Behind The Label

Baking has always been my happy place. Whether it be measuring, mixing, tasting, or sharing something homemade with my friends and family. But as someone with a nut allergy, even a simple recipe can become off-limits. My grandma’s famous peanut butter cookies? oatmeal raisin bread? Her zucchini muffins? They all called for nuts, almond extract, or nut-based oils.
However, then I discovered the power of ingredient swaps. Suddenly, recipes that once felt dangerous became safe, without sacrificing flavor or texture.

That is why I want to share my favorite nut swaps to make famous recipes nut-free and able to be enjoyed by everyone!

See below in the table:

Original Ingredient	Nut-Free Swap	Why It Works	Examples of Recipes Used
Almond Extract	Vanilla Extract	Still has that depth of flavor to bringout the best of the other ingredients without the nut proteins	cookies, brownies, and pie
Peanut Butter	Sunflower Butter	Similar flavors and still has the needed consistency for making PB&J sandwiches, granola bars, and cookies	Peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, granola bars, cookies
Almond Flour	Sunflower seed flour	Has the similar grainy texture as almond flour and similar nutty flavor	macarons, itallian rainbow cookies
Walnuts	Pumpkin Seeds	Still crunchy and rich, and adds healthy fats	Muffins, Brownies, and Cinamon Rolls
Pine Nuts	Sunflower seeds and Basil	Provides the similar creamy texture to pine nuts when blended with everything. The pumpkin seeds also mimic the same flavor that the pine nuts do in the pesto sauce.	Pesto

All in all, even tiny amounts of a nut protein can trigger a reaction, and being unable to eat these tiny amounts limits so many recipes that those with allergies want to try. So, by swapping in safe seeds, seed butters, or extracts, we can recreate amazing recipes while still keeping them allergy-free!!!