Dairy-Free Italian Recipes
Tuscan cooking uses olive oil where other cuisines reach for butter, so many of its classic dishes are dairy-free by nature. In this collection you’ll find hearty bean soups, arista roast pork and chicken cacciatora cooked in wine, stracotto, fresh egg pasta, slow-cooked vegetables, and desserts such as Sienese ricciarelli, our carrot and almond cake and schiacciata alla fiorentina made with plant-based milk. These are dishes we cook with guests at our cooking school in the Tuscan countryside.
Where cheese, butter or cream is listed as optional, leave it out or use a plant-based alternative. Stock cubes, bread and dark chocolate sometimes contain milk, so check the label.
Fresh egg pasta: how to make it with a pasta machine
Many people who come to our cooking school in Italy feel intimidated by the idea of making pasta from scratch. Once they see how easy and enjoyable it is, they become hooked! Put some music on in your kitchen, and take your time.
Tuscan cauliflower with tomato, rosemary and fennel seeds
Even self-professed cauliflower haters will love this dish, if you can convince them to try it.
Spring minestrone: light Tuscan vegetable soup with beans
A slow-cooked minestrone made with fresh seasonal ingredients and served with good bread is a healthy and delicious dinner or lunch.
Flourless orange and almond cake with dark chocolate
This is a typical Sephardic Passover cake, which has various versions, made throughout the Mediterranean.
Calamari ripieni: Italian stuffed squid in white wine and tomato sauce
Cleaning whole squid can look daunting the first time, but it’s easier than it seems, and fresh calamari are well worth it. Here the tubes are filled with garlic, parsley, olives and breadcrumbs, then simmered in white wine and tomato until tender. A coastal Italian classic, with step-by-step photos.
Dairy-free lemon custard (crema de llimona)
Made without milk, this lemon custard popularized by the Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda is light, tangy and refreshing. Naturally gluten-free and very quick to prepare, it is lighter than classic lemon curd and an ideal summer dessert.
Tuscan slow-cooked green beans with tomato and basil
This is a signature dish of the late great Mario, the multitalented father of Tina who used to be one of our amazing instructors at our cooking classes in Italy. You may say that you like your green beans to be firm and crunchy, but after tasting this dish you may also appreciate their sweet, melt-in-the-mouth quality when slow cooked.
Sicilian orange and fennel salad with black olives
The most refreshing of winter salads, this sounds a little odd, but is wonderful!
Tuscan minestrone with cavolo nero and beans
The distinctive taste of this soup comes from the cavolo nero ("black cabbage"). This has recently been popularized by chefs such as Jamie Oliver and is now available in many farmers' markets.
Guinea fowl with walnuts and grapes: a Tuscan harvest recipe
This is a great dish for the autumn, with the nuts adding texture and the just-harvested grapes adding a smooth sweetness.
Ricciarelli: soft Sienese almond cookies for Christmas
For many, along with the spice-dense panforte, the light, sophisticated ricciarello is the true Tuscan Christmas treat. They used to be made in convents and apothecary shops, the only places where the right spices and storage conditions would be found.
Tuscan grape harvest cake with red grapes, rosemary and walnuts
In Tuscany, this complex-flavoured but simple to make cake is only made for a few weeks a year, when the small, sweet, seedy red grapes are around (many are “gleaned” in the vineyards after the harvest). Use the sweetest red grapes you can.
Baked fennel with oranges and olives
Baked Fennel with Oranges and Olives is a light, fragrant, and incredibly simple dish to prepare. Inspired by the classic Sicilian fennel and orange salad, this version takes the same refreshing ingredients and transforms them in the oven, deepening their flavors. The sweetness of the oranges, the subtle anise notes of the fennel, and the briny kick from the black olives come together beautifully in this elegant side dish.
Tuscan mushroom crostini with porcini and Vin Santo
Best served warm, these crostini will have your guests demanding more. You'll see that the vin santo gives the mushrooms a very special flavour, and the butter gives them a melt in the mouth texture.
Rustic half whole wheat focaccia with rosemary
An easy but unusual focaccia recipe which makes a rustic-textured, half wholewheat bread. Ideal to eat with cheeses and salad.
Homemade potato gnocchi (plus spinach gnocchi)
The less flour you use, the lighter the gnocchi will be, but the more likely it will be to go mushy while you wait to cook it, handle it and when it is cooking in the water.
Peperonata: Italian sweet and sour stewed peppers
This dish is even nicer the day after it has been made and is delicious warm, cold and at room temperature!
Tuscan pork stew with white wine, sage and rosemary
The white wine, stock and slow cooking make the pieces of pork really melt in your mouth.
Eggplant caponata: Sicilian sweet and sour eggplant, without deep-frying
Easy Sicilian eggplant (aubergine) caponata: a sweet and sour dish with celery, olives, capers and tomato. Lighter, make-ahead and best served cold.
Tuscan bean and farro soup (zuppa di farro)
This bean and spelt soup hails from the Lucca region of Tuscany, known for its hearty, honest cuisine. Rich in legumes and grains, it’s a rustic, comforting dish made with farro, borlotti beans, and good olive oil. Creamy and nourishing, this traditional Luccan soup is perfect for cozy winter dinners.
Schiacciata alla fiorentina: Florence’s orange Carnival cake
Schiacciata alla Fiorentina is a fluffy, delicately scented Mardi Gras cake. It is one of the dairy-free desserts that we make during our cooking courses in Italy.
Arugula pesto: a fresh, peppery pasta sauce in 10 minutes
How to make trofie: hand-rolled eggless pasta twists from Liguria
Make trofie at home: short, twisted Ligurian pasta made with just flour and water, shaped around a wooden skewer for easy results. Perfect with pesto.
Crunchy pan-fried Brussels sprouts with hazelnuts and chili
They key to enjoying them is not to overcook them! This recipe keeps them crunchy and tasty.