Dairy-Free Recipes: 40+ Easy Ideas for Every Meal
Dairy-free cooking is easier than it looks: with a few reliable swaps, plant milk for milk, vegan butter for butter, and full-fat coconut milk for cream, almost any recipe can lose the dairy without losing flavour. This guide brings together our best dairy-free recipes across five categories, plus the substitutes that make them work.
Explore Dairy-Free Recipes by Category
- Dairy-Free Cookies — chocolate chip, sugar, shortbread and more, all butter-free.
- Dairy-Free Desserts — cakes, cheesecake, mousse, fudge and creamy ice cream.
- Dairy-Free Baking — breads, waffles, pancakes, bagels and everyday bakes.
- Dairy-Free Chicken Dinners — creamy curries, alfredo, casseroles and quick stir-fries.
- Dairy-Free Substitutes — how to replace cream, butter, cheese, milk and more.
Start With These Reader Favourites
- Chocolate Chip Cookies — chewy, 30-minute and dependable.
- Chocolate Cake — ultra-moist and fudgy.
- Chicken Alfredo — silky cashew-cream sauce.
- Heavy Cream Substitute — five swaps for any recipe.
How to Make Any Recipe Dairy-Free
The core swaps are simple: use unsweetened soy or oat milk in place of milk, a 1:1 vegan butter stick or oil for butter, full-fat coconut milk or cashew cream for heavy cream, and nutritional yeast or cashew-based cheese for cheese. Our guide to dairy-free substitutes walks through each one with homemade recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does dairy-free mean?
Dairy-free means no milk or milk-derived ingredients: no butter, cheese, cream, yogurt, whey or casein. Plant-based swaps like coconut milk, oat milk and vegan butter take their place.
Is dairy-free the same as vegan?
Not always. Dairy-free only excludes milk products, so a dairy-free recipe can still contain eggs, honey or meat. Vegan excludes all animal products.
What are the most useful dairy-free swaps to start with?
Plant milk for milk, vegan butter or oil for butter, and full-fat coconut milk for cream cover the vast majority of recipes. See our guide to dairy-free substitutes for the full list.