We all have our favorite comfort foods. But, if you have converted to eating a vegan diet you may feel like you have to miss out on many of them. This is because most of those comfort meals contain cream, cheese, or eggs. However, you don’t have to miss out. In fact, most if not all of your favorite foods can be made vegan.

So, how do you ensure your favorite foods are made vegan? Simply follow these steps to learn how to alter those old recipes.

1. Substitute animal products

To start veganizing your favorite recipe, copy it out, then circle any animal products in red pen. This includes meat, eggs, dairy, gelatine, and honey. These are the products you will need to find substitutions for. Luckily, there are now many easy to access vegan alternatives to most animal products. Simply choose your preferred replacement and write it in.

• Any dairy products can be replaced with a non-dairy alternative (coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk, etc).
• For meat alternatives you can use tofu, beans, mushrooms or even a meat substitute like Beyond Meat or Gardein for “chicken”.
• Use maple syrup or agave to replace honey.
• Consider using silken tofu, aquafaba or chia seeds to replace eggs.
• Use agar-agar or fruit pectin to replace any gelatine.

2. Consider textures

This is a crucial step to getting that comfort food feeling, especially for dishes that originally had a meat base. When swapping out the meat alternatives consider the texture of the end result. For example, you wouldn’t want to use soft tofu to replicate ground beef. Instead consider using diced mushrooms, smashed chickpeas or diced tempeh.  Learning how to properly prepare and cook tofu, seitan and tempeh can go a long way in replicating meat textures. Baked seitan can easily replicate melt in your mouth ribs, whereas jackfruit is a perfect substitution for pulled pork.

3. Test it

Sometimes swapping the ingredients out at a 1:1 ratio doesn’t quite work. This can be caused by various things. For example, using tofu instead of chicken can result in less liquid in the final dish as it soaks up a fair amount of liquid while cooking. Using chickpeas as the main ingredient in a burger could lead to a dry chalky texture. Before testing your recipe out, you can also research how other vegans have made the dish. This can give you ideas on any changes that may need to be made right away. Remember to keep a positive attitude, creating the perfect recipe can take time.

4. Cheat and Buy it

Of course, if you are just starting out on a vegan diet you can simply buy vegan comfort foods. Many supermarkets now have a large vegan section, filled with not only healthier quick meals but also delicious comfort foods like mac’n’cheese, hamburgers, and “chicken” wings. This is a great option for vegans that are busy, or aren’t as confident in their cooking abilities just yet. There are also many small businesses across the US that specialize in vegan baking, meaning you can easily get that chocolate cake you are craving.

There you have it. Eating vegan doesn’t mean you need to “miss out” on your classic comfort foods. Simply follow the easy steps above to help you create your favorite foods made vegan or check out these delicious vegan comfort food recipes. Then you can impress your friends and family with their favorites as a healthier, vegan option.