A Beginner's Guide to the Best Healthy Vegan Food Replacements For Meat, Fish, and Dairy

It replaced my: Total 2% Greek yogurt or Stonyfield plain yogurt.
How I eat it: Mixed with Trader Joe's Mixed Nut Butter with fruit, nuts, and seeds or granola.
Where to find it: Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh

It replaced my: Ben & Jerry's froyo.
How I eat it: With semi-sweet dark chocolate chips or carob chunks and/or the Coco Whip below (wink, wink!).
Where to find it: Ice Cream Source, Amazon Fresh

It replaced my: Cool Whip that I'd add to all my ice cream sundaes.
How I eat it: With mashed frozen banana and almond milk purée (my makeshift ice cream!) or with my Arctic Zero pints.
Where to find it: The So Delicious Online Scoop Shop, Whole Foods, Shop Rite, Kings

It replaced my: Ranch or tzatziki.
How I eat it: With chips or dolloped atop a salad.
Where to find it: Trader Joe's

It replaced my: Eggs! There are a few different versions (you can use the scramble to create omelettes), but trust me, the folded egg tastes the best.
How I eat it: Throw it under the broiler for a minute or two to get it crispy and make an "egg" sandwich.
Where to find it: Amazon, Acme, Kings, Gregorys Coffee

It replaced my: Fresh, homemade mozzarella.
How I eat it: This is the only mozzarella I've found that is delicious enough on its own (and not too salty!) to use in a Caprese salad with fresh tomatoes and basil.
Where to find it: ShopRite, Target, Whole Foods

It replaced my: "Grilled cheese" style cheddar.
How I eat it: Between two slices of toasted bread — this is by far the best cheddar I've tried so far. I'd melt this over any of the shreds I've tried any day.
Where to find it: ShopRite, Target, Whole Foods

It replaced my: Athenos crumbled feta.
How I eat it: Broken up over a salad.
Where to find it: ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, Kings

It replaced my: Freshly-shaved parmesan bought by the wedge.
How I eat it: Sliced over crackers or grated over my spaghetti squash "bolognese."
Where to find it: ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, Kings

It replaced my: Dannon coffee or banana yogurt for when I want something flavored.
How I eat it: As is or with a handful of mixed nuts blended in.
Where to find it: Whole Foods

It replaced my: Pulled pork.
How I eat it: With some homemade BBQ sauce (search for a quick recipe on Pinterest) in a taco or bun.
Where to find it: Target, Whole Foods, and other local food markets

It replaced my: Morning sausage patties.
How I eat it: With a toasted bagel and "cheeze."
Where to find it: Acme, ShopRite, Stop & Shop

It replaced my: Tougher meats, such as grilled chicken strips, that I'd typically mix in a salad.
How I eat it: Coated in arrowroot starch, nutritional yeast, spices, and coconut aminos, crisped up in the air fryer over salad or linguini.
Where to find it: Trader Joe's

It replaced my: Ground beef or turkey, when crumbled.
How I eat it: I either use starch or cornmeal to coat for crispy tofu in the air fryer (for firmer blocks) to mix into salads or noodles, or crumble into "meat" crumbles for a bolognese or taco meat with all the right spices (for softer blocks).
Where to find it: ShopRite, Acme, Morton Williams

It replaced my: Dressings that were made with eggs, such as Caesar, or yogurt-based dressings such as Bolthouse Farms.
How I eat it: On salads, duh!
Where to find it: Target, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Acme, Whole Foods, Morton Williams

It replaced my: Buffalo wings.
How I eat it: As a snack with celery and Daiya vegan ranch.
Where to find it: Whole Foods

It replaced my: Turkey burgers (which I usually preferred to beef).
How I eat it: On a bun with mustard or over a salad for a bun-less meal.
Where to find it: Fresh Direct, Amazon, Peapod, and most local grocery stores

It replaced my: Hash browns (which are generally made with cheese and butter) or mashed potatoes.
How I eat it: They are the perfect side with my BBQ jackfruit dish. Don't knock the "burgers" — especially the beetroot one, which tastes like a spinach cake!
Where to find it: Whole Foods, Morton Williams

It replaced my: Outshine creamy coconut fruit bars.
How I eat it: For dessert!
Where to find it: Amazon Fresh, Fresh Direct, Peapod, Acme, CVS, Kings

It replaced my: Regular milk I'd use with cereal or a smoothie.
How I eat it: Even though I use this pistachio milk in smoothies and overnight oats, I could also drink it plain, it's so delicious.
Where to find it: Straight from the website, or at select stores

It replaced my: Delight or Coffee Mate flavored creamers.
How I eat it: Blended into my coffee with a touch of stevia or cinnamon over ice.
Where to find it: Acme, Target, Kings, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, CVS

It replaced my: Meatballs from scratch over homemade gravy, made by my SO's Italian mom — yeah, this was a tough replacement. I tried a lot of vegan "meatballs," and these come in first for me.
How I eat it: With Rao's marinara over pasta.
Where to find it: Walmart, Target, Amazon Fresh, Instacart, ShopRite, Whole Foods

It replaced my: Chicken nuggets! These are by far the best vegan nuggets, and they get crispy if you throw them in the air fryer. Hot tip: they come in spicy too!
How I eat it: With sweet potato fries.
Where to find it: On the NUGGS website, where you can buy frozen packages of 50 or 100 NUGGS

It replaced my: Salmon, actual crab cakes, and breaded tilapia filets.
How I eat it: With cauliflower rice and hot sauce or homemade cocktail sauce.
Where to find it: ShopRite, Wegmans, Walmart, Stop & Shop

It replaced my: Standard, non-researched wine. The fact is, most wines are vegan, but an explicitly vegan wine promises to be fined using natural substances instead of animal derived substances.
How I eat it: with whatever vegan replacement the website suggests! All Scout & Cellar wines offer pairings for your meals and you can read details about where they were sourced. (For example, if the wine is best paired with fish, I thaw my Sophie's filets!)
Where to find it: Scout & Cellar's website, where you can order from anywhere in the US to be shipped from Texas.

It replaced my: Basic meat-flavored jarred sauces such as Barilla, Bertolli, and Botticelli.
How I eat it: My go-to dish lately has been Rao's over spaghetti squash "bolognese," which is made with crumbled and sautéed tofu.
Where to find it: Any local grocery store — just make sure you're buying the marinara or other vegan approved flavors.

It replaced my: Bacon bits in salads, which I used to add religiously. I live for the crunch!
How I eat it: In salads or by the mini bag as a tasty, sustaining snack. If you like Snyder's Honey Mustard and Onion pretzel pieces, the Sweet Onion & Mustard flavor is for you.
Where to find it: ShopRite, Duane Reade, Morton Williams, 7 Eleven

It replaced my: Rice Krispie treats (which include margarine, butter, and marshmallows).
How I eat it: As a midday snack, sometimes with a tall glass of Taché pistachio milk over ice.
Where to find it: Wegmans, 7 Eleven

It replaced my: Cheez-Its and Cheddar Goldfish.
How I eat it: Dipped in salsas and broken up over salads.
Where to find it: Online at Every Body Eat, Amazon, and Whole Foods

It replaced my: Homemade egg-based quiche that I used to make weekly as a side dish with zucchini and squash.
How I eat it: Crisped in the oven as a side, or for breakfast!
Where to find it: At your local Kroger, plus select natural food stores