The Ultimate Clean Simple Eats Swaps and Substitutions List

If you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, you can still use our Clean Simple Eats Meal Plans with these swaps! If you can’t find these swaps in stores, check online. Amazon and Thrive Market have great options. Keep in mind when making ingredient swaps, the macros for the recipe will change.

GENERAL SWAPS:

Avocado: for savory entrees: nuts, cheese, seeds. For sweet recipes such as shakes: canned, full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened coconut flakes or nut butter

Banana: other fruit of choice // example: 50g banana = 140g strawberries, 85g raspberries, 80g blueberries, 80g apples, 115g peaches, 85g pineapple, 75g pears

Bison: lean ground beef

Eggs: for baking: Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer or replace one egg with 3 Tbs. water + 1 Tbs. ground flaxseed or 3 Tbs. water + 1 Tbs. ground chia seeds or ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce or ½ of a mashed avocado or ½ of a mashed banana or ¼ cup coconut yogurt. For savory breakfast dishes or entrees (use where applicable): diced chicken, deli turkey, turkey bacon or Follow Your Heart brand Vegan Egg

Ezekiel Bread: Dave’s Killer Bread Thin Sliced, Harper’s Bran Bread, or any 80 calorie per slice whole grain bread

Fish: chicken breast

Ground Turkey: lean ground chicken or lean ground beef

Honey: pure maple syrup

Salmon: cod, halibut, mahi mahi or chicken breast

Walden Farms Syrups: raw honey or pure maple syrup

DAIRY:

Butter: Coconut Oil

Bolthouse Dressing: Daiya dressings, Primal Kitchen or Tessemae’s (use half the amount in all brands)

Cheddar Cheese: Daiya brand or Follow Your Heart brand dairy-free cheddar

Chocolate Chips: Enjoy Life and Nestle Simply Delicious chocolate chips

Cottage Cheese: dairy-free yogurt (see Greek yogurt)

Cream Cheese: Daiya brand dairy-free cream cheese

CSE Pancake + Waffle Mix: Annie’s Pancake & Waffle Mix, Enjoy Life Pancake & Waffle Mix, Birch Benders

Feta: Treeline brand cashew cheese

Greek Yogurt: Daiya brand, Silk brand or Kite Hill brand dairy-free plain yogurt

Laughing Cow Cheese: Daiya brand dairy-free cream cheese or Treeline brand dairy-free soft cheeses

Mayo: Primal Kitchen Mayo, Hellman’s Vegan Mayo, Just Mayo, Thrive Market Coconut Oil Mayo, Kraft Olive or Avocado Oil Mayo or make at home

Milk: unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk  

Mexican Shredded Cheese: Daiya brand or Follow Your Heart brand dairy-free cheddar

Mozzarella Cheese: Daiya brand dairy-free mozzarella

Parmesan Cheese: Follow Your Heart brand dairy-free shredded Parmesan style cheese

Pepper Jack Cheese: Daiya brand or Follow Your Heart brand dairy-free pepper jack style cheese

Pesto: Vegan, dairy-free basil pesto or make at home

Protein Powder: CSE Vegan Protein Powder (all CSE powders are third party tested lactose free)

Reddi Wip: Coconut or Almond Reddi Wip

Ricotta Cheese: Kite Hill dairy-free ricotta

NUTS:

Almond butter: any other nut butter, SunButter or coconut butter

Almonds: any other nuts

Almond extract: vanilla extract

Almond Milk: cashew milk, coconut milk, hemp milk or skim milk

Cashew Sour Cream: plain Greek yogurt

Cashews: any other nut or seed

Coconut: sunflower seeds, any other nut, any other nut butter, SunButter

Coconut extract: vanilla extract

Coconut Milk (canned): heavy cream for full-fat, Half and Half for light

Peanuts: any other nut or seed

Peanut Butter: any other nut butter, SunButter or coconut butter

Tree-nuts: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, SunButter, peanuts, peanut butter, coconut, coconut butter

*in savory dishes, any healthy fat may be swapped in for the nuts, e.g. avocado, cheeses, seeds, olives

GLUTEN:

Breadcrumbs: gluten-free breadcrumbs

Buns/Bread: gluten-free bread/buns

Oats: gluten-free rolled oats

Pasta: brown rice pasta

Tortillas: corn or brown rice tortillas

Whole Wheat Flour: All-Purpose gluten-free flour