What would holiday meals be like without rich sauces, dips and the coveted cheese plate? We can’t even imagine. The words that come to mind are dry, tasteless and boring. Most people would give Thanksgiving dinner a pass if the cauliflower wasn’t swimming in cheese sauce or the sweet potatoes drowning in butter. After all…cheese is life!
For people with lactose-intolerance, vegans, flexitarians, or those wanting to skip through the holiday festivities feeling lighter, holiday gatherings can feel like you’re not welcome at the table. Non-dairy cheese uplifts tradition and holiday gatherings so everyone can eat at the table. Lots of people have food intolerances including dairy. In fact 68% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant. Opting for non-dairy alternatives makes everyone feel welcome through food.
It’s so easy now to easily sub the dairy heavy recipes with non-dairy cheese, butters and milks and still taste the wow! Maybe you’ve been curious when you’ve seen the tasty, non-dairy cheese offerings filling the deli cases at your local market. With the readily available plant-based foods it’s easy to ditch the dairy in favor of holiday meals everyone can enjoy.
All great holiday parties start with a cheese board. In our house, the cheese board is the show stopper. It starts with a selection of artisanal, non-dairy cheeses. These are cheese board worthy cheeses that will make your parties pop! The more readily available brands are VioLife, Follow Your Heart, Field Roast and Miyoko’s. VioLife cheese has a tangy, creamy feta doppelgänger that can hold center stage of your cheese board. Sprinkle it with a bevy of fresh cut herbs and pink peppercorns or artfully arrange a blossom of edible flowers on top for a cheery cheese plate. Add a selection of crackers and crostini, a savory element like olives and sweet jam for a balanced board.
When it comes to the main dishes it’s an easy 1:1 swap in your recipes. Where the recipe calls for milk upgrade to almond, soy or oat milk. Just make sure it’s unsweetened. No one wants sugary vanilla flavored cream sauce in their green bean casserole. You can also win big when you swap out the dairy butter for a delicious plant-based option. One of our favorite’s is Miyoko’s European style cultured butter. You can choose from salted and unsalted. It’s delicious by itself on a cracker too.
Here’s a tip for a creamy cheese sauce using Field Roast’s Chao Creamy Original shreds. Mix one bag with 1/4 cup of unsweetened, non-dairy milk in a saucepan and heat until soft and creamy (Tip heat the milk first and slowly add shreds using a whisk to remove any lumps) Get that cauliflower ready! And drench it with this dreamy, cheesy delight. Your party will be the highlight of the holiday season.
Our book, Cheese Not Cheese, is brimming with creative cheese board ideas, flavor pairings and melting tips using non-dairy cheese. Join our newsletter for advance pre-sale notice and delicious pairing ideas.
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