Guide: Vegan Dessert Substitutes
When it comes to dessert, there is nothing incompatible about the words ‘decadent’ and ‘vegan’. The fact of the matter is that you can still indulge in your old favorites, as long as you know what vegan substitutions to make while recreating them as cruelty-free versions. It may be a bit intimidating at first, but it’s really just as easy as switching to a different brand of shampoo simply because your old brand doesn’t make your hair look healthy anymore. The items listed below can be found in health stores, online vegan stores, and even in a regular supermarkets. Ask assistance from the grocery store’s merchandiser if you have trouble locating them.
| Substitute this (Non-vegan) | With this (Vegan) | How to Use: |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cow's Milk | Soy, Almond, Coconut, Rice Milk Brands to try: Rice Dream Pacific (Almond, Hazelnut, Multi-grain, Rice, Oat, Soy) Better Than Milk Blue Diamond Silk West Soy So Delicious | Use equal parts in dessert/snack recipes that call for cow’s milk. Here's a great recipe that you can try: Blend half a cup with 6 medium frozen bananas (broken/sliced into smaller chunks for easier blending), half a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon natural, unsweetened cocoa, and vegan sweetener to taste (do not use stevia or molasses) to make soft-serve choco-banana soft serve ice cream. |
| 2. Raw cow’s milk | Maranatha Raw Natural Almond Butter Artisana Organic Raw Almond Butter | Here's what you need to do: In two cups cold water and a tablespoon of raw nut butter mixed well in a blender makes quick raw nut milk. Add some raw coconut nectar and 1 tablespoon cacao powder to make raw vegan chocolate milk. |
| 3. Eggs | Ener-G Egg Replacer Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer Silken Tofu Other: Flax Seed Vinegar mixed with Water Mashed bananas Applesauce | No more cholesterol! Egg replacer is amazing substitute for vegan baked goods. Mashed bananas work well in sweet breads and pancakes. Use 1/2 a medium banana per egg. Learn how to use flax seed as a egg replacer User submitted recipe using applesauce as egg replacer in baked goods |
| 4. White Sugar | All Natural Xylitol Sucanat Turbinado Muscovado Coconut Sugar Date Sugar Maple Crystals Florida Crystals | Use in any baking recipe that makes use of white sugar. Although it’s anything but cheap, xylitol has the closest taste to white sugar. |
| 5. Honey | Agave Nectar Maple Syrup Yacon Syrup Coconut Syrup Date Paste | Use for any cookie or pastry recipe that calls for honey. To make date paste, soak one cup of medjool dates with enough water to cover. Soak for 3-4 hours or until dates are soft. Do not discard soak water. Blend the dates using all the soak water (about ¼-1/2 cup) until you get the smooth, chunk-free consistency of a paste. |
| 6. Nutella | Rawtella Organic Chocolate Hazelnut Spread | Spread on vegan bread or cookies/biscuits. Do not heat or use for baking. Cooking this spread misses the whole point of it being raw. |
| 7. Butter/Margarine | Earth Balance Spectrum Organics Spectrum Spread Dixie Diner's Club Low-Fat Butter (Not!) | Substitute regular margarine or butter with equal measurements. Use in making cookies, cakes, and icing. |
| 8. Regular marshmallows made with egg whites/gelatin | Sweet & Sara Vegan Marshmallows Dandies Air-Puffed Vegan Marshmallow | Use as a topping for vegan hot chocolate (Heat one of the vegan milks above, mix with ½ to 1 tablespoon cocoa powder depending on how chocolatey you want it to be, and 1 tablespoon vegan sweetener). Also great for making vegan smores. |
| 9. Regular chocolate chips made with milk fat | Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips | Use in making vegan chocolate chip cookies or bars. Can be used as a topping for store-bought vegan ice cream or the soft serve ice cream recipe above. |
| 10. Cream | Soy Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer | Coconut milk creamer is great in mashed potatoes, or in any recipe that calls for cream. |
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Question: WHAT ARE YOUR TOP VEGAN BAKING TIPS & TRICKS? HELP US BUILD THIS LIST!
Soy flour (and liquid) is one of my favorite egg replacers. Another is soy yoghurt. I often combine two egg replacers, e.g. soy flour and bananas is great for cookies (produces much better results than eggs!). Or I might use soy yoghurt and commercial egg replacer for a cake.
Erythritol is supposed to be less laxative than Xylitol and similar (or more sugar-like) in taste. I haven’t tried it myself.
Cashew cream is the best replacement for creams etc. Just blend cashew nuts with water, it’s really that easy. Makes the most delicious ice cream too.
Coconut oil can be used to replace butter and margarine. In a lot of baking even a liquid oil can be used.
Some people add a tiny sprinkle of orange blossom water to agave syrup to make it more honey-like.
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