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Replacing common foods
Straightforward swaps for the foods people find hardest to replace, and honest notes on where the swap falls short.
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Simple swaps
Most swaps work best when you replace the role a food plays in a dish, not the food itself.
- Mince: lentils, crumbled tofu or a plant-based mince in bolognese, chilli and shepherd's pie.
- Chicken: firm tofu, tempeh, seitan or chickpeas in curries, stir-fries and salads.
- Milk: oat milk for tea, coffee and cereal; soy milk where protein matters, for example in porridge.
- Cheese: harder to replace on taste. Nutritional yeast for savoury depth; plant cheeses have improved but vary widely.
- Eggs: for baking, mashed banana or ground flaxseed; for scrambles, tofu with a pinch of black salt.
- Butter: plant spreads and olive oil.
Where swaps fall short
Plant milks other than soy have little protein. Plant cheeses are often high in saturated fat from coconut oil. Some plant-based meats are highly processed and salty, though they still tend to have far lower environmental impact than the meat they replace.