Last Updated on August 26, 2024 by Megan Jones
Beautifully coloured and vibrant tomato & chickpea vegan quiche, with a light and super creamy filling that will rival any traditional quiche. This Vegan version is made with wholesome ingredients, its perfect for Picnics, work summer lunches or light dinners.
I have a slight obsession with tomatoes...When I was a kid I used to sneak off to the top of the garden where our green house was and would stand there and pick and eat all the ruby red and perfectly ripe tomatoes, and when my mum asked where all the tomatoes had gone I would deny all knowledge, even with a t shirt covered in tomato juice and seeds....
Even though this vegan quiche recipe would be perfectly fine with any type of fresh tomatoes, I encourage you to try and find some Heritage or Heirloom cherry tomatoes, not only are the colours amazing but they all have slightly differing tastes to them, some more sweet and some more savoury, and their mixture of flavours blend so well together.
So before Summer is over, go find some colourful tomatoes and get baking! This is perfect as a light lunch with a green leafy side salad, taken along to a picnic or for a light summers night dinner.
You only need a few store cupboard ingredients to make this tart plus a punnet of those gorgeous tomatoes. Not into tomatoes so much? Feel free to swap them out for other vegetables. Mushrooms, asparagus, courgette would work great.
This Easy Vegan Quiche is:
- Vegan
- So simple and easy to make
- Made with store cupboard and healthful ingredients
- Pastry - who doesn't love pastry?
- Super creamy
- Perfect for summer, picnics, BBQs
How to Make Vegan Quiche Without Eggs
For a delicious vegan quiche, I love using soft silken tofu or medium-firm tofu, but extra firm works too. In this recipe, I went with silken tofu, which creates a lovely silky smooth quiche filling.
Tofu on its own can be a bit bland, so it’s essential to add a few simple ingredients to bring it to life:
- Onion powder
- Garlic cloves
- Nutritional yeast (for that cheesy flavor)
- Kala namak Totally optional but I use it here to mimic the taste of eggs
- Salt and black pepper
These ingredients will transform your tofu filling mixture into a savoury, satisfying quiche filling.
How to Make Vegan Pastry: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Mix Your Dry Ingredients: Start by combining all purpose flour, salt. For convenience, add these straight into a food processor and blend to combine. No food processor? No problem! Just whisk them together in a bowl until well mixed.
- Add the Vegan Butter: Grate the cold butter with a box grater or Cut in the vegan butter—it's best to use the block variety instead of the spreadable kind. I swap between Naturli or Flora Unsalted, but if you're in the US, Miyoko's butter will be a fantastic option. Blend until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Don't worry if there are small lumps of butter; they help make the pastry flaky.
- Incorporate the apple cider vinegar, then the Cold Water in tablespoon increments : While the processor is running, gradually drizzle in ice-cold water. The goal is for the dough to start coming together but still be somewhat crumbly. The cold water keeps the vegan butter from melting, ensuring your pastry maintains a nice and flaky crust after baking.
- Prep for Rolling: Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, unwrap it and sprinkle a little flour on top.
- Roll Out the Dough: Using a rolling pin roll the dough on the lightly floured surface into a 30.5 cm (12-inch) circle. Carefully lift it and drape it over a 23 cm (9-inch) pie pan or dish. Trim any excess dough, leaving about 1.5 cm (½ inch) overhang. Fold this edge under itself to create a neat, full-lipped crust.
- Chill Before Baking: Place the pie dish in the freezer for at least an hour. If you’re not blind baking, your crust is now ready to fill and bake according to your recipe.
- Blind Baking: This recipe has a better end result if you blind bake your homemade pastry case, this ensures the bottom of the crust is cooked evenly. First, preheat your oven temperature to 175°C 347°F about 20 minutes before baking. Remove the pie tin from the freezer and prick the base all over with a fork. Line with baking or parchment paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans/peas/rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and weights. Continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and evenly cooked.
To Make the Quiche Filling;
Add all the quiche filling ingredients to your food processor or high powered blender like a vitamix then blitz until smooth and creamy. Fold in half the cherry tomatoes through the tofu mixture. (Full ingredients list in the recipe card)
Assembling the Vegan Tomato Quiche
Pour your filling into the pie crust and smooth it out evenly. Pop it into the preheated oven and bake at 350°F for about 40 - 45 minutes, until the top is firm and beautifully golden brown. Let it cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing into it. Once cooled, garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and fresh herbs like fresh basil or oregano, Slice up the quiche and enjoy with a side salad
Recipe Tips
Using Pre-Made Pie Crust
Short on time? A pre-made, unbaked 9-inch pie crust from the shop/store works perfectly. It’ll save you time on prep, making this recipe quick and effortless.
Going Crustless?
Want to skip the crust? No problem! Just spray your dish with non-stick spray, making sure to grease the sides of the pan and prepare the quiche as usual. It’s an easy way to lighten things up while still enjoying all that delicious flavour.
How to store this tomato and chickpea tart.
The leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days. (IF it lasts that long! ????) I haven’t tried to freeze it yet so I‘m not sure if this will alter the consistency.
Tomato and Chickpea Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
Quiche filling
- 349 grams Silken tofu 349g packet
- 100 grams Cashews*
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 100 grams Cashews
- 240 grams Tin Chickpeas drained weight
- 3 tablespoon Nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon gram flour
- 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon miso paste white
- 3 teaspoon Italian Herbs
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 9-10 tablespoon Water
Topping:
- 150 grams cherry tomatoes folded through the filling
- 150 grams cherry tomatoes for decorating the top of the tart
Pastry:
- 200 grams All purpose white flour
- 125 grams Vegan butter
- 50 grams Wholemeal flour
- 3 ½ tablespoon of ice cold water
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar
Instructions
To Make the Quiche Filling:
- Add all the quiche filling ingredients to your food processor or high speed blender like a vitamix then blitz until smooth and creamy. Fold in half the cherry tomatoes through the quiche mixture.
To Make the Quiche:
- Grease a round loose bottomed tin, (I used a 25cm one) and lay pastry over top and gently push into the tin and sides. Trim off any excess.
- Poke a few holes into the base of the pastry with a fork.
- Add a large circle of greaseproof / parchment paper to the tin on top of the bottom of pastry case, add baking beans on top and blind bake for 10-12 mins. This step ensures you do not end up with a quiche with a soggy bottom.
- Remove from oven. Remove parchment paper and baking beans.
- Add the filling the the pre baked pastry case.
- Smooth filling out, Add the remaining tomatoes to the top, pressing slightly into the mixture.
- Optional: Drizzle with olive oil
- Sprinkle salt and pepper, and dried herbs over the top.
- Return tart to the oven and bake for a further 25-30 minutes, until the base is golden and the tomatoes have started to caramelise
- Allow to cool for minimum 30 minutes before removing from the tin and garnishing with the fresh herbs, if removed too soon you run the risk of the tart collapsing as it firms up when cooled.
How to Make Vegan Pastry: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Mix Your Dry Ingredients: Start by combining flour, salt. For convenience, add these straight into a food processor and blend to combine. No food processor? No problem! Just whisk them together in a bowl until well mixed.
- Add the Vegan Butter: Cut in the vegan butter—it's best to use the block variety instead of the spreadable kind. I swap between Naturli or Flora Unsalted, but if you're in the US, Miyoko's butter is a fantastic option (and I'm so jealous!! as it looks amazing!). Blend until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Don't worry if there are small lumps of butter; they help make the pastry flaky.
- Incorporate: Cold Water: While the processor is running, gradually drizzle in ice-cold water. The goal is for the dough to start coming together but still be somewhat crumbly. The cold water keeps the vegan butter from melting, ensuring your pastry remains nice and flaky when baked.
- Form the Dough: Once you've got your crumbly dough, turn it out onto the counter. Use the heel of your hand to gently push and fold the dough around 5-6 times. Gather it into a ball, then pat it into a disc. Wrap it up in cling film and pop it in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Prep for Rolling: Lightly dust a clean counter with flour. Take the pastry out of the fridge and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, unwrap it and sprinkle a little flour on top.
- Roll Out the Dough: Roll the dough into a 30.5 cm (12-inch) circle. Carefully lift it and drape it over a 23 cm (9-inch) pie tin or dish. Trim any excess dough, leaving about 1.5 cm (½ inch) overhang. Fold this edge under itself to create a neat, full-lipped crust.
- Chill Before Baking: Place the pie dish in the freezer for at least an hour. If you're not blind baking, your crust is now ready to fill and bake according to your recipe.
- Blind Baking (if needed): If your recipe calls for blind baking, preheat your oven to 175°C about 20 minutes before baking. Remove the pie tin from the freezer and prick the base all over with a fork. Line with tin foil and fill with baking weights or dried beans/peas/rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and weights. Continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the crust is golden and evenly cooked.
- And that's it! Your vegan pastry dough is ready to roll out and use!
Notes
Short on time? A pre-made, unbaked 9-inch pie crust from the shop/store works perfectly. It’ll save you time on prep, making this recipe quick and effortless.
Elizabeth says
Wow my some loved this, had been craving quiche ✔️ tomatoes ✔️ and pastry ✔️ the texture was scrummy