The year is almost coming to an end and it’s time to take a look at all the awesome products that hit the scene to make our vegan lives just a bit easier and healthier! Not only did 2019 bring a second wave of incredibly tasty dairy-free products, but it’s also been the year of new ingredients to hit the scene such as pea milk, zucchini tortillas, and soy protein-made fishless fish. I’ve scoured not only One Green Planet’s year of plant-based alternative discovery, but also the wide ole internet to dig up the most promising and popular of our favorite products to hit the scene.
For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy!
Now let’s get started!
1. Non-Dairy Milk
Chobani Oat-Based Milk/chobani.com
While it may seem like there’s simply nowhere else to go in the plant-based milk world, this category of plant-based eating is still expanding! Yet, it’s not necessarily the type of product, but the expanding number of companies offering alternative options.
For example, big brand name Chobani — the famed greek yogurt producer — has set their sights on dipping into the plant-based world. Getting their toes wet, Chobani will be offering two new products this December, “a dairy creamer … and an oat milk,” which will be followed by an “oat yogurt with a granola crunch.” Their campaign will be an aggressive one touting the slogan “this is better than milk.” Keep your eyes open for this new milk to hit the market!
While 2018 was truly the year for oat milk, there was a new big brother on the scene in 2019: pea milk!
Made from… you guessed it… peas, this milk alternative offers a natural source of protein, which is a huge boon for plant-based and vegan eaters. With that said, there aren’t many brands hopping on the pea milk train just yet. Ripple Foods — a company that doesn’t “claim that making plant-based foods will save the world…but [believes] it can help” — offers a variety of pea milk options from plain to vanilla to chocolate, including unsweetened and sweetened varieties for those sugar-conscious folks. Plus, you can find Ripple online in bulk — a 6-pack of 48-ounce bottles costs $133.43.
2. Vegan Meat
Meatless options have been all the rave for years, yet within the last year, many companies are tackling one of the most difficult animal-products to reproduce: fish. With that said, it seems that the challenge has been met head-on and with success as a few companies have begun offering fishless fish options.
Thank the skies and the land and definitely the seas for Tuno! This eco-conscious brand is now offering an entire line of plant-based, Omega-3-rich, fish alternative products. Tuno is made with sustainable, non-GMO ingredients that change based on the flavor of Tuno purchased, yet the base of this “fish” is a textured soy protein, sunflower oil, and corn starch. Plus, their products are free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Grab a 12-pack on Amazon for just $23.93.
Good Catch offers a variety of “fish” products that are 100 percent plant-based and free of animal products. Their six-legume proprietary blend includes “peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans, and navy beans,” plus they use “algae oil for seafood flavor and omega-3 DHA.” Good Catch currently offers plant-based tuna and will be branching out past seafood with their line of entrees and appetizers in 2020 including crab cakes, plant-based sliders, and plant-based burgers. Stock up with a 12-pack of 3-ounce pouches for just $52.19.
The vegan meat alternative section of 2019 would not be complete without a mention of both the Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. While both of these brands rose to fame earlier than 2019, it was only within the last year that they truly made their debut in mainstream America, carving a space for themselves in the fast-food industry at popular locations such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, Red Robbin, Qdoba, and Dunkin’ Donuts, just to mention a few!
Yet, when it comes to us consumers, Beyond Meat seems to have outdone Impossible Foods in popularity and health ranking. While the Impossible Burger is only available via restaurants, you can pick up your own Beyond Meat product at your local grocery store — such as Target, Safeway, Whole Foods Market, or Sprouts Farmers Market — or even on Amazon — such as this 4-pack of ground Beyond Meat for $88.00.
3. Non-Dairy Cheese
Siete Dairy-Free Cashew Queso/Amazon.com
It’s not just about slices and blocks of cheese when it comes to vegan alternatives, 2019 was the year of .. well … everything else!
First off, let’s take a look at Siete. This company offers delicious and super gluten-free options across the board, plus now they’re offering creamy vegan-friendly melted cheese dip alternative. The Siete Dairy-Free Cashew Queso for just $14.99 a jar is the perfect luxury to keep in the fridge for easy nachos or as a simple side dip. Made from cashews, tomatoes, carrots, green bell peppers, nutritional yeast, distilled white vinegar, flaxseed, coconut milk powder, and few other vegan-ingredients, this is a tasty treat!
Not a fan of dipping? Cheese spreads have also had a comeback in 2019. This Kite Hill Everything Almond Milk Cream Cheese Style Spread is non-GMO, vegan, kosher, non-GMO, and free of dairy, soy, gluten, artificial preservatives, and added sugar. Plus, it’s simple ingredients list is an attractive quality in a cheese alternative with almond milk, salt, enzyme, xanthan gum, guar gum, lactic acid, and cultures. Another great vegan spread is this Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cream Cheese which is kosher, gluten-free, soy-free, non-GMO project verified and super affordable at your local grocery store.
Last, but not least, soft cheese! Just because you practice a vegan lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the finer things in the cheese world and this year was a great year to begin integrating those soft cheeses back into the fridge. This Treeline Treenut Cheese Scallion French-Style Soft Cheese offers a dairy-free, vegan alternative made with cashews, vegan L. Acidophilus, sea salt, dried scallions, lemon juice, and onion powder.
4. Vegan Yogurt
Yogurt is one of those must-have, super-easy, fulfilling, and healthy snacks. Yet, it’s oftentimes difficult to find that perfect vegan alternative. Welcome 2019, the year of vegan yogurts! As technology advances, so do options for developing healthy, creamy, just-like-real yogurt options.
What does this mean for you? Lots and lots of options!
To begin with, there are a few smaller companies such as Forager Project, Lavva, and Halsa, which have gained massive traction and popularity with their creative and super healthy vegan yogurt options.
Forager Project offers craftily fermented cashew milk yogurt — such as this tub of Forager Project Cashewmilk Yogurt Vanilla for $5.99 — made from organic cashew milk, organic tapioca starch, organic pectin, organic coconut cream, organic locust bean gum, agar, and live active cultures. Lavva specializes in the use of pili nuts and combines organic coconut water, organic coconut cream, vanilla, plantains, organic coconut powder, organic cassava root, organic lime juice, organic Himalayan salt, live vegan cultures, and, of course, pili nuts. Halsa, on the other hand, touts the message that they are the first “completely clean” vegan yogurt. They use “organic Scandinavian whole grain oats, live cultures, and prebiotics” and top it all of with “organic fruits or berries.” Halsa is also proud to say that their yogurt has zero added sugars, artificial sugars, dairy, or GMOs.
Some larger vegan yogurt brands that have really spun into action this year include Good Karma, Kite Hill, and Good Plants.
5. Vegan Butter
European Style Cultured Vegan Butter/miyoko’screamery.com
Vegan butter is by far not a new idea, but in 2019 this dairy-free alternative made a bit of a comeback with a few new types to hit the scene.
First off, one of the most popular and tasty options, Miyoko’s Creamery. Created and operated by Miyoko Schinner — a “tenacious, award-winner vegan celebrity chef” — Miyoko’s Creamery is widely known and applauded for their artisan vegan-friendly alternatives for a variety of commonly dairy-based products. Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Butter is truly a mouth-watering alternative made from Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Cashews, Organic Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt, and Cultures. Plus, this product is certified organic, non-GMO, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, and is free of cholesterol, lactose, gluten, and soy. Pick up an 8-ounce pack for $3.01.
Along with Miyoko’s Creamy, you can find awesome plant-based vegan-friendly butter alternatives at both Melt Organic — a smaller plant-based food company — and big brand Country Crock.
Melt Organic offers three types of vegan butter including Probiotic Melt Organic Spread, Rich & Creamy Melt Organic Spread, and Melt Butter Sticks. Their proprietary recipe is based on organic coconut oil, organic flaxseed oil, organic palm fruit oil, organic canola oil, and organic hi-oleic sunflower oil. Get a tub at your local grocery store including Sprouts Farmers Market, Albertsons, Safeway, and Von’s.
Lastly, if you like sticking with your original brands, try out Country Crock’s new plant-based butter line. That’s right, Country Crock has an entire plant-based line of delicious butter alternatives “made with plant-based oils and featuring oils from almonds, olives, and avocados.” Flavors include Plant Butter with Olive Oil, Plant Butter Sticks with Almond Oil, and Plant Butter Sticks with Avocado Oil. Country Crock Plant Butter can be found at your local grocery store including Safeway, Family Dollar, King Sooper, 7-11, Vons, CVS Pharmacy, and even Smart & Final.
6. Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Tofutti Chocolate Pint/tofutti.com
This list would not be complete with some vegan ice cream and this year truly was the year for inspiration in this department.
One of the hottest brands to truly find their footing in 2019 was Tofutti. They tout the line of being the “first non-dairy frozen dessert to be marketed and sold to the general public through supermarkets.” Along with a slew of frozen desserts, Tofutti offers a line of dairy-free, vegan-friendly ice cream including Almond Bark, Better Pecan, Chocolate, Vanilla Fudge, Vanilla, and Wild Berry Supreme.
Even though Ben & Jerry’s made the 2018 list, I had no choice but to include them for 2019 as well. Not only are they offering dairy-free alternatives, but they’ve also added a slew of flavors totaling 11 including some all-time favorites such as Caramel Almond Brittle, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Peanut Butter Half Baked.
Jumping on the non-dairy bandwagon in 2019 were two more big brands, Haagen-Dazs and Breyers! While Haagen-Dazs has offered sorbet options, they now have an entire line of dairy-free, creamy delicious ice cream for those vegan eaters. Offering one flavor less than Ben & Jerry’s (ten in total), they have worked tirelessly to incorporate fan favorites including Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle, Coconut Caramel, Coconut Cookies and Creme, Crunchy Peanut Butter, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge. Breyers, on the other hand, is somewhat new the non-dairy game with two non-dairy flavors Vanilla Peanut Butter and Oreo.
7. Vegan Frozen Meals
For a long time, vegans were left out of the frozen food world. Up until now, it was up to us to premake and freeze our own meals. While this is oftentimes the better option, many big-name brands are picking up on the plant-based trend and are now offering vegan-friendly frozen culinary fare to make our lives easier!
There is a list of the popular vegan brands such as Amy’s Kitchen, Gardein, Annie Chun’s, and, of course, Daiya. All of these brands can be found at your local grocery store and have taken a stab at increasing their range of foods from breakfast — such as Amy’s Tofu Scramble for $4.99 — to full dinner entrees — such as this Daiya Supreme Pizza.
With that said, one-off smaller businesses have surfaced in 2019 such as Rising Moon’s Organic Garlic & Roasted Veggie Ravioli, Sweet Earth’s massive list of pre-prepared vegan and vegetarian meals, or StarLite Cuisine’s vegan taquito’s.
8. Gluten-Free Alternatives
Zucchini Grain-Free Tortillas/Amazon.com
Along with dairy-free and meat-free, gluten-free has taken the health world by storm. Gluten sensitivities — plus actual gluten allergies — have been on the rise and health-conscious brands are jumping on the bandwagon to help folks find tasty, filling, and healthy alternatives that are veggie-based and gluten-free!
Banza offers a variety of gluten-free, vegan-friendly chickpea-based pasta alternative options from elbows to penne to rotini to shells. This pasta is nutritionally boosted with a large helping of plant-based protein, fiber, and yet fewer net carbs. It’s made from 90 percent chickpeas, “non-GMO tapioca, pea protein, and xanthan gum, which help bind the chickpea flour together as a vegan egg replacement of sorts. A full variety case of Banza pasta — including 2 boxes of penne and shells, and one box each of rotini and elbows — costs $22.49.
While these delicious grain-free tortillas are only available on Amazon, they are one of the best, wholesome, gluten-free and vegan-friendly options on the market! All of Maria & Ricardo’s Grain-Free Tortillas are made “gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and egg-free” and are made with non-GMO “avocado oil, tapioca flour, and real vegetables.” Each tortilla offers “a full or half serving of vegetables.” Plus, get a double pack (18 tortillas total!) for $35.50 of your favorite veggie flavor including Cauliflower Grain-Free, Sweet Potato Grain-Free, and Zucchini Grain-Free.
Craving something crunchy that won’t make your stomach bloat out? Spudsy is here to rescue your tummy and satiate your cravings! What are they? Gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and non-GMO project verified sweet potato puffs. These little tasty morsels are available in your favorite flavors including cinnamon, cheese (vegan), and, of course, BBQ. Plus, these tasty snacks are available online. Pick up a 4-ounce bag for just $13.99.
Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!
Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects. Learn about some Common Health Concerns That May Disappear Once You Ditch Dairy and 10 Calcium Supplements For Healthy Living on a Dairy-Free and 10 Carrageenan-Free Non-Dairy Products!
For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, plant-based, vegan and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.
Here are some great resources to get you started:
- Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
- Plant-Based Health Resources
- Plant-Based Food & Recipes
- Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
- The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
- Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
- High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
- Plant-Based Meal Prep
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