Dairy Free
Cooking without dairy is easy once you stop trying to achieve the exact same results as you would get with dairy. Coconut milk, cashew cream and plant yogurts do their own thing, and in Indian cooking, they often taste closer to dairy than you would guess. Dairy Free and Eggless Banana Pancakes take fifteen minutes and need neither milk nor eggs. Meanwhile, Vegan Rice Kheer swaps dairy for coconut milk and tastes very similar to the original. Coconut Yogurt Parfait works well for breakfast or dessert depending on the hour. Easy Vegan Dal Makhani gets its richness from cashews rather than cream, and Masala Chai works with any plant milk. Browse everything dairy free below.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Vegetarian breakfasts go well beyond cereal and toast. Scrambles made with tofu or paneer, savory Indian dishes like poha and upma, oatmeal, pancakes, parfaits, muffins, and granola are all great options. The key is mixing in protein from ingredients like chickpea flour, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, or tofu so breakfast keeps you full through the morning.
Our highest-protein breakfast recipes include the Curried Tofu Scramble, Chickpea Pancakes (/chickpea-pancakes/), and Greek Yogurt with Chia Seed. Tofu, chickpea flour, Greek yogurt, and chia seeds are all excellent plant-based protein sources for breakfast.
The fastest options here are the Apple Cinnamon Walnut Oatmeal, the Cardamom Chia Parfait which you can make the night before, and the Coconut Fruit Parfait. Granola and muffins can also be batch-made on the weekend and grabbed throughout the week.
Yes — Indian breakfasts are a specialty here. Try the Curried Poha which is spiced flattened rice, the Sabudana Khichdi which is a tapioca pearl pilaf, the Indian Cream of Wheat also known as upma, or the Greek Yogurt with Chia Seed Indian-Style.
Most of our breakfast recipes are naturally egg-free and vegan. The pancakes, scrambles, parfaits, and Indian breakfasts all skip eggs entirely and use plant-based ingredients instead.
Traditional naan usually does. Most recipes use yogurt or milk in the dough and involve brushing the finished bread with ghee or butter, which is what gives it the soft chew. My vegan naan uses plant yogurt and oil instead and behaves the same way in the pan. Restaurant naan is almost always made with dairy, so ask rather than assume.
The classic version does. It is finished with butter and cream, which is where the name comes from, deriving from “makhan” meaning “butter.” Our vegan dal makhani uses cashew cream and oil instead but still has the dish’s signature creaminess and richness. If you are ordering out, dal makhani is one of the least likely dishes to be dairy free, so choose a tadka dal or chana masala instead.
The ones built on coconut, nuts or gram flour rather than milk solids. Vegan rice kheer made with coconut milk is close to the original despite being dairy free. Meanwhile, besan ladoo and burfi both work without ghee. Carrot halwa trifle uses plant milk, and coconut chocolate truffles are dairy free by design. Rasmalai and rasgulla are some Indian desserts that cannot really be made without dairy.
Yes, and they are better for it. Ripe banana replaces both the binding and most of the sweetness, so you need very little else. Our dairy free and eggless banana pancakes use plant milk and no eggs at all, and take only fifteen minutes to make from start to finish. Make sure that you let the batter sit for five minutes before cooking so it thickens.
Coconut yogurt is the best base, because it is thick although it doesn’t taste exactly like yogurt with dairy as it has a slight coconut taste. Our coconut yogurt parfait layers it with fruit and granola. Almond and oat yogurts are thinner, so strain them for a few hours if you would like to use them and want the same texture. Add the granola at the last minute so it stays crisp.