Compassionate Cuisine’s Vegan Quiche with Spinach, Mushroom, and Sausage
Quiche has endured since the ‘70s because of its great taste, festive appearance (what’s not to love about a savory breakfast in a pie shell?), and its chameleon-like ability to adapt to a variety of delicious seasonings. Better yet, it can easily be made vegan by substituting tofu and cashews for the eggs typically used in this dish, without losing any of the familiar texture. While cashews add a nice added creaminess, you could leave them out for a nut-free version. This Spinach, Mushroom and “Sausage” Quiche is full of spinach, garlicky mushrooms, and vegan sausage, though you could easily omit the sausage in favor of more mushrooms. For an easy vegan frittata, skip the pie crust and spread the filling in an oiled 8-inch square baking dish, and bake until firm. It’s amazing to know that we don’t need eggs to create a quiche that will please all kinds of eaters!
Ingredients
- One unbaked vegan pie crust fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
- For the custard:
- ½ cup raw unsalted cashews soaked in water for about 30 minutes, drained
- 1 pound medium-firm tofu drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black salt Kala Namak, or use ¾ teaspoon regular salt
- For the vegetables:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large shallots or 1 small onion finely chopped
- 8 ounces white or brown button mushrooms roughly chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and water squeezed out
- 2 vegan sausages any flavor, crumbled or chopped into quarter moons (if using small breakfast sausages, you’ll need 6 or 8)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a fork to prick the unbaked pie crust several times (both on the bottom and the sides), then place on a baking tray and put into the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust is partially baked and just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside until needed. If it has puffed up, gently press it down.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add the oil. When hot, add in the shallots, mushrooms, and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are softened. Stir in the spinach, sausage, thyme, and pepper. Cook until heated through. Remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, make the custard. Combine the cashews, tofu, nutritional yeast, mustard, turmeric, cornstarch, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and process until as smooth as possible. Set aside while you prepare the sautéed vegetables.
- Transfer the custard into the pan and gently mix until everything is well-incorporated. Use a spatula to scoop the mixture into the pie shell, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Place the quiche on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling springs back when touched. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.