little!  Go nuts and enjoy this delicious, flaky crust!

You can also use this same recipe to make a more traditional “pie-shaped” quiche in a 9-inch pie pan.  If you do this, I recommend that you add about 5-10 minutes to the baking time and watch your quiche closely! When I experimented with the 9-inch pie, I kind of scorched my toppings a little bit.  If you see your toppings starting to brown before the pie has set completely, I recommend tenting your pie with aluminum foil for a few minutes until the center begins to set.

If you’re serving these for a delicious vegan Easter brunch, serve alongside bagels with veggie cream cheese schmear, and follow it up with a vegan carrot cake even the Easter bunny can’t resist!

For a traditional, 9-inch pie-shaped quiche, add about 3-5 minutes of bake time and watch closely!

Make with, or without the crust.

Print Recipe

Les Petites Quiches Florentines – Egg, Oil & Gluten-Free

For a low-fat, day-to-day snack, follow the crust-free instructions. But for special occasions, the optional crust adds a special touch!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Brunch

Cuisine: French

Servings: 12

Author: BeetEater.com

Ingredients

(Optional) Crust

• 1 cups all-purpose flour optional, for crust
• 1/3 cup of cold hardened coconut oil (optional, for crust)
• .5 tsp salt optional, for crust
• 1 tbsp – 4 tbsp of water optional, for crust

Oil-Free, Gluten-Free Filling

• 2.5 cups chickpea flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp black salt optional
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 cups water
• 4 cloves fresh garlic pressed garlic
• About 3 cups of spinach
• 1 medium onion chopped
• about 1/2 cup of fried veggie bacon I used homemade yuba bacon, crumbled

Instructions

(Optional) Prepare Crust

• I suggest refrigerating your coconut oil and about 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) of ice water while you collect your other ingredients to ensure that the oil is solid before beginning this recipe, and the water is very cold.
• Mix flour and salt together, then add 1/3 cup of coconut oil. You can use a pastry cutter to cut the two together, I used two knives cutting in opposite directions to try to flake the two together until the mixture resembles the texture of wet sand.
• Add the ice water to the mixture just a little splash at a time until the dough begins to come together as a dough (depending on the weather, you may only use a small portion of the amount you refrigerated).
• Gently knead the dough in the bowl until all the scraps come together into a dough ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll the dough out immediately. Roll it out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick (for a large 9″ pie).
• If making mini-quiches, you may cut out circles in this rolled out dough and then roll them out a bit more until they’re about 1/8 inch thick, and approximately double the diameter of the muffin cup.
• Lightly oil your pie plate (or muffin cups or cup liners, if making mini-quiches) and then arrange your dough so that it completely lines the bottom and sides, and ideally sticks up past the sides a bit. Once the filling is in place, you can fold the excess over to create a decorative edge, if desired. If the dough cracks, gently pinch it back together or patch it with any crust scraps that you’re able to trim off of the edges.
• Place your crust in the refrigerator while you prep the filling. Preheat the oven to approximately 400 degrees.

Prepare Oil-Free, Gluten-Free Filling

• In a medium bowl (you can use the same bowl you used to make your crust), combine chickpea flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and black salt until the spices are evenly distributed.
• Add the water and whisk together until very smooth. I found it helpful at this stage to transfer about a cup of the mixture into a separate bowl and then combine with the spinach- the water helps to wilt the spinach a bit.
• Line your muffin tin with muffin papers OR (optional) remove your pie-crusts from the refrigerator
• Sprinkle the pressed garlic and chopped onions along the bottom of the pie crust OR muffin paper. Spoon the spinach over them.
• Pour the chickpea-egg mixture over the vegetables until the paper or crust is about 80% full.
• Sprinkle the veggie bacon crumbles over the quiche or mini quiches, and then bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, or until the chickpea eggs “set” and the surface is golden-brown. For a 9-inch pie-shaped quiche, add 3-5 minutes to the total bake time and watch closely.