9 Vegan Alternatives For Animal-Based Products Everyone Should Know About

Some plant-based alternatives are so similar to the real deal, that you won’t be able to spot the difference. Here are the top 9 you have to try regardless of whether you’re vegan or not.

1. Use Jackfruit instead of chicken or pork

Jackfruit is as juicy, has a similar texture of meat and has a delicious flavour that can easily replace chicken or pork in any recipe. Our personal favourite is jackfruit used as a meat replacement on pizzas, tacos and salads.

2. Alternative milk instead of dairy milk

With the abundant choice of alternative kinds of milk, you are spoilt with choice. Oats milk works well with coffee, coconut milk and almond milk works best with milkshakes and soy milk is just an absolute all-rounder. Other super cool alternative milks you can try are macadamia milk, rice milk and hemp milk.

3. Canned Chickpea water instead of egg whites

Chickpea water also known as Aquafaba is vegan cooking’s secret weapon. It can be used as an egg white replacement in recipes, and even replace whole eggs when you’re baking (it’s also a lot cheaper than eggs!)

4. Olive oil spread instead of butter

It does the job, it’s as creamy and tastes bloody good on toast too, what more could you ask for?

5. Tofu and Tempeh instead of meat

If you’ve ever had a conversation about vegan food, there is a high chance tofu was a part of that conversation, and for good reason. Tofu is the godfather of meat replacement, it’s high in protein, has a similar texture and can be used in so many forms. Need mince replacement, crumble the tofu, need to replace chicken pieces, cut cubes and live your best life.

6. Avocado instead of Mayonaise

We know we like avo on toast, but using it as an alternative to mayo seems interesting. It might work for most recipes but you also might have to succumb to vegan mayo for some recipes. But hey, we can never have enough reasons to eat avocados so we'll take it!

7. Rice Malt Or Maple Syrup instead of Honey

In our very unsophisticated opinion, rice malt is the closest in terms of flavour to honey. However, if rice malt is not for you, maple syrup can replace honey in almost all recipes so take your pick.

9. Nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan cheese

Don’t let the “yeast” put you off, it’s actually really delicious and packed with nutrition that your body will be thanking you for. Perfect for a little sprinkle on your pasta for that extra cheesiness.