Many people avoid consuming dairy products due to personal preference or an allergy. Traditional breakfast dishes often incorporate dairy ingredients such as cow's milk or butter, but there are many items that can be made without dairy items, and non-dairy milks can be substituted for cow's milk in many recipes. Smoothies, breakfast meats, fruit salad, and fried eggs can all be made without dairy. Cereal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and biscuits can be made with non-dairy substitutes.
There are a number of non-dairy milks on the market that can be used in the place of cow's milk for a dairy-free breakfast. Soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk are all dairy free. Soy milk and almond milk are similar in consistency to cow's milk, while rice milk is slightly thinner. Many people enjoy eating cold breakfast cereal with a non-dairy milk instead of cow's milk.
Breakfast meats, such as bacon or sausage, are good options for a dairy-free breakfast. They provide a lot of protein and can be prepared in a skillet on the stove top or in the oven. If frying bacon or sausage, canola oil or olive oil can be used in place of butter. Fried eggs can also be cooked in oil instead of butter for a dairy-free breakfast. Scrambled eggs can be part of a dairy-free breakfast by adding a tablespoon of non-dairy milk for each egg before scrambling.
Fruit is a light and healthy option for breakfast. Smoothies can be made with a combination of fruits, ice, orange juice, and non-dairy milk if desired. Good fruit combinations include strawberries and bananas, mango and raspberries, and pineapple and coconut. Fruit salads are also healthy and easy to prepare in the morning for a dairy-free breakfast. A fruit parfait can be made with a variety of fruits, granola, and soy yogurt.
A wide variety of baked breakfast dishes that require cow's milk or butter can be modified to be dairy-free. Pancakes and waffles can be made with non-dairy milk instead of cow's milk. To make breakfast biscuits, the butter can replaced with olive oil or shortening and the cow's milk can be replaced with non-dairy milk. French toast is easy to make by dipping bread into a mixture of cinnamon, eggs, and vanilla-flavored almond or soy milk.
If a person is following a non-dairy diet, care should be taken to know all of the ingredients in the food being consumed. Many items may contain dairy products other than milk or butter; ingredients such as whey, casein, or lactose all are derived from cow's milk. These items may be found in some prepared breads, as well as pancake or baking mix.