Whether you’re vegan, lactose intolerant, or just trying to eat healthier, it can be not easy to find desserts that don’t contain dairy. Luckily, there are plenty of dairy-free desserts you can make yourself at home using various healthy ingredients. If you’re a vegan, you probably know that vegan baking is an acquired skill.
Vegan baking requires a lot of adjustments. For starters, eggs and dairy are out, and many recipes call for something called a flax egg. Since whole flax seeds don’t taste good, they’re ground up to make flax meal first.
Whole foods are healthy and delicious. You can get a whole bunch of organic, natural, fresh food from the whole foods market. Organic food is the most beneficial and the most natural for your body. Whole foods should be the perfect solution for a plant-based vegan diet.
When shopping for these foods, try to get shelf-stable things for an extended period.
Cooking with oil has a bad reputation. Nevertheless, it’s a healthy cooking medium. Cooking in olive oil is similar to cooking in butter. It’s beneficial for you and your favorite dishes. The butter itself can be regarded as a dairy-free cooking medium.
Not all fats are created equal. Keep an open mind when selecting which kind of oil you use. Some oils are considered dairy-free, and others are not. Some good fats include avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and peanut oil. If you want to use butter as your primary cooking oil, you should know that you may live without dairy-free butter.
If you’re learning how to make vegan desserts, you likely learned that eggs are used as a binding agent. Usually, this is added to cakes, cookies, and frosting. However, it can be substituted with other flours, sugars, or starches. You can make all sorts of desserts with no part of the animal product that comes from it.
Making vegan ice cream, similar to dairy ice cream, can be a lot of fun to make at home. The key here is to add fruit and almond milk if you want less dairy. These are additional ingredients you can find at most supermarkets.
A long time ago, I heard Andrew Watts try to convince a crowd of people that vegan ice cream was hard. Please don’t let that discourage you. Going dairy-free has never been more challenging. Dairy-free ice cream is a constant challenge for me, but I always manage to make fresh and healthy ingredients. There are tons of vegan ice creams online you can try, or you can create your own from scratch.
Vegan sauces can be extremely tricky to make. There are many dairy-free kinds of vinegar, but I’ve yet to find a good one. Although I can’t taste the difference, the thicker, the thicker the sauce, the more processed it is, and the more likely it is to taste grainy and chemical. Luckily, you can use plenty of vegan sauces to substitute it with something that tastes just like it. For example, use olive oil or grapeseed oil.
While I can’t personally speak for most of the sold wines in stores, I can speak for myself. I like good, bold, dark red wines in my cocktails and my desserts. Burgundy is my favorite red wine from France, and it can be easily substituted for a dry red wine.
If you’re lactose intolerant, avoiding dairy can cause bloating. Studies show that people with lactose intolerances have higher amounts of water and sugar in their bloodstreams. Since whole foods contain far less sugar and water, this is less of an issue for your body.
Juices are also an excellent substitute for milk in desserts. It’s also a good idea to drink water during a dairy-free breakfast. Since all dairy-containing beverages contain lactose, drinking a glass of healthy water after dinnertime to avoid stomach bloating can make sense.
Eggs are a staple in any good breakfast or lunch. Eggs should ideally be cage-free, and if you’re vegan, the best eggs are free-range or cage-free. Eggs are notable for a plant-based diet, but you can achieve this without sacrificing taste and nutrition.
The best breakfast cereals are also lactose-free. You can buy gluten-free products in most grocery stores. That’s because many bowls of cereal and snack foods use wheat as a source of fiber, which is healthy for you.
Afternoon snacks contain one of the best sources of fiber. Nuts and seeds are the best midday snacks to include in your diet. They’re simple to prepare, and you can eat dozens of them.
You can find a variety of good muesli and granola bars in most supermarkets. They’re made with whole grains instead of refined ones, and they’re frosted, so they stay fresh at room temperature for a long time. Muesli bars are a treat any time of the day, and granola bars can be eaten as an afternoon pick-me-up if you like a little crunch.
If you’re short on time, quick bread and quick bread are easy to make from scratch with ingredients you likely already have. They‘re a great way to add healthy nutrients to your diet without compromising your taste buds and taste for sweetness.
“Many pieces of bread are high in added sugar and poor in fiber, and processed foods aren’t any better. You will not get important nutrients in those delicious white bread, and you may even be spending more money on energy by eating them. I have not met an omnivore who has a soft spot for white bread.” ~Liz Shannon,
Vegetarian Society
Nuts or seeds, not eggshells, and close to 60% of the calories in vegan desserts are in sugar. Have a snack at work or as an afternoon pick-me-up to help slow down the sugar cravings before dessert.
I am a contributor to SundaySupper on Facebook, where I share budget-friendly plant-based recipes low in fat, high in protein, and high in carbohydrates. If you have a follow-up question, leave a comment below, and I’ll be sure to answer.
Try these dairy-free desserts from my favorite blogs below, or try your favorite recipe!
- Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup gluten-free flour1 Tbsp.
- Baking powder½ tsp.
- salt1 cup unsweetened,
- plain,
- rolled oat milk1 Tbsp.
- Chia seeds,
- fresh or frozen2 Tbsp.
- Nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan butter (softened)2 Tbsp.
- coconut oil¼ cup unsweetened,
- plain Greek yogurt (optional)
Directions in a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Beat the eggs, oat milk, chia seeds, nutritional yeast, and vegan butter together on medium speed until well blended. Stir in the milk mixture until well blended.
Spoon batter into greased pans and bake for 15–18 minutes, until edges are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 16 servings.Time: About 40 minutes