Opinion Best dairy-free cream & custard options: Store-bought & home-made

Need a vegan substitute for cooking cream, sour cream, whipped cream, or custard? There are plenty of dairy-free products & recipes to choose from.

Let’s be honest – whether you’re a seasoned plant-based foodie or just starting to explore dairy-free alternatives, finding the perfect vegan substitutes for thickened cream, sour cream, whipped cream, and custard is a pretty high-stakes mission. After all, a dollop of something creamy is the crucial finishing touch for so many classic dishes! 

Luckily, with 40% of Aussie households embracing the dairy-free movement these days, there is an abundance of plant-based cream and custard options to choose from in supermarkets.

To help you more easily find your new favourites, I’ve put together a quick list of some of the best cream and custard options you can buy in stores and online – as well as some recipe recommendations in case you fancy making your own at home. 

Vegan Thickened Cream / Cooking Cream

From tempering out the acidity of a freshly-brewed soup to adding richness to pasta sauce, to creating a lusciously creamy filling for a tart or vegan cheesecake – these versatile substitutes can do anything that traditional thickened cream or cooking cream can do (and taste that little bit lighter doing it).

Store-bought options:

• Flora Thickened Plant Cream (Coles, Woolworths)
• Oatly Organic Creamy Oat (Woolworths)
• Alpro Single Soya Cream (Vegan Perfection, La Vida Vegan)
• Vegan Life Vegan Cream (Vegan Life)
• Coconut cream (any supermarket)
• Unsweetened vegan yoghurt (any supermarket)

Home-made option:

You can also use this easy cashew cream recipe to whip up your own in a matter of minutes! It’s ridiculously easy, super creamy, and infinitely customisable for both sweet and savoury dishes.

Vegan Sour Cream

What would loaded nachos or baked potatoes even be without a generous helping of plant-based cheese and tangy sour cream to finish them off? 

You can find these amazing dairy-free sour cream options in the vegan section at Woolworths, at some whole foods stores, and stocked by vegan-friendly retailers online.   

Store-bought options:

• Made With Plants Sour Cream (Woolworths)
• Green Vie Sour Cream (Vegan Perfection, La Vida Vegan)
• Dairy-Free Down Under Sour Cream-style (Dairy Free Down Under)
• Dibble Sour Cream (Dibble)

Home-made options:

If you’ve got some plain coconut yoghurt hanging out in your fridge, guess what – you’re already most of the way towards a delicious sour cream substitute! Just mix in a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt, plus some fresh herbs if you’re feeling fancy. 

Alternatively, try making our foolproof cashew sour cream recipe. It only calls for 5 simple ingredients and tastes like a dream.

Vegan Whipped Cream

It’s a modern-day miracle that someone figured out how to nail the airy sweetness and sprayability of traditional whipped cream using only plant-based ingredients. 

I can’t claim to understand the culinary science behind any of these dairy-free gems, but the sweet tooth within me is thrilled they exist. 

Store-bought options:

• Nature’s Charm Coconut Whipping Cream (Vegan Perfection, La Vida Vegan)
• Nature’s Charm Oat Whipping Cream (Vegan Perfection, La Vida Vegan)
• Vegan Life Whipping Cream (Vegan Life)
• Schlagfix Vegan Spray Topping (Naturitas, Greens Supermarket)

Home-made options:

With a bit of elbow grease (or ideally a proper hand or stand mixer), you can even make your own dairy-free whipped cream at home. 

It’s as simple as adding icing sugar and vanilla extract to chilled coconut cream or soy milk, and beating the mixture until it gets light and fluffy.

Vegan Custard

These delectable dairy- and egg-free custard options are infinitely drizzlable and absolutely nail that classic, comforting custard flavour. Personally, my favourite thing to drench in custard is this nostalgic sticky-date pudding, but the dessert-pairing possibilities are endless.

Store-bought options:

• Coyo Vanilla Custard (Woolworths)
• Foster Clark’s Original Custard Powder (Coles, Woolworths)
• Alpro Vanilla Custard (Vegan Perfection, La Vida Vegan, Five Vegans)
• Nature’s Charm Coconut Custard (Vegan Perfection, Kind to Earth, iPantry)
• Just Wholefoods Vanilla Custard Powder (Flora & Fauna, Happy Tummies)

Home-made options:

Vegan custard is also surprisingly easy to make from scratch – see this recipe from School Night Vegan for proof! All you need are a few pantry staples, including cornflour, plant milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and vegan butter.

Tips for cooking with vegan creams

Add cornstarch as needed for thickness: Most plant-based creams thicken beautifully when cooked or baked, but certain recipes (like sauces and fillings) may benefit from some extra cornstarch or flour for stability. 

Taste-test a few varieties: If you find, for example, that a prominent coconut flavour isn’t really your jam, try out an oat, almond, or soy-based cream option instead. There’s plenty of choice out there!

Store them in the fridge: And be mindful of best-before and expiry dates! Plant-based products may not contain any dairy, but all the usual food safety advice still applies.

Keen to explore more delicious dairy-free options?

With so many amazing products and recipes out there, it’s never been easier to add smooth, creamy richness to your plant-based cooking. 

And it’s not just creams and custards that have nifty vegan alternatives these days – keep an eye out for these other dairy substitutes too:

🥛🌿 Plant-based milks

🧀🌿 Plant-based cheeses & cheese recipes

🍓🌿 Plant-based yoghurts

🍨🌿 Plant-based ice creams

From dolloping silky whipped cream on top of chocolate brownies, to pouring luscious lashings of vegan custard over an apple & blueberry crumble – hopefully it’s tooth-achingly clear by now that going dairy-free doesn’t mean missing out at all.

In fact, going dairy-free opens up a whole new world of possibilities, products, and recipes to explore. Are you ready to grab your spoon and dive in?

Header image: © COYO