I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been inspired to try a new recipe only to realize that I’m missing a key ingredient (or worse yet, when I’ve already started cooking and mid-meal I realize I don’t have everything I need). Of course, a trip to the market would fix that, but if you can utilize other ingredients that you already have on hand, it’s even better. Some substitutions that I make are to use what I have on hand, but I make other substitutions to healthy things up a little. Next time you’re in the kitchen and you realize you don’t have an ingredient, check to see if there’s a substitution before you had off to the grocery.
(I don’t discuss spices in this post; for information on spices blends and spice substitutions, see here.)
- Salt (on finished dishes): Fresh squeezed lime juice or fresh minced parsley
- Dried Bread Crumbs: Crushed potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, crackers, or cereal; coarsely ground oatmeal
- Mayo: Sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt
- Ricotta Cheese: Pureed dry cottage cheese
- Mascarpone Cheese: Neufchatel cheese or cream cheese
- Half and Half: Equal parts heavy cream and whole milk
- Cream: 3/4 c whole milk + 1/4 c butter = 1 c cream
- Buttermilk: 1 c milk (low fat is fine) left to sit with either 2 tsp lemon juice or 1 tsp vinegar = 1 c buttermilk; or plain yogurt (1:1, buttermilk to yogurt)
- Beer or Wine (in soups, stews, and braised dishes): Broth or water
- Broth: 1 bouillon cube + 1 c boiling water = 1 c broth
- Dried Lemon Zest: Pinch nutmeg
- Leek: Scallion or chive
- Shallot: 1 clove garlic, 1 small onion
- Egg: 1 TB ground flax seed soaked in 3 TB water = 1 egg
- Cornstarch: Arrowroot (1:1, cornstarch to arrowroot) or flour (2:1, cornstarch to flour)
- Baking Powder: 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar = 1 tsp baking powder
- Self-Rising Flour: 1 c all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt = 1 c self-rising flour
- Brown Sugar: 1 c white sugar + 1-2 TB molasses = 1 c brown sugar
- Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar: 1 c white sugar processed with 2 TB cornstarch until it becomes powdery
- Honey: Maple syrup or agave nectar
- Corn Syrup: Honey or golden syrup
- Unsweetened Baking Chocolate: 3 TB unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 TB vegetable oil or shortening = 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
- Oil (in baked goods): Applesauce, apple butter, mashed banana, pureed avocado, pureed pumpkin, or yogurt