Simply Vegan Baking & Cooking – 9 Great Substitutes

Veganism has become increasingly popular in recent years, and cooking and baking with vegan alternatives to animal products is gaining more and more attention. However, it is not only vegans who can rely on plant-based substitutes. Taking one or two vegan days a week not only has health benefits, such as a lower risk of diabetes, but is also good for the planet.

Vegan cooking or baking can seem quite complicated and cumbersome at first glance. However, this is not the case, which is why today’s blog post introduces you to the 9 best vegan alternatives for cooking and baking. With our tips, you can definitely achieve a plant-based and healthy breakfast with ease.

The 9 Best Vegan Substitutes for Animal Products

1. Agave syrup instead of honey

Many vegans refrain from consuming honey because it is produced by bees and is therefore, strictly speaking, also an animal product. Agave syrup is a tasty and just as sweet alternative to honey. The agave syrup, as the name suggests, is extracted from the agave and is even sweeter than sugar. Therefore, you should use agave syrup sparingly. Agave syrup is particularly suitable for sweetening your morning warm oatmeal , your yogurt with muesli or crunchy as well as for baking various sweets.

2. Applesauce, avocado and flaxseed as egg alternatives

For baking, you can simply use applesauce or another fruit puree instead of eggs as a binder. This is a very uncomplicated variant and requires no preparation time at all. As a rule of thumb, about a tablespoon of applesauce must replace an egg. In savory recipes, you can also use some avocado as a substitute for eggs. For breads or savory pastries, you can also mix a tablespoon of flaxseed with three tablespoons of water to substitute for an egg.

3. Plant-based drinks instead of cow's milk

You can easily replace animal milk for baking or cooking with plant-based sources, whether it's oat drink, almond drink, cashew drink, hazelnut drink, or rice drink. There are many different variants that you can use for both cooking and baking. Here we show you various recipes on how you can easily make plant-based drinks yourself in just a few minutes.

4. Vegetable oil instead of butter

To substitute butter for both baking and cooking, you can use margarine or vegetable oil, such as rapeseed oil or coconut oil. For an amount of about 100 g of butter, you should take in about 75-80 ml of oil. A real insider tip to replace butter is to use vegan yogurt, such as soy yogurt and semolina . To do this, mix about 120 g of yogurt with a tablespoon of semolina and let the mixture stand briefly so that the semolina can swell. With this amount, you can replace about 100 g of butter. However, we would rather advise against replacing more than 100 g of fat with this semolina-yogurt mixture, otherwise, the mass could become somewhat rubbery.

5. Plant-based yogurt alternatives instead of animal yogurt

To replace different animal yogurt varieties, you can easily resort to vegan options. There is now a large selection of vegetable yogurt variants, such as coconut yogurt, soy yogurt, or yogurt based on almonds and lupins. There's sure to be something for everyone!

6. Yeast flakes instead of cheese

Yeast flakes have a slightly cheesy taste and can therefore easily be used as a cheese substitute in vegan cuisine. Yeast flakes are pressed "flakes" made from yeast.

On top of that, these small flakes are also rich in many valuable ingredients such as vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, and folic acid. In addition, yeast flakes contain a lot of protein in the form of easily usable amino acids. For example, the yeast flakes can easily be processed into a cheese sauce.

With a purely plant-based diet, obtaining an adequate supply of some nutrients is not possible or can be difficult to achieve. The most critical nutrient is vitamin B12. Potentially critical nutrients in a vegan diet also include protein or essential amino acids and long-chain n-3 fatty acids, as well as other vitamins (riboflavin, vitamin D) and minerals (calcium, iron, iodine, zinc, selenium). ​[1]​

7. Agar Agar instead of gelatin

Gelatin, which is obtained from animal connective tissue and bone, is often used to gel cakes. A good vegetable gelling agent that is perfect for baking is agar agar, which is extracted from dried seaweed. You can easily use agar agar for both sweet and savory dishes, making it a perfect plant-based alternative to animal gelatin for your next vegan cake and tarts.

8. Coconut milk instead of cream

Cream, crème fraîche or similar ingredients are often used in recipes for soups or rice dishes. A tasty vegan alternative to this is coconut milk. Due to its similar consistency to cream, you can also use this plant-based alternative for creamy sauces for dishes or soups. You can also use coconut milk in sweet dishes, such as a base for overnight oats .

9. Tofu, seitan and Co. instead of meat

For vegan dishes, you can simply replace meat with a variety of vegetables. Additionally, you can incorporate tofu, seitan, and tempeh into your dishes as meat substitutes. These vegan meat alternatives are in no way inferior to their animal counterparts in terms of protein content: 100 g of seitan contains 35 g of protein.

As you can see, it is not that difficult to cook and bake vegan, as there are enough plant-based substitutes for animal products. You can also easily make your breakfast recipes plant-based with these simple tips and alternatives.

We would be happy to hear from you on Instagram about which vegan alternative you had not previously known. 🌱 Have fun trying it out! In our shop, you can easily and conveniently buy your porridge or buy granola and enjoy it at home.