10 Dairy-Free Desserts: Dairy-Free Recipes for Home Chefs

Amateur bakers make dairy-free desserts to work around food allergies or fit their guests’ dietary preferences. For example, it’s important to keep milk out of your recipes for someone with lactose intolerance, just as it is to prepare nut-free dishes for someone with a peanut allergy or flourless recipes for someone who can only eat gluten-free foods.

On the other hand, people without underlying conditions may prefer dairy-free foods, too. They might go dairy-free for dietary preferences or health reasons other than lactose intolerance. In this case, baking dairy-free recipes might not be necessary, but it will still treat your friends and family to recipes they prefer.

Plenty of dairy-free desserts feature similar ingredients. Here are five you should keep on hand if you plan to make desserts without dairy:

1. 1. Dark chocolate: Substitute cacao or dark chocolate for milk chocolate, and you can keep your recipes free of dairy. While dark chocolate bars or chocolate pudding might taste more bitter than their milky counterparts, you’ll still taste that signature chocolatey flavor.
2. 2. Fruits: As with many traditional desserts, you can still include plenty of apples, cranberries, peaches, and more in your dairy-free alternatives. Bake them in coconut oil to emphasize the fruity element in these dishes.
3. 3. Milk substitutes: Dairy alternatives include cashew milk, almond milk, soy–based or oat–based whipped cream, and many others. You could even use coconut milk to make a coconut cream pie.
4. 4. Nuts and seeds: From almonds and pistachios to pecans and chia seeds, you can grind up or even “milk” plenty of these ingredients for your desserts. For instance, you could try out almond flour at the same time as almond butter or almond milk in one of your dairy-free dessert recipes.
5. 5. Sugar: You’ll add sugar to your dairy-free dessert, whether it’s a mousse or a meringue. The sweet flavors of sugar complement most milk substitutes well.

Dairy-free desserts are as easy to make as traditional desserts. Here are ten dairy-free dessert recipes you can learn how to make:

1. 1. Vegan ice cream: You can make ice cream, a traditionally milk-centric treat, with no dairy at all. Break out your ice cream maker and pull out some cashew milk to make this vegan ice cream recipe.
2. 2. Vegan apple pie: Pairing a warm, baked apple filling with a flaky vegan pie crust, an apple pie can be both vegan and lactose-free if you follow the right recipe. Satiate your sweet tooth with this vegan apple pie recipe that omits dairy.
3. 3. Vegan chocolate brownies: These delightful treats can be fudgy, chewy, and dairy-free. You can make their lighter alternative (blondies) without traditional milk, too. Try out this recipe for vegan brownies with fudge.
4. 4. Vegan carrot cake: It’s possible to make carrot cake completely dairy-free and egg-free if you replace the cream cheese topping with a suitable vegan alternative. Learn how to make this dairy-free vegan carrot cake.
5. 5. Vegan cheesecake: Use vegan cream cheese plus vegan sour cream or dairy-free yogurt to prepare a cheesecake sans dairy. Try making this vegan cheesecake recipe for a nontraditional spin on a classic dish.
6. 6. Vegan chocolate cake: You can make chocolate cake, one of the most classic dessert dishes, without any dairy. Experiment with the same dairy-free chocolate batter in different formats—try using it for cupcakes, layer cakes, and other desserts. Follow this dairy-free, vegan chocolate cake recipe to start.
7. 7. Vegan chocolate chip cookies: A sweet treat with morsels of chocolate, chocolate chip cookies make light desserts, or you can take them on the run as a snack. Learn how to make these dairy-free vegan chocolate chip cookies.
8. 8. Vegan peanut butter cookies: As with vegan nut butter, peanut butter cookies retain their trademark smooth consistency even without dairy. Try this dairy-free vegan peanut butter cookies recipe.
9. 9. Vegan pumpkin pie: Combine a dairy-free substitute like coconut cream instead of heavy cream with a binding agent, such as cornstarch, to make pumpkin pie without traditional milk. Follow this vegan pumpkin pie recipe to learn how to make the dish.
10. 10. Vegan sugar cookies: This simple dessert can be soft and gooey or crunchy and crispy—and, in either case, dairy-free, too. Here’s a vegan sugar cookies recipe you can prepare without any traditional milk.

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