Dairy Free alternatives

Ajocal18

I am in the process of going dairy and gluten free due to health reasons. I basically live on Mexican food - cant get enough cheese and sour cream. Are there any substitutes for these that are close to the original?

tiny_clanger

Dairy free for 15 years here due to severe lactose intolerance..

Umm - cashew sour cream is pretty close. therawtarian.com/raw-sour-cream-recipe

You can make your own cheese with cashews or other nuts and probiotic powder, there's lots of how to's out there. I find it a bit too much effort, to be honest, so I buy it. Tofutti is good for cream cheese style cheese - like Philadelphia. Violife is a nice hard cheese substitutute. Stay away from Sheese, though - it's horrible!!!

If you're looking to avoid lactose rather than dairy, have a look at the Lactofree range arlafoods.co.uk/lactofree/ It's dairy with added Lactase enzyme (the enzyme which digests lactose in the intestine), so is free from the lactose which is the most common origin of intolerance symptoms.

ClubSilencio

I haven't tried vegan cheese in many years. Last one was a block of cheddar that smelled like a microwaved gym sock. The brand was Vegan Gourmet or some such. I heard Daiya is supposed to be the best vegan cheese. A local pizza chain uses it and I thought it was good.

You can use guacamole instead of cheese for that savory, salty taste.

Sour cream, I have no idea. I like the cashew sour cream idea. I imagine adding nutritional yeast to it would give it that stinkiness you look for in a cheese.

Ajocal18

Thanks for the help! I am nervous to try the sour cream - I don't see how that can be faked

melonaulait

Don't be nervous about plant-based sour creams, there are many different ones out there and they can be pretty good. Plant milks and cheeses are also amazing.