Ingredient substitutions worth trusting
Fifty-eight swaps that hold up regardless of what you're cooking, organized by what's actually in your kitchen right now.
Why some ingredients aren't on this list
An egg does a different job in a cake, a fried rice, and a breaded cutlet, and the right substitute is different in each case. The same is true of butter, milk, and flour. Rather than give one answer that's wrong two times out of three, those are left off a general list like this one.
Every recipe saved in AIORecipes reads its own steps to work out what a context-dependent ingredient is doing before suggesting a swap, since "beat the egg" in a cake and "temper the egg into the sauce" need different answers. That kind of substitution only makes sense next to the actual recipe, so it lives in the app rather than on this page.
Open the app to see it on a saved recipe.
The substitutions
Dairy
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Buttermilk | 1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, rested 5 min |
| Parmesan | pecorino romano or grana padano |
| Gruyere | swiss, jarlsberg, or emmental |
| Queso Fresco | mild feta rinsed to cut the salt, or farmer's cheese |
Eggs and leavening
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Baking Powder | 1/4 tsp baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar per tsp needed |
| Cream Of Tartar | twice the amount of lemon juice or white vinegar |
Flours, starches, thickeners
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Self-Rising Flour | 1 cup flour plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder plus 1/4 tsp salt |
| Breadcrumbs | crushed crackers, panko, or rolled oats pulsed fine |
| Panko | regular breadcrumbs, though less crisp |
Sugars and sweeteners
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Brown Sugar | 1 cup white sugar plus 1 tbsp molasses |
| Dark Brown Sugar | 1 cup white sugar plus 2 tbsp molasses |
| Corn Syrup | equal honey, or 1 1/4 cups sugar dissolved in 1/3 cup water |
| Honey | 1 1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup extra liquid per cup |
| Maple Syrup | honey, or 3/4 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water per cup |
| Molasses | dark corn syrup or honey, flavor will be milder |
Wine, vinegar, acid
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| White Wine | chicken or vegetable broth with a splash of white vinegar |
| Red Wine | beef broth with a splash of balsamic vinegar |
| Sherry | dry white wine, or apple cider vinegar in small amounts |
| Mirin | 1 tbsp rice vinegar plus 1 tsp sugar per tbsp |
| Rice Vinegar | apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar |
| Balsamic Vinegar | red wine vinegar with a pinch of sugar |
| Lemon Juice | equal lime juice, or half the amount of white vinegar |
| Lime Juice | equal lemon juice |
Aromatics and produce
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Shallot | half the amount of onion plus a little garlic |
| Leek | onion, or scallion whites |
| Scallion | chives, or a small amount of finely diced onion |
| Garlic | 1/8 tsp garlic powder per clove |
| Fresh Ginger | 1/4 tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh |
| Fresh Herbs | dried herbs at one third the amount |
| Celery | fennel stalk, or a pinch of celery seed for flavor only |
| Tomato Paste | tomato sauce reduced by half over heat |
| Crushed Tomatoes | whole canned tomatoes broken up by hand |
| Sun Dried Tomatoes | roasted red peppers, for texture more than flavor |
Pantry and condiments
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Worcestershire Sauce | soy sauce with a dash of vinegar and a pinch of sugar |
| Fish Sauce | soy sauce with a squeeze of lime |
| Soy Sauce | tamari, or coconut aminos for a milder, sweeter result |
| Hoisin | equal parts soy sauce and molasses with a little five spice |
| Dijon Mustard | yellow mustard with a pinch of horseradish |
| Buttermilk Ranch | yogurt with dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt |
| Sriracha | any chili garlic sauce, or hot sauce with a little sugar |
| Chili Powder | equal parts paprika and cumin with a pinch of cayenne |
| Taco Seasoning | 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp each paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano |
| Italian Seasoning | equal parts dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary |
| Cajun Seasoning | paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, thyme |
| Old Bay | celery salt, paprika, black pepper, pinch of cayenne |
| Pumpkin Pie Spice | cinnamon plus a little ginger, nutmeg, allspice |
| Allspice | equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves |
| Nutmeg | mace, or cinnamon at a smaller amount |
| Vanilla Extract | maple syrup or bourbon at equal amount |
| Capers | chopped green olives |
| Anchovy | 1 tsp fish sauce per fillet |
| Miso | tahini with a pinch of salt, or soy sauce in small amounts |
Fats and oils
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Sesame Oil | a small amount of any neutral oil with toasted sesame seeds |
Meat and protein
| Instead of | Use |
|---|
| Bacon | pancetta, or smoked paprika for the flavor without the meat |
| Pancetta | bacon, blanched first to reduce smokiness |
| Andouille | any smoked sausage, kielbasa works well |
| Chorizo | spicy Italian sausage with extra paprika |
| Prosciutto | thinly sliced ham or speck |
A note on ratios
Most of these are close enough to swap in without adjusting anything else in the recipe. A few change the liquid or fat balance enough to matter: buttermilk substitutes add acid that reacts with baking soda, so a recipe leaning on that reaction may rise slightly differently. Honey and corn syrup swaps add moisture that a straight sugar doesn't, so a very dry batter may need a spoonful less liquid elsewhere. Worth a glance the first time you try one in something delicate like a cake, not something worth worrying about in a soup or a stir-fry.
Last updated August 2026.