Air Fryer Quiche with Hash Brown Crust (Whole30)

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This Air Fryer Quiche with Hash Brown Crust is breakfast at its best! A Whole30 quiche that uses a mushroom and leek filling and is encased in a hash brown crust is perfect for any Brunch menu.

An air fryer quiche garnished with sliced green onions.

There is no need to preheat your oven for this recipe. Our Whole30 quiche will be made in an air fryer. If you are looking for more suggestions, check out all of our Air Fryer Recipes.

This healthy quiche uses frozen hash browns to create a crispy golden brown crust.

Cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and eggs are blended together to make the egg mixture. That's right, this quiche has no milk or cream, and it's delicious!

Choosing the quiche add-ins is up to you! We did a mushroom-leek combination because I love that flavor profile.

For more breakfast ideas, check out the Breakfast and Brunch Recipes for more morning eggs like our Air Fryer Omelette, and the Air Fryer Soft Boiled Eggs.

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What makes this recipe so good
Recipe Testing
Ingredient Notes
Substitutions and Variations
Hashbrown Crust Instructions
Quiche filling instructions
Chef Tips
Recipe FAQ's
Storage
Other brunch recipes to try
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💬 Comments

What makes this recipe so good

The crust is made from hash browns! Many quiche recipes use frozen pie crust or puff pastry. We wanted a gluten-free crust without flour, so hash browns were a perfect choice.
The perfect to-go breakfast for busy families. We love this breakfast quiche for a quick meal. You can enjoy this quiche hot or cold.
It is made entirely in the air fryer. Use your air fryer instead of waiting 15 minutes for your oven to preheat.

Recipe Testing

It took a while to find the perfect dairy-free custard. Here is my experience in creating this Air Fryer Quiche recipe.

Recipe Test #1 - I blended ½ cup of almond milk with 6 eggs for a dairy-free custard. I couldn't taste the almond milk, so the egg flavor really came through, but the quiche lacked creaminess.

Recipe Test #2 - I blended ¼ cup of coconut milk with 6 eggs for a dairy-free custard. I tasted a lot of the coconut flavor in the final quiche, not what I wanted.

Recipe Test # 3 - I blended cashews, almond milk, Dijon, lemon juice, and 6 eggs together for the custard. The quiche had a great flavor with a creamy texture, just like a traditional quiche recipe.

Verdict - All of the quiche recipes came out tasting good, but Recipe Test #3 was the clear winner.

Ingredient Notes

When making an air fryer quiche, make sure to have these ingredients on hand.

Overhead picture of leeks, eggs, hashbrowns, mushrooms, cashews, ghee, mustard, nutritional yeast, almond milk, and lemon.

Hash browns - They are easy to shape and mold in a quiche pan and get nice and golden brown and crispy!
Ghee - Helps flavor and makes the hash browns nice and golden brown.
Cashews - The key ingredient in making a dairy-free creamy custard.
Almond milk - Turns the cashews into a cream sauce.
Lemon Juice - This is a flavor enhancer and brightens the dish.
Nutritional yeast - adds a cheesy flavor which is delicious in quiches.
Dijon Mustard - For a bite!
Eggs - Well, because you can't make a quiche without eggs. They also are needed to make the custard.
Mushrooms and leeks - Wow! What a great combination! The sweetness of the sautéed leeks pairs perfectly with the savory mushrooms.

Substitutions and Variations

Crust - Try using shredded sweet potatoes, puff pastry, or a frozen pie crust. You can even make a crustless quiche.
Custard - There are many dairy-free options like cashew cream, almond milk, and coconut milk.
Add-ins - Bacon, spinach, ham, onions, tomatoes, and bell pepper are a few common quiche fillings.
Mini quiche - Sometimes we like to make quiche egg bites in the air fryer or muffin tin for the oven. Smaller quiche recipes are great for on-the-go breakfasts!

Hashbrown Crust Instructions

First, we start by making the hashbrowns crust in the air fryer, here's how to make it!

Uncooked hash browns on a kitchen towel to squeeze the moisture out of the potatoes.

Step 1: Place thawed hash browns on a large kitchen towel. Squeeze the potatoes over the sink to remove all of the water.

Mixing hashbrowns, ghee, and salt together in a pie pan.

Step 2: Mix together hash browns, melted ghee, and salt in the quiche pan.

Uncooked hashbrowns pressed inside of a pie pan to form the crust for a quiche.

Step 3: Using your hands, press the potatoes down and along the sides of the pie pan.

Picture of a browned hashbrown crust for the quiche.

Step 4: Preheat your air fryer to 400ºF. Place into the air fryer basket and cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip - When pressing hash browns into the pan, make sure there are no uneven spots. The crust should be an even thickness all the way around.

Quiche filling instructions

Making this air fryer quiche with hash brown crust is so easy, here's how to make it!

Cooking sliced mushrooms and leeks in a large cast iron skillet.

Step 1: In a large pan, saute sliced mushrooms and leeks with a tablespoon of ghee.

Cooked mushrooms and leeks inside of a hashbrown crusted quiche.

Step 2: Place the cooked veggies on the bottom of the hash brown crust.

A mushroom and leek quiche before being cooked.

Step 3: In a high-speed blender, combine cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast, dijon, and lemon juice until smooth. Add in the eggs and blend on slow speed until incorporated. Pour the custard over the cooked veggies.

A cooked quiche inside an air fryer basket.

Step 4: Set the air fryer to 325ºF. Gently place the quiche into the air fryer basket. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the quiche is set.

Overhead picture of an air fryer quiche with two slices cut.

Chef Tips

Squeeze the hashbrowns using a kitchen towel to remove as much moisture as possible.
When pressing hashbrowns into the pan, make sure there are no uneven spots. The crust should be an even thickness all the way around.
Cook mushroom and leeks over medium-low heat to prevent leeks from browning.
Soak the cashews in cold water overnight to soften them up. If you forget to do this, you can boil them for 10 minutes.
Slowly blend eggs into the cashew cream for 30 seconds. You don't want to blend the eggs for too long because the blender will start to cook the eggs.

Recipe FAQ's

Can you cook a quiche in the air fryer?

Yes, this recipe is cooked in the air fryer, and comes out delicious. Make sure to find a quiche pan that will fit inside your air fryer basket.

How long does it take to cook?

We cook the quiche for 25 minutes at 325ºF in our air fryer. All air fryers cook differently, so you may need to play around with the time and temperature.

Why is my quiche runny?

You may need to increase the cooking time. Sometimes the quiche needs to rest and come to room temperature before slicing. The liquid your see may come from the vegetables and not the eggs.

Do I need to pre-bake the crust?

Yes, to achieve the golden brown and crispy crust you need to pre-bake them.

A slice of quiche on a small plate with strawberries.

Storage

Refrigerator - Place quiche in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Freezer - Tightly wrap the quiche with plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Reheating - Bring quiche to room temperature and preheat the air fryer to 300ºF. Place slices inside the air fryer basket and cook for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.