Tired of using milk in your baked goods? Think it’s time for a change? Let’s look at some milk substitutes…
There are numerous reasons why someone might decide to look for an alternative to milk in their desserts.
Some might just not like the taste, while others might be lactose intolerant. Others might even have an allergy, while some might have recently adopted a vegan diet.
Then there’s the fact that milk is kinda high in calories. If you’re looking to lose weight, you might look for a lighter option.
Although milk used to be seen as a crucial ingredient in our baked goods, there are now plenty of alternatives to consider.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 milk substitutes you can use in your desserts.
Cream
Cream is really rich, and obviously works well for richer dishes. It can be used in your baking recipes, as well as custards and frozen desserts.
There’s no point swapping milk for cream if you’re looking to lose weight because cream actually contains even more calories. It’s also thicker and a single cup contains some 821 calories. It also contains 88g of fat and 7g of carbs.
On the other hand, if you’re actually looking to gain weight, or if you just want your baked recipes to taste richer, using cream instead of milk is a great idea.
Flax Milk
This is another one of great milk substitutes. You can make your own flax milk at home by blending flax seeds with water. It’s that simple, and commercial variants are super low in calories. They also contain zero protein, although they are rich in calcium.
Coconut Milk
You’ll want to avoid coconut milk if you’re trying to lose weight as it’s high in calories. It’s also super thick already and so doesn’t need to be reduced.
A single cup contains as many as 445 calories – wow! However, coconut milk also contains numerous health benefits and is rich in vitamin E.
Nut Milks
There are plenty of different types of nut milks you can try, from almond to hazelnut. It might be a case that you spend some time experimenting to find the nut milk you like best.
Almond milk is currently the most popular milk substitutes and contains lots of vitamins and calcium.
If you have nut allergies, then of course you should avoid nut milks.
Powdered Milk
Powdered milk is pretty much the same as milk in terms of its nutritional profile, but it’s been dehydrated so that it’s almost dry.
As such, it’s a great way of drying recipes, such as pancakes and cookies.
If you choose to use powdered milk instead of regular dairy milk, you’ll need to reduce the amount of water you usually use. The end result will be a bit thicker than normal, and you’ll probably need to do a bit of experimentation to get the right consistency. Not just that, but different brands require varying amounts of water.
Soy Milk
For anyone who doesn’t wish to use dairy milk, there are plenty of milk substitutes. We’re going to take a look at the best ones in this article, starting with soy milk.
Soy milk has been used in cooking for more than 2,000 years. It looks like regular dairy milk and in contains almost as many calories. It’s not initially rich in calcium as dairy milk, but more calcium is added afterwards.
A single cup of soy milk contains 109 calories and 5g of fat. You can heat it and its water content reduces much the same as regular milk.
Taste-wise, soy milk is a bit different but it’s unlikely that you’ll notice in most of your recipes. It’s especially useful in savoury and sweet dishes.
Rice Milk
Rice milk is the product of rice that has been soaked and ground with water. This creates rice milk and it’s ideal for those who are allergic to both dairy and soy milk (14% of kids who are allergic to cow milk are also allergic to soy milk).
There isn’t as much fat in rice milk as there is in dairy milk. In fact, a single cup contains just 2.3g of fat. It also contains 113 calories.
The problem for some people is that rice milk also has a high glycemic index, and as such is best avoided by people who are prone to spikes in their blood sugar levels.
To reduce the water content of rice milk, you just heat it up – just like you would with ordinary milk. It has a sweet taste and therefore works well in all kinds of baking goods.
Oat Milk
To make oat milk, you just blend oats with water. You can buy it pre-made from the store, or you can make it at home yourself. It’s super easy to do and because it’s one of the few cow milk alternatives that contains dietary fibre, it’s well worth using now and then.
Oat milk is nutritionally dense, with a single cup containing a good amount of vitamin D, calcium and iron. However, because these nutrients are added afterwards by companies, your home made versions won’t contain them.
Oat milk also contains compounds called beta-glucans that help to lower cholesterol and boost digestion.
A single cup of oat milk contains 124 calories. For best results, you might need to sweeten or thicken it.
Quinoa Milk
This is another one of amazing milk substitutes. If you’ve never heard of quinoa milk before, that’s because it’s new to the market.
For vegans, or for anyone who wants to cut back on dairy, it makes for a promising substitute to dairy milk. A single cup contains just 67 calories and 1.5g of fat.
Quinoa milk tastes similar to cow milk, and because its actually a tad thicker you don’t need to reduce or thicken it.
Hemp Milk
Made from the blended seeds of the hemp plant combined with water, hemp milks nutritional profile depends on the brand. Some brands produce hemp milk that contains just 83 calories, while some contain as many as 140. If you’re counting calories, you’ll need to check the label.
Hemp milk has a particularly sweet taste, but because its so watery you will need to thicken it.
What are your favourite milk substitutes? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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