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How to Swap This for That to make it Vegan

This one goes out to the new vegans in the hood. Welcome, my friends!

Back when I was working my vegan wooing powers (the powers are strong!) on my cousin Gretty who was considering going vegan, she would ask me a million questions about what I ate (once she started to get over the whole protein thing).  “Well, what do you do about butter?” I would tell her there was vegan butter. “What about mayonnaise?” there’s totally vegan mayonnaise too.

How to swap this for that to make it vegan! The ultimate substitution guide to make dairy-free, meat-free, and egg-free cooking and eating easy (and delicious)! #itdoesnttastelikechicken

It seemed to blow Gretty’s mind that there were so many vegan products available, making the switch super easy. She told me I had to make a post about it because people like her had no idea it could be that easy. 1 1/2 years later, I’m finally getting this post written (and yes, she has been vegan for 1 1/2 years now, woot!)

I thought this one would be the most fun expressed through video, so watch away and enjoy.

 

 

I point to a whole lot of stuff in this video, so I put the links for every product and recipe shown below. This is just a selection of vegan products and recipes based on what google showed me that day. There are so many more available so keep your eyes open for more great products and recipes!

*Not all of the brands and blogs linked below are 100% vegan. I did my best to link directly to the vegan products where possible, but if not clearly labelled vegan, just double check the ingredients before purchasing anything.

 

DAIRY

 

One of the common things I hear people say is “I could go vegan except for cheese”. Well, there is totally vegan cheese! I even made a post called 16 Life Changing Vegan Cheese Recipes that starts off by discussing cheese addiction. (It’s totally a thing)!  If you are a cheese addict (I was), there is good news for you, vegan cheeses totally exist. Not only can you get some pretty yummy vegan cheese on the market, but it can be super easy to make your own as well. My go-to mozzarella and nacho cheese will help you cover the basics.

As far as the rest of dairy products go, they have all be veganzied and are easy to find in the stores or make yourself. Everything from non-dairy milks (there are so many vegan milk options!), vegan butters, yoguts, sour cream, you name it, it has been made.

Here is a list of links for all of the brands, and recipe photos I show in the above Youtube video. There are many more brands that I am sure I missed, and many more recipes available online. So keep your eyes open! 🙂

VEGAN CHEESE BRANDS:

VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES:

VEGAN BUTTER BRANDS:

VEGAN BUTTER ALTERNATIVES:

VEGAN BUTTER RECIPES:

VEGAN MILK BRANDS:

VEGAN MILK RECIPES:

VEGAN COFFEE CREAM BRANDS:

VEGAN HEAVY CREAM FOR COOKING:

VEGAN COFFEE CREAM RECIPES:

VEGAN YOGURT BRANDS:

VEGAN YOGURT RECIPES

VEGAN SOUR CREAM BRANDS:

  • Tofutti
  • Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet

VEGAN SOUR CREAM RECIPES:

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE BRANDS:

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE RECIPES:

VEGAN WHIPPED CREAM BRANDS:

VEGAN WHIPPED CREAM RECIPE:

VEGAN ICE CREAM BRANDS:

BANANA ICECREAM RECIPE:

EGGS

For anyone who loves the flavour of eggs, I always recommend that they pick up a bag of black salt (also called kala namak). It’s actually pink in colour, but don’t confuse it with himalayan salt which is not at all the same thing. Black salt has the weirdest quality where it really taste just like eggs. Use it in place of regular salt on a tofu scramble or any other egg-like recipe and prepare to have your mind blown!

VEGAN EGG BRANDS:

DIY VEGAN EGG REPLACERS FOR BAKING

  • Ground Chia of flax (grind the flax yourself for best results)
  • Bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Lemon Juice
  • Silken Tofu

VEGAN EGG RECIPES:

VEGAN MAYONAISE BRANDS:

VEGAN MAYONAISE RECIPES:

MEAT

There are a million trillion billion meat substitutes out there. Ok maybe not that much, but there are a lot! More options are becoming available all the time, it’s the new trend! There are even burgers that are designed to replicate the exact taste and look of meat called the Impossible Burger, but it isn’t available in stores yet.

Personally, I only eat mock meats very occasionally (not that I think anything is wrong with them!), but I just prefer homemade and whole food approaches. I could (and almost do), eat beans, tofu, lentils, or some other bean like thing everyday. I just find them so satisfying and scrumptious when prepared right.

VEGAN MEAT BRANDS:

VEGAN GROUND BEEF RECIPES:

VEGAN BURGER RECIPES:

VEGAN BEEFY RECIPES:

VEGAN CHICKEN-ISH RECIPES:

VEGAN FISHY RECIPES:

VEGAN BACON RECIPES FREE EBOOK:

VEGGIE DOG & SAUSAGE RECIPES:

OTHER

If you want it vegan, chances are it’s been made vegan. I have even tried a vegan honey, called Honee made out of apples that was sent to me by a reader, (thank you!), and was super delish.

Along with jello, many candies contain gelatin as well (boo!!) but I already put together a list of 40+ Vegan Gummy Candies That are Actually Vegan.

VEGAN HONEY ALTERNATIVES:

VEGAN JEL BRANDS:

VEGAN GELATIN ALTERNATIVE:

VEGAN CHOCOLATE BRANDS:

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions, or if you found any particularly cool vegan products below in the comments.

Bon Appegean!

Sam.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathie says

    If you’re fortunate enough to have an Aldi near you, please, please try their “Earth Grown” Vegan cream cheese, sour cream (new!) and also new- ice cream! Yum, yum and yum! They are really amazing! Also, Trader Joe’s has the best almond shredded mozzarella cheese EVER!!!!! (without a funny consistency/after taste like many have!) My husband even likes all of the above (who is far from vegan!)

    Reply

  2. Karen says

    Hello, love your post, just wondering if these items would be considered processed foods? I am just starting to research vegan options, have already tried the Dalia products and really found it good!

    Reply

    • Sam Turnbull says

      “Whole foods represent foods that retain their natural composition as well as contain no artificial additives or preservatives and have gone through little or no processing (i.e. cooking, grinding, or blending).” So yes, many of the products mentioned are processed foods.

      Reply

  4. Steven Cowling says

    I love it! I live in an area where there’s not a lot of vegan stuff in the grocery stores. This is soooo helpful!

    Love your blog! Keep up the good work!

    Steve

    Reply

  5. Estefanía says

    Oh, my… It’s amazing how many options you have over there. I’m from Argentina and there’s nothing like that here. All we have are some vegan hamburgers and sausages. All the vegan options for milk are so so expensive that are impossible to buy. Coconut milk is around 10 times more expensive than cow milk.
    I’ve been vegetarian for 5 years now and now I’m slowly making an incursion in the vegan world. However, due to the limited vegan market, I have to make myself everything with the elements that I can find. It’s hard, but I will not give up!

    Reply

  6. Dawne says

    Thank you for this list, I’ve only been vegan for about 5 weeks now so this list will be helpful, especially since my teenage son is trying as well and does not like salads at all. Also, just to let everyone know, Trader Joe’s semi sweet chocolate chips just happen to be vegan! Woohoo!!

    Reply

    • Sam Turnbull says

      Congrats on your new veganism, Dawne! Glad this list is helpful for you. There is definitely a vegan version of almost everything out there, so do you not have to live off of salads. I have a ton of recipes on my blog here and my cookbook is ideal for beginners. Let me know if you ever have any questions or have any recipe requests 🙂

      Reply

  8. April says

    Good afternoon Sam. Do you have a printable version of the “Swap This For That?” I tried printing it but it is very long with all the ads. Thank you so much! My kids and I just started our Vegan journey last Friday and so far we are loving it!

    Reply

  9. Eric says

    I noticed you don’t show Quorn. It is a non-soy meat substitute, which is really good for us, since my wife cant do soy products. And… it actually tastes good.

    Reply

  10. Samuel says

    I was raised vegetarian and my mom is vegan. There are several other vegetarian/vegan meat manufacturers. You have to look a little harder for the vegan ones but check out abc health foods, they have a website but they don’t have it organized to make it easy to find vegan products.

    Reply

  11. Val says

    Watch out for Vegan Cheese and butters/oils….. Lots of Vegan foods out there still are full of fat….. FAT is FAT…. Whether it is just plain fat or plant based fats…. It’s still FAT!!! That’s why you see so many FAT vegetarians
    and Vegans….

    Reply

  12. Rachel @ Health My Lifestyle says

    Awesome post! I went vegan almost a year ago and definitely could have used this back then! You’ve covered everything here. I will definitely be sharing this with my friends and family so they can see how easy it is to make substitutions!

    Reply

  13. Andrea says

    Kroger makes great meat substitutes. the brand is Simple Truth. the veggie crumbles are really good and I can LIVE on the breaded “chicken” patties with some veganaise. YUM!!

    Reply

  14. Kari says

    Excellent! Anyone thinking about going vegan will feel much better about the journey after this.

    I’ve never really eaten meat. Even as a kid I didn’t like it. But, cheese and milk were a different story. When I started to try out vegan food, I found out how many different options there are that are totally viable. I’ve made some vegan cheese that knocks milk cheese out of the park.

    And I love the fact that more and more companies are making it easy for people who don’t want to make stuff at home but still want to eat a vegan diet.

    Hopefully all the potential vegans see this post or your video! Makes it look much easier.

    Reply

  15. Nico @ yumsome says

    What a brilliant post, Sam – definitely a fab resource, not just for new vegans, either…. I had no idea about most of these brands!

    Thanks so much for linking to my sausage recipe – really appreciate it! xx

    Reply

  17. Christine says

    Hi Sam,
    Fantastic videos you covered just about everything
    I’m sure you’ve heard of aquafaba as an egg replacer? I read about it last year when I did Veganuary.
    As an Australian , we like our pavlova, especially at Christmas and on Australia Day, so I thought I’d eaten my last ever in 2015.
    I didn’t believe I could make meringue with anything but egg white so I tried this recipe
    http://whyveg.com/recipes/print-recipe.php?recipe=149&clickto=1
    It not only worked, it fooled everyone I gave my meringues to….. brilliant success!
    https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/13-amazing-things-you-can-do-aquafaba

    Reply

  18. Ann S says

    Great post, thank you! I will share it with others, definitely. One concern–I don’t think Morningstar Farms products are vegan. Most of them have egg whites in them. Maybe they have some vegan products that I don’t know about, but every time I check the ingredients I see egg whites listed.

    Also, have you had a chance to try Miyoko Schinner’s “Miyoko’s Creamery” vegan cheeses and butter? OMG they are SO good! Trader Joe’s is carrying the butter now. The cheeses can be hard to find and pricey, but worth splurging on for a treat!

    Reply

    • Sam Turnbull says

      Oh no! You are so right Ann! I’ve actually never seen MorningStar Farms in stores, so they were new to me. Google failed me! Haha. I went to their site, and they do have some vegan products, just search “vegan”, but many aren’t. I updated the video with warnings and added it in the link list as well. Thanks for letting me know!
      As for Miyoko’s cheese, I had a tiny taste at a vegetarian festival of one of her cheeses, but unfortunately they don’t sell them in Canada yet.

      Reply

  19. Betty Hatfield says

    This is a great list. I’ve been a vegan for over 26 years but I learned about new products. I would like to add Califia Farms. If anyone lives near Aldi, the Moser Roth 70% dark chocolates are vegan but I would check the ingredients list. Ghirardelli chocolate chips (in the gold foil bags and the mini chips) are no longer vegan and I didn’t find out until after I bought about 50 bags to make Christmas candy.
    Thanks, Sam! I’m going to post this on my vegan Pinterest board.

    Reply

  23. Annie B says

    WOW, WOW, WOW this is an awesome list! I can’t believe the vegan Camembert and Roquefort cheeses. I may get up the courage to try one or both of those. Thank you so much!! This is one of the best reference lists I’ve ever seen for vegans.

    Reply

  24. Arlene Cohen says

    FABULOUS, Sammi. Excellent video and and thanks! I’m happy to know about products other than Gardein and Earth Island, Earth Balance. Keep up the great work, it is so appreciated. Cheers, ABC

    Reply

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