Get in, reader. We’re going dairy-free. Reducing dairy intake is good for the environment. But is it good for your taste buds and cravings? Yes! With some whole and clean ingredient dairy-free foods and swaps, you’ll thoroughly enjoy going dairy-free.

Why Go Dairy-free?

If you’re lactose intolerant or have a milk allergy, avoiding dairy is a must. For the rest of us, environmental concerns may lead you toward a dairy-free diet. If you want to reduce your diet’s impact on the environment, consider going dairy-free.

Environmental Benefits of Going Dairy-Free

At Thistle, we believe it’s important to eat with the earth in mind. Every bite is an opportunity to fight climate change. When your food requires fewer natural resources, emits fewer greenhouse gasses, reduces waste, and minimizes pollution, you lessen your diet’s impact on the planet. Going dairy-free checks all the boxes.

The environmental impacts of dairy production and consumption include:

• Land Use: The amount of land required to meet the world’s demand for meat and dairy products is equal to the size of North and South America combined. Plant-based alternatives, like the dairy-free food swaps listed below, use a much tinier fraction.

• Water Use: It takes 33 gallons of water to produce just one glass of cow’s milk. Meanwhile, oat milk requires just 2.5 gallons. In fact, all dairy-free milks are produced using far less water than cow’s milk.

• Pollution & Public Health: Just one dairy cow produces 17 gallons of urine and manure per day. If mismanaged, dairy industry waste poses health risks to workers, pollutes waterways, and harms ecosystems.

• Emissions: Cattle account for 11% of global emissions. The energy it takes to pasteurize and refrigerate dairy foods also contributes to climate change. Since many dairy-free food swaps are shelf-stable, they don’t require as much energy to store.

• Food Waste: 16% of dairy that’s produced goes to waste. Half of the waste occurs during production and distribution. The other half occurs in retail and consumer settings. 

Bottom line: By going dairy-free, your carbon footprint gets smaller. With Thistle’s dairy-free meal subscription, we can support you in this earth-friendly endeavor! 

Our Favorite Dairy-Free Food Swaps

Now for the fun part. Whether savory or sweet, here are some of our favorite plant-based dairy swaps. 

We want to help make going dairy-free a simple and healthy adjustment. That's why each suggestion on this dairy-free food swap list is straightforward and easy to make yourself, with a simple list of pronounceable clean ingredients. The result? Delicious and nutritious plant-based dairy-free food swaps that will satisfy your cravings for all things dairy and reduce your carbon footprint.

First, the most fundamental dairy-free food swap: milk! These days, practically an entire aisle at the grocery store is devoted to a plethora of milk alternatives. All dairy-free milk has a smaller carbon footprint than cow’s milk, so take your pick for all your cereal and coffee needs and everything in between. At Thistle, we tend to use a lot of dairy-free coconut and oat milk. For the latter, we use a powdered oat milk product. It uses super minimal packaging and contains just one ingredient. Two things we love!

Savory Swaps

Get your salty, cheesy, umami fixes here, dairy-free style.

Cheese Spread

When a snack calls for a schmear, try a dairy-free cheese spread. 

Thistle’s Herbed Tofu “Goat Cheese” recipe fits the bill. It pairs nicely with crackers, fruit, and wine. Raw cashews are also a great base for dairy-free spreads. Need proof? Try this Smoky Pub Cheese recipe.

And don’t forget there are lots of naturally dairy-free foods that work well as a savory spread. Think: hummus or mashed avocado.

Mac & Cheese

‍No dairy-free food swap is complete without a mac & cheese suggestion!

The Thistle Blog’s Plant-Based Mac and Cheese Recipe uses cashews, potatoes, and nutritional yeast as the base for the dairy-free cheese, and it does not disappoint.

Parmesan Cheese

‍Whether you want a little or a lot, parmesan cheese is the perfect umami addition to any number of Italian dishes. Fortunately, delicious dairy-free alternatives exist, and they’re super easy to make!

Try this recipe: Simply combine ½ cup raw cashews + ½ cup hemp hearts + ⅓ cup nutritional yeast + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1 tsp sea salt in a food processor and pulse to form a coarse powder. Store in the fridge. (Adapted from Up Beet Kitchen)

If you want to up your nutrition game with a dairy-free diet, this is the best plant-based dairy swap to add to your repertoire. Between the cashews, hemp hearts, and nutritional yeast, plant-based parmesan offers tons of heart-healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and protein.

Queso

‍Bliss is dipping a tortilla chip into a bowl of creamy, spicy, warm queso. Or adding queso to a burrito. Or eating pretzels with queso. You get the idea!

Try Thistle’s very own sunbutter-based dairy-free queso. It’s featured in our Enchilada Bake dinner entree, but you can also make it yourself to pair with all your favorite Tex-Mex dishes.

Sour Cream and Crema

‍Between the queso above and some dairy-free sour cream and crema, all of your dairy-free Mexican food dreams can come true.

We love an avocado-based crema. All the creaminess, with none of the dairy! Thistle’s recipe for Hemp Avocado Crema is perfect for fajitas and the like.

And here’s a simple recipe for super versatile dairy-free sour cream: 1 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight, then drained + rinsed) + ½ cup water + 1 Tbsp lemon juice + ¾ tsp apple cider vinegar + pinch of salt blended together in a high speed blender. Chill to thicken. Makes 1 ¼ cups.

Sweet Swaps

This list makes decadent plant-based treats possible, one innovative dairy-free recipe at a time.

Buttercream Frosting

‍Store-bought butter substitutes make dairy-free buttercream a breeze! Thanks to simple ingredient lists and “I can’t believe it’s not butter” texture and taste, we like Miyoko's Creamery, Califia Farms, and Milkadamia brands. If you’re feeling extra DIY and want the cleanest ingredient list possible, try making dairy-free butter yourself, with refined coconut oil as the base.

Use any of these dairy-free alternatives as a cup-for-cup butter replacement. That means a recipe for cupcake-worthy plant-based buttercream looks like this: dairy-free butter + powdered sugar + vanilla extract + dairy-free milk. Cooking on Caffeine has a great base recipe complete with suggestions for different flavors beyond classic vanilla.

Cheesecake

Like buttercream, you can go the store-bought or homemade route  to make dairy-free cream cheese base for this decadent dessert. Store-bought dairy-free cream cheese options we like include Miyoko’s Creamery and Kite Hill.

For a cleaner ingredients version of dairy-free cream cheese, make your own. Tofu plus raw cashews makes a great base for dairy-free cheesecake. Check out this recipe from Rainbow Nourishments. Our Marble Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is a great cashew-free option. For something savory, try Thistle’s recipe for dairy-free Garden Veggie Cream Cheese.

Chocolate

Don’t assume that all chocolate contains dairy. There are plenty of super clean ingredient dairy-free dark chocolates available these days, many of which are even organic, fair trade, and sugar-free. One of our favorites is made by The Good Chocolate. Hu Chocolate is another great option.

Nutritious dairy-free dark chocolate proves that sometimes simplest is best. Enjoy a square as an afternoon snack or eat one for dessert. Get a little fancy by placing a walnut atop the chocolate or pair it with fresh or dried fruit.

Dairy-free chocolate also melts beautifully to create the base for plant-based treats like brownies, chocolate ganache, and chocolate-covered strawberries. When in doubt, add chocolate!

Ice Cream

It seems every store and brand offers a dairy-free ice cream these days. But those products often come with fillers and a long ingredients list that reads like a chemistry textbook. Fortunately, there are a few homemade alternatives: one super simple and light, the other decadent and a bit more involved.

First up is nice cream. It contains just two base ingredients – frozen bananas and a bit of dairy-free milk – that are blended together to form a consistency like soft-serve. So simple! You can add whatever flavors you like to this dairy-free dessert wonder. We like classics such as chocolate, vanilla, mint chip, strawberry, and peanut butter.

For something more rich that requires an ice cream maker, try a canned coconut milk based dairy-free ice cream. Recipes like Minimalist Baker’s Vanilla Bean Coconut Ice Cream are made with just a few whole food ingredients – quite the departure from the mile-long ingredients labels of store-bought dairy free ice cream!

Whipped Cream

‍Noticing the cream theme on this dairy-free sweets swap list? Yum! There are two preferred whole food, clean ingredient methods for making dairy-free whipped cream. Both work great atop whipped cream, pie, ice cream, and all your favorite desserts.

Making a coconut-based dairy-free whipped cream couldn’t be simpler. Whip canned coconut milk or coconut cream together with a bit of sweetener and vanilla extract. Voila! In a surprising feat of kitchen wizardry, you can also make dairy-free whipped cream with aquafaba – the viscous liquid in canned chickpeas. Yes, canned chickpeas. All you need is a mixer and some cream of tartar to work the magic.

With these great dairy-free recipes and swaps, going dairy-free is both possible and enjoyable. And since a dairy-free diet helps reduce your carbon footprint, it’s a win-win.