Replacing Milk

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,asic Ingredient Substitutions for Food Allergies
Many common allergens are also common ingredients in your favorite recipes. There are some ingredients which can be easily substituted. There are others that may be more challenging.  Whether or not a “safe” version of a recipe can be successfully made often depends on two important factors. First, what is the role of the ingredient in the recipe? Second, how many of the recipe’s ingredients require substitutions? If the recipe only has 5 ingredients and you need to swap out 4 of them, the end result might bear little resemblance to the original dish. The bottom line: sometimes you can create a “safe” version of a recipe, and sometimes you are better off finding a different recipe altogether.

Substitutes for Milk/Dairy Ingredients

Be aware that some brands and varieties of “non-dairy” products (especially soy cheeses) may contain casein (a milk protein) or are made in production facilities on equipment shared with dairy.

Substituting for Butter

One of the easiest substitutions to make is for butter: simply use a milk-free margarine instead. However, you may need to do some searching and taste-testing to find the best dairy-free margarine available in your area, as a good margarine can make a big difference in many recipes. For baked goods, try to find a dairy-free margarine with a low water content and high fat content (for example, a stick of margarine usually contains less water than a tub of margarine). Margarines with high water content may affect your baked goods.

Substituting for Yogurt, Sour Cream, and Cream Cheese

Soy-based, coconut-based, and pea-based “yogurt,” “sour cream,” and “cream cheese” products are available. These generally work very well in recipes.

Substituting for Cheese

Milk-free cheeses are a bit of a challenge. If a child is old enough to remember “real” cheese, you may want to wait a while before introducing a milk-free version. Younger children will usually adapt more easily. Soy cheeses do not taste or melt like traditional dairy cheeses. In some cases, soy cheese will not appear melted, but will in fact be melted inside. There are now milk-free and soy-free cheeses available from several brands. They are available in shreds, blocks, and slices. These milk-free and soy-free cheeses also melt much better than milk-free cheeses of the past.

Milk-free cheese may not work well in recipes for cheese sauces. If you would like to make a dairy-free “cheese sauce,” check our Safe Eats^® Recipe Collection for “cheese sauce” recipes based on nutritional yeast.

Substituting for Milk

There are a number of commercially-produced cow’s milk alternatives made from soy, coconut, rice, potato, oat, almond, hazelnut, cashew, hemp, flax, sunflower, and even macadamia. Most of these are available in a few different flavors (such as “original,” “vanilla,” “chocolate,” and “mocha”). All of these milk beverages can be substituted 1 for 1 in recipes.

Note: Goat’s milk is not considered a safe alternative for people allergic to cow’s milk.

Substituting for Sweetened Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk

You can make your own evaporated and sweetened condensed milk substitute from any safe milk alternative. Evaporated milk is milk that has the water content reduced by 60%. You can make evaporated milk by gently simmering your milk alternative until it’s reduced to about 1/3 of your starting volume. Add sugar to evaporated milk to make sweetened condensed milk.

One alternative for evaporated milk is to substitute coconut milk 1 for 1 in the recipe. This will impart a coconut flavor to the recipe, so it works in some recipes but not all. There are commercially available sweetened condensed or evaporated milk alternatives based on coconut or oat. Or you can make your own with your favorite milk alternative.

Evaporated Milk Substitute
Simmer any quantity of soy or rice milk in a pan until it is reduced by 60%. Approximately 3 cups of milk alternative will leave 1 cup of evaporated milk left at the end. Be careful not to scorch or burn the milk as it is reducing. Monitor the heat to keep it at a simmer and don’t let it boil.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute
For sweetened condensed milk, mix 1 cup of evaporated milk with 1-1/4 cups of sugar. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cool. This will yield 1-1/2 cups of sweetened condensed milk substitute. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

Substituting for Buttermilk

You can make your own buttermilk substitute by mixing 1 tablespoon vinegar plus 1 cup milk alternative such as rice milk or soy milk.

Substituting for Light Cream, Sweet Cream, or Heavy Cream

Substitutes for light cream: light (or “lite”) canned coconut milk, soy creamer, coconut-based creamers, almond-based creamers

Full-fat coconut milk can be substituted for heavy cream. A coconut milk substitute will impart a coconut flavor to a recipe, so it will work for some recipes, but not all.

Dairy-free whipped topping can be used as a substitute for sweet cream if used straight out of the carton and not whipped. But read the labels. Some whipped toppings are labeled “dairy-free” but may have small amounts of dairy.

Updated December 2024.