Samples from the Veggie Dairy

Regardless of why we might seek to avoid or limit animal products – usually some combination of health, ethical, environmental and/or spiritual reasons – many Betty Crocker style recipes are off limits until we learn how to replace them with foods more to our liking. In recent years the variety of vegetarian products has significantly widened in scope and availability making cooking familiar recipes easier and easier – now there are vegetarian and vegan versions of American favorites like burgers, milks, cheeses, ice creams and eggs that can readily be substituted for their namesakes in recipes of all kinds. In this article we’ll explore options for replacing ingredients in the dairy and egg categories…

Milks. Commercial veggie milks vary greatly in flavor and appearance. Made from soy, rice, oats, coconut or nuts and seeds, they are available fresh in the refrigerated section and on the shelf in special packaging. Veggie milk products such as sour cream, cream cheese, mayo, yogurt and ice cream are also available.

Butters. Oils and nut butters are good vegetarian options. There are also some good commercial spreads free of animal products and hydrogenated oils (Earth Balance is a favorite). Applesauce and/or mashed banana can be used to replace up to ˝ of the butter in baking recipes.

Cheeses. Hundreds of varieties of cheeses are available the world over made from a diversity of milks. Fortunately, there are many vegetarian options. If looking for a vegan cheeses, be sure it is free of casein or calcium caseinate, a milk protein commonly used in veggie cheeses for texture.

Eggs. It's not hard to substitute for high cholesterol eggs in most vegan recipes.

Visit our recipe pages for recipes for Veggie Dairy substitutes!

© Nannie Nehring Bliss for Common Ground 2004