With holiday baking right around the corner and the ever-annoying prospects of having to run to the store for one missing ingredient, I thought you might like a list of the most common ingredient substitutions.
I’ve shared this list in the past, but wanted to share it again as I think it’s a handy dandy little reference that will save you a little time–or even better, keep you from having to throw on a bra and head to the grocery store. 😉
Top 20 Common Ingredient Substitutions
- 1 cup packed brown sugar {1 c. white sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses and decrease the liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup}
- 1 cup butter {7/8 cup vegetable oil}
- 1 tsp. baking powder {1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar}
- 1 clove of garlic {1/8 tsp. garlic powder)
- 1 cup half and half {1 tbsp. melted butter plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup}
- 1 tsp. dry mustard {1 tbsp. prepared mustard –only works in cooked mixtures}
- 1 cup molasses {1 cup honey}
- 1 cup tomato juice {1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water}
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch {2 tbsp. flour}
- 1 ounces unsweetened chocolate {3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp. shortening, melted}
- 1 cup buttermilk {1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice}
- 1 cup ricotta cheese {1 cup cottage cheese}
- 1 cup heavy cream {3/4 cup milk plus 3 tbsp. butter}
- 1 cup corn syrup { 1 1/4 cup white sugar plus 1/3 cup water}
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar {2 tsp. lemon juice and vinegar}
- 1 cup mayo {1 cup sour cream OR 1 cup plain yogurt}
- 1/2 cup soy sauce {4 tbsp. worchestershire mixed with 1 tbsp. water}
- 1 cup sugar {1 1/4 cup powdered sugar}
- 1 cup self-rising flour {1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt}
- 1 tsp. lemon juice {1/2 tsp. vinegar}
How about you, do you have any go-to substitutions for cooking/baking? Let us know in the comment section below.
Keep Calm and Bake On.
~Mavis
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darlene says
Thank you! Thank you! I am going to print this out and put it in my recipe book. Something I’ve needed for a while =)
Sakura says
Thanks, just printed this and laminated it. Sticking on my fridge!
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
Awesome! I love this!
For those that may be baking for those who are gluten intolerant, using oat flour (I just blend up my oats in my blender to make oat flour) is an inexpensive substitute and much less confusing than using 4-5 different flours that aren’t really common to most kitchens. It doesn’t work for everything, but it has helped me out in a pinch.
Chris says
Do you use the oat flour (that you made) instead of regular flour? Same amount? Thanks in advance.
Dena says
Just a note about oat flour and oats. If you’re using oat flour for someone with Celiac Disease, it needs to be certified gluten free oat flour or oats. Not all oats are gluten free.
Cecily says
For powdered sugar – Process 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tbls constarch in your food processor or blender, 1-2 minutes, until it becomes a powder.
Leal says
If you are going to use the powdered sugar immediately, you can skip the cornstarch. Cornstarch is added to commercial powdered sugar to keep it from clumping; it is not needed in home prepped powdered sugar.
Kim says
For cake recipes we use applesauce instead of oil. 1 – 1 ratio.
Mavis Butterfield says
I sometimes do that too when I run out of oil.
Mari says
This is great thank Mavis. Being a Kiwi (New Zealander, not the fruiti, sometimes American recipes can be very confusing to us with the names you give ingredients or the strange things that are called for. I could never understand the why mayonnaise is used in so many things and never knew what to substitute it for. Now I do.
I don’t have buttermilk as such, but I use my home made milk kefir instead, or the whey that comes off it when I make kefir cheese. I find that very good in scone (hehe you actually know what I mean when I say scone, because you are English) or biscuit or cookie recipes. I also use kefir it to make my home made mayonnaise or other low heat sauces too.
Trudy says
For one egg = 1/2 Tbs of Physillum husks stirred into scant 1/4 cup water. (Or enough husks to make water gelatinous.)
It’s a low fat/high fiber substitute that works well in all my muffin recipes. 🙂
Pene says
I use 1/3 cup ground flax seed to 1 cup cold water and get the equivalent of 4 eggs for smoothies and baking. Let set for at least 10 minutes to get gelatinous before using. An Omega 6 plus as well.
Peg says
You wear a bra to the store?? Just kidding.
Robin B says
Hi! I have a substitution question for everyone. 🙂 I became allergic to egg whites (reaction is like stomach flu plus bad intestinal pain) but yolks are OK. My recipe range has become tiny since so many recipes call for whole eggs or egg whites instead of just yolks. Has anyone come across an egg-white-free recipe website and/or how to make a recipe that calls for egg whites work without them?
Many thanks in advance! 🙂
KC says
This is a weird one, but the juice from a can of garbanzo beans can be whipped not exactly like egg whites but shockingly like egg whites. Look up aquafaba recipes, or look for a vegan recipe for the thing you want and then compare it to your recipe for the thing you want to get approximate substitutions.
(note: almost all the substitutions in the original post, along with aquafaba, will fail in some recipes because of consistency/water-content/starch-content/behavior-when-cooked differences. Many recipes have enough flexibility that most substitutions work fine, but low-fat dairy things will never resist curdling as much as high-fat dairy things, and the water/solids content of different types of yogurt, etc. can really mess with the texture of cooked or baked recipes, and vegetable oil will not make a good shortbread for you, etc. So: use your brain, and if a recipe *has* to go right the first time, then hit the grocery store or call a neighbor for that egg or mayo.)
Lisa says
Aquafaba? I’ve always just called it bean juice. Learn something new every day. LOL
Gigi says
Sometimes I will sub a whole banana for an egg. It can change the flavor some, but generally it’s good and gives it an added dimension.
Robin B says
Thanks, everyone! 🙂
Cathy says
I substitute applesauce for vegetable oil. If a recipe calls for 1 cup oil I use 1 cup applesauce. It is much healthier!
Vy says
Fantastic list, thank you! Bookmarking this one 🙂
Joanna says
Thank YOU Mavis!! Boy do I need help in the Kitchen apparently I am lacking in that area!
Michelle S. says
Thanks for the list, Mavis!
On a side note, l pressure-canned your beef stew recipe today and it turned out beautifully! Thank you!
I also ordered 5 cases of Weck jars because you’ve got me hooked.
Mavis Butterfield says
Those jars are addicting!! 🙂
Cindy Brick says
More egg substitution ideas — we’re going to need these during the holidays, especially. I just gritted my teeth and bought two dozen at $3.89 each…because hardly any eggs PERIOD were left in the case! How was I going to make Thanksgiving desserts without them? (This has been happening more and more in Denver area stores in recent weeks.)
I learned about this the hard way one winter when we had blizzard after blizzard. By the holidays, not an egg was to be found. Daughter noticed a carton hidden when we were there shopping, and grabbed it for me…then was accosted by shoppers, asking where she found those. You would have thought she’d stashed the crown jewels in her shopping basket.
Anyways…
1 tablespoon of soy flour substitutes for one egg (this is from Amy Daczyn of the Tightwad Gazette)
during the Depression, bakers would substitute one eggshell worth of water for the second egg — but you still need to use the first one.
If you have a 5-egg recipe, you can easily do this with 4 eggs and water.
Cindy Brick says
Shoot — spelled Amy’s name wrong. It’s Dacyczyn. Sorry.
Judy says
Hi Mavis, thanks for this. So helpful, especially living out in the country in winter. Can’t just run to a grocery store that is an hour away for one missing ingredient.