Veganising Recipes
Photo: QuintanaRoo of flickr
Converting recipes is highly rewarding. It makes a great career expanding step, or simply a fun personal or school project. A deeper understanding of animal-free cooking broadens the horizons of caterers. Cooking for vegans, vegetarians and the dairy and egg intolerant is daunting no longer with our help.
There are thousands of fantastic vegan recipes on the Internet, and many vegan recipe books; but you don't have to use them to make tasty vegan food.
You can make dishes you've always made. Simply convert your old recipes. This page shows you how.
Where to buy the alternatives is indicated, and most are widely available in the UK at least. "hfs" stands for health food shop, and includes whole food shops and organic stores.
For caterers in ski resorts, also refer to our ingredients page for what can be bought where.
In cooking you are unlikely to taste much difference between vegan and non-vegan versions. As stand alone items they may taste different, and whether they taste better or worse is down to conditioning and personal preference. I bet you can't tell dairy-free ice cream from the real thing!
direct conversion
vegan dairy
Supermarket soya yogurtsWhere to look when shopping: next to similar dairy products
(both fresh and long life), and in "Free From" and Organic sections in supermarkets.
In France, Spain and Switzerland vegan dairy alternatives are widely available, even in small resort supermarkets. look in the 'bio' (organic) section and the dairy chiller. Long-life tofu is also often on sale.
Health food shops are abbreviated to 'hfs' here.
| item | context | vegan version | comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| milk | cold and in cooking | soya milk, rice milk, oat milk, nut milks | any supermarket or health food shops (hfs) in long-life and fresh milk sections |
| milk | in hot drinks | soya milk, rice milk, oat milk, nut milks | note that soya milk curdles in hot coffee, but not tea |
| butter | to spread and in cooking | vegan margarine, olive oil, avocado oil | e.g. Pure; big UK supermarkets and all hfs, but rare in France |
| butter | in cakes | vegan margarine or 2/3 the weight in sunflower or olive oil | supermarkets etc |
| butter/ghee | savoury cooking & frying | vegan margarine, olive oil (healthiest), vegetable ghee | supermarkets etc |
| single cream | cold or cooking | Bjorg (France & Spain), Soya Dream, Granose, Oatly, and it's easy to make your own | any supermarket or hfs |
| sour cream | Mexican dishes and bagels | Granose soya cream (or other brand & corn flour) and lemon juice | whisk / blend |
| cheese | cold dishes | Cheezly, Scheese, Tofutti | health food shops (hfs), Tesco. Rare in France. |
| cheese | melting | super melting Cheezly, Tofutti mozarrella slices | Redwoods direct, independent health food shops. Rare in France. |
| cheese sauce | for pizza and baked pasta toppings, cauliflour cheese, etc | make your own | ingredients widely available |
| Parmesan cheese | sprinkling and cooking | Parmezano | big supermarkets and hfs |
| cheese flavour | sprinkling and cooking | yeast flakes | big supermarkets and hfs. Also resort supermarkets in France |
| cream cheese | snacks and sarnies | Tofutti, Alpro and other brands | hfs and Tesco. Rare in France. |
| cream cheese | in desserts | silken tofu or soya cream/yoghurt, plus lemon juice | blend with a hand blender or liquidiser |
| yoghurt | cold and cooking | soya yoghurt (Alpro Yofu, Sojasun, Bjorg) | plain and fruit flavours. Supermarkets and hfs |
| ice cream | desserts and smoothies | dairy-free ice cream, e.g. Swedish Glace, Tofutti. Also most sorbets | supermarkets and hfs. Sorbets such as Casino brand in France are usually animal-free |
| custard | desserts | vanilla Soya Dessert by Alpro or Granose, or make your own using soya milk and custard powder | Some supermarkets and hfs. Widely available in France. |
Annoyingly, some apparently vegan dairy replacements are not, though this is more a problem in the new world (New Zealand and the USA). Rice slices and Rice parmezan are not vegan or dairy-free, as they contain casenates, which are milk-derived. That's mad!
egg and honey alternatives, and chocolate
Where to look: next to similar products, and in "Free From", Asian and organic sections in supermarkets.
| item | context | vegan version | comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| egg | baking | egg replacer or ground flax seeds or 1tsp baking powder | big supermarkets or health food shop (hfs). See also cake conversion |
| egg | scrambled | mashed tofu | fry with herbs spices and chopped veg for extra taste |
| mayonnaise | sandwiches, salads and dips | egg-free mayonnaise, e.g. Plamil | big supermarkets and all hfs |
| salad cream | sandwiches, salads and dips | some low-calorie brands | supermarkets |
| honey | cold or cooking | maple syrup, agave syrup, other syrups | any supermarket or hfs |
| chocolate | as it is or in cooking | most high quality dark chocolate bars, such as Llindt Excellence, Green & Blacks | any supermarket or hfs. Avoid chocolate with milk products or unspecified lecithin. Cocoa butter is vegan |
meat alternatives
Where to look: next to similar non-vegan products, in the chiller, vegetarian sections of freezer cabinets, and in "Free From", Asian and organic sections in supermarkets, particularly in France in the 'bio' section. In Bourg St Maurice you can mail-order UK meat alternatives and other lovely products, such as curry sauces and popadums, from the Trading Post.
| item | context | vegan version | comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| roast meat | roast dinners | manufactured vegan roasts, or make your own alternatives | health food shops and some supermarkets (NB Quorn is not vegan) |
| bacon | frying and cooking | Redwood's rashers, sliced smoked tofu/tempeh | hfs, mail order, supermarkets |
| bacon bits | cooking and salads | "bacon bits" | check ingredients, but usually vegan anyway |
| sliced ham, pepperoni, chicken, turkey, beef | cold and hot dishes | Redwood's Cheatin' Ham etc | can be eaten out of the packet or heated; from hfs or mail order |
| sausages | cold or hot, BBQ-ed | vegan sausages, e.g. VegiDeli, Biona, Taifun, SosMix | supermarkets, mail order and hfs |
| meat chunks | kebabs, stews, curries and stir fries | TVP chunks, plain/smoked/braised/marinated/fried tofu, tempeh, gluten (mock duck) and seitan | supermarkets, hfs, east Asian stores |
| burgers | grilled, fried, BBQ-ed | vegan burgers, e.g. Goodlife, Beanies, Fry's, or make your own alternatives | hfs, and sometimes big supermarkets |
| mince | in chillies, shepherd's pie, moussaka etc | TVP mince, VegeMince, Fry's mince; or cooked/tinned lentils | supermarkets and hfs |
| fish fingers, scampi and fish cakes | quick meals | VegiDeli and other brands of Fishless Fingers, Scampi-style pieces and Fishless steaks | hfs and mail order, such as from The Trading Post |
| meat stock | cooking | vegetable stock, miso, tamari, apple juice | anywhere |
NB Quorn is vegetarian but not vegan. Quorn contains eggs and sometimes dairy. The mince used in some Linda McCartney products is manufactured using dairy products.
surprisingly vegan
Cornflakes by theBusyBrain of flickrIf you are new to vegan food, you'll be surprised what else
in a standard store cupboard is vegan. Some major examples are
given here.
staples
| item | context | vegan version | look out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| pasta | Italian dishes | most dry pasta is egg free | avoid egg pasta |
| bread products | sandwiches, toast, etc | most are vegan | avoid the few containing whey, buttermilk, lactose, honey or milk |
| rice, polenta, quinoa, cous cous, Ebly, potatoes | carbohydrate side to many dishes | always vegan | put olive/avocado oil rather than butter in as necessary |
| filo pastry and some other ready pastries | from samosas to strudel | often vegan, or make your own | check oil/fat used is vegetable based |
| breakfast cereals | Porridge oats, Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, Frosties, Coco Pops, Weetabix, some mueslis | usually vegan - your guests can check packets for you | check vitamin D added is D2 not D3, check muesli for dairy and honey |
| some biscuits | Hob Nobs, fig rolls | your guests can check packets for you | one or two biscuit brands in nearly every French supermarket happen to be vegan, many more in the UK |
other common items
Many other easily available items are vegan, beyond the massive range of fruit and vegetables out there. Here are some commonly found even in the most unadventurous larder:
- peanut butter
- yeast extract (e.g. Marmite)
- hummous
- nearly all tomato ketchup, BBQ sauces, mustard, pickles and chutneys
- herbs, spices and curry pastes - nearly always vegan
- salsa
- baked beans
- chips (fried in vegetable oil)
- cocoa
For examples of key and extra ingredients to think about, take a look at the list we give ski companies to help them out.
to be wary of
There are a few things it is better to steer clear of without the help of a vegan friend or the Animal Free Shopper guide. The major ones are:
- wines and beers - many are clarified with bones, egg and fish products. The big supermarkets and off licence chains have lists of which ones are vegan if you ask
- sweets and jellies - many contain gelatine, which is made from animal bones. Health food shops and big supermarkets sell vegan alternatives which tend to be high quality.
- cakes - usually contain eggs, though they don't need to
putting all this into practice
You can experiment by converting your favourite recipes. See how close you can make them to the real thing. They may taste a lot better too, and not be so hard on your stomach.
For examples of converted dishes which you would not think of as vegetarian let alone vegan, see our skiing catering recipes, which include pancakes and cheezy sauces.
links to more veganising food pages
For a more detailed eye opener on which vegan foods you might already have at your fingertips, and how to veganise recipes you already know, try reading this Vegetarian Resource Group document on ingredient substitution.
For supermarket shelf foods that happen to be vegan often unintentionally, see the small subset of these on the PETA listing. There's a bigger list of examples, 14,000 in fact, at the Animal Free Shopper website.
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Audit
Story posted by on 2005-06-02 17:09:33.
Story last updated by on 2010-12-08 11:41:55.
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