My Vegan Kitchen: Replacing Dairy Milk, Heavy Cream, Buttermilk

Non-dairy milks are taking over! Many large-scale coffee chains are now offering several delicious dairy-free options, including almond, coconut, and soy. The dairy industry is feeling threatened, as evidenced by marketing campaigns mocking non-dairy milks. As if drinking the milk intended for a baby cow is somehow natural for humans. Crazy, right?

Milk
For my favorite creamy, lightly-flavored, dairy-free milk, I love making homemade almond milk. When I need something richer, I use coconut milk or homemade brazil nut milk.

Heavy Cream
If you’re buying ready-made vegan milks, control the sweetness of your recipes by choosing unsweetened varieties. For heavy cream, in addition to homemade brazil nut milk, there are both soy- and coconut-based vegan creamers on the market, although these are both sweetened. You can also use regular (not “lite”) canned coconut milk (this isn't sweetened) in place of cow-dairy-based heavy cream.

Buttermilk
Homemade vegan buttermilk is easy to make! Add 1 tablespoon of a sour liquid such as lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of non-dairy milk. Whisk and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before adding to a recipe.

Happy cooking and joyful eating!