Dairy-Free Vegetarian Quiche with Leeks, Artichokes & Spinach + Flaky Olive Oil Spelt Flour Crust
I’m not sure what took me so long to try making a quiche, but now that I’ve given it a go, it’s become a family favourite. This one in particular has been on heavy rotation around here for several months. It even made an appearance at Christmas Day brunch. It comes together so easily, that you can even prepare it for a weeknight dinner.
What I’ve discovered during this quiche making adventure is just how easy it is to make this exquisite dish. You don’t have to be a pro chef or even an experienced home cook. All you need is a pan, an oven safe dish, and a blender.
How to make a Lightened Up dairy free free vegetarian quiche
A classic or traditional quiche is made with eggs and milk and/or cream and the addition of fillings like cheese, meat and/or vegetables. The typical ratio is 2 eggs to 1 cup of milk plus 1-2 cups of cooked vegetables/meat and 1 - 2 cups (aka A LOT) of cheese.
This quiche is a lightened up version of the classic.
To keep it dairy free, soaked cashews get blended with water to create a cashew milk/cream that does a wonderful job subbing in for the milk, adding in some plant based protein and a dose of healthy fat in the process.
For the filling, I’ve used leeks (you can sub this with onions and/or shallots if you prefer), preserved artichokes (in a salt and vinegar brine, not in oil) and fresh baby spinach (although you could use regular or frozen spinach as well). You can substitute these with almost any other vegetables, just be sure to use the same amount in volume, which is about 2 cups. The trick is to cut everything into bite size pieces and cook them through so that they don’t release any liquid while baking.
To add some umami flavour, I’ve used nutritional yeast.
How to make a FLAKY OLIVE OIL QUICHE CRUST
A classic quiche crust is made with butter and sometimes even an egg and can be finicky. You have to cut the butter into the flour, whisk the eggs, refrigerate it, roll it out, blah blah. I don’t know about you, but I can’t be bothered with all of these steps.
This quiche crust relies on mixing together 4 simple ingredients; flour, extra virgin olive oil, fine sea salt and cold filtered water. I was amazed at how incredible this crust was the first time I made it. I thought it was a fluke so I made it two more times in the span of two days just to be sure and I’ve made it a dozen times since. It’s foolproof and comes out perfectly every single time. The beauty of this crust is that you don’t have to refrigerate it, and while you can roll it out, you don’t have to, as it can be pressed into the baking dish instead. A huge bonus if you ask me.
Can i make this quiche vegan and gluten free?
To make the crust gluten free, I suspect you could use a gluten free 1:1 flour blend like Bob's Red Mill. While I haven't tried it myself, I've ready many recipes that call for it as a substitute. On that note, there's a gluten free buckwheat flour crust scheduled to appear here in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that.
Because I know some of you will wonder and ask, I'm working on a vegan gluten-free quiche recipe as we speak and will share that as soon as it's ready. It will likely be sometime in the spring based on my current schedule, but sooner if you guys really want it, just pop a comment below and I'll push it up on the priority list.
In the meantime, if you really want to try making this quiche vegan, you could try substituting 1/4 cup of pureed silken tofu for each egg, so a total of 3/4 cups of pureed silken tofu. Full disclosure, I haven't tested this yet, but the cooking gods over at The Kitchn vouch for this substitute and I’ve seen a few quiche recipes on line that use silken tofu, so I'm trusting that it works. I will test it at some point soon and update this recipe. If you try it out before then, let me know in the comments below, but please proceed at your own risk.
Can I prepare the quiche ahead of time?
The quiche purists will tell you that it has to be made a day ahead and refrigerated until the next day, but I say forget ‘em. If you want to make it and enjoy it fresh out of the oven, be a rebel and do it. I certainly do.
However, the beauty of quiche is that it keeps well and tastes amazing the next day, straight out of the refrigerator (yes cold) or warmed up slightly in the oven. You can grab a slice for a quick breakfast, pack it for lunch or make it ahead for any dinner, lunch, brunch or party.
If you don't want to bake your quiche ahead of time, you can still prepare all the ingredients in advance. If you’re organized and like to do advance meal planning and preparation, then follow all of the directions below, but don’t fill the crust and bake the quiche. If you fill the crust and store it, it will get soggy.
Prepare and prebake the crust and store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Prepare and combine the custard and filling and store the mixture in an airtight container, separately from the crust, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When you're ready to bake it, fill the crust and pop it into a preheated oven.
Recipe Notes
This recipe calls for a 9 inch round, 1 inch deep pie dish. If you're using a different size pie dish, you'll have to adjust the bake time accordingly. A smaller deeper dish will take a bit longer to bake and a larger dish will take less time.
Read the post above for details about the ingredients, substitutions and advanced preparation.
Read the full recipe before starting. It’s really simple and even if you’ve never made a quiche before, I guarantee this will be a success, but there are a few steps involved, so make sure to read the full post and recipe to get a better idea of what you need to do and get organized before you get started.
Lightened Up Dairy Free Vegetarian Quiche with Leeks, Artichokes and Spinach + a Flaky Olive Oil Spelt Crust
Author Nissrine Boufawaz @ HolisticNiss.com
- Time 1 hour
- Difficulty Moderate
- Servings 4
- Diet vegetarian, dairy free
- Category Main Course
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1 Cup (150g) Light Spelt Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Cold Filtered Water
Custard
- 1/2 Cup Cashews, soaked in boiled water for at least 20 minutes, then strained
- 1/3 Cup, Fresh Filtered Water
- 3 Eggs (preferably organic and from free range pasture raised hens)
- 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
- Optional seasoning, to taste: sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, herbs (herb de provence, thyme) or spices (turmeric, saffron)
Filling
- 1 Jar (150 g or 1 Cup) Artichoke Hearts, strained and chopped into bite size pieces
- 125 G Fresh Baby Spinach, torn by hand (if using frozen spinach it's about 1/2 cup thawed and strained)
- 1/2 C (50g) Leek rounds, half a stalk, mostly white and light green parts
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pinch of Fine Sea Salt (adjust to taste)
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper (adjust to taste)
- Optional seasoning, to taste: herbs (herb de provence, thyme) or spices (turmeric, saffron)
Method:
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a 9 inch pie plate or baking dish (1 inch deep)
- Prepare the Crust: Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir to mix well. Add in oil and water, and mix with a spatula until all the liquid is absorbed, then use your hands to form a smooth ball of dough. Press the pie crust into the pie plate or baking dish.
- Blind Bake the Crust: This step is essential if you want the crust and custard to be perfectly baked at the same time, otherwise you'll end up with a slightly under done crust and a perfect custard, or a perfect crust and an overcooked custard. Neither is terrible, both yield an acceptable tasting quiche, but if you want it to be perfect and have the time to spare, don't skip this step. Prick several holes in the bottom of the pie crust with a fork or place dry beans or pie weights on top of the crust to keep the pie from puffing in the oven, the choice is yours. Place the pie crust in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pie crust turns a light golden hue. If you're using pie weights or beans, remove them after about 15 minutes and let the pie bake an additional 5 minutes without them. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before filling it.
- Prepare the Vegetables for the Filling: While the crust bakes, wash and chop the leeks into thin rounds, chop the artichokes and tear up the spinach by hand. If you're using frozen spinach, thaw it and drain it in advance. If you forget to do this, the quick method is to boil some water and pour it over the frozen spinach, let it sit in the boiled water a few minutes until it's completely thawed, then drain the water and measure out about 1/2 a cup.
- Sautée the Filling: Add oil and leeks to a cold pan and turn heat to medium high. Sautée the leeks until slightly wilted. Add in artichokes stir through until heated. Add in baby spinach and continue sauteeing until wilted (if using frozen spinach, it's already wilted, you'll just want to sautee it long enough to dry it out a bit). Remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare the Custard (while the blind baked crust cools): Add eggs, strained cashews, water and nutritional yeast to a blender with your choice of seasoning and blend on high speed until smooth and silky.
- Assemble the Quiche: Add filling into the baked and cooled pie crust and pour the custard over top. Shake the dish slightly to distribute the filling and liquid evenly all around.
- Bake the Quiche: Place the quiche in the oven, on the center rack, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just set. Keep an eye on the quiche and check it after 20 minutes by tapping the top of it to see how firm it is. You want it to be a bit on the soft side as it will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.
- Serve the Quiche: Let the quiche cool slightly and serve it with a side salad or roasted vegetables. Alternatively, you can let it cool completely, slice it, and refrigerate it, then enjoy it another day straight out of the refrigerator or warmed up in the oven.
