Start guide
Replacing common foods
Straightforward swaps for the foods people find hardest to replace, and honest notes on where the swap falls short.
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 plant 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.
Dishes that fit this
Named for how they taste, with the difference each makes against the meal it stands in for.
Smoky black bean burger
Charred at the edges, soft in the middle, with pickled beetroot and a lot of black pepper.
Under a tenth of the land of beef burger.
Chana masala
Chickpeas in a dark, sour-sweet tomato sauce, sharpened with a squeeze of lemon at the end.
About 1.7 times the land of chicken curry.
Chilli peanut noodles
Twenty minutes, one pan, and a sauce of peanut butter, soy and chilli that clings to everything.
About half of the land of chicken noodles.
Lemongrass tofu with sweetcorn
Tofu simmered in a light lemongrass broth with sweetcorn and okra, until it takes on the whole pan.
About a quarter of the land of chicken stir-fry.
Green spaghetti
Blended herbs, garlic and toasted nuts, loosened with pasta water into a sauce that coats every strand.
About a sixth of the land of creamy carbonara.
Falafel with hummus and warm flatbread
Crisp outside, herby inside, on hummus loose enough to scoop with the bread while it is still warm.
About 1.9 times the land of chicken wrap.
Malaysian vegetable curry
Coconut, turmeric and curry leaves, with vegetables cooked just past crunchy, over plain rice.
About half of the land of chicken curry.