Substitute for Cow’s Milk: Vegan Alternatives

The selection of vegan foods is growing all the time. Accordingly, there are also some alternatives when replacing cow’s milk. We have put some of them together for you.

Vegan substitute for cow’s milk – these exist

If you’re vegan, you don’t have to give up milk. On the contrary: There are many vegan milk options, all of which taste slightly different. So you have a large selection of products and will certainly find a suitable alternative that tastes good to you.

• Soy milk – the all-rounder: Soy milk has been part of Chinese cuisine for over 2000 years. The milk is made from soy, water, and, if necessary, salt and sugar. Since soy milk has a similar fat and protein content to cow’s milk, it can also be used as an alternative in cooking or processed into cream cheese.
• Oat milk – With natural sweetness: Oatmeal is not only delicious as a grain in muesli. They can be used to make homemade oat milk, which usually requires little or no added sugar due to its own sweetness. Oat milk is also an ecological alternative as it is mostly grown locally.
• Spelled milk – sweet and creamy: Spelled milk is rarely found on the market, but it is also a good alternative. It is naturally very sweet and foamable. This makes it ideal for coffee.
• Almond milk – intense taste: Almond milk is also a popular alternative, but it is not as environmentally friendly as other plant-based milk. Compared to cow’s milk, however, like the other common types of milk, it is significantly more ecological. Note that unsweetened almond milk can taste very intense.
• Rice milk – Tasteless and cheap: Rice milk has only a low protein content and little taste of its own. However, it is suitable in combination with other types of milk, such as soy or almonds, to produce neutral milk. It is also suitable for allergy sufferers who are allergic to nuts or soy.
• Lupine milk – creamy and high in protein: Recently, lupine milk has become increasingly popular. The milk has less fat than soy milk and offers more protein and fiber.
• Coconut milk – Popular ingredient for cooking: Most people are already familiar with coconut milk without even thinking about a vegan diet. The milk is canned and is often very high in fat and has an intense taste. As a plant drink, it is also sold in more liquid consistency.
• Nut milk – a lot of choice for a lot of taste: A delicious milk can be conjured up from almost every nut with the same steps as with the other types of plant milk. Walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, and many others are suitable for this.

Plant milk – buy it or make it yourself?

Plant milk is easy to make yourself. The ingredients are usually the same: the main ingredient (e.g. soybeans, nuts, oatmeal, etc.), water, and, if necessary, salt and sugar.

• The homemade option is not only significantly cheaper than the store-bought option, but it is also often healthier.
• When buying plant-based milk, always pay attention to the ingredients. For example, oat milk only requires oatmeal, water, and salt as ingredients. However, many manufacturers list various flavor enhancers, sugar, and other ingredients.
• Compared to cow’s milk, almost all types of plant milk are more environmentally friendly. They have a significantly lower carbon footprint, use less water and energy, and produce fewer greenhouse gases.
• An exception is an almond milk, which also releases fewer greenhouse gases but uses more water than cow’s milk.
• In terms of nutrients, lupine milk and soy milk are the most likely to compete with cow’s milk.