Going dairy free was HARD for me!! I’m truly obsessed with dairy. Some days I dream of having cottage cheese with grapefruit for a snack … or cheese on my vegetables … or full-fat Greek yogurt with berries … or, of course, ICE CREAM. (There. I said it.)
When I found out my toddler had a major dairy allergy, I was still breastfeeding. So (after a brief period of mourning), I immediately started scouring the stores (and the internet) for delicious dairy-free alternatives. Thankfully, we’ve found several! Here are our favorites:
Milk
- We love the taste of Extra Creamy Oat Milk. Any brand will do. I think the Trader Joe’s brand is my favorite – but it only wins by a sliver. I use oat milk in baking, cold cereal, coffee (yes, please) and even as a replacement for milk in a bottle for my daughter! I just warm it up, add a little maple syrup and put it in her sippy cup as her post-nap snack. It tastes surprisingly good!
- Chocolate Ripple Pea Milk is my personal favorite to drink straight out of a cup. It’s yummy and high in protein! My daughter, on the other hand, hasn’t been so enthusiastic in her response. But that just means more for me!
Yogurt
We LOVE SoDelicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt. Oh. My. Word. It tastes like candy! It’s also high in fat, which helps fill up my daughter’s tummy a little more. We mix in some chopped up peaches (or other fruit) and she devours it. Every. Single. Day.
Pizza
I love Daiya Pizzas. They are free from all my daughter’s allergens – dairy, nuts, soy and gluten. Don’t expect it to taste exactly like a normal pizza, because it doesn’t, but it DOES taste really yummy!
Ice Cream
We can’t talk about dairy-free without talking about ice cream. It’s like the elephant in the room! And that’s why I have several recommendations:
- Talenti offers several dairy-free flavors, all of which are delicious!
- SoDelicious offers my FAVORITE – oat milk ice cream! (My favorite flavor is the gluten-free, dairy-free Caramel Apple Crumble. SO DELICIOUS.) They also offer yummy cashew milk ice cream!
- Ben & Jerry’s also offers some yummy non-dairy pints!
Butter
Oh. My. Word. You HAVE to try Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread. I’m IN LOVE WITH IT. So is my toddler! Plus it’s full of healthy fats to fill you up!
When it comes to baking, I usually substitute melted coconut oil into my recipes that call for butter. The downside is that if the melted coconut oil touches a cold ingredient, it’ll start to clump up. I work around this by just mixing the ingredients together as fast as I can!
Country Crock also offers plant-based butter. My husband loves their butter, and it looks and act just like real butter for baking too!
Cheese
Okay, I saved the hardest for last. To be completely and totally honest … I haven’t found any dairy-free cheese that I love. This is SO SAD because I LOVE CHEESE!!! So, if you know of any dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free cheese that tastes delicious, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW! Because I will go buy it that same day.
And now it’s your turn! Please share your favorite dairy substitutes in the comments so my daughter and I can try them!
XOXO,
That Allergy Mama
That Allergy Mama 
I have not been able to find a good ‘cheese’ replacement either! I’ve tried Daiya and Follow Your Heart brands so far. I heard that Chao (sp?) brand is good but I couldn’t stomach how expensive it was (too throw away) if I didn’t like it. I did however like the cheese sauce in Annie’s brand frozen vegan mac n cheese. I’ve just been going cheese-less on my foods. Pizza without cheese isn’t too bad, it’s just hard to keep the toppings from falling off as I eat it.
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Okay this makes me feel so much better that I’m not just missing something and it really is HARD to find good vegan cheese!! I’m going to put the Annie’s frozen vegan Mac n cheese on my grocery list. That sounds like a crowd pleaser!
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