A 3-ingredient vegan frittata base with chickpea flour is loaded with veggies like portobello mushroom, bell pepper, cherry tomato, and fresh spinach leaves. It is perfect to make ahead and enjoy it for breakfast. Its colorful cake-like appearance will also make Mother’s Day or any other brunch splendid.

If you are looking for other savory vegan breakfast recipes, try this easy vegan breakfast casserole, or this vegan egg salad recipe. If you need something quick and easy, make oil-free hummus or tofu cream cheese in 5 minutes!
What to expect from this recipe?
Frittata is a classic Italian breakfast dish, where chopped vegetables, meat, and even cheese are mixed with beaten raw eggs. It is either fried on the stovetop and then flipped to fry the top as well, or without flipping it is placed in the oven to finish it off. It is similar to a crustless quiche. But how to make it vegan?
This recipe is also loaded with veggies, but meat, cheese, and eggs are skipped as they are not vegan. The eggy base is substituted with a chickpea flour batter.
If you make this recipe, you need to consider this batter as glue rather than the main ingredient. If you use fewer vegetables, then your vegan frittata will be dense, whereas if you focus on the add-ins you get the creamy, custardy, egg-like texture you aim for.
Eggless base with chickpea flour
If you would like to make a vegan frittata, the most well-known egg substitutes are
To be honest we tried to make an omelet with mung beans and it ended up very similar to a chickpea flour omelet. Just Egg uses only the protein from the mung beans, not the whole foods, that is why the texture I think is different and more egg-like. Tofu on the other hand makes a tasty vegan frittata.
That being said, why do we love to make a frittata with chickpea flour?
- pantry staple -> we always have it on hand
- easy to work with -> no soaking and waiting is needed
- allergy-friendly -> soy-free, nut-free
But what else do you need to make the taste egg-like?
The not-so-secret ingredient is BLACK SALT aka Kala Namak. You can read more about what black salt is here.
If you want a real vibrant yolk-like color, add a bit of turmeric e.g. ½ teaspoon. You will not taste it at all.
Best vegetables to add in
When it comes to veggies I separate them into 3 groups.
- No preparation is needed apart from wash and chop -> They can be added to the frittata base without any additional steps. If you only add these veggies, you can skip the frying and go directly to baking in the oven.
- tomato
- red bell pepper
- portobello mushroom
- green onion or leek
- spinach, kale or other leafy greens
- green peas, corn or any other legumes if canned
- artichoke hearts if canned
- Need to be pre-cooked -> They need to be sauteed in a frying pan for at least 5-10 minutes before adding them to the frittata base and baking it in the oven. If you skip the frying, your veggies might end up uncooked and hard. Or you need to bake the frittata too long and the chickpea flour base will be too dry.
- onion
- zucchini or squash
- eggplant
- potato or sweet potato
- asparagus
- Avoid if possible -> I consider them hard veggies, so you need to pre-cook them longer than 5-10 minutes to get them tender and ready for the frittata. Or you need to chop them really small. All in all they are not easy to work with.
- carrots or other root vegetables
- broccoli
- cauliflower
How to make a vegan frittata with chickpea flour?
Preparing the vegetables
- Gently wash any dirt off of the portobello mushrooms by using a colander or a sieve. Dry them with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth. We never peel mushrooms, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or too hard. Chop them into quarters.
- Wash and slice bell pepper ¼-inch (4-5 mm) wide. Then cut the stripes into small cubes.
- Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
- Wash and chop the green part of the spring onion into small rings.
- Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Wash the spinach leaves using a sieve and chop the leaves up into stripes or quarters.
Making the eggless base
- Take a large bowl and add chickpea flour, black salt, regular salt, and pepper.Mix them thoroughly.
- Add half of the dairy-free milk of your choice and use a whisk to mix it well. Then add the other half and mix until you have a smooth pancake batter like liquid.
Mixing batter with veggies
If you only use veggies that don’t need pre-cooking, you can add them directly to the batter. In this recipe these are portobello mushroom, bell pepper, tomatoes, spring onion, and spinach). See them in the below photo.
Mix them well with a whisk, a spoon, or a spatula.
Frying and baking
- Take a non-stick frying pan. Heat it to medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add the chopped onion and cook them for 2-3 minutes until soft and tender.
- Add chopped garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the veggie – chickpea flour mixture on top of the onion and the garlic. Spread it evenly and cover it up with a lid.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven of 375 Fahrenheit (190 Celsius degrees) for 20 minutes.
How to serve with it?
Frittata is delicious when it is served hot, but I love it cold as well. I top it with dairy-free sour cream, mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, or any vegan yogurt-based dips.
As for sides, I’d think frittata goes great with any of the following options:
- Garlic bread
- Baked beans or any other bean salad
- Roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Side salads like this fresh garden salad or this coleslaw salad
- Stir fried spinach or other leafy greens especially if you haven’t added any to your frittata
- Roasted asparagus
Substitutions
What else can you add?
This vegan chickpea flour frittata is easily customizable. Apart from the veggies we described above, you can also add
- vegan meat substitutes like vegan sausage crumbles, vegan bacon bits, vegan shredded chicken, tofu, TVP, vegan ground beef etc.
- canned or pre-cooked legumes like green peas, sweet corn, chickpeas, beans, lentils whichever you like and have at home.
- vegan cheese like feta or mozzarella.
Can you substitute chickpea flour?
It is the heart of the dish, but there are indeed other gluten-free flours that have very similar characteristics. The closest ones are bean flours especially yellow split pea flour or mung bean flour.
Please note that besan flour aka gram flour is similar but not the same as chickpea flour from white chickpeas. You can use both but you need to adjust the consistency of the batter if it gets too thick.
Can you make it without milk?
To be honest, yes you can. Although dairy-free milk does add a bit of creaminess and extra flavor which frittata without milk would lack. Cashew milk, almond milk, and even soy milk have a more neutral flavor, while coconut milk, rice milk, or oat milk have more distinctive ones.
Variations
Vegan potato frittata
If you are looking to make a potato frittata without eggs, we recommend slicing the potatoes with a mandolin, like you would do if you make vegan scalloped potatoes. If you dice them or cut them too large, you either need to pre-cook them or if added raw, the frittata will burn before the potatoes get cooked. However, if you slice them thinly, you can add them to the batter and fry and bake them immediately. Add sliced onion and chopped garlic, salt, and black pepper for more flavor.
Vegan spinach frittata
Spinach especially pairs well with garlic, artichoke, leek, sun-dried tomatoes, and orange-colored veggies like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or pumpkin. You can use frozen spinach as well, but leave time to thaw them otherwise they have too much moisture and may spoil the consistency of the frittata batter.
Vegan zucchini frittata
Zucchini is another popular vegetable to make a vegetable frittata with. The main characteristic you need to pay attention to here is that it realizes moisture and can shrink, just like mushrooms. If you are planning to use this veggie, we recommend slicing them thinly with a mandolin and pre-cooking them in water or veggie broth for like 5 minutes.
How to store leftovers?
How to store frittata?
If you store it in an airtight container, it can last for 3-4 days for sure.
Can you freeze chickpea flour frittata?
Yes, you can. I recommend freezing it in slices for easy access and re-heating it under the broiler or in a microwave.
Can you make it ahead?
Yes, as frittata keeps well in the fridge and is freezer friendly, you can easily make them ahead and store them accordingly.
This vegan frittata recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, soy-free, and gluten-free diets. It can also be WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you skip cooking onion and garlic in oil and add it to the frittata raw.
More vegan breakfast recipes
You can browse through our vegan breakfast recipes or check out this 15-min Quick Vegan Meals collection.
- Healthy Vegan Egg Salad
- 5-min Tofu Cream Cheese
- 5-min Oil-free Hummus
- Cream Cheese Pinwheels with Fresh Veggies
Mixed Vegetable Vegan Frittata (Chickpea Flour)
Equipment
Ingredients
Eggless base
- 1 cup Chickpea flour
- 1 ¼ cup Dairy-free milk (homemade cashew milk)
- 4 pinches Black salt
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Veggies for Frittata
- 1 cup Button mushrooms
- ½ Bell Pepper
- 5 Cherry tomatoes
- 1 Spring Onion the green part only
- 1 cup Fresh spinach leaves about a handful
- 1 Onion (small)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil for cooking the onion and the garlic
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Gently wash any dirt off of the mushrooms by using a colander or a sieve. Dry them with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth. We never peel mushrooms, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or too rigid. Chop them into quarters.
- Wash and slice bell pepper ¼-inch (4-5 mm) wide. Then cut the stripes into small cubes.
- Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Wash and chop the green part of the spring onion into small rings. Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Wash the spinach leaves using a sieve and chop the leaves up into stripes or quarters.
Make the eggless base
- Add chickpea flour, black salt, regular salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix them thoroughly.
- Add half of the dairy-free milk of your choice and use a whisk to mix it well. Then add the other half and mix until you have a smooth pancake batter-like liquid.
Prepare the frittata batter
- On top of the chickpea flour mixture, add all chopped veggies (mushroom, bell pepper, tomatoes, spring onion, and spinach) and mix them well
Make vegan frittata
- Take a non-stick frying pan. Heat to medium heat and add olive oil.
- Add the chopped onion and cook them for 2-3 minutes until soft and tender. Then, add chopped garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the frittata batter on top. Spread it evenly and cover it up with a lid.
- Bake in preheated oven at 375 F (190 degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes.
Notes
- No preparation is needed apart from wash and chop
- Need to be pre-cooked
- Avoid if possible
Video
Nutrition
UPDATED: The recipe was originally posted in March 2020 but was republished with more tips, substitutions, variations in January 2022.
Maggie
Made this tonight as one of the main dishes for our holiday meal – my sister-in-law is vegan. Thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe – it was delicious, and turned out great! Leftovers are great too! There were a couple comments about the frittata being mushy – I followed your exact directions, using the same veggies and amounts in the recipe. What I noticed is it was slightly mushy/soft when first came out of the oven, but after it sat for awhile, it firmed up and was easier to slice. Hope this helps.
Sabīne
It is super mushy even after following all the steps and baking longer than in recipe 😢
My Pure Plants
I am sorry to hear that. What kind of vegetables did you use? I tend to have a mushy middle if I use too many mushrooms and other juicy veggies since they release a lot of moisture during frying/baking. I usually add as many veggies as I can and consider the frittata batter more of glue than the main ingredient. That way you have a thinner frittata that can be baked all the way through. I hope it helps and you do try it again someday.
A
Hi, is there a way to make this as a quiche? I’d imagine just pouring it into an uncooked pie crust before baking but I’m not sure how long to bake or how that would effect the finished product.
My Pure Plants
I don’t see any issues with it as we also bake it in the end. I would recommend however blind-baking the pie crust a bit to avoid a soggy bottom.
Paula
Should the chickpea flour have set like a bread? Mine did not. Tastes great but mushy.
My Pure Plants
It will not be spongy as breads are. It can get mushy depending on what and how much veggies did you add. If you want a more bread-like texture add a 2 tsp baking powder to the chickpea flour batter.
Naomi
This is a really nice and easy to make frittata! My husband water-sauteed veggies and put half into his eggs. I mixed the other half into the frittata batter and baked it in a small springform pan. Next time I’m going to bake as muffins. What do you think of adding a little baking powder? Thanks for such an easy and satisfying recipe.
My Pure Plants
Hi Naomi, we are so happy you tried our recipe and liked it. Baking powder will certainly make it a bit fluffier, closer to “pancake”. Let me know how it goes.
Annemarie
Thank you very much for this simple and delicious recipe. I added roasted potatoes and vegan bacon and the frittatas were awesome.
Frances
Great recipe! I added a little cayenne pepper for an extra bite. It turned out fantastic!
My Pure Plants
Thank you so much for trying our recipe. Cayenne pepper sounds like a great addition.
Priscilla Finegan
Hi, your recipe looks great and looking forward to trying it. Just one query though. In your list of equipment there is a frying pan and also a cake tin with removable base. From reading the recipe, I understand you put the pan into the oven. I’d appreciate if you could clarify this.
Thanking you,
Priscilla
My Pure Plants
Hi Priscilla, if you don’t have a frying pan that is oven-safe (e.g. not with plastic handle), then you need a cake pan of some sort to bake the frittata. In that case after fry the onion and garlic, you need to transfer the whole frittata to a cake pan. We recommend a removable button cake pan because it is easier to take the frittata out in one piece.
gwe
your recipes sound good but when you head to print recipe there is nowhere to press print.
frustrated !!
My Pure Plants
Hi, I double-checked and there is a Print button at the top of the post and also one in the recipe card right below the picture. In any event, I’ve sent you a pdf version via the email you left this comment with.