Cool, crisp autumn air is just made for afternoons of whipping up scrumptious baked goods and deep dishes of warm comfort foods. Living with food allergies doesn’t mean you have to give up the culinary delights loaded with squashes and apples. It just means you need to experiment with ingredient swaps and new recipes.
Of course, sometimes you just roll your sleeves up and get cooking without taking the time to sort through egg alternatives and wheat substitutes. If today is one of those days, then good news, we’ve already done the digging for you. Try some of these recipes.
Pumpkin Muffins
Egg has many roles in baking, but one of them is to bind ingredients together. When you’re baking with something like pumpkin, the flavorful fall star can take on the task of holding stuff together, letting you easily craft a great recipe without the eggs. These pumpkin muffins from George Eats are one great example.
If you’re a dairy-free household, the recipe can be made with any of your favorite milk and yogurt substitutes. Depending on the type of milk and yogurt you use, these muffins can easily be made free of the top 9 allergens.
Applesauce Cake
Another common egg substitute is applesauce and so it makes sense this cake from Delightful Adventures easily swaps in a flax egg and its namesake to make this yummy treat. Blogger Gwen does a great job at providing some insights into the different types of substitutions you could make to customize the recipe further to meet your needs. Scroll all the way to the full print version of the recipe for a dairy-free cinnamon buttercream for an added bit of yum.
Butternut Squash Soup
Warm bowls of butternut squash soup are just what the autumn palate ordered. Yet many popular recipes call for heavy cream and/or sour cream to create the quintessential bowl. This recipe from Love and Lemons nixes the dairy without losing the creamy texture of the soup. The result is a healthy meal that easily fills up a thermos for those days you need to eat on the run or want a big bowl around the dinner table after a long day.
Apple Dressing and Roasted Autumn Salad
Is there anything more autumn than a savory apple dish? What about a healthy salad with warm roasted veggies AND the sweet tartness of apple? That’s what Every Day Allergen Free has dished up with this savory roasted autumn salad. The dish includes cooked beets, roasted Brussel sprouts, and a hearty serving of arugula topped with an apple and maple dressing. It’s fall on the plate and it’s worth adding to your meal as a side or the main dish.
One Pan Autumn Chicken Dinner
Autumn can be a busy time, especially if you’re juggling kids at school, parents at work, sports, clubs, Scouts, gym, and all the other things families like to stuff into their calendars. Quick, easy meals are a great addition to your repertoire. This one-pan dish from Cooking Classy is a great example. The combination of sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and apples with chicken and bacon will fill you up with warm, seasonal delights without needing to spend a long time in the kitchen prepping different components. Even better, you could easily prep these ingredients earlier in the day to save time as you whisk in the door between activities.
Pumpkin Pasta
The real autumn heart of this dish is the sauce. While the Pumpkin Pasta recipe from Feasting at Home begins with pasta, you could easily swap out a traditional fettuccine for a wheat-free version that uses corn flour, rice flour, or chickpeas in place of wheat flour. The sauce, on the other hand, uses coconut milk instead of cream, making it a great and flavorful option for those avoiding dairy. It’s free of other major allergens, too, meaning it can be a tasty additional to your allergy-friendly fall menu.
Apple Bacon Pork Chops
Is it even fall if you don’t combine apples and bacon with pork? Probably not. This dish from Food & Wine can remedy that. It does call for a small bit of flour to help thicken the autumnal sauce, but you can swap that out with rice flour if your list of allergens requires it.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Skip the expensive coffeehouse versions of this fall favorite, and avoid dairy in the process by making your own PSL with this recipe from Good Food Baddie. The recipe uses oat milk, but you could easily substitute any of your own favorite non-dairy milks here. As the recipe notes, however, oat milk has a comparable consistency to cows milk making it a great option for lattes.
