Dine

My Favorite Dairy Alternatives

by Lauren Conrad

July 21, 2021

A few years ago we decided to give up dairy products in our family. My husband, William, has always had issues with dairy, and after my son, Liam, was diagnosed with dairy allergies too, we decided to eliminate it from our household altogether. After cutting it out, I found that I feel better when I’m not consuming a ton of dairy too. While that might sound like a daunting change, I slowly transitioned my family into a dairy-free lifestyle. I’ve found that cutting out cheese, butter, and milk has helped my family and I feel healthier and better about our food choices. Part of that transition was finding dairy-free products that were a tasty replacement. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few products that my boys love and work well with our lifestyle, so today I’m sharing some of my favorite dairy alternatives. Want to know what my family and I use in our kitchen? Keep reading…

1. Yogurt

Cashew yogurt has been a great alternative for my family and I to eat instead of regular yogurt. Plus, there are a few brands, like Forager, that also include probiotics in their formulas for digestive benefits.

2. Cream Cheese

If you’re a cream cheese lover, you’ll be surprised to know that the almond-based cream cheeses out there can be pretty good. Kite Hill has a tasty spread that can also double as a veggie dip.

3. Milk

I’ll be honest: I think I might like oat milk more than cow’s milk. It has a creamy and sweet flavor that is also great for your morning coffee. Califia Farms has tasty options.

4. Ice Cream

I love coconut, so having coconut milk ice cream doesn’t even feel like much of a replacement to me. There are a lot of amazing vegan brands on the market that sells great coconut-milk based ice creams like SoDelushious and Van Leeuwen, so there are a lot of options you can choose from.

5. Butter

Instead of using butter, coconut oil is a great replacement for all of your cooking or baking needs. On toast or for frying eggs, swapping out this oil for all the times you need to use butter won’t disappoint. If you’re a coconut lover, I’m sure you’ll be happy with this one too.