How to Veganize Your Favorite Recipes

When moving to a plant based diet, cooking without foods such as butter, eggs, or cream can seem daunting. However, there are substitutions available and you’ll be surprised at how well they work.  Some of these substitutions have been around for ages, perhaps arising out of necessity during economic hardship, while other methods were inspired by cooking methods from other cultures. Although some may seem counter-intuitive, give them a try, you’ll be glad you did.

For substitutions, follow this basic formula:  When a recipe calls for ____, use ____ instead.

Meat

Tofu
Mushrooms
Setain (wheat gluten)
Eggplant
Beans
Tempeh
(TVP) textured vegetable protein
Vegetable or nut mixtures

CHICKEN OR BEEF BROTH

Vegetable broth
Vegetable bouillon cubes

BUTTER

Margarine
Coconut oil
Vegetable oil: 1/3 cup oil = one stick of butter (1/2 cup)

BUTTERMILK

Soy milk with acid: Mix 1 cup soy milk with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Then, let the mixture sit until it separates.

CONDENSED MILK

Canned coconut milk

EGGS

In Baking:
For egg whites: Use agar agar powder mixed with water according to the package directions
For whole eggs: 1 ripe mashed banana = 1 egg
For dense baked goods, like brownies and cakes: ¼ cup pureed silken tofu = 1 egg

For Baking In General
1 tablespoon applesauce = 1 egg
1 tablespoon ground flax seed and 3 tablespoons water = 1 egg (combine and let sit for a few minutes before using)

As A Binder:
Mashed potatoes
Bread crumbs (blended)
Tofu (blended)
Cooked rice or oatmeal
Nutritional yeast
Flax meal
Tomato paste

HEAVY CREAM

Canned coconut milk: Put a can of coconut milk in the fridge for 48 hours.  Open it up and use just the solidified top layer.

MILK

Soy milk (Recommended for baking because it’s a bit thicker than almond or rice milk)
Almond milk
Rice milk
Oat milk
Coconut milk
Hemp milk

CHEESE

Crumbled tofu (In place of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. (Adding a little miso can give a ‘blue cheese’ flavor))
Cashew cheese
Nutritional yeast
Vegan cream cheese (Available in various flavors and without hydrogenated oils)

MAYONNAISE

Vegan mayonnaise: Available in canola oil, expeller-pressed canola oil, grape seed oil, and organic expeller-pressed soybean varieties

HONEY

Agave syrup
Maple syrup
Golden syrup
Date syrup

SUGAR (without the use of bone char in processing)

Beet sugar
Unbleached sugar

Sarah Yoo

Sarah Yoo is the associate director of Life & Health but wears a few dozen hats as other this-and-thats, as is the norm in non-profit work. Her favorite part about working at Life & Health is meeting the people that Life & Health content has helped. Ultimately, Sarah dreams of doing humanitarian work in a developing country with her family.