The disclosure relates to an adhesive composition for bonding lignocellulosic substrates. The adhesive composition contains a crosslinker and a non-urea diluent where the non-urea diluent is present in an amount from about 0.01 to about 75 weight % based on the total wet weight of the composition and where the crosslinker contains essentially no formaldehyde. Also disclosed is the adhesive further containing. an aqueous mixture of a protein source. The disclosure also relates to a process for making lignocellulosic composites utilizing the disclosed adhesive composition and to the lignocellulosic composites made using the disclosed process.