Can You Make Quiche Without Eggs? We Sure Tried.

We tested four different versions of eggless quiche to see if such a thing is possible, let alone good

As of this writing, what were once the cheapest eggs at my nearby, affordable grocery store are now a painful $9.99 per dozen, up from $4 not long ago. In these topsy-turvy times, I’ve been increasingly curious about decreasing my egg usage. And while that’s easiest in dishes in which eggs aren’t the main feature but a component, the rise of products like Just Egg has made me curious about how even egg-centric dishes can be tweaked. Enter quiche, which generally uses no fewer than six eggs and is especially in demand this time of year, when spring gatherings are in full swing.

Is egg-free quiche possible? I decided to test four versions to find out. Since people avoid eggs for a variety of reasons, it follows that the solutions for replacing them are varied. While two of these recipes were written to be vegan, the other two were directed more toward people who might be opting out of eggs for allergies or other reasons, which meant they included cheese and other dairy products. For the sake of standard testing, I used cooked, drained spinach as the filling for every recipe and store-bought pie crust in every recipe except one (more about that below). I was looking for a filling that held the spinach together and set into a custardy texture that wouldn’t drip or run as a standalone slice.

Can an egg-free quiche be satisfying? After cooking a few I’d say so — but there’s one technique I certainly won’t be trying again.

The Ultimate Eggless Quiche (Easy – No Tofu)

Oriana Romero, Mommy’s Home Cooking

The technique: heavy cream, ricotta, and feta

To compensate for its lack of eggs, this recipe uses a lot of dairy: a combination of heavy cream, ricotta, and feta, which you mix with cooked spinach and add to a pie crust that can either be unbaked or blind baked to make the finished dish extra crispy. The filling gets a generous amount of cornstarch (¼ cup) and baking powder (2 teaspoons) and I was somewhat wary that these high quantities would be too obvious in the final result. Since the recipe lists blind baking as optional, I chose not to do it in order to save time. According to the recipe, all of the ingredients can be swapped for vegan versions.

Likely because of the baking powder, this quiche emerged from the oven puffier than any of the others, with its filling rising above the pie crust and overflowing onto the baking sheet I’d set it on. Where the other quiches showed off the spinach at first glance, this one appeared mostly cheesy, though cutting into it revealed a nice distribution of dairy and greens. Because of all the cheese — namely the more strongly flavored feta — the baking powder and cornstarch were imperceptible.

However, I found that in flavor and texture, this read more like a feta-and-spinach pie than a spinach quiche. I found the feta flavor a bit too intense, and although my taste test partner preferred this recipe, it’s the one whose leftovers I find myself reaching for the least. That being said, I think most people will still enjoy it, especially if it’s not presented as a quiche but a pie.

Eggless Tofu Spinach Quiche

Allrecipes

The technique: blended tofu with cheese

This recipe uses tofu to replace eggs. You thaw and drain frozen spinach, mix it with cheese, pour in a mixture of blended tofu and milk, and then add it all to a pie pan. The recipe is vegetarian as written, but I imagine it’ll work just fine veganized with non-dairy milk and non-dairy cheese. The recipe doesn’t specify which kind of tofu to use and is written for an 8-ounce container of tofu. Most tofu comes in between 10- or 16-ounce packages, so I used eight ounces of shelf-stable extra-firm silken tofu, but found the scant overage annoying. Though it required pulling out the blender, I appreciated that I didn’t have to do anything on the stove.

The finished quiche looked very appealing. Looking at it, I wouldn’t have guessed that it didn’t have any eggs. It had a firm texture, with nice binding and an even distribution of spinach and filling, and it set into slices that could neatly be eaten by hand. The tofu is mild and offers little flavor here, so the cheese was a good addition. After following the recipe as written, I found the crust underbaked, so I gave it an additional 20 minutes. I think starting with a baked pie crust would make more sense, but otherwise, I was very happy with this recipe and have enjoyed it both fresh and warm and as leftovers straight from the fridge. From a value standpoint, it also made sense to me: A package of tofu cost me just $2.50.

Simple Tofu Quiche

Minimalist Baker

The technique: blended tofu with hummus; a grated potato crust

I should state outright that I — unlike many omnivores, in my opinion — approach vegan substitutions in good faith. There are many that I like simply for their own merit, like tofu scrambles and cashew cream, and choose to make regularly despite also eating the non-vegan version. When I saw this recipe from Minimalist Baker, my first thought was that it looked good. Blended tofu makes a nice creamy binder, hummus adds heft, and a grated potato crust is a clever innovation. It looked tasty in the photos too!

However, the results here, like many of those cashew-based “cheezecakes” from the raw vegan movement, made me understand why so many omnivores treat vegan recipes with suspicion. This one was pretty bad. Not only did it fail to approximate the feeling of eating quiche but it also failed to be delicious, even if I put my expectations of quiche aside. This was no fault of the blended tofu, which the previous recipe had already proven to be a success in a quiche application, but entirely the hummus’s doing.

Despite the fact that the recipe calls for only two tablespoons of hummus, it overpowered the quiche’s flavor and texture. The filling was mushy, even after I gave it added time in the oven, and the flavor was too strongly like hummus and had a sour aftertaste. At least the spinach lent some fibrousness to keep it all together — I can’t imagine what this would have been like with the tomatoes the recipe calls for. And although I followed the instructions to salt and squeeze the potatoes before baking them until crispy, the potato crust felt soggy and bogged down by the thick, soft filling. Still, the crust was this recipe’s only real saving grace — and even that was just okay.

Bettina Makalintal

Just Egg Quiche

Paper & Heart

The technique: Just Egg

Just Egg is a mung bean protein-based liquid that can convincingly take the place of scrambled eggs. It takes a little practice to cook with, but the results — at least in scrambled egg form — are similarly satisfying. Making a Just Egg quiche was easier than any of the others I tried: You saute your fillings, add them to a pastry crust, and pour in the Just Egg. Though the recipe calls for using the whole carton of Just Egg, my pie shell filled up after I poured in a little less than half. A sprinkle of kala namak — a pungent and sulfuric black mineral salt that’s often used in vegan egg dishes — serves as a final touch.

As written, this recipe is a little sloppy. It specifies that you should add the filling to a baked crust, but nowhere does it ask you to bake the crust beforehand. I’ve seen my fair share of Bake Off, so I baked it first for about 30 minutes first, which seemed to be the right call. The finished dish looks like a standard quiche, if one that’s a slightly too saturated shade of yellow. The Just Egg binds together with the spinach for a filling that’s custardy yet stable enough to cut cleanly. Compared to other recipes, I found this one to have a little more distinction between the spinach and eggy filling. It has a mild flavor that lets the spinach shine, though I’m not sure the kala namak did much apart from adding scent.

Still, whether it’s worth using Just Egg depends on why you’re looking to avoid eggs in the first place. If the reason is financial, Just Egg isn’t a much better deal. A 16-ounce container, which it compares to 10 eggs, ran me $8.99, still higher than many of the eggs for sale in Brooklyn. Similarly, while I happen to keep kala namak in my pantry, it might not be an essential addition for most cooks.

However, if you’re vegan or have an egg allergy or other aversion, this is a good option for a special occasion, especially if you want something that feels, experientially, like using liquid eggs. (Do people get nostalgic about shopping in the meat and egg sections once they no longer eat those things? Brands sure seem to think so.)

The winner: Allrecipes Eggless Tofu Spinach Quiche

The blended tofu base checked all the boxes for me in terms of taste, value, and accessibility. Combined with the grated cheese, it offers the texture and appearance that I think most people are looking for in quiche, without the slightly uncanny valley vibe of the Just Egg version. Plus, it’s easy enough to make vegan. I love tofu and I’m happy to find yet another use for it. I’d make this recipe again — even after egg prices come down.

Quiche photos by Bettina Makalintal