No matter how hard we try, there will always be times when we are out of ingredients for a recipe. Then these emergency ingredient substitutions will help!
Show of hands: how many of you have been in the kitchen, ready to make a meal but realize you are out of one of your staple foods? I’ve been there. So many times. There are some foods that I always assume we have plenty of in the pantry or refrigerator and am shocked when we are low.
I try to make sure to add these to the grocery list on our Amazon Echo when I notice, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. Then we forget to get it the next time we go to the grocery store, again.
Sometimes a recipe calls for a lot more of a pantry staple food than I was planning, which also becomes a problem. I may have a decent amount of flour in the pantry but then I try to make something with 3 cups of flour to find out I only have 2 cups. Or I need some chopped onion but the onion has gone bad.
No matter which situation you find yourself in, it’s always helpful to have a list of emergency substitutions that you can make while cooking. Changing out recipe ingredients can alter the flavor and texture slightly. But usually, it works well enough.
Other times you may find you like the food better after the substitution is made then change your recipe. This happened with my recipe for Alice Springs Chicken. Originally, I was using honey, but when we were low one night I subbed in maple syrup and we liked the taste so much we changed my recipe. That was one of the best substitutes we’ve made!
Dairy-Free Substitutes
If you are looking for a list of ways to substitute other things for dairy, I have a full list of those HERE.
It includes substitutes for butter, buttermilk, cheese, chocolate, coffee creamer, heavy cream, evaporated milk, half-and-half, ice cream, and milk. Most of those use any type of dairy-free milk and are combined with ingredients such as lemon juice, vanilla extract, coconut milk, and coconut cream.
Originally Published On: August 1, 2018
Last Updated On: June 5, 2024
List of Ingredient Substitutions in an Emergency
Pantry Substitutions
| If you don’t have: | Substitute with: |
| Baking Powder (1 tsp) | 1/2 tsp cream of tartar plus 1/4 tsp baking soda |
| Bread Crumbs (1/4 cup) | 1/4 cup cracker crumbs |
| Broth, beef or chicken (1 cup) | 1 tsp of instant beef or chicken bouillon and 1 cup hot water |
| Cake Flour (1 cup) | 1 cup all-purpose flour + remove 2 tbsp flour + 2 tbsp cornstarch OR arrowroot powder |
| Cornstarch (1 tbsp) | 2 tbsp all-purpose flour |
| Corn Syrup (1 cup) | 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water |
| Garlic (1 clove) | 1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic OR 1/8 tsp garlic powder |
| Fresh Herbs (1 tsp) | 1/3 tsp dried herbs |
| Honey (1 cup) | 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup water OR 1 cup of pure maple syrup |
| Maple Syrup (1 cup) | 1 cup honey |
| Olive Oil (1 cup) | 1 cup canola oil OR 1 cup vegetable oil |
| Onion, chopped (1 small) | 1 tsp onion powder OR 1 tbsp dried minced onion |
| Pumpkin Pie Spice (1 tsp) | 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/4 tsp ground ginger plus 1/4 tsp ground allspice plus 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg |
| Soy Sauce (1 tbsp) | 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce |
| Sugar, granulated (1 cup) | 1 cup packed brown sugar OR 2 cups sifted powdered sugar |
| 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 |
| Self-Rising Flour (1 cup) | 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda |
| Unsweetened Chocolate (1 oz) | 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 tbsp coconut oil |
| White Cooking Wine (2 tbsp) | 2 tbsp dry white wine |
Refrigerator/Freezer Substitutions
| If you don’t have: | Substitute with: |
| Butter (1 cup) | 1 cup margarine OR 1 cup mayonnaise |
| Buttermilk (1 cup) | 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup & let it stand 5 minutes before using OR 1 cup of plain yogurt |
| Cream Cheese (4 oz) | 4 oz sour cream OR 4 oz Greek yogurt |
| Egg (1 whole) | 2 egg white OR 2 egg yolks OR 1/4 cup frozen egg product, thawed |
| Half-and-half (1 cup) | 1 tbsp melted butter or margarine plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup |
| Heavy Cream (1 cup) | 3/4 cup half-and-half + 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter |
| Lemon Juice (1 tsp) | 1/2 tsp vinegar |
| Milk, whole (1 cup) | 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water OR 1 cup water plus 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder |
| Sour Cream (1 cup) | 1 cup plain yogurt |
| Yogurt (1 cup) | 1 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup sour cream OR 1 cup |
Free Cheatsheet of Ingredient Substitutions in an Emergency
Next time you are working on a recipe and find you are out of an ingredient, use this list then check if there is a substitute you can make. This saves you from having to call a neighbor, run to the store (or send your husband to the store, as I usually do!), or scrap the recipe altogether and call in a pizza. Been there then done that on every one of these.
But, as I mentioned, sometimes it’s fun to make substitutions and find a new way to make a recipe. It may just become your favorite once you tweak one or two little things!
Download a copy of the Ingredients Substitution list to have handy in the kitchen when you need it:
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These are awesome tips however I am typically the person who doesn’t even have the replacement solutions! LOL!
Yeah, well, that does make it a bit harder then!
Wow this is very helpful! I’ve had times where I forgot to grab something and I’m in a scramble. Thank you!
I have too. Way too many times. That’s why I had to come up with the list! 🙂
Great tips – will keep these suggestions to hand… we often find we are missing something important that we need for a meal!
It’s so easy to do! The substitutes aren’t always perfect, but better than running to the store!
LOVE these tips! I often find myself starting a recipe and realize I am missing something. saving this to my phone! super helpful 🙂
I do it a lot, too. That’s why I figured if I need a list, then others will, too!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Not only am I a terrible cook, but I also have a knack for NEVER having the appropriate “staple” ingredients in my pantry.
I’m glad this will help!
Oh this is handy! I didn’t know you could use tartar and baking soda for a baking powder substitute! I’ve done the yogurt one tons!
There are so many substitutes! I found myself searching for them too often, I figured a comprehensive list would be helpful.
Honestly, I don’t know any substitutions, which is why I’m thankful I found this post. For me, it’s either I go to the grocery and buy the ingredient or never cook the recipe at all haha
Hah, I totally get that! Sometimes it’s easier. But if you have the substitute ingredients, you can still salvage a meal!
I love posts like this as I save them and I inevitably run into a situation where they come in handy and save me a trip to the store. I was most surprised by the baking powder substitution! I had no idea you could use a sub for that.
There are so many ways you can substitute other ingredients! It definitely saves a trip to the grocery store 🙂
I think this post it will help me a lot of guidance for cooking substitutions.
I’m glad you can use it!
Sometimes when I cook, I need baking soda or buttermilk or some other herbs but they are not available. So this post will be useful for me, I will save it and buy those ingredients for the kitchen.
I am bad about thinking I have some of these in the pantry and realizing I don’t! It’s good to keep the staples on hand!
This is such a great reference. I can’t tell you how many times I have started baking something and realized I was short an ingredient!!!
Me, too! I was always searching so decided to put a list together of the ones I commonly have to substitute.
I use the substitution for buttermilk and minced garlic all the time. The substitution for half and half is going to be a game changer for me! Thanks for posting.
I’ve used the buttermilk one quite a bit, too! Since then I found a powdered buttermilk mixture that I keep in the refrigerator. It mixes with water to create buttermilk so it stays good much longer!
This is super super helpful, THANK YOU SO MUCH….I am bookmarking this especially because I often run out of ingredients.
Especially right now, when groceries are scarce or we are avoiding the grocery store, I’ve been using my own list a lot!
This is very helpful! I do a lot of baking and cooking, so this will definitely come in handy!!!
I obviously do, too, and have had to use almost all of these at one time or another!
So detailed! Awesome! I must print this and have it handy in the kitchen.
I keep a list on the inside of one of my cabinets where most of my baking ingredients are so it’s easy to find.
This is genius Stephanie! I haven’t been able to find baking soda in any of the closest grocery shops near me, I don’t know how is that even possible? but I’ll try with your suggestion. Thank you!!
There are so many things that are hard to find right now! I’m glad this is helpful.
This is actually really helpful as we are starting to run out of certain things. I didn’t know about all of these!
We are starting to as well, that’s why I figured it was a good time to dig out this list again.