When I was thinking about having a dairy-free friend over, I wondered if terrine would be a suitable dish to serve. I wasn’t sure if terrine was typically dairy-free or I’d need to make major substitutions. I did a little research and decided to write a helpful post about options for dairy-free terrines (meat, vegetarian and dessert styles).
Does terrine contain dairy?
Many traditional terrine recipes are dairy free. Traditional terrine recipes that include dairy typically contain heavy cream and/or butter. Pâté, a type of liver terrine, generally includes dairy like heavy cream and butter. Vegetarian and dessert terrines often contain dairy but there’s also a growing number of dairy-free options for vegetarian and dessert terrines.
So, basically, terrines made of meat, vegetables or sweets can have dairy or be dairy-free, depending on your desires and the recipe you choose. Keep reading to find out more about your terrine options—with and without dairy.
All about terrines—with and without dairy
A note about definitions: when I say terrine here, I mean the meat dish cooked in a terrine, also known as country-style pâté. If I’m talking about vegetarian or dessert terrines, I’ll always use those words as modifiers.
Terrines that contain dairy products are typically made with these ingredients:
- Pork and other meat such as fowl, game, etc.
- Spices.
- Port, wine or brandy.
- Heavy cream and/or butter.
- Eggs.
- Bacon, caul or thin slices of fatback (to wrap the terrine with).
- Breadcrumbs and milk (to make a panade) or a few tablespoons of flour (not always; traditional terrines are often gluten-free by design).
What does dairy do in terrines?
Butter adds richness to terrines and, if used as a greaser, helps with de-potting your terrines easily (though being covered in bacon or caul should be enough for that purpose). Milk and cream can be used as part of a binding mix; milk/cream and eggs help the terrine stick together and that’s also the purpose of panade (the bread/milk mixture).
In liver pâté (en terrine or not), the heavy cream and butter are essential for giving the pâté a rich taste and texture. This is why many people who don’t like liver find pâté delicious—the cream, butter and brandy tone down the liver taste.
Fish terrines often include dairy such as cream cheese to help give the terrine its shape and structure.
Why isn’t dairy necessary in terrines?
As I mentioned before, many terrine recipes are already dairy free by design which means dairy isn’t an essential element, even though it serves a purpose in some recipes. Terrines don’t need dairy products or bread/breadcrumbs for binding the ingredients together because the meat is typically ground up, one or more times, and sometimes puréed as well.
According to Brian Polycyn and Michael Ruhlman in their book, Pâté, Confit, Rillette: Recipes from the Craft of Charcuterie, grinding the meat does two essential things:
- It develops myosin, a protein in the meat, which acts as a binder.
- It emulsifies the meat and fat together, so these two ingredients become one element instead of separating (think of the texture of a hot dog to get a picture of what emulsion does).
They say, “The bind and the emulsion are the primary factors in a pâté’s texture, its luxuriousness.”
Making minor dairy substitutions in terrines
Some terrine recipes call for a little bit of dairy, either a couple of tablespoons of butter or enough butter to grease the terrine. In this case, it’s probably not a big deal to substitute the butter for olive oil, lard or bacon grease. Keep in mind that these substitutes are all softer than butter at room temperature which could affect the texture of the final result. On the other hand, in his recipe, Gordon’s rustic pâté, Gordon Ramsay uses heavy cream and two tablespoons of olive oil. So maybe that much of an olive-oil-for-butter substitution is no problem.
If the recipe calls for an epic amount of butter, I’d probably find a different recipe than make the substitution. Or, I’d cut the recipe in half and test out the substitution—but not for dinner guests! Even if it looks bad, it would probably still taste delicious.
And finally, if you’re making a dairy free terrine to cater to a dairy-free guest, you may want to ask him or her about butter. Some people who don’t do well with dairy products find butter or ghee (clarified butter) is no problem.
Recipes for dairy-free terrines
Now that we know dairy-free terrines are common, let’s look at a couple of recipes that are dairy-free by design.
A dairy-free terrine that requires no special cooking equipment
Recipe name:
Easy Pork and Veal Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe only has seven ingredients and it looks very easy to make, which I appreciate. At the time I’m writing this, my hands-on forcemeat experience is with the simpler dishes that don’t require a grinder, food processor and bowls of ice, like rillettes and stove-top pâté. This recipe doesn’t even require a food processor so it could be my first terrine!
Where to find this recipe:
Find Sara McCleary’s easy terrine recipe on her Belly Rumbles blog.
A dairy-free terrine with brandied apricots
Recipe name:
Pork and apricot terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe calls for a pound of pork belly and half a pound of fatback and suggests you ask your butcher to mince it up for you. I like this idea, especially as I haven’t invested in a meat grinder.
Where to find this recipe:
Look for chef Marcello Tully’s terrine recipe on the Great British Chefs site.
A dairy-free terrine that goes well with Christmas
Recipe name:
Simple terrine with cranberries and pistachios
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe includes minced chicken which I generally don’t find interesting, but the picture made it look delicious, so I was swayed to put it here. It also has cranberries in it which means it’s got a Christmas vibe.
Where to find this recipe:
Valli Little’s terrine recipe can be found on Australia’s Taste Magazine website.
Now that we’ve got dairy-free terrines covered, let’s take a quick detour to a recipe that contains dairy. Then we’ll move onto terrines suitable for vegetarians and dessert lovers.
Bonus recipe: a vegetable terrine that contains meat and dairy
Recipe name:
Vegetable & Tomato Mousse Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe is beautiful to look at and, surprisingly (to me), it’s made with chicken wings. Plus, the author wrote a five-page article to show readers how to create this dish. Very well organized. This recipe is a little too labour-intensive for me, but I wanted to include it here as it seems like a showstopper.
Where to find this recipe:
James Peterson’s terrine recipe is on the Fine Cooking website. Click on the View PDF button for the recipe.
Now let’s move onto the next topic that comes up when I searched for dairy-free terrines: vegetarian terrine!
What is a vegetarian terrine?
A vegetarian terrine is a multi-layered vegetable dish that is set in a terrine dish and removed from the terrine dish for serving. Vegetarian terrines are served cold. Some vegetable terrines are within an aspic; if you’re making it for vegetarians, be sure to use agar for the aspic instead of gelatin. (Here’s a video showing you how to make vegan aspic, in case you need it.)
Some time ago, I was vegetarian for 11 years and I would’ve been very impressed if someone had made a vegetarian terrine for me. Alas, I had no idea what a terrine—let alone a vegetarian terrine—was back then.
Recipes for dairy-free vegetarian terrines
Let’s look at a couple of vegetarian terrine recipes that are dairy-free by design.
A dairy-free vegetarian (and vegan) terrine for potato lovers
Recipe name:
Vegetable Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This terrine reminds me of a wedge of scalloped potatoes and I’m betting it would be just as good served hot or cold. Plus, it’s bound together by corn purée, no eggs, no dairy. Amazing!
Where to find this recipe:
Check out Alisa Fleming’s terrine recipe on her Go Dairy Free blog. Alisa is a professional recipe creator and creates recipes for people with dairy and casein allergies. You can find some of them in her book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living.
A dairy-free vegetarian terrine that could be vegan if you substituted the honey
Recipe name:
Herbed vegetable terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This dish looks like it’s got an outer layer of aspic, but the recipe doesn’t call for agar so that part must be optional. The recipe author, Alison, says in the comments, “The outer layer was achieved by brushing on a blend of agar-agar & water. The agar-agar is used after the terrine is removed from the pan. It sets up in a short amount of time at room temperature. Follow the package directions as to how much time is needed. Longer time will be required in humid conditions.”
Where to find this recipe:
Look for Alison and Jeff Nathan’s vegetable terrine recipe on Jamie Geller’s website. Jamie Geller is the Queen of Kosher who specializes in “fast, fresh, family recipes.”
A dairy-free vegetarian (and vegan) terrine that’s more exciting than a salad
Recipe name:
Vegetable Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This vegan recipe uses roasted vegetables and looks classy and easy to cut. As the author, Maria Gureeva, says, “Whenever we have guests over at our house, we always like to prepare an appetizer that everyone will love, and this recipe is a lot more exciting than your standard side salad … You don’t have to buy any fancy ingredients. And … you can prepare it ahead of time too!”
Where to find this recipe:
You can find Maria Gureeva’s vegetable terrine recipe on her vegan foodie blog, Earth of Maria.
Now let’s move onto the second topic that came up when I searched for dairy-free terrines: desserts!
What is a dessert terrine?
A dessert terrine is a multi-layered dessert, shaped in a rectangular block. Dessert terrines can be made of chocolate, fruit, cream, jelly, Nutella and even peanut butter. Dessert terrines are generally made in a terrine dish and removed from the terrine dish for slicing and serving. Like all other terrines, dessert terrines are served cold.
And on a personal note, I’ve never been a baker so please don’t expect to ever see a dessert terrine (or even a dessert, ha ha) if you come to my house for dinner.
Recipes for dairy-free dessert terrines
One thing that caught be by surprise when I wrote this article was that dairy free dessert terrines were harder to find than dairy free vegetarian terrines. Interesting. I mention this because it you want to make a dessert terrine that includes dairy, you’ll have many more options.
A dairy-free dessert terrine that requires only four ingredients
Recipe name:
Fresh Berry Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe is basically homemade fruit Jello that looks super classy, takes 20 minutes to prepare and only has a few tablespoons of added sugar. Of course, the grape juice and fruit are all sugar, but this berry terrine contains less sugar than most desserts, I imagine. While we generally expect desserts to be vegetarian, this one isn’t as it uses gelatin.
Where to find this recipe:
Find Jenn Segal’s berry terrine recipe on her Once Upon a Chef blog.
A frozen dairy-free vegetarian terrine
Recipe name:
Dairy-free chocolate and berry terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This recipe is super simple; you buy already prepared dairy-free sorbet and dairy-free yoghurt and layer it up with some fruit. But go look at the picture; serve this up and your guests will think you were slaving all day in the kitchen.
Where to find this recipe:
Emma Braz’s chocolate and berry terrine recipe is on Australia’s Taste Magazine website.
A dairy-free vegetarian terrine to show your American spirit
Recipe name:
Red, White and Blue Fruit Terrine
Interesting tidbit about this recipe:
This is another jellied terrine, but it’s made with agar so it’s vegan. And like the other jellied recipe, it’s low on added sugar.
Where to find this recipe:
You can find Susan Voisin’s fruit terrine recipe on her Fat Free Vegan blog. (Forgive me for using the words “fat free” here! Thankfully, Susan’s recipes are more like no oils, not no fat.)
Okay, well that’s a record amount of vegetarian coverage from the Forcemeat Academy! But I go where the research leads me and people looking for dairy-free terrines also want to know about the vegetarian and dessert types.
Conclusion
All that to say … terrines can be made with and without dairy products so make whatever kind of terrine you want! Thanks for reading and enjoy your terrines.
