Crustless mini vegan quiche – air fryer or oven

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Crustless mini vegan quiche is filled with red bell pepper, onions, kale, and seitan bacon in a savory tofu and cashew filling. Cook these adorable, portable quiche bites in the air fryer or oven.

They can be enjoyed hot or cold. Great for brunches, picnics, packed lunches, or a protein-packed meal on the go. Vegan & gluten-free optional.

There’s something about spring that inspires brunches. Whether it’s for Easter, Mother’s Day, or just a Sunday get-together, it’s the time when people come together for coffee and mimosas.

When I was a kid, my mom often made a non-vegan quiche at holidays. It was convenient for potlucks and get-togethers, because it could be made ahead of time.

People could eat it cold or hot. It could be eaten with other side dishes or as a full meal on its own.

Plus, the quiche filling could be adjusted, depending on what was in season, what was in the refrigerator, and the preferences of the guests.

So this past Christmas, I made a vegan version of the quiche she always used to make when we were kids. We enjoyed it while we were having coffee before opening presents.

To make it, I adapted a quiche recipe from Somer at Vedged Out that I’ve made many times over. (I even brought along slices of it for a vegan breakfast picnic a couple years back.)

Somer’s recipe is delightful. But like you do, over the years I’ve continued to toy with it. I like to make it without a crust. I’ve swapped out ingredients, made changes, and omissions.

And finally, I decided that I needed to do an air fryer version to really amp up the convenience factor. (I’ve included an oven version as well if you don’t have an air fryer in your kitchen!)

To fit in the air fryer, I made crustless mini vegan quiche in silicone muffin cups. (Remember: Any cookware that can go in the oven can also go in the air fryer.)

You can pick up silicone baking cups online or at stores like Target next to the other bakeware. (That’s where I got mine.)

Serve it hot or cold

Vegan quiche is good hot or cold.

When it’s hot & fresh right out of the air fryer or oven, the inside has a bit of creaminess to it. After it’s been in the refrigerator, it firms up more.

Can I replace kala namak?

This quiche gets its eggy flavor from kala namak, also known as black salt. It’s a sulfurous salt that is available online or in Indian markets. One bag is usually just a couple dollars at Indian markets.

If you liked the flavor of eggs, I highly recommend picking up a package. (It’s amazing on vegan eggs & toast for a really easy breakfast!)

However, for this recipe the kala namak isn’t essential. There are a lot of other flavors going on, and the quiche will still be good without the kala namak. 

If you don’t have kala namak or can’t find it, replace it with an equal amount of regular table salt in this recipe.

What to serve with it

• Serve it for brunch with roasted asparagus and breakfast potatoes made in the oven or air fryer.
• It’s a good “main” for a packed lunch with easy spinach salad, vegan pesto rice, and fruit.
• Pop the mini vegan quiche into a picnic basket with vegan potato salad, Israeli couscous salad, or bowtie pasta salad.
• Or keep a container in the refrigerator for a quick grab and go, protein-packed snack option. It’s really handy for those times when lunch is still an hour or two away, but you need something satiating until then.

How to make this recipe in the air fryer or oven

Start by soaking raw cashews in water for several hours.

Even if you have a high speed blender and usually skip this step (like I do), make an exception here. There’s not much liquid, and the cashews really need that extra bit of help.

In a time crunch? Cover the cashews in hot water (or even microwave them in water), and let them soak while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

Once the cashews have had a chance to soften, drain them.

Then add the cashews to a blender with super firm vacuum-packed tofu, non-dairy milk, mustard, hot sauce, and miso paste. Blend until smooth.

You’ll definitely need to get the Vitamix tamper involved. Or stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender.

Once it’s smooth, add the remaining dry ingredients – nutritional yeast, granulated onion, paprika, cumin, ancho chili powder, cumin, turmeric, and kala namak. Kala namak, also known as black salt, is what gives the quiche its eggy taste.

Blend until it’s mostly incorporated. (If it’s not completely incorporated, it’s not a deal breaker, because you’ll be mixing it with other ingredients shortly.)

Now it’s time to make your vegetable filling for the vegan quiche.

In a skillet, brown seitan bacon or sausage, onions, red bell pepper, and kale. (I used Herbivorous Butcher bacon.)

Then in a mixing bowl, combine the tofu mixture with the vegetable filling until evenly incorporated.

Use a ¼ measuring cup to put even amounts of the quiche into silicone muffin cups.

I recommend measuring the amount. Then use your hands to scoop it out and form a ball before popping it into the cup. Then press the mixture down into the cup slightly.

At this point, the texture of the quiche will be similar to a sticky falafel batter.

If you’re going to bake the mini vegan quiche, you’ll want to put the quiche-filled silicone cups into a muffin pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you’re going to air fry the mini vegan quiche, put the silicone cups into the air fryer basket. Air fry for 14 to 16 minutes at 330 degrees.

You’ll likely have to work in batches, depending on your basket size. A 3.7 quart air fryer basket holds about 6 mini vegan quiche at a time.

You’ll know the quiche are done when you can put a toothpick into them, and it comes out clean.

Make it your own

Here are some ideas on ways to adjust this vegan quiche recipe to suit your mood.

• Any of the vegetables can be swapped out for others. It would be great with broccoli, cauliflower, cooked potato cubes, jarred artichoke hearts, sun-dried or regular tomato, zucchini, asparagus, or mushrooms.
• This quiche already has some cheesiness by way of nutritional yeast and miso paste. However, you can make it even cheesier by swapping out a half portion of one of the vegetables for shredded vegan cheese.
• Make this recipe gluten-free by replacing the seitan bacon with a vegetable or non-dairy cheese. Or use Beyond Meat Italian sausage. That’s what I did at Christmas, and it was delicious!