Description
Revel in the flavor decadence of vegan mini quiches with spinach and our favorite sheet-pan bacon and savor every bite of these sumptuously healthy morsels.
Scale
Ingredients
Plant-based Bacon (note – this recipe will make more than one cup of diced bacon bites)
- 8 oz. (250 gm.) tofu
- ¼ cup (60 ml) tamari or soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
For the mini quiches
- 2 cups chickpea flour
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. cayenne powder
- ½ tsp. salt (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ cups plant milk
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1 cup plant-based bacon bites
Instructions
Start by making the plant-based bacon.
- Rinse the tofu and cut it into quarters. Press it using a tofu press or wrap the tofu in a paper towel and lay it on a plate covered by another plate weighed down by a few cans or something else heavy. Press for 20 minutes.
- preheat at 4000 F (2000 C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Add the tofu, tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke, vinegar, onion, and garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to a food processor with a blade and process the ingredients until smooth.
- Turn the tofu onto the baking tray and use a spoon to spread it evenly. Try to spread it to a consistent thickness of ¼ inch (thicker if you want).
- Place the tofu in the center rack of the heated oven and bake until the tofu starts to firm up and brown (about 20 – 25 minutes).
- Once browned, remove the baking tray from the oven (leave the oven on). Cover the tray with a clean piece of parchment paper and over that, a chopping board or another baking tray. Flip the baking tray (with the tofu) and remove the original parchment paper.
- Gently cut the tofu into bacon slices and separate them slightly. Lift or slide the parchment paper and tofu onto the baking tray and return it back to the oven.
- Continue baking for an additional 5-10 minutes until it is browned.
- Once the bacon cools, dice it into 1 cup of bite-sized pieces. Reserve any remaining bacon for a sandwich or just snacking.
Mini quiche
- While the bacon cooks, you can prepare everything else.
- Preheat the oven to 4250 F (2200 C).
- For the batter, add the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and optional salt. Mix everything well.
- Preheat the oven to 4250 F (2200 C).
- Add the plant milk and Dijon mustard and mix until you have a batter.
- Mix in the chopped spinach and bacon bits and spoon the batter into baking cups.
- Bake the quiches for 15 minutes or until they firm up and start to brown slightly on the top and around the edges.
- Allow the quiches to sit for 5 minutes after baking before you remove them from the baking cups.
Notes
- Prep time and cooking time includes making the sheet pan bacon.
- Store leftover bacon in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.
- If you use frozen spinach, be sure to let it thaw thoroughly and press as much moisture as possible before adding it to the batter. Because there may be more moisture in frozen spinach, hold back ½ cup of plant milk until you mix everything in and then add a bit more milk if necessary.
- I’ve not tried baking these in paper muffin cups, but that might be an option for quiches on the go. If you end up making them extra big, reduce the cooking temperature to 4000 F so the middle cooks through.
- Category: Main Courses
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegan mini quiches with spinach and bacon