Wondering how to find gluten-free and plant-based vegan dairy alternatives, like milk, yogurt, cheese, and cream? This expert nutrition guide will provide you with information on how to find gluten-free, vegan dairy alternatives.

So, you’ve chosen to eat a plant-based or vegan diet, thus, avoiding dairy products, such as cheese, milk, yogurt, and butter, but there’s a complication. You also eat gluten-free. Many people following a plant-based diet may also need to avoid gluten in their diets—which can add one more layer of complication in food selection.

In particular, it can lead to obstacles when trying to find plant-based AND gluten-free dairy products, which can be staples in your kitchen. Fortunately, there are so many dairy alternative products on the market suitable for those following a vegan, gluten-free diet. Nowadays, you can find milk-like beverages made from all sorts of plants, including nuts, seeds, and grains — just keep in mind to meet your nutrient needs when choosing plant-based, gluten-free alternatives by looking for products that are rich in protein, calcium, and vitamin D, and low in saturated fat and sugar. Though a majority of gluten-free products will directly indicate that they are “gluten-free” on the packaging, there are a few that won’t specifically be labeled gluten-free.

So, you want to watch out for products that include grains that contain gluten, such as wheat, spelt, rye, and barley. Additionally, plant-based dairy products may consist of added ingredients, such as malt, thickeners, modified food starch, and wheat flour; so just make sure to read the nutritional information.

Gluten-Free Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives:

Homemade Almond Milk

Plant-Based Milks

Brand Calories (g) per 1-cup serving Protein (g) per 1-cup serving Ripple Original Plant-Based Milk 80 8 Oatly Oat-Milk (The Original) 120 3 Silk Organic Soy Milk 80 7 Blue Diamond Almonds Almond Breeze 30 1 Silk Creamy Cashew 25 <1 Tempt Hemp Milk 80 2 Good Karma Flax Milk Omega-3 + Protein 70 8 Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond Milk 40 1 Creamy Peach Yogurt Parfait

Plant-Based Yogurts

Brand Calories (g) per serving Protein (g) per serving Kite Hill Yogurt Plain Unsweetened Almond Milk 140 4 Forager Organic Cashew Milk Yogurt Unsweetened Plain 110 3 Silk Almond Milk Yogurt Alternative Unsweetened Vanilla 180 6 So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative 90 <1 Stonyfield Organic O’Soy Vanilla Yogurt 130 6 “Cheddar” Cashew Cheese

Plant-Based Cheeses

Brand Calories (g) per serving Protein (g) per serving Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese Mozzarella Shreds 80 0 Dairy Free Mozzarella Style Shred Cashew Cheese Alternative (Trader Joe’s) 80 0 Daiya Dairy-Free Cheese Mozzarella Style Shreds 90 1 Violife Vegan Cheese Greek White Block 60 0 Chao Vegan Cheese Slices 60 0 Homemade Cashew Cream

Plant-Based Creams

Brand Calories (g) per serving Protein (g) per serving Kite Hill Cream Cheese 70 2 Earth Balance Butter 100 0 Follow Your Heart Organic Vegenaise 90 0 Miyoko’s Cream Cheese Classic Plain 100 3 Daiya Cream Cheese Spread 90 1 Homemade Nice Cream

Plant-Based Frozen Desserts/Ice Creams

Brand Calories (g) per serving Protein (g) per serving So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream 200 3 Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert 320 5 Almond Dream Non-Dairy Ice Cream 180 2 NadaMoo Dairy-Free Ice Cream 180 1 Coolhaus Awesome Dairy-Free Ice Cream 220 1

Written by Savanna Malki, Dietetic Intern with Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN

Images: Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN

For other plant-based, gluten-free tips, check out this blog here.

Check out my tips on plant-based eating here:

7 Steps to Go Plant-Based
10 Essential Plant-Based Cooking Tips
Meeting Your Nutrient Needs on a Vegan Diet

Original Article