Since one of my children is currently on a dairy-free, gluten-free diet, I’ve been on a mission to find some creative alternatives to things they usually eat that are healthful and yummy. I’ve had a number of flops, but I’ve also hit on a few yummy recipes, too.
Like this Non-Dairy Whipped Cream that I made last week. It’s so simple and easy to make and we all agreed that it was yummy–especially if you can’t eat regular whipped cream!
World’s Easiest Non-Dairy Whipped “Cream”
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar (or other sweetener of your choice)
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla
Put can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, open it and spoon out into a bowl (it should be somewhat hardened from refrigeration). Add powdered sugar and vanilla.
Whip until it resembles whipped cream. Serve!
Coming up tomorrow: The recipe for incredibly delicious Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Waffles (I’m so excited about these!)
Julie says
I have two sons who are allergy kids. The hardest part is many Items that seem OK have hidden ingredients. One of my kids is corn free and dairy free. We found out the hard way about the hidden ingredients such as casein and whey. Corn free is also hard. Many cereals and other prepackaged food don’t have corn products in them, but many can have cornstarch used to keep the product from sticking to the packaging. We found out the hard way with his medications, many have corn starch or corn syrup bases.
Marie says
Can you achieve neon colors with this non-dairy topping?
Thanks:)
Susan says
I admire you for trying GF for your child. It actually presents four significant challenges: cost, cooking time, planning, and tastefulness for kids used to gluten/flour. It’s not easy, and probably the reason more people don’t try to do it. I’m passing on a few tips that you or other readers new to GF may be interested in:
Bob’s Red Mill is your best friend–available at Sprouts. And it’s often on sale–watch the monthly specials. Don’t use the biscuit mix for pie crusts–gack–the frozen crusts they have at Sprouts are good but expensive (we relented when we had a huge # of people over). I don’t like their bread mix, though, but I think Janelle has a mix listed on her site. The GF cornbread mix makes a huge batch, and the chocolate cake is to die for but takes longer in my oven than it says. The GF oats are good too–and that’s 20 single servings (or more with little ones) for $4. Sometimes you can get Bob’s in bulk on Amazon, but I recommend trying indiv. packets first.
It is so much easier to make non-GF foods–so much easier to use wheat flour for everything. But I’ve found some good GF foods on your site too–as with the granola. You may want to give Indian foods a try as well. There’s an inexpensive grocery (Taj Mahal off Central and Beltline) in Richardson/N Dallas, but you can do your own too with fresh veggies and basmati rice. Walmart even carries garam masala in spices now. You can’t beat rice and veggies!
If you need convenience foods, Vans waffles are the best and sometimes on sale at Krogers. Krogers has a lot of GF too. Sometimes it’s very hard to do GF b/c of the cost.
More vegan recipes (my daughter is vegetarian):
http://order.cok.net/easy-vegan-recipes/EVR_2006.pdf
happyherbivore.com/recipes (from sister-in-law)
My child has a lot of pain and GF helps him. It’s difficult to get enough calories into him that way since he doesn’t like a lot of GF foods (always was a picky eater)–he started losing weight, so now we’re as GF as possible but not 100%, even though it takes 100% to really help with pain. It can actually take several months to tell a significant difference with eliminating gluten. It helps me too–I increasingly get sick with gluten, very sick. I keep trying to go off GF to save $ and because it’s very physically difficult for me to cook; your blog is helping me cut expenses in other ways. The GF granola–wow, a money saver.
Cereals that are GF–Rice Krispies makes a GF available at Walmart. Walmart also has 2 pastas that are GF. They also often have the Envirokids cereals and GF bars. They have the Bisquick GF mix and the Duncan Hines GF cake mixes as well. One thing I’ve noticed is that the cereals are not as enriched with B vitamins and iron–a Flintstones can help (that’s one my kid will take at least). Nature’s Path cereal is wonderful but pricy compared to what you can get w/coupons.
Gluten Free Girl has a blog, website, and books that emphasize what you can eat rather than what you can’t–makes you feel enriched to look at her website.
Diana says
FYI, Pillsbury white frosting doesn’t have dairy in the ingredients. Granted, there’s not much in there that’s good for you, but if you ever need something quick and sweet, at least you wouldn’t be compromising the diet. 🙂 We’re experimenting with dairy and (mostly) grain free around here, too–it’s way harder than it sounds!
Hallie Ann says
Question: does it taste like coconut? I have never been a fan of coconut, but would be willing to give this a try if it has a “neutral” taste. Thanks!
Suzy Lake says
I’m wondering the SAME thing! I was hoping someone would ask.
Amy says
I made this last week to try out, and yes, it does taste like coconut. i LOVE coconut, but one of my kids does NOT, and he wouldn’t eat it (even though he didn’t know how I made it). I was disappointed! 🙁
Hallie Ann says
Thank you so much for replying and answering my question! I’ve asked questions before, and you’re the first one who has ever answered one, you’ve made my day 🙂
Karla says
We’re loving the dairy free recipes. We did the coconut milk cream at Thanksgiving for pumpkin pie. It was the best whipped cream alternative we tried. We bought some cashew creme after that. My son w/o allergies loved it, but my son with the dairy allergy hated it.
Totally not whipped cream related, but I wanted to throw out there a dairy free treat my son loves: Oreo Truffles made with Tofutti cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese and covered with melted dairy free chocolate chips.
Sharon@DiscoverExploreLearn says
That sounds so yummy…we will definitely be trying this recipe soon !!
One of my favorite vegan blogs has a recipe for cookie dough freezer fudge that would be amazing with this whipped “cream. You should try it…and any of the other recipes on her site. I haven’t tried one yet, that I didn’t love.
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/02/14/vegan-cookie-dough-freezer-fudge/
fiona says
Does coconut milk have any nutritional value or is it just a suitable alternative to dairy products in certain recipes? I’ve never used coconut milk but I’m definitely going to try this.
Robyn says
You should check out chocolatecoveredkatie.com. She has tons of great recipes. Many have gluten free options, and I think most, if not all are dairy free because they are vegan.
Melanie says
You can also make this in a chocolate version:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/16/chocolate-frosting-shots/
I have a can of coconut milk sitting in the fridge right now, waiting for a chance to do this.
Andrea saunders says
How long does it keep? And if at room temp does it get saggy fast?
Tracy says
For the people asking about cool whip: Stuff labeled “non-dairy” actually can have portions of dairy in it. It has to say “dairy-free” to have no dairy at all. Perhaps “non-dairy” is okay for people who are lactose intolerant, but if you have a dairy allergy, it must be “dairy-free.” Just a silly labeling difference, but important if you have allergies.
deseray says
Crystal-I found Chocolate Covered Katie through you site. This is similiar to the chocolate mousse shots on her blog. I made them last weekend and they were sooo good. My first time buying coconut milk. Thanks for the ideas!
Jamie says
I just bought our first can of coconut milk to try the chocolate mousse. Have never thought of coming up with dairy free whip cream. My son is anaphylactic to dairy and has been for his 6 years.
Heather says
We are dairy free as well. I have been wanting to try making this. I am glad to hear good reviews of it!
Julia says
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve also been inspired by a new cookbook I checked out from the library, which has all dairy-free, gluten free recipes (including donuts!). It’s called Cooking for Isaiah. Have you heard of it?
Jen says
Crystal, check out the Passover sections of the grocery stores now. A lot of their products are dairy and gluten free. They know how to make goodies! 🙂 Try Shabati Gourmet!
Aley says
I will def be trying this very soon!
Leah says
Just a reminder that vegans (we’re not 100%, but are mostly vegan) use these kinds of recipes all the time. There are SO MANY vegan blogs and cookbooks that have great dairy alternative recipes. One of my favorites is from Veganomicon, by Isa Moskowitz. She has a great website as well. Good luck!
SandyH says
Just about to ask that myself!! Since Cool Whip says non- dairy whipped topping, if you’re allergic to dairy, wouldn’
t this be something you COULD have?
Jen says
Cool whip is “non-dairy” but has casien. May be a gov’t labeling thing. They can’t call it whipped cream.
Heather says
I was about to comment on that. My kids are actually allergic the casein, so we have to be careful with “dairy free” and read labels. A lot of stuff has whey or casein in it.
Amy says
Your question has already been answered, but I wanted to also point out that it is the same type of thing for coffee creamers like Coffeemate, etc. It is important to note that, because the labels do say “non-dairy” so a person might think it is OK to serve to a person with a dairy allergy, but really, it is not.
Heather says
Just wondering: I though Cool Whip (or at least the generic versions) was dairy-free. Are people avoiding that because it has gluten, or just because it has many crazy mystery ingredients? Certainly, this coconut sounds like a better alternative.
Theresa says
It still contains casein, which is the dairy protein.
Susan says
Oh, dairy free too–not sure about alternatives to yogurt.
Heather says
There is a coconut milk yogurt available now that is pretty good.
Theresa says
We really like So Delicious Coconut Yogurt. I think Silk yogurt is pretty good too but since we’re also soy free, it’s not an option.
Susan says
Thanks! Will have to try those.
Carol says
Can you use the So Delicious Coconut milk in the asceptic carton to make the whipped cream?
Susan says
As a topping for waffles/pancakes, you can mix up 1/2 c peanut or almond butter and 1 cup yogurt (or half the amounts). Also works well as a fruit dip. Or for homemade flour tortilla cinnamon chips–but I can’t find a good gluten free alternative for that.
Heather says
I love your blog! I know how hard it can be to make the switch to GF and DF, and wanted to share my blog in case the tips might help! It’s http://allergy-friendlytastebuds.blogspot.com/
Samantha Ryan says
ILOVEYOUILOVEYOUILOVEYOU! We’ve been gluten and dairy free for a few years and this is the first I’ve seen of a recipe for Whipped Cream! You rock!
sonya says
I just went to an autism conference. Nutrition and gfcf was talked about. I’ll post the cashew whip creme, and almond whip creme. Two gfcf moms love it. One freezes it for “ice creme”
Lizzie says
Or use Truvia or xylitol
It’s pretty yummy ;0!
Jason (Gluten Free / Dairy Free NJ) says
Any idea how long this lasts in the fridge? I live alone and don’t think I’ll be able to finish a whole can’s worth at once! (Definitely saving the recipe for company either way.)
Cora says
I love coconut–definitely will have to try this!
Joy Y. says
We LOVE this, and have done this many times now…a few tips would be:
-Only use the “cream” that has come to the top of the can. Don’t use the water left at the bottom.
-The generic brands of coconut milk did not work for this….unfortunately, the more expensive brands work the best.
-For a more natural version, that tastes just as good as using powdered sugar….use honey and a bit of vanilla extract…tastes sooooo good!
This is just as good as “Cool Whip”, and is great even if you aren’t a dairy free family.
Blessings,
Joy~
http://www.vimandvigor.typepad.com
–
Becky says
What can you do with the water that is left in the can? Can you use it for something else, or do you just dump it out?
(I’m asking because I actually made some coconut whipped cream the other day, but I felt guilty about not using the whole can, so the water is still sitting in my fridge)
Becky
Pam@behealthybehappywellness says
Throw the water in a smoothie!
Jen says
I found a frozen non-dairy alternative in the kosher section of the freezer section. Comes in a carton like heavy cream. It whips up like whipped cream with no dairy or casein. And it is only $1.49 a carton.
Andrea saunders says
What is the brand! I would love to find that! If you are on the west coast you can use Pastry pride which is amazing or whip n ice. But, it is almost impossible to find out her on the east coast.
Amy says
Coffee-Rich? I love that stuff, even though it is bad for you. I have never tried whipping it, though! I am glad to hear someone else buys coffee-rich, if that is what you speak of. My biggest fear is that the company will no longer make it because of all the popular “alternatives” out there for truly non-dairy coffee creamer. The soy and coconut creamers just don’t do it for me, but everyone else seems to like them. There is only one store here that carries Coffee-rich.
Heather says
Crystal – what brand of canned coconut milk are you using? I have had a few flops with different brands. The brand that worked best was pretty expensive at $2.79 a can.
Amber says
Was the expensive one Thai Kitchen?
Heather says
Yes! The other brands I tried including 365 Whole Foods, Goya, and Trader Joe’s (and a few others I can’t remember) – weren’t very good. Some worse. Mostly water and not a lot of “cream” left. Thai Kitchen had much more cream left on top after sitting in the fridge overnight.
Amber says
I’ve seen recipes like this elsewhere and it seems like everyone always says to use Thai Kitchen. I hate that it’s so expensive though. 🙁
Heather says
That is why I wanted to see if Crystal knew of another brand that is cheaper and works just as well………
Rachel says
Natural Value brand is of similar quality to Thai Kitchen. I’m not sure of the price difference though. I get it for almost wholesale through my co-op. Amazon carries it too, or at least they used to . . .
Georgia says
Savoy Coconut Cream is one you can find at Asian food stores that is really creamy… it usually costs between $2 and $2.50. If the can states “Coconut Cream” instead of “Coconut Milk” you have a better chance of it being thick and less watery.
Heather says
I had read about coconut cream being basically the same thing as what is created by sitting the can in the fridge overnight. We have a lot of Asian markets around here – I will have to go in and check. Thanks for the tip!
Heather says
Costco now carries Thai kitchen coconut milk! 10 cans was only $12!!!
Nora says
Trader Joes Coconut Cream (not coconut milk) worked great for me. Thanks for the idea.
Sakura says
I also put a metal mixing bowl in the fridge or freezer and whip it up in the cold bowl.
Susie Bakonis says
Thanks so much, Crystal! I have a daughter with soy/dairy allergies, and its always a challenge to find good recipes. This week, my goal is to try out making coconut yogurt in my yogurt machine. I have only tried making dairy based yogurt with the machine so far and I thicken it to my liking (the way most American yogurts are made) using agar agar and a few tablespoons of powdered milk. I’m thinking I will probably need some extra agar agar and some coconut powder to thicken up the yogurt. Thought I’d throw it out there–there are some good tutorials on the internet for making coconut yogurt.
Rachel says
What about using some plain gelatin as a thickener? I put a little more than a teaspoon of it in my two quarts of milk yogurt while heating it. My yogurt is then pretty much guaranteed to thicken up one way or the other!
I don’t like to use more than that amount of gelatin, because I don’t appreciate Jello textured yogurt, but a little bit of it seems to work well, and hey, plain gelatin is very healthy for you too!
I suppose some folks with severe allergies couldn’t handle the gelatin, but I would think it would work for most.
Sheryl says
Wow, not even an hour ago I was telling my mother-in-law that my son (who is currently on a dairy-free diet) was not going to be able to have cool whip with his Valentine’s Jell-o. What a timely article for me! I won’t be able to make it for tonight, but definately will be using this in the near future. I’m finding dairy-free challenging, especially since I’m not terribly handy in the kitchen. Thanks a bunch!
Frugal Jen | Frugal, Freebies and Deals says
So yummy.. just like we do it!!
jenetta
Shannon says
Cool Whip would be a lot cheaper and easier. It is a non-dairy topping as well–comes in sugar free and fat free forms if needed,
Holly says
Shannon,
Cool Whip does not contain lactose so it’s ok for people who are lactose intolerant. However, it does contain casein from milk whichwon’t work for folks with milk allergies unfortunately:(
Laura says
I’m allergic to cow’s milk. Skim milk is included in the list of ingredients on the cool whip container. Also I believe whey and cassein which are parts of cow’s milk or dairy. You will notice on no container of Cool Whip does it say “dairy free”.
Cindy says
There are different dairy sensitivities. My son in law can eat cool whip but almost nothing else dairy.
Debra says
Thank you! Thank you! We have food allergies, but can have coconut! Yay!