What Can I Use Instead of Vegan Cream Cheese
There are SO many substitutions for meat and dairy products out there already, and more are coming out all the time! With a little trial you are sure to find ones perfect for you!
In baking and cooking, recipes calling for egg and/or dairy products are very easily changed, with virtually no difference in the end product! They will make you wonder why anyone ever used eggs and milk before!
Then there is the magic of wheat gluten, tvp, tofu, and other ingredients that are truly remarkable, giving the chew and look of "real meat", and some products out there few people even heard about (jack fruit) that can fool everyone!
Yes, food will taste different, just switching to a meat free analog. But you can add more oil, or salt, to a recipe, and it will make the flavor more pronounced, perhaps a good way to ween oneself off of something, but do you really want to?
Since taste is a learned process we need to "unlearn" some things too. Give new products a chance and in time just the thought of all that previous fat and garbage in your diet will turn your stomach.
Converting recipes to vegan is very easy.
Eggs are used primarily for two reasons in cooking; as a binder, to help hold other ingredients together, like in a meatloaf OR as a leavening agent to help the item rise as in baking. If you keep that in mind you should do well!
Instead of 1 egg in baking, you can use...
- 1 T Flax seeds ground with 3 T water
- 1 Tablespoon (chick pea) or soya flour and 1 T water
- 1 T arrowroot, 1 T soy flour and 2 T water
- 2 T Cornstarch
- 2 T Potato starch (Instant mash potatoes)
- 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 Tbsp shortening, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp water
- 1/4 cup soft tofu blended with the liquid portion of the recipe
- 1/2 large banana, mashed 2 Heaping t Soy powder + 2 T water
- 1/4 cup apple sauce (in sweet recipes)
When experimenting I usually use 1 T ground flax seed, 1 T cornstarch, 1 T oil plus 1 T water or soymilk, in place of 1 egg and have had no problems yet!
I adjust to the recipe... If it has more than 2 eggs, then leavaning might be involved so I add baking powder. If you don't want the flax seeds, say in a smooth batter white bread cake, then use something else....
If it has a ton of eggs, like a popover, then it probably wont work.
Yep! Pretty amazing!
Just replace 1 oz liquid, per 1 egg white. Whip hard for 5 minutes, then slowly add any other ingredients while whipping a few more minutes!
Leave out the salt, unless the can is salt free.
The liquid holds a firm foam very well, even for merningue cookies!
Alternative binding agents Baked goods or casseroles, burger...
choose 1 instead per egg...
- 2 T mashed potatoes
- 2 T mashed avocado
- 2 T Tahini or other Nut Butter
- 2 T moist bread crumbs
- 2 T Moist Oats
- Plain silken tofu
- White sauce (soy milk, vegan margarine, and cornstarch or flour)
- 2 T Chia seeds
Be sure and check out Chia seeds! Yep those, cha cha cha chia
They are a great product (for other things besides growing hair on ceramics...) Such as a thickener and binder. Add 2-4 Tablespoons to 1 cup of liquid and let it sit 15 minutes or so... Thick like pudding! And it is a great source of protein! You can use these as a binder in anything, but keep in mind, they will give a slight crunch, like poppy seeds do...
In place of eggs for breakfast
The secret is Black Himalayn salt! Kala namak. It is actually pink or black. It has the eggy, sulfurry taste, associated with eggs, so use it in place of salt in anything you want to remind you of real eggs. In a scramble, deviled eggs or Egg salad sandwich too!
Check the recipe page for more ideas, but silken tofu, nutritional yeast, broth powder, and chopped vegis make an incredible Vegan scrambled eggs! Plus you can make quiche, omelets, bread pudding, etc... all with tofu instead of eggs!
If you want a plate to look like it holds a fried egg... cut tofu to shape, cooked or not... and top with a halved piece of canned apricot! Voila! You can make it sweet or savory.
Vegan Deviled Eggs
Vegan Butter/margarine/shortening/oil
Miyoko makes an awesome butter replacement
Oil is 100% fat
butter is 80–82 percent milk fat, 16–17 percent water, and 1–2 percent milk solids
Real margarine must be 80%
Oil Spreads and Whipped Spreads can range from zero fat to 70% so read the label if cooking with it! It usually isnt recommended for baking.
Shortening, like regular crisco is vegan, and can be used in place of butter or lard in recipes. (Although it is not the healthiest choice.) To make it healthier, use coconut oil, or oil such as Canola and 3/4 the amount but liquid oils do not "harden" as crisco or coconut oil does. So for chocolate coated bananas or similar, use coconut oil not regular liquid oil.
You can use margarine for baking without any noticeble difference in the final product, if it contains at least 60% fat. There are some very good vegan butter/margarine substitutes on the market, and most of them are found in health food stores such as Earth Balance. A real Margarine found in many regular supermarkets is Nucoa brand, a stick margarine, so it easily substitutes for any butter or margarine.
Don't expect it to taste like cows milk.
It is a product that can be used in places some people traditionally use cows milk, It is not made to taste like it.
If you don't know which one to choose,
when cooking use the plain unsweetened, where there is ONLY soybeans and water on the ingredients.
Any other ingredients, even when it says unsweetened, can alter the taste in the final product.
Evaporated milk is just 2 servings of milk in 1 serving of liquid. So to get evaporated milk use twice as much instant dry soy milk powder to one serving of milk, or take ready made soy milk (with only soy beans and water on the label) and use that in place of water for mixing one serving of instant dry soy milk powder.
Chao brand vegan cheese is amazing!
Cheese used to be one of the hardest food items to find a perfect substitute for, primarily because cheese is very high in fat and salt and a lot of the alternatives are low in fat!
but, there are new cheese substitutes on the market and some are truly amazing! There are subs for almost every type of cheese out there, cheddar, mozzerella, pepper jack, parmesan, etc... Anything by miyoko is wonderful, Follow Your Heart, brand, Vegan Gourmet. Their provolone is especially wonderful!
Look for Miyokos kitchen too. Miyoko Schinner has some of the best recipes for cheese alternatives
What I do, if I don't have store bought vegan cheese, or to extend it, is make a vegan cream sauce with plain soymilk or blendered soaked cashews... adding more nutritional yeast and onion powder, and for that shredded cheese look, I grate extra firm tofu, and mix it with a lot of nutritional yeast and onion salt/garlic salt.
This works great for pizza, or a casserole, or lasagna, where you have a melted cheese, and it still looks like real cheese. If you want a more sharp cheddar flavor add a tablespoon or so of light miso!
If you like experimenting with your cheesy sauces, try adding some blendered oatmeal and/or tapioca if you want the stringy look and feel. Overcooked tapioca will be nice and stringy.
Nutritional yeast is something everyone needs to find! It is the best base for anything vegan and cheesy.
Find it at any health food store. Often in bulk. Buy a few cups at a time. You will want to use it on a lot of things besides a creamy cheesy sauce... Try in spaghetti sauce, on vegetables, and on popcorn! Use it like parmesan but it's without the fat!
Making a cheese sauce there is the need for a fat. If you want a zero or low fat cheese then of course leave it out or use little. But for the most flavor you need to add a fat... Avocados are a great fat substitute. Or olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil too but that will leave a slight scent of coconuts... which can be good if you are making a dessert.
You also need a salt, or the flavor is really bland. You can add herbs, instead, if you want low salt, but for best flavor add salt, or soysauce, or a little miso for even richer flavor.
Parmesan cheese is relatively easy to make a substitute for. You want a slightly salty sprinkle for pasta or on bruschetta, so nuts make the best sub. Just grind 1/2 - 1 C (unsalted or leave out the added salt) almonds, cashews, walnuts, or even toasted sesame seeds, and mix them with 1 c nutritional yeast and 1 teaspoon salt. Adjust to personal taste of course.
Kitehill and Tofutti make a really great version, Better Than Cream Cheese, and there are others.
To make one from scratch, and substitute it in cooking, remember it is almost 90% fat! 54 % moisture. Very much like sour cream but firmer.
When baking or when making a dessert, or sweet food, You can substitute another high fat butter like almond paste, or even avocado and more oil and add a little tofu for consistency. If you want cream cheese for a dip base, or topping for a main meal, you can use more tofu plus a nut butter, tahini or avocado and seasonings, such as onion salt, nutritional yeast, garlic....
More recipes will be linked soon
I think the best and easiest CREAM alternative is a cashew cream. Just soak cashews in water a few hours, then blender smooth, and add a pinch of salt. Use that as your base for anything involving cream, whipping cream, cream cheese, cheese sauces, rich gravys, etc..
Vegan Buttermilk
For 1 cup: use scant 1 cup plain soymilk plus 2 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar mixed in.
Tofutti makes excellent vegan versions, called Better Than Sour Cream
For cooking variations:
Adjust low fat/ regular fat by adding or subtracting oils to recipes
- Silken tofu , pinch of salt, Tablespoon of lemon juice per cup.
- Mashed ripe avocado, pinch of salt to taste, tablespoon of lemon juice per cup.
- Or use half tofu half avocado.... salt, lemon juice..
- . or use a couple tablespoons canola or olive oil if no avocado available.
- or Tahini or other nut butter.
- For Topping Potatoes or similar:
- Low fat: Silken tofu , pinch of salt to taste, teaspoon of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, Tablespoon (more or less) of nutritional yeast per potato.
- Regular sour cream:
- Mashed ripe avocado, pinch of salt, teaspoon of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, Tablespoon (more or less) of nutritional yeast per potato.
- Or use half tofu half avocado.... plus salt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast...
- Or try Tahini, straight or mixed with tofu and a dash of lemon juice.
Here is a recipe for a vegan sour cream like sauce that I love on potatoes and vegis
Cottage Cheese, Feta, or (basically any cheese)
Crumble or cube tofu, sprinkle with a little salt, then cover with olive oil and sit in fridge overnight or longer
For cheesier flavor, or great for casseroles... try 1 cup Crumbled or cubed Tofu, with 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, a teaspoon or two of miso...
If making a cheesecake, or something sweet, leave out yeast, garlic, and miso, and add 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder to recipe
For a great tasting feta like cheese for appitizers or in a salad, Cube the tofu and add some herbs, like basil, oregano, rosemary, plus a couple tablespoons of lemon juice 1/4 cup wine vinegar, a Tablespoon or so of miso. Let chill overnight or longer. You can hurry the mixture by adding water to cover, then bringing it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, then chill.
There are several amazing recipes out there too, that make homemade vegan cheese from scratch. Most are nut based, with nutritional yeast and agar, a firming vegan gel made from seaweed, and sometimes using Rejuvelac, a fermented grain water.
Miso is actually a great product to add to "cheese" sauces, if you want a little more "sharp" flavor, as in sharp cheddar.
Look for recipes by Miyoko Schinner.
A couple great cook books to get: Artisan vegan cheese, by Miyoko Schinner, and The Cheesy Vegan by John Schlimm
If you havent yet... Check the freezer section of a health food store and most grocery stores too! Safeway, Target, etc.... There are many many options and flavors so personal tastes count for everything... BEN AND JERRYS!!!! DAIRY FREE!!!! SOY DELICIOUS is also great, and anything Cashew cream... They are as good as any "real" icecream! They have incredible flavors like salted caramel, chocolate caramel Turtle Tracks, Peanut Butter ZigZag.. etc. Even vanilla has come a long way in the past few years. And you can always add more toppings like chocolate syrup, peanut butter, jam, nuts... etc...!
There are many other brands too, so try a bunch!
I am not a big fan of rice cream, but perhaps you will like it! There is also a lot of frozen fruit sorbets that are very good and refreshing...
Or make your own vegan icecream or sorbet. Check for recipes or for super easy, just freeze some sliced bananas, whirl with a little non dairy milk, add a touch of vanilla, chocolate syrup, strawberries, whatever. More non dairy milk for a shake or refreeze to spoon like icecream!
or an easy sorbet, freeze a can of canned peaches (or similar) and whirl in a blender.. Yum!
Cashew cream is best, but for a quick easy cream, for 1 cup use 3/4 c soymilk and 1/3 c vegan melted margarine
Blender ripe avocado with a little soy milk and oil to thin. or mix tofu with 25% or more oil
Whipped Cream topping, there are vegan versions in the store but I often use frozen vanilla soy delicious or similar dessert..
You can also just froth some very cold coconut or other, milk in a coffee press by pumping it. Yep!
When a person thinks of Mayonnaise, they think of 2 types. One is "REAL" Mayonnaise, which has a bland flavor and is made from almost 100% oil, of which it is emulsified with egg, or whipped hard to change its state from a liquid to a semi solid. Real Mayo is what is used in baking, when a recipe calls for mayonnaise. It is around 75% fat.
The other type we call mayonnaise is truly a salad dressing or bread spread. Something like Miracle whip, which has a sweet tangy flavor and is used most often in Cole slaw recipes, potato salad, or as a bread spread. There are some vegan Mayos on the market, like vegannaise. which you can find at health food stores. But even better are recipes to make your own.
For substituting into a recipe, you need a mayonnaise that is primarly oil, without added flavors. Try making homemade mayonnaise. No egg needed! It can be difficult emulsifying it, whereas sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
What Can I Use Instead of Vegan Cream Cheese
Source: http://www.veganwolf.com/vegan_cooking_substitutions.htm