Best Dairy Free Substitutes

If you need to be gluten free AND dairy free, don’t despair! There are some truly amazing vegan and lactose free cheeses, yogurts, creams, desserts … to choose from! (and yes, there’s a difference between vegan, dairy-free and lactose free products!)

What you’ll find in this post:

• How to Read Labels — CAUTION: Not All Dairy Free Products are Also Gluten Free
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Cheeses (shreds, slices, cream cheese and more)
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Butter Substitutes for Baking
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Milks
• Is Oat Milk Gluten Free? Which Oat Milks are Safe for Celiacs?
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Heavy Cream
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Canned Milks
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Yogurt
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Creamer & Nog
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Sour Cream & Ricotta
• Best Dairy Free & Vegan Gluten Free Mac & Cheese
• Best Dairy Free and Vegan Frozen Desserts

For more information on what it means to be dairy free and the reasons why you may want to try going dairy free for your health, hop to my article on lactose intolerance, milk protein allergy and casein.

From vegan ricotta to vegan cream cheese to vegan yogurt to vegan artisanal cheeses, mac & cheese and ice cream … you can find just about anything you need now, dairy-free! I’ve linked to a ton of our family favorites, but more are being added every day — lucky us!

I update this post regularly, as I attend trade shows and find new products to share. Some photos below are from trade show floors and depict products that are coming to market soon, so be on the lookout! Follow along on my Instagram Stories and Highlight reel with my favorite brands and products as I share!

What are your favorite dairy-free products? Leave a comment and let me know!

CAUTION for Gluten Free Consumers about Dairy-Free Alternatives: Some Dairy-Free Cheese Contains Gluten

When it comes to dairy substitutes, cheese is where it’s at, so that’s where this list will begin. What would a good cheesesteak be with out the cheese? A slice-a pizza be without hot, melty cheese? A cheeseboard be without the … well, you get the idea.

I’ve found some great dairy-free substitutes for you for all these things and more, starting with my favorite: PIZZA! Even buffalo mozzarella is now deliciously dairy free (Miyoko’s Creamery) and melty shreds are getting better and better. But not every product from these vegan brands is necessarily ALSO gluten free (even Miyoko’s, which makes some products using standard, aka not gluten-free, oats).

Let me repeat: NOT all of the new dairy-free products on the market are both vegan and gluten free. Always read labels!

An example of a vegan product NOT suitable for gluten free consumers is this plant-based mozzarella from Whole Foods which contains wheat:

ALWAYS, always, always read every label!

Best Gluten Free & Dairy Free Cheeses & More*:

(check ingredients to ensure they suit your particular dietary needs — not every item pictured below is recommended as safe for celiacs and not every item is vegan.)

Best Dairy-Free Cheeses: Shreds, Slices, Cream Cheese, Soft Cheeses, Sticks & More 

Vevan® – made by artisan cheese makers in Wisconsin. Vegan, coconut and potato-based cheeses with probiotics. Cheddar, Mozzarella and P’ Jack Shreds; Uncream Cheese, Mozza Bites and Snax.

So Delicious® Cheese Alternatives — Shreds, Slices, Spreads. Coconut-based. Shreds come in Mozzarella, Cheddar and Mexican flavors. Certified Gluten Free from GFCO.

Forager Project® — cashew-based vegan cheeses (Vegan Parmesan, Vegan Mozzarella, Vegan Jack and Vegan Queso Fresco)

Violife 100% Vegan Cheeses — all coconut oil based and nut-free (contains coconut, potato, corn) shreds, slices, cream cheese, feta, parmesan block, plant butter, dips, cream cheese, cocospread and more.

Parmela Creamery™ Slices and Shreds — cashew-milk based

Good PlanEt Foods™ cheese slices and shreds — coconut oil based and nut-free (contains potato and tapioca). Also new Smoked Gouda and Smoked Cheddar Wheels, Snackable Wedges and Snack Packs. Also NEW Olive Oil Based shreds, blocks and cubes are AMAZING! And they even melt like regular cheese! Highly recommend! 

Daiya™ Cheddar and Mozzarella-Style shredded & sliced dairy-free cheese (*note: my family only likes the “Cutting Board Collection”), vegan cheeze sticks, Cream Cheese Style Spread (soy-free) —  I find when using this cream cheese alternative in recipes like cream cheese frosting, it requires additional sugar, whereas other brands do not

Field Roast® Vegan Chao Slices – made with soy; no gluten free claim is made and Field Roast does make other grain products containing gluten.

Miyoko’s Creamery™ Artisan Cheese Wheel and other spreads — cashew based

Miyoko’s Creamery™ Cashew Milk Mozzarella (traditional mozzarella di bufalo-style pictured on pizza, above). Also liquid Pizza Cheese — starts melted so it stays melted! Seems weird, but it actually works and is pretty delish.

Miyoko’s Creamery™ Farmhouse Cheddar and Pepperjack — NOTE: made with oat milk and no gluten free claim is made; I do not recommend this product for anyone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity due to the cross-contamination risk from oats.

Follow Your Heart® Slices (Gouda; Pepperjack; Provolone) & Follow Your Heart® shredded vegan Parmesan & Follow Your Heart^® Cream Cheese Alternative (soy)

GO Veggie!® Lactose Free or Vegan shredded cheese, cream cheese, blocks, bars, parmesan, slices & GO Veggie® Vegan Parmesan; Parma! Vegan Parmesan

Treeline™ — cashew-based soft cheeses, cream cheese and aged artisanal cheeses as well as vegan goat cheese. For more on my most recent review of Treeline products from Natural Products Expo East, check out my full article here.

Kite Hill™: almond milk cream cheese, yogurt, ricotta, soft-ripened artisanal cheeses

Tofutti^® Better Than Cream Cheese; Sour Cream; Ricotta; American Style Slices (soy) — more affordably priced and often easier to find than other brands.

Armored Fresh: a fermented almond product line that really does taste like cheese! Their cheese cubes are super portable for lunch boxes and other snacking — kid-approved! Also slices, shreds and spreads. (some products contain carrageenan) 

Spero Sunflower Cream Cheese Spreads – multiple flavors from smoked salmon to strawberry to cheddar and of course, plain, all vegan; also sunflower goat cheese.

Lisanatti Foods® Almond Mozarella or Cheddar-Style Shredded Cheese; Rice Cheeze Sticks (only lactose-free, not dairy-free/vegan)

Nuts for Cheese fermented cashew cheese in amazing artisanal flavors from vegan Blue Cheese to Smoked Gouda to Brie! Also Nuts for Butter fermented cashew butters. No starches or gums or fillers.

Also check out Plant Based News: Best Brands of Vegan Cream Cheese (all of my choices are in there, too!) 

Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Butter Substitutes for Baking

In general, stick to sticks for baking. You can remember that rule of thumb, right? Tubs contain “butters” that are meant to spread, which is not ideal for most baking. Look for sticks which are made for baking.

 

Earth Balance^® Vegan Buttery Sticks & Soy-Free Buttery Sticks (my preferred baking products)

Earth Balance® Coconut Spread (vegan & soy-free)

Melt Organic Butter sticks and spread (Jules note: DO NOT USE FOR FROSTING!)

Miyoko’s Kitchen™ vegan butter (Jules note: this product does not contain preservatives and will grow mold quickly, so use soon after purchase!)

Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks

Milkadamia Buttery Spread

Wayfare Whipped Butter

Best Dairy Free and Vegan Milks

There are new vegan “milks” popping up all the time! Just always read the ingredients to ensure they are right for you. Some are found in the refrigerator case, some are found in aseptic containers on regular store shelves. 

Milkadamia has a full line of vegan nut-based milks, as well as seasonal nut-based vegan milks and nogs that are quite delicious. Their creamers are spot-on, as well. 

 

So Delicious^® Coconut Milk Beverage

Good Karma Flaxmilk

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze

Pacific Foods (almond, hemp, soy, hazelnut, coconut, cashew, oat)

Coconut Milk Powder

Yofiit Chickpea Milk

OWYN Protein Drinks, Vanilla Milk and Chocolate Milk 

Silk Almond, Cashew, Coconut or Soy Milks (or oat)

Forager Cashew Milk (or oat)

Orgain® Protein Shake

Ripple Vegan Milk

Good Mylk (almond, hemp and oat milks — oat milk is confirmed purity protocol)

Siggi’s Plant-Based Drinkables (probiotic coconut drinks with gut-friendly probiotics)

Is Oat Milk Gluten Free?

Good question. Oats are naturally gluten free, but they are an inherently risky ingredient for anyone living gluten free for medical reasons (celiac, gluten sensitivity, etc.). Read all about how cross-contamination with gluten grains is rampant in oat crops, and how to find the safest gluten free oats — aka “Purity Protocol Oats.” Those manufacturers making a gluten free claim but not using purity protocol oats are less safe than those using purity protocol oats, so it’s important to know the difference, but the choice is yours about whether these products meet your particular dietary needs. When in doubt, contact the manufacturer directly.

Oat milk is the next BIG THING. Plant-based folks and anyone wanting more nutritious milk on their cereal is hopping on the oat milk bandwagon, so there are lots of oat milks out there. Did you know oat milk has double the fiber of other plant-based milks like almond and soy! And that cow’s milk as no fiber?!

But if you’re celiac or need to eat gluten free for medical reasons, stick with only oat milks from manufacturers which use purity protocol oats or at least those which are using certified gluten free oats.

Hop to my extensive post on Which Oat Milks Are Gluten Free.

Best Dairy Free and Vegan Heavy Cream

Califia Heavy Whipping Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Water, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Fava Bean Protein Isolate, Acacia, Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Gellan Gum. Buy on Amazon.

Country Crock Plant Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Plant Milk (Water, Lentil Protein), Plant-Based Oil Blend from Coconut And Canola Oils, Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acid, Natural Flavor, Mono & Di-glycerides, Salt, Guar Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Beta-Carotene (Color).

Let’s Do Organic Heavy Whipping Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Organic Coconut, Filtered Water.

Mementa Organic Coconut Whipping Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Organic coconut milk, water, organic guar gum.

Nature’s Charm Coconut Whipping Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Coconut Cream (coconut extract, water), virgin coconut oil, coconut sugar, guar gum. 

Silk Heavy Whipping Cream — gluten-free claim; ingredients: Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Faba Bean Protein, Guar Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Natural Flavors. Buy on Amazon.

Violife Just Like Heavy Whipping Cream (for professionals): gluten-free claim; ingredients: Lentil preparation (water, lentil protein), plant-based oil blend from coconut and canola oils, sugar, modified corn starch, sucrose esters of fatty acid, natural flavor, mono and di-glycerides, salt, guar gum, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, beta-carotene (color)

Best Dairy Free and Vegan Canned Milks

Sweetened Condensed Organic Coconut Milk — Let’s Do … Organic

Sweetened Condensed Milk – Mementa (ingredients: Organic coconut milk, organic coconut sugar, water and organic guar gum.)

Unsweetened Organic Coconut Milk — Native Forest (also comes in Curry flavor)

Vegan Evaporated Milk — coconut milk from Nature’s Charm

Sweetened Condensed Milk — coconut milk from Nature’s Charm

 

Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Yogurt

So Delicious^® Coconut or Oat Yogurt (their oat yogurt is certified GF but not everyone can tolerate gluten free oats)

Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt and Kids’ Yogurt Tubes

Forager Cashew Milk Yogurt

Silk Almond, Soy or Oat Milk Yogurt (note: this oat yogurt not certified gluten free)

Green Valley Organics® Lactose Free Yogurt

Culina Coconut Yogurt  — maple syrup sweetened

Siggi’s Plant-Based Yogurt  (plant-based coconut, macadamia, and pea protein blend with 3x more protein and 35% less sugar than leading yogurt alternatives)

Ayo Organic Almond Yogurt —  made by 4th generation California almond farmers, this farm-to-spoon organic yogurt tastes amazing! Loaded with probiotics and non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan ingredients. Carrageenan-free; soy-free.

 

Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Creamer and Nog

So Delicious^® Coconut Milk Creamer (or oat milk)

Silk Almond or Soy Creamer 

Laird Superfood has powdered creamers and now liquid Superfood Creamers as well. Vegan (coconut milk-based) and gluten free, and of course come in pumpkin spice flavor, but they include three functional mushroom ingredients (Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps and Chaga) as well as aquamin and other plant-based minerals. 

Ripple Half & Half (pea protein)

Nutpods Almond + Coconut Creamer

PicNik Vegan Creamer (0 grams sugar)

Good Mylk Almond Creamer (or oat)

Moola Almond Milk Creamer

So Delicious® Vegan Holiday Nog – seasonal

Silk® Vegan Nog – seasonal

Bhakti® Holiday Spiced Vegan Nog -seasonal

Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Sour Cream & Ricotta

Follow Your Heart^® Sour Cream Alternative (soy)

Forager Project Sour Cream (coconut and cashew milk based)

Tofutti^® Better Than Sour Cream (soy; non-hydrogenated)

Vegan Gourmet®/Follow Your Heart Sour Cream (soy)

Green Valley Organics® Lactose Free Sour Cream (not dairy-free or vegan)

Ripple Vegan Sour Cream

Good Karma Sour Cream (made from coconut, tapioca and pea protein)

Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta Cheese

Treeline Cashewmilk Ricotta Cheese

Tofutti Better than Ricotta (soy based)

 

Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

Annie’s® Homegrown Vegan, Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

Healthy Vegan & Gluten Free Mac and Cheese recipe

Banza Chickpea Pasta Plant Based Mac

Jovial Gluten Free Vegan Mac

Daiya Cheddar Style Deluxe Cheezy Mac

Pamela’s Mac n Cheese

 

Best Dairy Free and Vegan Frozen Desserts:

So Delicious Coconut Milk, Cashew Milk, Almond Milk or Soy Milk Ice Cream

Cosmic Bliss ice creams 

Nada Moo

So Delicious® Minis

So Delicious® CocoWhip Coconut Whipped Cream

 

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*some items may include affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item through one of these links, your cost remains the same but I may receive a small portion of the price to use to fund this website. See my full disclosure policy here. As always, all opinions are my own.