26 Hidden Sources of Dairy in Your Kitchen

Dairy-free diet beginner? Learn the 26 hidden sources of dairy that may be hiding in your kitchen.

I went gluten-free before taking on a dairy-free diet also. Let me tell you that I was digging my heels in like crazy that I was intolerant to dairy. I was in denial for probably close to a year about having to give up dairy, because I thought I just loved yogurt and cheese and ice cream too much to give it up.

Being that I’d already given up gluten mostly by the time I took dairy out of my diet, I knew that I was in for it when it came to finding dairy-free products. But when I started digging around in my own kitchen to discover what I had to work with, I was floored. I had no idea that dairy was hiding under so many names – and in so many places!

I quickly learned that the majority of the ingredients and foods in my fridge and pantry had hidden sources of dairy – even among the gluten-free foods, and I had to make the change quickly, so I could start feeling better.

Thats the tricky part about dairy – its sneaky and hides under SO MANY names and in the strangest of places you’ll see below and be like “what?? Really??” Yep, just read on.

In this post, I wanted to share with you 23(!!) different foods you may or may not be surprised to learn have dairy in them. Some might be a little more obvious (ice cream) and some might be pretty shocking (lunch or deli meat), but read along and see where you may have been missing the hidden sources of dairy in your diet.

Of course, remember this list is NOT an exhaustive or complete list, just simply a jumping off point for you to see the possibilities for where dairy may be in the foods youre eating and you werent aware.

Please don’t assume that if a food didn’t make this list that its dairy-free always always ALWAYS read ingredient lists when you’re eating a dairy-free diet so you can ensure that you’re sticking with it. Labels don’t always give you the full story.

26 Hidden Sources of Dairy in your Kitchen

Ice cream
Yogurt
Cheese
Cream
Milk
Butter
Chocolate
Popcorn
Deli or lunch meat
Cottage cheese
Cream cheese
Custard
Half and half
Kefir
Pudding
Sour cream
Whey protein powder
Cookies
Crackers
Pancakes
Waffles
French toast
White sauces
Salad dressings
Scrambled eggs
Lattes and coffee drinks

You’ll see that the biggest offenders on the list are any of the “creams,” cheeses, and packaged products like crackers, cookies, pancakes, salad dressings, and popcorn.

While it can seem daunting to search out all the hidden dairy in your diet while you’re making the transition to a dairy-free diet, it isn’t impossible. I hope that this list has given you some great places to start searching for those lurking sources and you can get on track with your dairy-free diet once and for all.

I now have an awesome resource to help you take with you to the store or out in your daily life the GFDF Take-Along Cards. Inside these cards are the full list of the names of dairy that hides under on ingredient lists. Check them out here or by clicking the image below.