Substitutions
Has this ever happened to you? You just found a delicious sounding recipe that you really want to make, but you are missing a key ingredient. Now what? Well, here is a list of cooking substitutions for when this situation arises.
This is in the format of: <Recipe calls for this, but you don’t have it>:<Substitute with this instead>
Cooking Substitutions:
Bacon, 1 slice, crisp-cooked, crumbled: 1 tablespoon cooked bacon pieces
Baking powder, 1 teaspoon: 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon: 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or red wine vinegar plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Bourbon or Sherry, 2 tablespoons: 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add water, white grape juice, or apple juice to get the specified amount of liquid (when the liquid amount is crucial).
Bread crumbs, fine dry 1/4 cup: 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs, or 1/4 cup cracker crumbs, or 1/4 cup cornflake crumbs
Broth, beef or chicken, 1 cup: 1 teaspoon or 1 cube instant beef or chicken bouillon plus 1 cup hot water
Butter, 1 cup: 1 cup shortening plus 1/4 teaspoon salt, if desired
Buttermilk, 1 cup: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup (let stand 5 minutes before using) or 1 cup plain yogurt.
Chocolate, semisweet, 1 ounce: 3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate pieces, or 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, or 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons shortening.
Chocolate, sweet baking, 4 ounces: 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons shortening
Chocolate, unsweetened, 1 ounce: 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon cooking oil or shortening, melted.
Cornstarch, 1 tablespoon (for thickening): 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Corn syrup (light), 1 cup: 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water
Egg, 1 whole: 2 egg whites, or 2 egg yolks, or 1/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed
Flour, cake, 1 cup: 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Flour, self-rising, 1 cup: 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Garlic, 1 clove: 1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Ginger, grated fresh, 1 teaspoon: 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Half-and-half or light cream, 1 cup: 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup
Lemon (Juice of one Lemon): 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice equals juice of one lemon
Molasses, 1 cup: 1 cup honey
Mustard, dry, 1 teaspoon: 1 tablespoon prepared (in cooked mixtures)
Mustard, yellow, 1 tablespoon: 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard plus 2 teaspoons vinegar
Onion, chopped, 1/2 cup: 2 tablespoons dried minced onion or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Sour cream, dairy, 1 cup: 1 cup plain yorgurt
Sugar, granulated, 1 cup: 1 cup packed brown sugar or 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Sugar, brown, 1 cup packed: 1 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses
Tomato juice, 1 cup: 1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
Tomato sauce, 2 cups: 3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
Vanilla bean, 1 whole: 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Wine, red, 1 cup: 1 cup beef or chicken broth in savory recipes; cranberry juice in desserts
Wine, white, 1 cup: 1 cup chicken broth in savory recipes; apple juice or white grape juice in desserts
Yeast, active dry, 1 package: about 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Seasonings:
Apple pie spice, 1 teaspoon: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, and dash ground cloves or ginger
Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon: 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Herbs, snipped fresh, 1 teaspoon: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herb, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground herb
Poultry seasoning, 1 tablespoon: 3/4 teaspoon dried sage, crushed, plus 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram, crushed
Pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
THANK YOU! This is very much appreciated when the pantry is looking sparse (or when I don’t feel like spending $4 on self-rising flour that I’m only going to use once) 🙂
I feel the same way, and end up referring to this page often myself. Most recently, I substituted vanilla extract instead of using a vanilla bean. Saved me money and the hassle of trying to find vanilla beans, which our local grocery doesn’t seem to carry.
If you keep the info pouring in you will have tons more viewers coming to see what you have to write, thanks.
Thank you!!!!
This list will definitey go in my food files. Thank you for posting this.