Lindy Valdez
We present alternatives to soy: alternatives to soy milk, soy cream, soy flour, soy sauce, soy yogurt, and of course alternatives to tofu. Because not everyone can or wants to eat soy products, e.g. B. with a soy allergy. You can easily make many soy alternatives yourself at home with just a few ingredients.
There are alternatives to soy
Because the soybean is so incredibly versatile, there are endless products made from it. We have already listed most of them above. This is wonderful for everyone who tolerates soy well. But who z. For example, if you have a soy allergy or cannot or do not want to eat soy for other reasons, many people, especially vegan recipes, ask themselves what might be a suitable alternative to soy.
We present soy-free, but still purely plant-based alternatives to all soy products known to us. All of these alternatives are of course – just like soy products – lactose-free and cholesterol-free and are therefore also suitable for people with lactose intolerance or with cholesterol problems.
The primary and secondary soy allergy
Soy products are not suitable for people with soy allergies. However, a distinction is made between a primary soy allergy and a secondary soy allergy. A secondary soy allergy is also called pollen-associated soy allergy. It is a cross allergy that can develop in people who are allergic to birch pollen. Because soy protein is the problem, these people can often tolerate products that are low in soy protein or labeled as soy protein-free, e.g. B. low-protein soybean oil or soybean lecithin. Sometimes those affected can also eat small amounts of other soy products without a reaction, but this varies greatly from person to person.
A primary soy allergy, on the other hand, is a food allergy that is much less common than a secondary soy allergy. In the case of the primary soy allergy, not even traces of the respective food are usually tolerated. Those affected therefore usually carry an emergency kit with them since it can never be ruled out that traces of soy may not be present in any other food.
Alternative to soy milk
Alternatives to soy milk are now available even in regular supermarkets, although the use of the term “soy milk” has been banned since a ruling by the European Court of Justice in June 2017. Therefore, these drinks are now called drinks in the shops. Here with us, however, we can still call the drinks milk, since we do not sell any corresponding products.
Instead of soy milk, you can use the following alternatives and make them yourself if necessary:
- oat milk (homemade)
- rice milk (homemade)
- spelled milk (homemade)
- coconut milk
- buckwheat milk
- millet milk
- almond milk (homemade)
There have also been mixtures for a long time, e.g. B. rice-coconut milk, oat-almond milk, or rice-hazelnut milk. Allos also has an oat barista milk that can be foamed and is, therefore, suitable for coffee specialties.
However, all of these alternatives to soy drinks are relatively low in protein and only contain around 1 percent protein, rice milk only 0.5 percent, while soy drink contains 3.6 percent protein (cow’s milk around 3.3 percent). Only buckwheat milk provides at least 1.6 percent protein. A relative novelty is lupine milk, which contains 2 percent protein. So don’t think that the soy milk alternatives also share an identical nutritional profile. If you were counting on their protein content, you would have to make your diet richer in protein elsewhere.
Alternative to soy cream for refining sauces
Soy cream (also known as soy cuisine) is often used in plant-based cooking instead of conventional cream. It is a thickened soy-based cooking cream that is suitable for refining soups and sauces. In contrast to a cream made from cow’s milk, it cannot be whipped (see next section). Below you will find alternatives to soy cream or soy cooking cream. You can buy these cream variations in stores or you can make them yourself.
- oat cream (homemade)
- rice cream
- almond cream (homemade)
- Cashew cream (homemade)
- Almond cream with oats (do it yourself)
Alternative to soy cream for whipping
As an alternative to whipped cream, soy cream has been available for whipping for some time. In the soy-free kitchen, vegan whipped cream made from chickpeas is an alternative to soy whipped cream. That sounds unusual, but it is a pleasant surprise in terms of taste.
You can also prepare a delicious, purely plant-based whipped cream from coconut milk. It consists of nothing more than coconut milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and is therefore also a very good alternative to soy cream. You can find the recipe for the coconut whipped cream here. You can also use coconut milk to make a delicious all-plant-based panna cotta, which normally uses conventional whipped cream with gelatin.
The manufacturer Soyana also has a soy-free almond whipped cream that can be whipped until creamy, so that you can decorate cakes etc. with it. The almond whipped cream is made from almond milk and coconut oil, agar is used to thicken it and it is sweetened with apple syrup. She will e.g. B. used for this heavenly current cream cake, which is completely soy-free.
We advise against the vegan and soy-free whipped cream available in conventional shops from Schlagfix. It is nothing more than sweetened palm kernel oil, which is given the desired creamy consistency with numerous additives.
Alternative to soy yogurt
Good alternatives to soy yogurt can also be made from coconut milk, almonds, and cashew nuts. These yogurts are already commercially available. However, qualities vary, so you may need to do a little trial and error to find your favorite soy-free yogurt. In the organic supermarket, there are usually higher-quality variants than in the conventional supermarket.
Of course, these products don’t say “yogurt” on the packaging because that’s banned, just like soy milk. You will therefore find terms such as yogurt alternative or, in the case of lupine yogurt, yogurt. However, pay attention to the ingredients here as well, because these products are often full of additives, especially in conventional trade, since it is not easy to imitate the usual yogurt consistency. Sugar is also often used.
As already explained for soy milk, the alternatives for soy yogurt have different nutritional values than soy yogurt or cow’s milk yogurt. So they are not as rich in protein and sometimes contain more fat. Of course, you can also simply add some oatmeal or a vegan protein powder and fruit to your yogurt to increase the protein content.
Alternative to soy flour (especially as an egg substitute)
Soy flour is a popular binder and also a good egg substitute. An alternative to soy flour as an egg substitute is z. B. a mixture of corn semolina and locust bean gum.
Alternative to soy sauce
Soy sauce is a very savory fermented sauce made from soybeans. There are two variants in particular: Shoyu and Tamari. Shoyu tastes milder than tamari. While wheat is used in addition to soybeans for shoyu production, tamari is a pure soy sauce, i.e. wheat-free and therefore also gluten-free. In the following, we describe alternatives to soy sauce, but also sauces that are often referred to as soy sauce alternatives, but which are not suitable as an alternative for many people (e.g. because they are not vegan, not gluten-free, or similar).
Coconut seasoning sauce
One of the best alternatives to soy sauce is the soy-free and gluten-free amino coconut seasoning sauce, which is made from coconut blossom nectar. It tastes spicy with a slightly sweet note. Their salt content is only half that of soy sauces, but their natural sugar content is very high, so they should be used sparingly.
Alternative to tofu
Tofu is made similar to cheese. A coagulant (usually nigari (magnesium chloride)) is added to the soy milk and then the solid components (the protein fraction) are pressed into small blocks of tofu. What remains is the soy whey, which is now (2021) used to make soap.
Natural tofu is relatively tasteless. But THAT is one of the key benefits of tofu. Because now it can be prepared according to your mood – whether heartily seasoned and fried or sweetened as an ingredient for cakes and desserts. Depending on the desired use, the corresponding alternative must then also be sought.
Lupine products
For example, if you just want a soy-free (and of course vegan) source of protein that you can eat as an accompaniment to vegetables, pasta, or rice, then products made from lupins are a good choice. Like soybeans, lupins are legumes. They are native to central and northern Europe and their protein content is even slightly higher than that of soy. There are burgers (patties), sausages, steak, schnitzel, and filets, made from lupins. In the organic supermarket in your area, you will usually find a rich selection.
Alternative for silken tofu and tofu creams
When tofu is used for desserts or cakes, soft and creamy silken tofu is usually chosen. Under “tofu creams” we summarize all the soy products that replace sour cream, mascarpone, or quark. Nuts or kernels or their respective milk can be used as raw material for alternatives, e.g. B. Almonds/almond milk, cashew nuts/cashew milk, hemp seed, or sunflower seeds. You will find e.g. For example, here is our recipe for soy-free mascarpone made from cashew nuts. And since when you think of mascarpone you almost inevitably think of tiramisu, we have a delicious recipe for vegan tiramisu for you that uses soy-free mascarpone.
Vegan soy-free quark is available e.g. B. from Simply V Fresh Enjoyment (made of almond protein, water, and shea oil). A vegan quark alternative is on the packaging. The vegan and soy-free Qvark from Heil Vegetarian Delicatessen consists of water, coconut oil, and almonds.
To our knowledge, sour cream is not yet available in vegan, soy-free quality as a finished product. For most recipes, however, you can also simply use vegan, soy-free cream cheese or quark and mix it with some yogurt if necessary. Using a high-performance mixer, you can quickly make your own sour cream from soaked cashew nuts, water, lemon juice, some vinegar, and salt.
Silken tofu can usually be exchanged for one of the tofu creams mentioned. Depending on the recipe, you can also mix them together, e.g. B. with soy-free yogurt or with plant-based milk that has been thickened with agar, as with our strawberry cake. The cream is made from whipped cream, cashew yogurt, and oat drink thickened with agar.
Cream tarts can also be made with avocados thanks to their creamy texture, like our lime tart (which is chilled rather than baked), so avocados can also be an alternative to silken tofu.
Alternative for cream cheese made from soy
There is delicious cream cheese made from soy (with and without herbs or with peppercorns). It is best to make vegan and soy-free cream cheese yourself, e.g. B. according to our recipe for cream cheese. It consists of cashew nuts, almond drinks, agar agar, lactic acid powder, oil, lemon juice, and spices. You can then refine this basic recipe with herbs, garlic, pepper, etc. as you wish.
Alternative for tempeh
Tempeh consists of cooked soybeans that have been inoculated with a noble mold that covers the beans with a white mesh – similar to camembert. An alternative for tempeh is Lupeh from Alberts. For Lupe, no soybeans are inoculated with the noble mold, but simply lupine seeds. The result can be used just like tempeh, e.g. These can be sliced and fried, as in our Pumpkin Tempeh Curry, or in our Fried Tempeh with Beans in Gravy, or Breaded and Fried.
