Canadian
Quebec-style pea soup
Yellow split pea soup with pork hocks, carrots and thyme.
Dairy-free meal plan
Seven dishes without milk or dairy products, with their shopping.
Au Menu helps you choose meals and plan your shopping.
Your dairy-free week
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Shopping for the week
Fruit and vegetables
- lemon · 1 piece
- garlic · 2 cloves
- carrots · 75 g
- cucumber · 150 g
- rocket · 25 g
- red onion · 40 g
- parsley · 5 g
Dairy and cheese
- egg · 1 piece
- egg · 3 pieces
Meat and fish
- veal topside roasting joint · 400 g
- tuna in water (drained weight) · 75 g
Pantry
- capers (drained weight) · 15 g
- olive oil · 55 ml
- tomato coulis · 200 g
- tinned cooked white beans (drained weight) · 350 g
- olive oil · 15 ml
- paprika · 5 ml
- preserved lemon · 15 g
Frozen food
- frozen shelled edamame · 100 g
Bakery
- wheat tortillas · 2 tortillas
Other
- gherkin · 40 g
Allergen information for this week
Ingredients and allergen information cover the seven selected dishes. Starters and desserts below are separate suggestions.
Gluten: PresentCrustaceans: Absent from recipesEggs: PresentFish: PresentPeanuts: Absent from recipesSoya: PresentMilk: Absent from recipesTree nuts: Absent from recipesCelery: Absent from recipesMustard: PresentSesame: PresentSulphites: Absent from recipesLupin: Absent from recipesMolluscs: Absent from recipesThis information describes recipe ingredients, not traces in purchased products.
Au Menu suggests: starter, main, dessert
Starter, main and dessert recipes selected without milk ingredients.
Starter
See all recipes- Spanish
Fried aubergine with cane syrup
Salted aubergine batons, floured and fried, finished with Spanish cane syrup.
- North African and Middle Eastern
Chickpea salad with lemon and cucumber
Chickpeas, tomatoes and cucumber dressed with lemon and olive oil, with parsley.
- Asian
Spicy Korean fish soup
Hake, white radish and tofu in a gochujang broth.
Main
See all recipes- North African and Middle Eastern
Vegetable couscous with chickpeas and onions
Vegetable and chickpea couscous with onions sautéed in ras el hanout and broth served alongside.
- North African and Middle Eastern
Houmous and raw vegetable wraps
Tortillas filled with houmous, carrots, cucumber and rocket.
- Italian
Spaghetti with garlic and olive oil
Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chilli.
- Asian
Lentil curry with coconut milk
Red lentil curry with coconut milk and basmati rice.
Dessert
See all recipes- French
Chocolate mousse
A light dark chocolate and egg mousse made without cream.
- French
Apple compote with cinnamon
Apples gently cooked with cinnamon and lemon.
- Spanish
Quince paste
Quince cooked down to a thick paste, chilled until firm and cut into small portions.
Kuih bahulu — little egg cakes
Light little egg and vanilla cakes with golden baked edges.
Tips for planning your week
Cook without milk, butter, cream or cheese
Oil works for frying vegetables, while tomato sauce, cooking juices or suitable stock can accompany a dish. Starting with these bases avoids having to find a dairy substitute for every ingredient.
Make sauces creamy without cream
Blend part of the vegetables in a soup or stew to thicken the liquid. An unsweetened plant-based cooking alternative or coconut milk can suit some recipes. Choose for flavour and cooking behaviour, rather than colour alone.
Separate milk-free from lactose-free
Lactose is a milk sugar; milk allergy concerns its proteins. Lactose-free dairy can still contain those proteins. This week excludes milk from the recipe ingredients, but products and preparation conditions still need checking for an allergy.
Think about the foods you remove long term
Plant-based drinks do not automatically reproduce milk’s nutrient content: protein and calcium fortification vary. If you exclude all dairy long term, discuss your other calcium sources with a health professional, beyond these dinner ideas.
Your questions about these meals
Does butter contain milk?
Yes, butter is a dairy product. Oil may work in its place depending on the recipe. Check margarines too: they are not all milk-free.
Can I replace milk with water in a recipe?
It depends on its role. Suitable stock may work in soup, but water changes the texture and flavour of a cake or sauce. Prefer a recipe designed without milk.
Is goat’s milk suitable for a cow’s milk allergy?
Do not treat it as a safe replacement. Milk proteins can cross-react between these animals. Follow your allergy specialist’s advice when choosing an alternative.
Which plant-based alternative should I use in savoury cooking?
Choose an unsweetened product suited to the cooking method. Coconut, soya and oat products taste different. Check the ingredients against any other exclusions you have.
Further reading: Lactose and milk allergy — Assurance Maladie (French) · Milk allergy — CUH NHS · Reading food labels — DGCCRF (French)