Need Vegan Recipes for the Holidays? Try our 10 Ingredient Swap Tips

Need vegan recipes for the holidays? Veganizing your favorite holiday feast dishes is as simple as knowing what to swap. Our 10 tips on veganizing holiday foods will teach you substitution rules for making your holiday feast vegan AND delicious.

Sweets Swaps
1. Butter is king with sweets, but creamy and healthy coconut oil makes an easy 1:1 substitution in nearly any sweet recipe. Depending on the recipe, you may need a bit more liquid when using coconut oil. Try swapping 3/4 of the butter for coconut oil and 1/4 for water. This is especially true in delicate baked goods like cookies and tarts.
2. Eggs are the go-to binding agent in cakes and cookies. But being vegan doesn’t mean you don’t have a healthy choice. You can use any of these vegan egg substitutes, depending on the recipe’s need.
3. Gelatin is another popular dessert ingredient. Use agar agar or arrowroot when the gelatin in the recipe is used for binding.
4. Dairy is a pretty easy switch these days. You can pick whatever type of dairy-free milk you like. I prefer full fat coconut milk in most cases, especially when cream is required. Almond milk also makes a great milk stand-in. Buttermilk can be imitated by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of non-dairy milk and letting the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until curdled.
5. Not all sugar is vegan, especially super processed white sugar. Opt for organic sugar, sucanat, or cooconut sugar.
Savory Swaps
6. Swap vegetable broth (homemade vegetable broth is best!) for chicken broth in any recipe.
7. Vegan cheese can be found at the market, but the ingredients list make it a poor choice for a healthy holiday. Make your own cashew cream, sub in silken tofu or make your own artisan vegan cheese.
8. Eggs in savory dishes are usually best replaced by tofu. You can add a little garbanzo bean flour for a more stable egg scramble.
9. Need fishy flavor? Add seaweed, miso paste or salty capers. You can even make your own vegan fish sauce.
10. Make your own meat with recipes like these for red meat substitutes. Tofu and chickpeas make great chicken substitutes.
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