Butter is off limits in a vegan diet, but a drizzle of olive oil over a baked potato works well.
Vegan lifestyles, or even simply choosing a vegan diet for health reasons, may require you to make some substitutions along the way to adhere to the strict no meat, dairy or animal product concept associated with veganism. Learning to use substitutions that are vegan friendly allows you to swap out ingredients to keep enjoying the foods and dishes you crave. Butter can be substituted with vegan choices, depending on the dish and the flavor you are seeking.
Cooking Options
To simply swap out butter for vegan cooking oil, use olive, sunflower, safflower, corn or coconut oil for sauteing, stir frying and baking. You can change the oil used depending on the recipe. For baking, use a milder oil such as corn or sunflower. Hearty dishes and savory recipes can handle the more intense flavor of olive or coconut oil. Soy margarine is also an option for vegan cooking to replace butter.
Spreads
Using olive oil can be one way to replace butter and be vegan friendly. To make the oil the consistency of butter, place one to two inches of olive oil in a glass bowl. Place in the refrigerator until the oil solidifies. You can spread the oil like butter on bread, toast or vegetables.
Savory Options
To create a savory and thick spread to use in place of butter, opt for roasted garlic. Cut the top off of a head of garlic. Roast the garlic by drizzling olive oil over it and wrapping the bulb in tin foil. Roast in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the bulb and spread over bread for a rich and savory butter alternative. Alternatively, you can use hummus in place of butter on top of baked potatoes, pasta or vegetables.
Sweet Options
Mixing tahini with honey makes a sweet and healthy spread suitable for waffles, pancakes and toasted bread products. You can add extra flavor by using vanilla extract or cinnamon to change the flavor of the spread. Running the tahini mixture through a blender or food processor makes it smoother and produces an even more butter-like consistency.
Tags: butter vegan, olive over, place butter, replace butter, roasted garlic, vegan cooking
