I love serving this Vegan Sausage and Grits Quiche when we have guests over for breakfast or brunch, but you could just as easily serve it for lunch or dinner with nothing more than a salad on the side. Or with crunchy baked sweet potato fries.
The quiche is a full meal by itself, with the grits, veggies, and the protein from the vegan sausage. But even more important, it's mindblowingly delicious. So much so that you might want to serve it up for Thanksgiving breakfast.
The grits make this vegan quiche light and airy without weighing it down with too much tofu. There is tofu in this recipe, but it plays a small role, mainly as a binder.
I used a bechamel sauce as the liquid in this quiche, and it works really well to make the quiche moist and flavorful and creamy. There are some cashews in the recipe, but for a nut-free version, forego those and add more tofu. I like the cashews because just a small amount adds lots of richness to this recipe.
For the veggies, I used leeks as a base, instead of onions which I sometimes use in this recipe. You can swap out the leeks for onions too, if you would rather. And the spinach adds a good wallop of nutrition along with freshness and flavor.
I added vegan mozzarella shreds to the recipe to add some cheesiness, and also to further help bind the quiche. Strew some on top of the quiche for a really pretty look.
You can make the entire quiche in one pot if you have a 16-inch cast iron pan or an oven-safe skillet. Or you can cook in a regular skillet and bake it up in a casserole dish.
I am off now to enjoy my weekend. Hope yours is sunny and full of fun.
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Vegan Sausage and Grits Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 2 leeks, green and white parts finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 12 oz meatless meat crumbles or sausage (I used TJ's meatless beef)
- ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 3 ½ cups vegetable stock
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp sage
- 1 cup quick cooking grits
- 16 oz frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
- 7 oz extra firm tofu
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 8 oz vegan mozzarella shreds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the tofu, cashews and onion powder in a blender with ½ cup of vegetable stock. Blend into a very smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. If you're using a cast iron skillet, you can make this a one-pot dish by transferring to the oven to finish cooking.
- Add the leeks and the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, until the leeks are very soft and begin to caramelize. Add the meatless sausage and continue stirring for a couple of minutes to warm through.
- Add the all purpose flour and continue to cook over medium-low heat until all of the flour is absorbed by the sausage-leek mixture. Add the nutmeg and sage.
- Add the remaining three cups of stock, stirring constantly. Let the sauce come to a boil, then add the grits. Stir well to mix.
- Cover and let the grits cook for five minutes. Then stir in the spinach and the cashew-tofu cream. Mix well, add more salt and ground black pepper if needed. Stir in the mozarella shreds reserving about ¼ cup to sprinkle on top of the quiche.
- Prepare a casserole dish by spraying with cooking spray or oil, then sprinkle on some cornmeal at the bottom. If you're using a cast iron skillet that will go into the oven, you can skip this step.
- Scoop the grits mixture into the baking dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella shreds.
- Place the casserole in the preheated oven and bake an hour or until the cheese is lightly golden and the quiche feels firm to the touch (don't burn yourself).
- Remove from the oven and let the quiche stand on a rack for 30 minutes before serving.
Interesting - will definitely try it.