You're standing in the kitchen getting ready to cook up your favorite meal or bake a quick dessert when suddenly you realize you're missing an ingredient! Bummer. If you don't have time (or the desire) to run out to the store just for the one missing item, you may be able to substitute something you already have on hand.
We scoured sources like
Greatist,
My Recipes, and
All Recipes to compile this handy guide. Use this list as a quick reference the next time you need to find a fix fast:
1.Black Beans for Flour
Swap a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) for flour in brownie recipes. One 15-ounce can is about the equivalent of one cup of flour. Bonus points for adding protein to your dessert. Does that justify an extra brownie or two? We think so.
2. Applesauce for Sugar
If you don't have enough sugar to bake your favorite cake, try replacing one cup of sugar for one cup of apple sauce. Remember to reduce liquid ingredients by 1/4 cup for every cup of applesauce you use.
3. Applesauce for Oil
Who hasn't run out of oil? Replace half the oil in your recipe for applesauce. In a pinch you can skip the oil entirely and use only applesauce.
4. Avocado for Butter
They're both fats, which is great for your baking needs. If you don't have the butter called for, try using pureed avocado instead. The creaminess of the avocado and the light flavor makes it a simple swap you won't even notice.
5. Mashed Bananas for Butter
Add mashed bananas to your cake recipe instead of butter or oil. Bonus: banana chocolate chip cookies are awesome!
6. Evaporated milk for cream
Chances are you have at least one can of this sitting in your cupboard from a holiday recipe you didn't make. If you don't have cream, try adding evaporated milk instead. You get a similar consistency in a pinch.
7. Make your own Cream
If you don't have evaporated milk, try 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup of butter (heavy) or 3/4 cup of milk and 3 tablespoons butter (light).
8. Prunes for Butter
If you happen to have prunes lying around (because who doesn't... right?) try this substitute. Add 3/4 cup of prunes to 1/4 cup boiling water and puree. Sub for equal parts butter in dark recipes (bread, brownies).
9. Make your own allspice
If you don't have allspice, try making your own. Just combine 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and a pinch of ground nutmeg.
10. Apple Pie Spice
Skip buying expensive apple pie spice and make your own using 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice.
11. Semisweet Chocolate
Combine 1 square of unsweetened chocolate and 4 teaspoons of sugar. You can also combine 1 ounce of semisweet chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of shortening.
12. Cream Cheese
Replace 1 cup of cream cheese with 1 cup of pureed cottage cheese or 1 cup of plain yogurt, strained.
13. Replace egg with Tofu
Use 1/4 cup silken tofu pureed to replace 1 egg in a recipe.
14. Replace egg with Mayonnaise
Use 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise to replace one whole egg in a recipe.
15. Replace egg with Banana
No egg? No problem. Combine half a mashed banana with 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
16. Replace egg with Flaxseed
Soak 1 tablespoon of flaxseed in 3 tablespoons of water to replace 1 egg in your recipe.
17. Fresh Herbs
If a recipe calls for fresh herbs and all you have is dry: no worries. Replace 1 tablespoon of fresh with 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
18. Replace Honey with Sugar
Combine 1 1/4 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup of water to replace 1 cup of honey in a recipe.
19. Replace Ketchup with Tomato Sauce
Combine 1 cup of tomato sauce with 1 teaspoon of vinegar and tablespoon of sugar.
20. Replace Lemon Juice
Use 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar or 1 teaspoon of white wine to replace 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. You can also use lime juice instead.
21. Replace Saffron
Replace 1/4 teaspoon of saffron with 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric.
22. Replace shortening with butter
Replace 1 cup of shortening with 1 cup of butter in recipes.
23. Replace Soy Sauce
If you're fresh out of soy sauce, try 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon of water to replace 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
24. Replace Sour Milk/Buttermilk
Replace 1 cup of sour milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and enough milk to make one cup. Mix and let it stand for five minutes.
25. Replace Vinegar
Replace 1 teaspoon of vinegar in your recipes with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or 2 teaspoons of white wine.
26. Replace Sweetened Condensed Milk
Mix 3/4 cups of white sugar with 1/2 cup of water and 1 1/8 cups of dry powdered milk. Boil and cook for about 20 minutes until it's thick. Use this as a substitute for one can of sweetened condensed milk.
27. Replace Barbecue sauce
Replace 1 cup of barbecue sauce with 1 cup of ketchup from 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke seasoning.
28. Replace Beer
If you don't have beer on hand, replace equal parts chicken stock, beef stock, sake or red wine in your recipe.
29. Replace Olive oil
Replace olive oil with equal parts corn oil, canola oil or peanut oil
30. Replace Egg White
replace 1 large egg white with 2 teaspoons of meringue powder, 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoons of flaxseed. (Combine all ingredients and simmer before adding to your recipe).
Want to try a new recipe for dinner, try these bonus substitutes for a fun twist on your favorites:
Cauliflower for Mashed Potatoes
Cook your cauliflower for 12 minutes, or until soft. Drain. Get rid of as much excess water as possible. Then, add a bit of milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Mash as you would normal potatoes.
Zucchini for Noodles
Cut very thin strips of raw zucchini. Sautee them on low for a few minutes, and you have colorful noodle replacement. (Try spaghetti squash too).
Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
Take two chocolate graham crackers, top them with whipped cream and freeze until solid. Yum!
Plain Yogurt for Sour Cream
Add plain greek yogurt to your chili or other recipes that call for sour cream. The flavors and textures are close enough you probably won't notice a difference.
Top your Salad with Balsamic Vinegar and Oil
If you're out of salad dressing, try a bit of balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar) with a bit of oil to top your salad.
Do you have any food substitutes you like to use? Share your ideas in the comments below.
