Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
Dairy is used many different ways in cooking, so let’s start with one of the basic dairy ingredients, and that is – butter.
Butter is often used as a fat or for flavoring. Most of the time butter, like oil, can easily be replaced with other liquids such as water, soy sauce, lemon/lime juice, or broth when sautéing vegetables. You can learn more about that by watching the Cooking without Oil video that is a part of our Cooking Tips Video Series. I’ve also had people ask me questions about gee, which is a clarified butter. Gee is still pure, liquid fat, and wouldn’t be considered a part of our eating plan.
In baking, nothing is going to give the exact fluffiness and rich taste of butter, but there are some good alternatives you can play around with. Applesauce is good for baked goods that need a bit of sweetness. This can be substituted on a 1:1 ratio. You can also try mashed banana at a 1:1 ratio or even avocado. Pumpkin puree is another good option, but you would want to do ¾ of what the recipe calls for. So, if it calls for 1 cup of butter, you will use ¾ cup of pumpkin puree. I love these options because they are much more along the lines of whole food substitutions vs highly processed oil-based substitutions.
My biggest concern, when making the transition to dairy free, was with eggs because, as you know, they can be very finicky to cook with. They are especially difficult when not adding a fat barrier to keep them from sticking. There are a few options you can try. The first and easiest would be to try to find a good non-stick option but these are hard to come by as many of them contain harmful chemicals and toxins. Silicone is a good option to cook with, so for “fried” eggs you could try something like putting a silicone baking mat on the bottom of a cookie sheet and then broiling at 500 degrees for less than five minutes. You have to watch them closely, because they can over-cook easily. This is a great option if you have a large family because you can do a good number of eggs at one time without slaving over the stove for 30 minutes.
If you prefer the pan-fry method, there are a few different ways you can do that. One is to get your pan very hot and then crack the egg into it. Right away, pour ½ tsp of water around the egg (not on it) and cover the pan with a lid or a heat-safe plate. If you cook it for 1 minute you will have a beautiful runny yolk, but if you prefer a more solid yolk, you can cook for 2 minutes. One wonderful way to add some flavor to these eggs, that you are missing from the butter, would be to do a splash of veggie broth or even soy sauce instead of the water.
You can also do a method call dry fry in which you’ll basically get your pan very hot and then crack the egg onto it and remove the pan immediately from the heat and cover it. The heat from the pan as well as the heat trapped under the lid will cook your egg nicely.
Then opposite of that, you can cook your eggs on low heat. This is how I love to do my eggs when I scramble them. It takes more time, but they are so creamy and buttery (no pun intended), it’s totally worth it. Turn the heat on your pan to medium low and then cook the eggs while constantly stirring. So, you’ll get a good arm workout too! You’ll know when they’re ready when they are a bit shimmery and moist. Once they take on a matte look, they are definitely over-cooked
Other things you could try is using an egg cooker in the microwave or a silicone mold in the instant pot. As you can see there are a lot of different options, but you can try a few and see what works best. And don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time. There can be a learning curve with things like this.
Now, let’s talk about milk. From my experience you can pretty much use plant milk as a 1:1 replacement for regular milk in most cooking and baking. Soy milk is a bit thinner so it may be better in something like pancakes. Oat milk is a little creamier and has done well in my baking as well as vegan mac and cheese. Many other vegan recipes will call for coconut milk. Yes, it can be very high in fat, but you can find some fat free versions. Or just know that using it is saved for treats and by the time you have a piece of that baked good, it’s really not that high in fat. Just keep in mind that a lot of food manufacturers add a lot of fillers to products like this to make it seem more like “milk”. There are some good options but they can be a little harder to find. Look for ones without added sugar or oils, and other fillers like carrageenan or guar gum.
If you need to substitute early on for something like whipped cream, you can do the same thing with coconut cream. It just needs to be very cold, and it takes a little longer. It has a delicious coconutty flavor that’s just amazing. As much as possible, I would stay away from processed whipped coconut products as they are usually produced with high amounts of fats and fillers to make it seem creamier.
The same thing goes for yogurt as well. You can find cashew, almond, and soy yogurt in the store, but it is typically more expensive and highly processed. If you must have it, look for ones, again, without fillers or added sugars and consume it as a treat. The Kite Hill brand can be a good option for yogurt. It is really high in protein which isn’t preferable, and it is still very processed. However, there Is no sugar in many varieties, and it has simple ingredients.
Now, let’s talk about everybody’s guilty pleasure, and that is cheese. So, cheese is something I haven’t found the perfect replacement for. However, I have noticed that I don’t always miss it so much. It was one of first things I just cut straight out of my everyday diet. If you don’t care for it much anyway, then it’s an easy thing to eliminate without changing much of your cooking. If cheese happens to be a staple of your diet, there are some things you can use to transition. It won’t be perfect, but it is something. And your tastes will change over time as your body stops being inundated with high fat, high salt options.
Many vegan recipes use nutritional yeast to give cheese-less dishes a cheesy flavor. You’ll find it in everything from cashew "queso", to mac and cheese, to faux parmesan cheese. Now speaking of cashews, you will find softened and processed cashews in many cheese-less dishes because they have a rich, creamy consistency once blended. I’ve come to actually kind of like it! You can add pretty much anything to them to make savory dishes, and they do just as well with some vanilla and sugar added to them in a vegan cheesecake. You’ll want to keep some handy in your pantry – just not to snack on!
For a cheese-like experience you can use chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives to give the salty taste that feta would. Often times I have found that I don’t even need cheese on my pizza with the right combo of sauce and spices and veggies. And in addition to that, I’ve even replaced my cheese with just a bit of avocado for that creamy flavor. Like I said, this won’t be forever because you will soon realize you don’t even need it. But it’s nice to have something for the transition. This is especially the case if you are trying to bring along a spouse or your kids. Keep in mind with cheese products, just like other dairy substitutions, processed versions are very high in processed oils and fats.
My pantry staples, when it comes to cooking dairy-free, would be:
Cashews
Nutritional yeast
Coconut milk
Coconut cream
Non diary milks (sugar free, no fillers)
Lily’s or enjoy life chocolate chips
Avocado
Dairy free half and half (free of oils and fillers)
I’ve got some wonderful recipes on the Favorite Family Recipe page, that can help you make the transition to dairy-free. You can look for ones that replace things you are familiar with like ricotta and parmesan cheese. I would take it slow and gradually replace things in your recipes little by little. Maybe start with recipes that don’t use dairy at all and then get more adventurous as you gain confidence. I think that soon enough, you’ll find you can have some wonderful recipes without crying over spilt milk.
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