Cooking for vegans can be a bit daunting if you have not done it before but it is a lot easier than it was when I was young and vegan alternatives for products were few and far between. Here are some notes to help you.
Being vegan means no meat, eggs or dairy products, not just as main ingredients but also as added ingredients in ready made sauces, margarines and other products. You might be surprised at the products that add things such as skimmed milk powder and animal derived products so reading the ingredients is the first rule of buying any processed food. Fortunately though there are now lots of vegan alternatives to most things available in every supermarket so here are just a few suggestions.
Butter/margarine – look for products labelled plant based like Flora’s plant based margarine or Naturli – you can use these just like you would any dairy version to make pastry, sauces or cakes. You will find these alongside dairy products in the fridge cabinets.
Milk – there are lots of plant based milks available, some are sweetened so if you want to substitute milk in a savoury dish look for the unsweetened variety. Oat milk is a good choice, though soy milk is quite versatile too. You will probably find these in the ‘Free From’ aisle.
Cheese – there are now lots of vegan cheeses available. They vary a bit in how well they melt and their taste. Violife is a popular brand in supermarkets, though Lidl and Aldi both do their own brands of vegan cheeses (Vemondo and Plant Menu). Vegan ‘Greek style’ cheese is a great substitute for Feta in salads but dissolves when cooked. Another way to get a cheesy taste in a white sauce is to add miso and/or marmite.
Eggs – Substitutes for eggs vary depending on what is being cooked. For savoury dishes where a binder is needed, chickpea flour, (gram flour) is a good alternative. It is even possible to make a Spanish tortilla using chickpea flour mixed with water instead of egg. You can get chickpea flour in many supermarkets – Dove’s Farm is one brand to look out for but you will also find gram flour in the ‘World foods’ or ‘Asian’ aisle of the supermarket. For baking cakes some recipes use vinegar and other readily available products instead of egg you just need to follow the recipe closely. However, I have found soy milk or soy cream is a good substitute for egg with other quantities of margarine, sugar and flour remaining the same as in non-vegan recipes, you just add the soy milk to get the cake batter to ‘dropping’ consistency.
Stock – look for vegetable stocks which are labelled as suitable for vegans as some contain gelatine which is an animal product. There are lots available including brands like Kallo and Oxo.
Meat substitutes – depending on what you are cooking there are various ways to substitute protein in dishes you would normally cook with meat. The chiller and freezer cabinets in supermarkets now have lots of plant based meat substitutes for example Quorn – but look out for those which are suitable for vegans as a lot of the Quorn range contains egg. However, these meat substitutes can be expensive and are quite highly processed so a better alternative is to use beans and pulses. Lentils for example are a great and cheap substitute for mince meat in a recipe such as lasagne, especially combined with mushrooms which are often used as a meat substitute in recipes. Tins of chickpeas, kidney beans, butter beans etc are also great for putting the protein into curries, casseroles, chilli, vegan shepherd’s pie etc. Combine the pulses with plenty of vegetables to give variety of texture and tastes.
Pastry – Quite a lot of the ready made pastry in supermarkets is vegan, e.g. Lidl and Aldi puff pastry. Check that it says suitable for vegans on the pack. If you prefer to make your own then simply use a vegan margarine.
Vegan cookery can be fun, trust your instincts and enjoy experimenting with something new 🙂
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