Eating vegan is easy! In fact, with just a few simple swaps, it's possible to veganize a plethora of recipes, from baked goods to barbecue.

Check out these helpful tips for making your favorite recipes animal friendly.

Butter: Conventional dairy butter can be replaced with a variety of plant based fats. For baking, I recommend unrefined coconut oil or non-hydrogenated margarine, which you can use one to one.


For sauteing or finishing, olive oil, almond oil, canola, sesame or again, coconut, are all great choices. These oils and fats can be subbed 1:1 in recipes that call for butter. 

Milk: Generally when a recipe calls for milk, it requires a slightly fatty liquid to pull things together, or smooth things out, such as in a cake batter or gravy. Milk can be subbed in 1:1 for virtually any non-dairy milk you'd like. Almond, cashew, oat, and soymilk are all creamy nondairy milks that are similar in taste and texture to 2% milk and work great in ice cream and sauce-making; whereas rice and hemp milks are thinner, and work nicely for adding to smoothies or cake batters.

Heavy Cream: Coconut cream, which you can obtain by refrigerating a can of full fat coconut milk and scooping the thick creamy layer from the top, is a fabulous substitute for heavy whipping cream. It makes delicious bisques, curries, decadent sauces and frostings, as well as creamy ice creams and other frozen desserts.

Eggs: There are a few good substitutes for eggs, depending on what your recipe's end result will be.

For cake batters and softer cookies that contain baking powder, simply swap in 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice per egg. For cookies and pie doughs, you can either use a powdered egg replacer (follow ratios on package), or a slurry of chia or flaxseed meal.

• To make 1 chia egg, mix 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds with 1 tablespoon water.
• To make 1 flax egg, mix together 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2 tablespoons water. Let mixtures rest 5 minutes, until gelled and then use as you would an egg in your favorite recipes.

I also like using chickpea flour as an egg replacer for batters for fried and baked foods, or as an easy and delicious binder for burgers or patties. Per egg, simply whisk together 1 tablespoon chickpea flour with 1 tablespoon water.

Silken tofu is perfect for replacing eggs in baked goods, especially egg-based baked goods like cheesecakes. Typically, I recommend about 1/4 cup blended silken tofu for each egg called for in a recipe.

Cheese: We've come a long way in the world of vegan cheese since I first became vegan some 20 years ago. Nowadays, there is not only almost any type of vegan cheese you can think of (Parmesan, cheddar, havarti, cream cheese, etc.), but there are many brands who make them, giving your tastebuds a plethora of vegan cheese to choose from! Use prepackaged vegan cheese as you would dairy cheese 1:1 in recipes.

Nutritional Yeast also adds a wonderful cheesy flavor to many dishes, such as queso sauce, pasta, and even as pizza topping (use like Parmesan). Since Nutritional Yeast comes in flakes or powder form, it's best if blended into sauces, or used as a flavoring for foods like popcorn.

Meat: There are a lot of great mock meats available, from Beyond Meat to Gardein, and you can find many of them in your grocer's freezer, and even more in a Natural Foods Store such as Whole Foods. These mock meats can be used just like regular meat to add protein and texture to casseroles, savory pies, stir-frys, pasta dishes, soups, sandwiches and so much more.

You can also go the "whole foods" route and simply swap in vegetables, tofu, or tempeh wherever meat is called for. For example, if you are making a lasagna that calls for 1 pound ground beef, instead, use 3 cups chopped and sauteed portobellos, eggplant, jackfruit, or another hearty vegetable. Instead of using your favorite barbecue sauce on cuts of meat, try grilling tofu, corn on the cob, tempeh, or veggie burgers using the sauce instead.

For broths, make an easy vegetable broth and use it wherever meat based broths are called for.