Good news: “When it comes to cooking and baking, it’s easiest to replace nuts with allergies in mind,” he says Elizabeth Pecoraroa registered dietitian and author of The Allergy-Friendly Cookbook.
Check what role nuts play in your recipe before making any changes. Are they add-ins or decorations? Are they used as butter, folded into fillings, or ground to serve as a base for sauces? How they are used affects how they may or may not be replaced.
It’s also important, especially if you’re baking for someone else. Check the label of the material you are using instead. The label must indicate whether the food contains any of the common allergens, but it is optional to indicate whether it was processed in a facility that also handles nuts.
If you’re looking for a recipe that calls for nuts that you or your guests can’t eat, here are substitution options. Pecoraro suggests substituting using the same measurements as the recipe calls for.
Nuts are often interchangeable in recipes, so it’s helpful to have some, if not all, types available. Pecoraro said she encourages people not to eliminate all nuts as a blanket rule if they are not allergic to them. Work with your allergist to determine which are problematic for you and which are okay. For example, Pecoraro points out that pistachio and cashew allergies often go together, but almonds may be okay. Additionally, many people with nut allergies may be able to eat pine nuts, which are actually seeds. Again, determining what is and isn’t edible should be done with the guidance of a professional. If you’re cooking for someone else with a nut allergy or a group of strangers, it’s safest to leave that person out or find a replacement.
“If you remove the nuts, it’s best to use the seeds instead,” Pecoraro says. Seeds are an ideal replacement, as they offer similar texture, protein, and nutty flavor, especially when toasted. They are also often about the same size as small nuts or chopped larger nuts, and can be incorporated into doughs and batters in the same way. Like nuts, seeds contain fat in the form of oil, which gives them richness and weight, especially when mixed into sauces such as pesto or romesco. Add sunflower, pumpkin, winter squash (or butternut) seeds to granola, cookies, muffins, cakes, brittle, and more. Flax and chia are also effective seeds. Speaking of granola, Pecoraro says granola blended with oats and other additives is also a great crunchy alternative, as long as you use a nut-free version (homemade is easier).
Pecoraro also likes roasted or fried beans as a nut substitute. Consider store-bought or homemade crispy chickpeas or crunchy pulses such as moong dal or lentils, which are sold on their own or as part of snack mixes in Indian markets. . Crunchy, salty pretzels are another option, Pecoraro said.
There are many different types of nut butters and nut pastes, and which one you choose will depend on how many allergies you’re dealing with. If you are allergic only to peanuts, almond butter and cashew butter are great alternatives. Tahini can also be used as a nut butter substitute, assuming you don’t have a sesame allergy. If you want to avoid nuts and sesame seeds altogether, check out sunflower butter, pumpkin seed butter, or soy butter (unless you have a problem with soy!). Swapping out nut butters can be used in a variety of dishes, including sauces, cookie dough, frostings, pie fillings, and more.
If you’re adding nuts to baked goods like cookies, muffins, or quick breads, consider dried fruit. Of course, the texture and flavor will be different (chewy and sweeter), but with this type of food, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Smaller varieties like raisins, cranberries, and currants don’t need much work. Otherwise, you may want to consider chopping apricots, prunes, and cherries to fit the size of nuts you need. Need something more exciting? Crystallized ginger helps keep the texture firm even after baking. Dried fruit usually does not disrupt the moisture balance of typical baked goods. The only situation where this might require some adjustment is with bread. If you want to use a healthy amount of dried fruit instead of nuts, make sure to swell the fruit first with water or your favorite liquid (tea, juice, etc.) to avoid absorbing too much water. of fabric.
Like dried fruit, chocolate offers a different experience than nuts, but as long as you’re okay with that, give it a try. Use chocolate chips or chopped bars, depending on what you have and your preference. The tip will hold its shape a little better. You can look for allergy-friendly chocolate brands. pasha and enjoy life.I love the extra crunch, especially as a garnish. crunchy chocolate pearlsIt’s Crisprice cereal surrounded by chocolate. Enjoy Life offers crunchy rice candy bars That means it’s allergy friendly.
Nuts are often featured as garnishes or to serve as additives that bakers mix into cookies, cakes, breads, etc. These are very simple situations where it is enough to omit the nuts. move on. Removing nuts can slightly reduce the amount of batter or dough used, which primarily affects the yield of sweets such as cookies and muffins. Baking time won’t be significantly affected, but as always, you should pay attention to recipe tips that cover not just time, but appearance and texture of baked goods.
Clarification
This article has been updated to provide an allergy-friendly alternative to Nestlé Crunch Bars, which have the potential for cross-contamination with nuts.