Alternative Options for Common Baking Ingredients: Butter Replacements, Flour Substitutes, Yeast Alternatives, and More
In a bind? Your pantry suddenly looks like there's been a raid of gremlins, and now you're out of essentials? Don't fret, boo! Here's a cheeky guide to ingredient substitutes, saving the day when you're out of butter, yeast, eggs, fresh herbs, olive oil, or mayonnaise.
For Baking Powder, you can use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda along with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, or 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 cup yogurt, butter, or sour cream.
To replace Baking Soda, go for 3 teaspoons of baking powder (but reduce salt in the recipe) or 1 teaspoon of stiffly whipped egg whites if you can remove an equal amount of liquid from the recipe, like the milk or oil.
Short on Breadcrumbs? Use cracker crumbs, matzo meal, or crushed cereal.
If you run out of Broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable), you can use vegetable broth, well-seasoned water with melted butter, or water seasoned with salt and your brand's chicken or beef bouillon.
Butter can be swapped with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. For unsalted butter, use the same amount of margarine, vegetable or canola oil, lard, coconut oil, or applesauce.
To skip Buttermilk, try 3/4 cup whole milk or low-fat yogurt, plus 1/4 cup milk, or let 1 tablespoon lemon juice or distilled white vinegar sit in 1 cup whole milk for 10 minutes.
Instead of Parmesan, you can use nutritional yeast, brewer's yeast, or soy Parmesan.
For Cheddar (or fontina, mozzarella, feta, etc.), consider a range of cheeses like colby, Gruyere, or even vegan cheese alternatives.
To replace Cream, try light cream, half-and-half, evaporated milk, or 3/4 cup whole milk plus 1/3 cup melted butter.
For Chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet), try unsweetened chocolate plus an extra tablespoon of granulated sugar, or sub bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and reduce 1 tablespoon of sugar.
When you're low on Cocoa Powder, use unsweetened natural cocoa powder plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda instead.
For Fresh Coconut, try dried, flaked or shredded unsweetened coconut.
As a replacement for Dark Corn Syrup, go for 3/4 cup light corn syrup, plus 1/4 cup molasses, or 1 cup dark treacle.
When you need to skip the Light Corn Syrup, use dark corn syrup for a stronger flavor or 1 cup light treacle (also known as golden syrup or cane syrup) instead.
For Cornmeal (stone-ground), use regular milled cornmeal, corn grits, or dry polenta.
When Cornstarch isn't available, try arrowroot powder, potato starch, all-purpose flour, or instant tapioca.
For a change in Cracker Crumbs, use breadcrumbs or matzo meal.
Substitute Heavy Cream with light cream, half-and-half, evaporated milk, or 3/4 cup whole milk plus 1/3 cup melted butter.
For Cream of Tartar (for beating egg whites), consider distilled white vinegar or lemon juice instead.
In case you run out of Creme Fraiche, try sour cream, creme fraiche mixed with sour cream, or mascarpone.
Looking for a swap for Egg (for baking)? Use liquid egg substitute, powdered egg substitute, ground flaxseed and water, chia seeds and water, unsweetened applesauce, mashed banana, or aquafaba.
For Eggs (for savory dishes), use chickpeas or firm tofu for scrambles and egg salad, or silken tofu for poached eggs.
When you're out of Espresso Powder (for baking), use instant coffee instead.
For Fish Sauce, try soy sauce, soy sauce mixed with rice vinegar, or a bit of anchovies blended into the liquid ingredients.
In place of All-Purpose Flour, use bread flour, cake flour, gluten-free flour blend, or cornstarch for thickening soups and sauces.
For a replacement of Bread Flour, use all-purpose flour.
When your Cake Flour supply is low, replace it with a mix of 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
Instead of Rice Flour, use cake flour, potato flour, or tapioca flour.
In place of Self-Rising Flour, use all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
Short on Garlic? You can't quite replace the magic of fresh garlic, but garlic powder or minced scallions, shallots, or onion may do the trick in a pinch.
For Gelatin, use powdered gelatin instead of leaf or sheet gelatin, or agar-agar.
To replace Green Onions, go for scallions.
Instead of Olive Oil, use another mildly-flavored oil.
When you need Onion (chopped), swap red, white, or yellow onions, shallots, leeks, scallions, or onion powder.
For Pancetta, use sliced, diced, or chopped, blanched (boiled for about 2 minutes to remove the smoke) bacon as an alternative.
When you need Panko Breadcrumbs, use crushed Rice Chex or other substitutes listed under breadcrumb alternatives.
For Pasta, consider cooked rice, quinoa, or other grains, cooked polenta or grits, vegetable noodles, commercial gluten-free pasta, or homemade pasta.
For a swap of Polenta, use cornmeal or corn grits.
When your supply of Arborio or Carnaroli Rice for risotto is low, use any other short- or medium-grain rice, including sticky rice, but not long-grain rice or quick-cooking rice.
For Rice (cooked), consider orzo, cooked polenta or grits, cooked whole grains like quinoa or couscous, or cooked cauliflower rice.
Use Salt (kosher) as-is, or switch to fine salt or fine sea salt.
For Scallions, use green onions.
Substitute Shortening (for baking) with minus-2 tablespoons lard, unsalted butter or margarine, coconut oil, or applesauce.
Instead of Sour Cream, use plain whole-milk yogurt, creme fraiche, or Mexican crema.
When Soy Sauce isn't available, use tamari, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos instead.
For Light Brown Sugar, use granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses pulsed in a food processor.
When you're low on Dark Brown Sugar, replace it with granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses pulsed in a food processor, or coconut sugar (this may make baked goods slightly drier, so add a bit more moisture).
To replace Granulated Sugar, use packed light brown sugar, powdered sugar, honey (reduce the liquid in the recipe by a quarter), maple syrup (reduce the liquid in the recipe by a quarter), light corn syrup (reduce the liquid in the recipe by a quarter), or various artificial sweeteners.
Instead of Powdered Sugar, use granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch, blitzed in a coffee or spice grinder until powdery.
In place of Tahini, try all-natural nut butter or seed butter, 1 teaspoon sesame oil plus more to taste (for hummus), or make homemade tahini from sesame seeds and sesame or olive oil.
To replace Tomato Paste, use 1 tablespoon reduced tomato puree, pureed strained tomatoes, or tomato sauce boiled down to 1 tablespoon.
For tomato Puree or Sauce, try 1 cup diced, whole, or crushed tomatoes pureed in a blender or food processor and strained through a fine-mesh strainer, or 1 cup canned tomato puree.
When you need Wine (red or white, for cooking), try 1 cup beef broth plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice, 1 cup grape juice (red), cranberry juice, or pomegranate juice plus 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice, or 1 cup cooking sherry instead.
Enough to satisfy that cooking craving, right? Save this list for emergencies, and keep your movie night feast fabulous!
- In a recipe that calls for baking soda, you can use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda along with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, or 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 cup yogurt, butter, or sour cream as a substitute.
- When you run out of alliums like garlic or onions, garlic powder or minced scallions, shallots, or onion powder can be used as a substitute in a pinch.
- For a recipe that requires olive oil, another mildly-flavored oil can be used as a substitute. A common choice is vegetable oil.
- If you're out of parmesan, nutritional yeast, brewer's yeast, or soy Parmesan can be used as substitutes in many recipes. For a stronger flavor, dark treacle can be used instead.
