What to use instead of 1 cup milk
1
1 cup unsweetened soy, oat or almond milk
Soy is closest in protein; oat is creamiest.
Best for: Baking, pancakes, sauces
2
½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tastes the same as fresh milk.
Best for: Everything
3
1 cup water + 1 tbsp butter
A last-resort swap for baking.
Best for: Bread, biscuits
Chef's tipUse unsweetened plant milk in savoury cooking; vanilla versions are easy to taste.
Substituting dairy
Dairy brings fat, moisture and sometimes acidity to a recipe. Full-fat versions of a substitute behave most like the original, and adding a dairy swap to a hot sauce off the heat helps stop it from splitting. For dairy-free cooking, unsweetened soy and oat milk are the most versatile all-rounders.
Need more or less than 1 cup milk? Scale the swap the same way as the original amount, or paste your recipe into the recipe converter to scale everything at once.
