A Beginner’s Guide to Amazing Vegan Alternatives! (Veganuary 2021)

Last Updated on 29 Apr, 2021

One of the things that people look for when they first go vegan is the best vegan alternative to their favourite food! One of my favourite parts of going vegan was trying out so many new products that I never would have even looked at beforehand. I love new experiences, and trying new things, and that includes the food I eat. Over the past few years, I’ve tried a lot of different products, and now I present my Plants and Good Vibes Official List of the best vegan alternatives that available today in UK supermarkets!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you follow a link to a product/service and purchase it I will receive a small commission, which helps me to keep creating content for this blog. See all blog policies.

I’ve done the hard work for you and listed only vegan-friendly foods, but if you’re out and about and trying to work out whether something is vegan or not, I have a handy guide on how to read ingredients labels for new vegans. Make sure you read that post and download the free wallet-sized cheat sheet to take with you when you’re doing your shopping 🙂

Now, on to the food!

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FoodVegan Alternative
BaconTHIS Isn’t Bacon
Beef BurgerMoving Mountains Plant-Based Burgers
Beyond Meat Beyond Burger
ButterVitalite
Pure Dairy Free Sunflower Spread
Cheese CrispsKettle Chips Vegan Sheese & Red Onion
Eat Real Quinoa Corn Puffs White Cheddar
Ten Acre Vegan Cheese & Onion
Chicken BurgerFry’s Meat Free Chicken-Style Burgers
ChickenTHIS Isn’t Chicken Sea-Salt & Black Pepper Pieces
ChocolateThe Coconut Collaborative Little Choc Pots
Chocolate Vegan Cream Egg
ColeslawM&S Plant Kitchen Coleslaw
CookiesSainsbury’s Deliciously Free From Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cow’s MilkOatly Original Oat Milk
Oatly Oat Drink Barista Edition
Oatly Oat Drink Chocolate
Alpro Coconut
Alpro Soya
CreamOatly Creamy Oat Fraiche
Elmlea Plant Cream Double
EggAquafaba (see explanation below table!)
Fried ChickenLinda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Bucket
Ham SlicesQuorn Vegan Smoky Ham Free Slices
Ice CreamBen & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter & Cookies Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry’s Cookies on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Booja Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate
Booja Booja Raspberry Ripple
Magnum Vegan Classic
Magnum Vegan Almond
Magnum Sea Salt Caramel
MeatballsLinda McCartney’s Vegetarian Meatballs
MinceNaked Glory Mince
Salad DressingPizza Express Vegan House Light Dressing
SausagesRichmond Meat-Free Sausages
Fry’s Meat Free Traditional Sausages
Sausage RollsGreggs Vegan Sausage Rolls
Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
Fry’s Meat Free Sausage Rolls
Steak BakeGreggs Vegan Steak Bakes
PestoSacla Vegan Basil Pesto
PizzaChicago Town Tomato Stuffed Crust Sticky BBQ Jackfruit
YoghurtAlpro Vanilla
Alpro Plain with Coconut
There are so many more out there – these are just my personal favourites!

I also have an entire post on the best vegan chocolate if you’re looking for some of the best chocolate out there.

Click to see all veganuary posts

How to make Aquafaba (vegan alternative for egg!)

What is aquafaba? Aquafaba is the name given to the liquid found in tinned beans. It’s usually made from the liquid found in a can of chickpeas (the ‘juice’ you’d generally drain away). When you bake with it, it’s essentially flavourless, but makes an amazing egg replacement! It’s also great to reduce food waste, as it’s the liquid you would usually throw away anyway.

What’s it used for? I always use aquafaba when I make pancakes with great success, but it can also be used to make a mousse, meringue, waffles, mayonnaise, latte froth, whipped cream and ice cream. It’s light and airy and works especially well for desserts and sweet treats.

How do I make it and how much do I use? Just make sure you save the liquid when you drain your chickpeas (e.g. use a sieve over a bowl). Three tablespoons of aquafaba is equivalent to 1 egg, and two tablespoons are roughly equivalent to 1 egg white. A whole 400g can of chickpeas provides about 8-12 tablespoons of aquafaba, equivalent to 3-4 eggs.

Is aquafaba only from chickpeas? Whilst most people do use the aquafaba from tinned chickpeas, you can also use other beans, such as black beans. They can make a great egg replacement for gooey and chewy chocolate brownies.

How do I store it? In the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze it. If you do want to freeze it, I’d recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray so you can use small amounts as needed.

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I hope you found this post about vegan alternatives useful 🙂

Are there any vegan alternatives or substitutes that you would recommend that I haven’t listed? Comment below!

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23 Comments

  1. I absolutely love this! I’m not totally vegan, but always on the hunt for alternatives to try and then switch into my weekly shopping list. Definitely keeping this post in mind 🙂

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

    1. Thank you Anika, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I hope you enjoy discovering some new products! 🙂

  2. Thank you for these vegan choices 🙂 I am not a vegan, but it’s great to know there are alternatives to some common foods, and I think it’s great that restaurants etc. have started offering more alternatives x

    1. Hi Eleanor, thanks for commenting! Yeah there are so many great options out there now 🙂

  3. Such a helpful post for anyone looking to make some changes this year! I’m not Vegan myself but I’ve tried lots of Vegan alternatives to burgers and chicken and things and I’ve actually loved them all! So this post has given me the boost I needed to go back and purchase some of those products again, so thank you! x

    1. Glad you found it helpful, Jenny 🙂 it’s great to hear you’ve enjoyed the vegan alternatives you’ve tried, fingers crossed you discover some more tasty ones too!

  4. There’s some stuff I absolutely swear by in this list. The THIS products are great, aside from the fact they picked the most inconvenient name of any vegan food 😂

  5. There’s some stuff I absolutely swear by in this list. The THIS products are great, aside from the fact they picked the most inconvenient name of any vegan food 😂

    1. Haha yes, I agree! It’s always difficult to explain to someone that a great vegan bacon brand is called “THIS” bacon!

  6. Oh wow, I’m not vegan, but I know how difficult it is to find food options for vegans. As much as we pride ourselves as a developed, first-world country here, it is almost impossible to find vegan restaurants. Even when there are vegan items on the menu, they’re ridiculously expensive too. Thanks for sharing this list of alternatives, Dani! I will definitely share it with any of my friends who are vegan.

    1. Hi Ming, thanks for reading! I always find it interesting when I go travelling and explore what the vegan options are in different countries, I didn’t consider that they’d be the more expensive option on a menu as usually vegan-friendly ingredients are so cheap in the UK! Thanks for your comment 🙂

  7. This is a fab beginners guide. I have been vegan for just over 3 years and I have loved seeing the increased availability and popularity of yummy vegan treats. Ten Acres are deffo my favourite crisps. Yuuum! I love all the accidental vegan food finds too.

    Helen
    Tea in the Tub

    1. Hi Helen, thank you! I agree, there’s SO much more available now in just the past few years, and I love the fact more and more products are coming out all of the time. Thanks for reading 🙂

    1. Ooh thank you for the recommendation! I’ve heard good things about Gardein but not sure if I’ve had any of their products so I’m going to hunt some down and try it. Thanks for commenting!

    1. Hi Katy, I’m glad you found it helpful 🙂 Yeah, unfortunately not all of the vegan products are vegan as quite a lot of them contain egg. Seems silly really but hopefully they’ll bring out more vegan options soon!