Traditionally, a quiche is an open, pastry flan dish, made with eggs, milk, a wheat-based crust and filled with whatever is in season.

Of course, here in the Kind Earth Kitchen, I don’t do anything ‘traditionally’ hahaha, instead, creating my cuisine with dairy-free, egg-free and wheat-free ingredients. I must admit, ‘back in the day’, I used to love regular quiche, with particularly fond memories of that incredible aroma from my mam’s kitchen before dinner. She made the best ever quiches!

It was only a matter of time before I just had to create an alternative version.

I wanted to find a way to pull everything together in true “made with Love” Kitchen style. A bit of a tall order, I thought to myself. Then one day, I was in a conscious cafe in Bristol, daydreaming, watching the world pass by – when I had an epiphany.

I’d long since admired the way gram flour (also known as chickpea flour) managed to turn itself from a thick batter into a well held, egg-like omelette. Since going gluten-free, I’d taken my gram flour endeavours a step further, experimenting with making various ‘chick-pea’ breads.

Then it struck me! Gram flour would make the perfect base for an alternative quiche. I could see how it would hold everything together. I started off making quiche with my homemade gluten-free crust. It was absolutely delicious!

Then I one day, I simply didn’t have enough time to make the crust. Instead, I just tossed the ‘filling’ into the baking dish, without a crust…. and much to my delight, it worked a treat. In fact, the baking process helped the ingredients to form its own crust. Magic!



In the spirit of simplicity, I’ve decided to share my easiest crustless version of this quiche here. I have lots of versions.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t actually quiche… although the only limit here is your imagination (and personally, I have a pretty creative kitchen imagination, so my quiche ends up wildly different every time).

The trick is to use warming spices and herbs that inspire you – find flavours that dance well with the flavour of the gram flour. Explore, experiment and most of all, remember to always have fun in the kitchen.

Use organic, quality ingredients for the best results.

Crustless Vegan Quiche - gluten-free, egg-free Yield: 4 portions Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes An easy gluten-free, egg-free, vegan crustless quiche recipe using gram (chickpea) flour. Serves great hot or cold. Print Ingredients 150g mushrooms (2 handfuls)

½ sweet red bell pepper

1 small sweet potato (100g approx)

Handful fresh parsley or coriander

250g gram flour (2 ⅔ cups)

400ml water (1 ⅔ cups)

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground sweet paprika

1 teaspoon sea salt Instructions Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 6 (200C/400F). Chop your mushrooms and sweet bell pepper into small pieces. Chop your sweet potato (including skin) into very small pieces (no larger than 1cm cubed or ⅓ inch cubed). Small is important so that they bake during the baking time. Finely chop the parsley. Measure the gram flour, tomato puree, onion powder, ground coriander, sweet paprika, salt and tomato puree into a mixing bowl. Add the water to the mixing bowl slowly, pressing out any lumps that may have formed from the gram flour. Keep adding and mixing until all the water has been used up and you are left with a thick 'batter'. Mix the mushrooms, sweet potato and parsley into the batter. Line an 8" (20cm) round baking dish with parchment paper cake liners (or alternatively, cut some parchment paper yourself if you don't have liners). If you use cake tin liners, use 7" (18cm) liners and push the sides into meet the edge of the dish. This should create the perfect size for a flan type dish. You could also omit the lining, although be warned, the mixture will probably stick to the dish. Pop it into your pre-heated oven. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. A note on baking times: The final cooking time varies, depending on whether you are serving immediately or serving in a while. * If you are serving immediately then allow to cook for about 50 minutes. * If you are waiting a little while (say 15 minutes) before serving, then it will continue to cook in its own heat, while you are waiting, so 45 minutes is enough. * If you are cooking and then allowing to completely cool down before serving, then it only needs 40 minutes in the oven.

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I do hope that you enjoy this recipe. Do let me know how you get on, and if you come up with any creative alternatives.