How-To Tuesday: Subbing Ingredients Like A Pro

Hello everyone!! Welcome to another How-To Tuesday! 🙂

Okay, picture this:
You’re making a delicious cupcake recipe and have everything ready to go. Eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder, oil….wait NO. You’re missing the oil!!! Before you run around your kitchen in a frenzied panic, I gotcha covered!! Chances are, you have other ingredients in your pantry or fridge that will save your delicious creations without sacrificing taste or texture.

Impossible? Nahhhh.

This is: How-To Successfully Substitute Cooking Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Substitution
Bread crumbs 1 cup 1 cup ground oats
OR stale bread
Brown sugar 1 cup, packed 1 cup white sugar plus 1/4 cup molasses
-(decrease the main liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup)
Butter 1 cup 1 cup coconut oil
OR vegetable shortening
Buttermilk 1 cup 1 cup yogurt
OR 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough regular milk to make 1 cup (allow to curdle for 5 min)
Cream (whipped) 1 cup 1 cup coconut milk, chilled overnight and whipped until peaks form
Cream cheese 1 cup 1 cup pureed cottage cheese
OR 1 cup plain yogurt, strained overnight in a cheesecloth
Cream of tartar 1 teaspoon 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar
Egg 1 egg 1 tbsp ground flax/chia seed plus 3 tbsp water (let sit for 5 min)
OR 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute (examples: Egg Beaters, Second Nature, Scramblers)
OR 1/4 cup silken tofu pureed
OR half a banana, mashed
(Pastry/Cake) Flour 1 cup 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, replace with 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder/corn starch
(Self-Rising) Flour 1 cup 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Gelatin 1 tablespoon, granulated 2 teaspoons agar agar
Honey 1 cup 1 cup maple syrup or agave syrup
Ketchup 1 cup 1 cup tomato sauce plus 1 teaspoon vinegar plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Lemon juice 1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
OR 1 teaspoon white wine
OR 1 teaspoon lime juice
Lime juice 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon vinegar
OR 1 teaspoon white wine
OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mayonnaise 1 cup 1 cup sour cream
OR 1 cup plain yogurt
Milk–whole 1 cup 1 cup soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, or coconut milk
Molasses 1 cup Mix 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Oil (for baking) 1 cup 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
OR fruit puree (I recommend applesauce though)
Raisin 1 cup 1 cup dried cranberries
OR 1 cup chopped pitted prunes
Ricotta 1 cup 1 cup silken tofu, mixed well
Sour cream 1 cup 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
OR 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough cream to make 1 cup
Vinegar 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
OR 2 teaspoons white wine
White sugar 1 cup 3/4 cup honey
OR 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
OR 1 cup coconut sugar
– (if using liquid sweeteners, decrease the main liquid of the recipe by 3 tbsp.)
Yogurt 1 cup 1 cup sour cream

**Note: This list was inspired by All Recipes **

I know I’ve run out of brown sugar before and had to use the molasses technique! It worked in a pinch and my baked good was still oh-so delectable. 🙂

That’s it for another How-To Tuesday friends!! If you have a suggestion for another substitution that I may have missed and would like to see, please tell me in the comments below. 🙂

Previous How-To posts:
How-To Tuesday: Perfect Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
How-To Tuesday: Lemon-Pepper and Dill Salmon

Have a terrific Tuesday! Xo

Question of the Day:
Have you ever run out of a vital ingredient in the middle of cooking?

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