When it comes to healthy cooking, it’s relatively easy to replace common allergens or ingredients like butter, milk, cream, and cheese with dairy-free alternatives. Many cooking recipes are runny and flexible – this means that changing milk from almond milk to cream of broccoli soup is not going to dramatically change the consistency or flavor of the dish. Dairy-free baking is a bit trickier. Since baking is a scientific process that relies on specific properties of ingredients to help the shape, consistency, texture and rise of baked goods, working with dairy-free baking substitutes isn’t always that simple.
We’ve experimented a lot with gluten-free and dairy-free baking (it’s a tough job, we tell you), and we’ve discovered several dairy-free ingredients that can generally be substituted 1:1 and no one will be the wiser.
An important thing to keep in mind about dairy-free baking is fine-tuning your mindset and expectations. Dairy-free ingredients are beautiful, delicious and luxurious in their own right and should not be considered inferior to their dairy counterparts.
If you’re constantly comparing a vegan cheese sauce to traditional alfredo, you’re likely to be disappointed based on deep feelings and attachments to the latter. Instead, celebrate and appreciate dairy-free baked goods for what they are: delicious.
Here are our 9 favorite dairy-free baking replacements to try.
9 Dairy-Free Baking Substitutions
Instead of milk: Use homemade milk with nuts or seeds
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Ditch the dairy milk and try a homemade nut or seed milk. Non-dairy milks are very easy to make: just soak your nuts/seeds for several hours, drain and rinse them, then mix them with water. (We have a full guide to making nut and seed milk here for you.)
How to use it
The more water you use, the thinner your milk will be, so if you need a thick, creamy consistency, add less. We use homemade nut milk in a ratio of 1:1 in pastries. Also, if you want to create buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to your dairy-free milk to help it “thicken.”
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Instead of butter: Use coconut oil
For a completely vegan and dairy-free option, choose organic unrefined coconut oil. Coconut oil hardens at low temperatures, softens at room temperature, and melts into a liquid, so the consistency you choose will depend on how you plan to use it.
How to use it
When cooled and grated or cubed, coconut oil can be made into crusts and doughs just as you would cold butter. In its soft form, you can cream coconut oil with dry sugar, such as coconut sugar, as a base for a variety of cookies and cakes. Melted coconut oil also helps moisten batters for muffins, breads, cookies and cakes.
Plus, as a healthy saturated fat, coconut oil is antibacterial, great for digestion and appetite control, and benefits our skin. Who wouldn’t want such an ingredient in their cookie?
Instead of cream: Use coconut milk or coconut cream
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Sometimes a homemade nut or seed milk just won’t cut it and you’ll need something thicker and creamier. Enter coconut milk or coconut cream. Coconut milk, a mixture of coconut milk and water, is thick enough on its own to add richness to dairy-free baked goods (and you can even make your own!). Coconut cream is much thicker than coconut milk. Essentially, it’s the “cream” that rises to the top of coconut milk. You can buy coconut cream separately or make your own by chilling a can of coconut milk and skimming off the thick part (save the water for another use, like smoothies).
How to use it
Coconut cream is a great choice when making frostings or toppings for your dairy-free baked goods. Just whip it up with the flavoring of your choice (cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter, jam, etc.) and spread on your goodies. The more ingredients you add to your coconut cream, the heavier it will become and this can affect your ability to mix it. If this happens, just chill the coconut cream and then whip it again.
If you’re really not a fan of the coconut flavor, then try the cashew cream.
Instead of cheese: Use nut cheese or nut parmesan
If you make savory baked goods that use cheese, instead of using processed vegan cheeses, try making your own dairy-free cheese or a healthy-tasting substitute.
How to use it
For a cheesy flavor, try mixing 1/2 cup of nuts or seeds with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast in your blender or food processor. You can then adjust the amount of nutritional yeast or add salt to taste.
Nut or seed cheeses (or fermented nut cheeses) are also a great option – just chop them up and add them to breads or muffin batter.
Instead of Butter: Use Ghee
Photo: subodhsathe at iStock
Although ghee, also known as clarified butter, is derived from butter (which contains dairy), ghee has no milk solids, making it a great substitute for butter. It also has some amazing health benefits, so don’t be afraid to use it in dairy-free baking (remember, ghee is still an animal product, so it’s not suitable for vegans).
How to use it
Ghee helps us make amazing pie crusts, cookies, muffins and cakes and we tend to use it in a 1:1 ratio.
Learn how to make your own ghee step by step here, then discover 20 ways you can use it in your recipes.
Instead of milk chocolate: Use dark chocolate or dairy-free cocoa
We love our chocolate baked treats! Milk chocolate not only contains dairy, but usually has a higher amount of sugar (the higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet the chocolate will be).
How to use it
For chocolate chips, try chopping up a bar of dark chocolate, use dark chocolate chips, or try cacao nibs, which are crushed cacao nibs.
For recipes that call for milk chocolate powder, you can easily swap in raw cocoa powder or dairy-free cocoa powder.
Instead of yogurt: Use dairy-free yogurt
Yogurts add acidity to baked goods to help them rise. Instead of dairy-based yogurt, there is a wide variety of dairy-free yogurts made from coconut, almond, cashew, oat, soy, rice, and more.
How to use it
Of very easy to make your own yogurt – all you need is dairy-free milk of your choice and a probiotic capsule. In a pinch, coconut cream and cashew cream they are also good dairy-free baking substitutes!
Instead of Butterscotch: Use Date Paste
Butterscotch is sometimes used in baking recipes in place of sugar, or applied as a finishing drizzle after the goodies come out of the oven.
How to use it
You can do an absolutely delicious sauce which recreates butterscotch or toffee by soaking dates and blending them into a smooth paste. The more liquid you add, the thinner and thinner your sauce will be.
Instead of buttermilk: Use Vegan Buttermilk
Similar to dairy-based yogurt, buttermilk is an acid that helps baked treats rise and become fluffier. But you can achieve the same result with a dairy-free version.
How to make it
Make dairy-free buttermilk by mixing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar into 1 cup of nut/seed milk. Mix well and then leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Making vegan buttermilk is so easy.
Have fun experimenting with these dairy-free baking substitutions!
