cooking substitutions
Sarah Biren
Sarah Biren
February 24, 2024 ·  4 min read

Here’s A List Of Quick Cooking Substitutions You Will Use Every Day

I am not an organized baker. While cooking tutorials use pre-measured ingredients in cute little glass bowls, I’m running around the kitchen trying to find vanilla extract for half-mixed brownie batter. Finding the right cooking substitutions can be even harder.

Sometimes, I use my “put away” method, usually for time-sensitive recipes. I take out all of the ingredients I need, and as soon as I finish with one, I put it away. I measure out the flour and put the box away. I pour the oil and place the bottle on its shelf. This saves time cleaning up, but more importantly, it prevents me from second-guessing myself. Wait, did I add the baking soda yet, or have I accidentally put in twice the amount? If the container is back in the cupboard, I am certain I had added it to the batter as directed. 

The “put away” method has another added benefit of letting me know which ingredients I have and which I don’t before I begin. Too many times, I’ve been halfway through a recipe and realize I’m missing a core ingredient. I’m mixing peanut butter cookies when I notice the jar of peanut butter is actually empty. Some monster had finished it and put it back on the shelf. But there’s no time to find the culprit when my hands are sticky from creaming sugar and I need to find a way to finish these cookies before company shows up.  

Halfway through a recipe is a bad time to go shopping for flour, butter, or brown sugar. During these crazy times, going grocery shopping isn’t even possible. Going to borrow an egg from a neighbor can also be a big no-no. Social distancing aside, there are many shortages going on, depending on where you live in the world. Some places need to find grain-free recipes to make up for the lack of flour in stores. My neighborhood had been missing eggs for a few weeks, which led me to look up vegan baked goods recipes for the meantime.  

Unfortunately – or perhaps, fortunately, for our sakes — the need for cooking substitutions is not a new issue, whether from shortages or the lack of one ingredient on a particular day. That’s no reason to halt your recipe, and if you’re baking for an event or cooking dinner for that night, halting isn’t an option. 

A Chart of Cooking Substitutions

Amanda from Totally the Bomb has shared a treasure from her Granny Kirkpatrick. Her grandmother had left her a box full of recipes that she has used throughout her life, and among these cards is a chart of cooking substitutions. 

The card read as follows: 

  • 1 cup self-rising flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch 
  • 1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar or 1 tbsp lemon juice 
  • 1 cup heavy cream = ¾ cup milk + ¼ cup butter 
  • 1 cup sour cream = 1 cup Greek yogurt + 1 tsp baking soda 
  • 1 cup oil = 1 cup applesauce 
  • 1 cup butter = 1 cup shortening or 1 cup apple sauce 
  • 1 egg = ½ a large banana 
  • 1 tbsp vanilla = 1 tsp maple syrup or 1 ½ tsp honey 
  • 1 cup honey = 1 cup maple syrup or ½ cup water + 1 ½ cup sugar 
  • 1 cup brown sugar = 1 cup sugar + 2 tbsp molasses or 1 cup sugar + 1 tbsp maple syrup 
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar = 2 tsp lemon juice or 2 tsp vinegar 
  • 1 tsp baking soda = 4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 tsp baking powder = ¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar 
  • 1 cup bread crumbs = 1 cup rolled oats or 1 cup crushed corn flakes or 1 cup crushed crackers 

Many of you may already be taking a sigh of relief and are marking this chart for future reference.  

How to Substitute in Cooking and Baking 

If you need a substitution for an ingredient that isn’t on this list, cookbook author David Joachim of The Food Substitutions Bible has a three-step process for you: 

  1. Access the situation. What ingredient is missing? Do you have anything similar, for example, if it’s milk, do you have other dairy products or plant-based milk? 
  2. What is the function of the ingredient, flavor, garnish, a core ingredient, or a supporting player? Will skipping it affect the texture or structure of the dish? 
  3. Decide what will work best (not necessarily the same or perfect) and go for it. “Some people think that substitutes are magical and that one ingredient equals another,” Joachim says. “The results will be a little different.” [1] 

Although the recipe may not be the same, it may turn into something unexpectedly delicious. If you’re missing a spice, experiment with another. If you’re missing a vegetable, use one that is as firm or quick-cooking as the one being replaced. If you need a certain type of cheese, consider the purpose of the cheese in the recipe, to melt, to spread, to add flavor? Substitute accordingly. [2] 

Don’t be afraid to get creative; cooking and baking is an art, after all. Experimentation is how we find new favorites — or learn what not to do ever again. 

Happy cooking! 

Keep Reading: Lemon Meringue Cupcakes · You’ll Love These

Sources

  1. ‘How to make substitutions for spices, herbs, dairy and meat in your everyday cooking.’ Washington Post Becky Krystal. Published April 6, 2020 
  2. ‘Cooking substitution chart article Missing an Ingredient? Here Are Substitutions You Can Use Instead.’ NY Times Alexa Weibel. Published April 16, 2020