A Quick Guide to Vegan Substitutes

No more excuses! There are hundreds of vegan alternatives to animal products. We've rounded up vegan versions of seven staple ingredients:

Eggs

For vegan chefs and bakers, replacing eggs is probably the biggest challenge of all. When it comes down to it, there are no perfect vegan substitutions for eggs, but here are a few that get the job done:

• Applesauce - about 3-4 tablespoons will replace 1 egg in your baked goods.
• Bananas - the ratio is basically 1 banana to 1 egg.
• Purees - purees and pie fillings make great replacements for eggs and other binding agents.
• Silken tofu - tofu is probably the closest thing you'll find to an all-encompassing egg replacer.
• Egg replacers - usually come in powder form and turn sticky and thick when mixed with water.
• Aquafaba - chickpea cooking liquid or the liquid in a can of chickpeas, also known as aquafaba, is a very convincing replacement of egg whites, both in terms of flavor and texture.
• Water and chia/flax seeds (flegg) - mix together 3 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon chia or flax seeds. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes - after this time, this is equivalent to 1 egg.

Protein

When you think protein, you usually think of meat, but there are so many plant-based protein sources. These vegan proteins are excellent for nourishing your body:

• Tofu - 1/2 cup tofu = 11 grams of protein.
• Tempeh - 1/2 cup tempeh = 15 grams of protein.
• Beans - 1/2 cup beans = 8 grams of protein.
• Jackfruit - 1/2 cup jackfruit = 1 gram of protein.

Seafood

Seafood can sometimes be hard to replicate in texture, but these are great recipes that mimic that fishy flavor:

• Green supreme roll
• Raw beet sashimi
• Lomi lomi salad
• Vegan garlic & spirulina shrimp.

Milk

These plant milk options are the cream of the crop (sorry, not sorry!):

• Oat milk - maybe the best plant milk ever! Full of dietary fiber, mild in flavor, creamy, and naturally sweet.
• Hemp milk - nutty and well-balanced, hemp milk is an extremely nutritious alternative to dairy.
• Soy milk - the traditional choice for vegans, soy milk has been doing the rounds for a long time now and is thicker than most other plant milks.
• Macadamia milk - the new kid on the block, creamy and rich macadamia milk has appeared with a bang!
• Homemade plant milk recipes
  • Oat milk
  • Hazelnut milk
  • Homemade almond milk
  • Vegan condensed milk.

Cheese

The first time you try an upscale vegan cheese, you just might be blown away by its sophisticated textures and flavors. These are the best vegan cheese brands available in our stores, followed by some homemade cheese recipes:

• Daiya Foods - shreds, slices, blocks, and cream cheese.
• Field Roast - Chao slices.
• Follow Your Heart - shredded, sliced, specialty, and blocks.
• Kite-Hill - cream cheese and soft spreadable cheese.
• Miyoko's Creamery - farmhouse & pepper jack, mozzarella, cheese wheels & cream cheese.
• The Vegan Cheese Shoppe - macadamia nut "brie" made in Hawaiʻi.
• Violife - blocks, grated, slices, and cream cheese.
• Homemade cheese recipes:
  • 3-ingredient vegan parmesan cheese
  • Sundried tomato chickpea cheese
  • Vegan goat cheese
  • Vegan herbed cashew cheese wheel.

Mayonnaise

You can use these vegan mayonnaises exactly the same way you'd use non-vegan mayonnaise:

• Follow Your Heart Vegenaise
• Chosen Foods Mayo
• Wildwood Mayo Alternative
• Hampton Creek Just Mayo
• Earth Balance Mindful Mayo
• Homemade mayo recipes:
  • Vegan garlic mayo
  • Cashew miso mayo

Ice Cream

Let's finish with our favorite course - dessert. These vegan ice creams are about to change your life:

• So Delicious
• Coconut Bliss
• NadaMoo
• Almond Dream
• Rice Dream
• Homemade ice cream recipes:
  • Maple nice cream
  • Raspberry nice cream with pistachio crumble.