Vegan
Dairy FreeFinding dairy free alternatives for ingredients you use often shouldn’t be so hard. Check out our resource of non-dairy substitutes to use!
I haven’t conducted a formal audit or anything (haha), but I think I receive at least 50 emails a day from readers of this blog. More often than not, half of those emails are from people needing simple swaps to make for butter, cheese, and milk when they cook or bake.
So, I know how helpful this resource will be for many of you, and it makes my heart happy. This is a huge list, so let’s jump right in!
This post has several sections:
- Essential pantry staple swaps
- Vegan butter alternatives
- Dairy free recipes for baking
- What to use in place of regular ingredients for cooking
- Non dairy options for drinks and desserts
Dairy Free Alternatives
NOTE: This list isn’t all-inclusive. Meaning, you may be using dairy free alternatives that I’m not aware of.
So, for the sake of ALL vegans and/or people with dairy allergies, please share your ideas with us! Just leave your tips in the comments at the bottom of this post.
THANK YOU!
Non dairy ingredient swaps for pantry staples
- For heavy cream or whipped cream ➜ canned coconut milk or coconut cream
- Dairy milk ➜ any nut milk, or other non-dairy milk
- Sauces or cheese dips ➜ hummus
- Cream sauces or cheese sauces ➜ cashews and other raw nuts
- To mimic the flavor of cheese and for dairy free cheese sauce ➜ nutritional yeast flakes
- Parmesan cheese ➜ hemp seed
- to make aquafaba, a replacement for liquid egg whites or whipped cream ➜ canned chickpeas
- To thicken sauces and soups, and to make a dairy free and gluten free roux ➜ arrowroot starch, tapioca starch, or xanthan gum
SOUR CREAM SUBSTITUTE
You shouldn’t have to miss out on sour cream just because of an intolerance to it! There are plenty of ways to make vegan sour cream.
To make it, just combine an acid, like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, with thick dairy free yogurt, coconut cream, or cashew cream.
Similar to making a vegan buttermilk substitute, the acid breaks down the proteins in the yogurt, creating a chemical reaction.
After several minutes, the yogurt will curdle and become sour. BAM!
Here are a few essential ingredients for ANY kitchen, but you will definitely use them often to make swaps.
- Apple cider vinegar – one of the key ingredients for a sour cream substitute
- Veggies – potato, cauliflower, carrot, tomato (use them to make a delicious vegan salsa con queso)
- Vegetable or chicken broth/stock
Vegan butter options
Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives for butter. Sure, you can buy plant-based butter, but these foods do the trick just as easily. Plus, they are less expensive!
- Banana – another fantastic dairy free butter alternative
- Avocado (the fruit, not the oil) – I use this in my recipe for Mexican Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Refined coconut oil and regular coconut oil
- Pumpkin puree – this is a great swap for making vegan pumpkin pie and dairy free mug cake
- Nut butters – use a no-stir variety, or make Homemade Cashew Butter
Dairy Free Recipes to make with swaps/substitutes
BAKING RECIPES
- Vegan frosting – Maple Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped Cream – Coconut whip
- Vegan condensed milk
- Vegan Dulce de Leche
- Coconut macaroons with Aquafaba
- Vegan blondies
- Almond flour cookies
- Vegan donut recipe with vegan frosting
Dairy free alternatives for COOKING
- Garlic Walnut pasta sauce
- Roasted red pepper sauce
- Vegan pesto recipes
- How to fry eggs in olive oil versus butter
- Avocado Cream Sauce (See recipe notes in this sweet potato skins recipe).
Non dairy drinks and frozen dessert recipes
- Vegan ice cream (nice cream)
- Creamy key lime pie smoothie (made with avocado!)
- Homemade hemp milk
- Homemade nut milk
OTHER FAVORITE RECIPES
- Breakfast toast with vegan mushroom bacon
- Vegan ranch dressing
- Creamy green goddess salad dressing
- Vegan soups (vegan cream of mushroom, avocado pea soup, creamy blender corn soup).
Alright my friends, I hope you found this ingredient swap post helpful! As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions! Comment below, join our Facebook group, email, whatever form of communication is best. WE ARE HERE TO HELP!
Cheers,
LC
Hi, I’m Lindsay! Gluten Free Nutrition Specialist, food photographer and author of 
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This is truly a great and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing it! I will cook it for my children next weekend!
great resource, thank you! need all of these swaps, and love the recipes too, much appreciated
You’re welcome, Sabrina! Glad you found it to be helpful!
I would like a suggestion for a coffee recipe for someone who is dairy allergic, along with all nuts (including coconut and cashews), all seeds (one by one having to omit seeds too due to severe allergic reactions), lots of beans (yes chickpeas so aquafaba is out). And allergic to may grains including rice. Do you have any suggestions? have you tried Tapioca in coffee? Not the sugar sweetened boba, but tapioca pearls or starch would likely not be an allergen. I am also allergic to banana. And I really don’t like black coffee. I have tried oat milk, just plain, but this is not very good in my opinion even when made into a smoothie with avocado, dates, vanilla and coffee. How abut tiger nuts? not sure if I’d tolerate them. Its been a long time since I tried them. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Can you have hemp seed? What about pea protein or quinoa? Here’s a list https://www.thekitchn.com/nut-free-non-dairy-milk-256963?amp=1