“Instead Of Water, I Use Stock”: Home Cooks Are Sharing Their Best Ingredient Substitutions, Here Are 30 That Might Help You Level Up The Flavor Game

Some of the suggestions on this list are purely taste-based as well, which I fully support. If I am making banana bread or pancakes, it is implied that I’m adding chocolate chips and cinnamon to them, regardless of what the recipe says. One of the recommendations is also to add twice the amount of garlic called for in a recipe, which I naturally do as well. When we start listening to our intuition and our preferences, cooking can become much more fun. If you don’t like onions, don’t add them to the recipe just because it calls for them. (Although I personally would add more onions than are called for, we all have our preferences.) Fennel or celery can be a great swap if you have an allergy, or if you tell people you have an allergy just because you don’t like them. Recipes are a great jumping off point, so the vast majority of us who are not chefs don’t have to reinvent the wheel when cooking. But don’t feel the need to stick to them religiously. 

When it comes to cooking, each component serves a specific purpose, so if it is substituted for another ingredient with similar properties, it will often work just fine. For example, butter and oil can be substituted for one another in many recipes because they are both fats. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar are both acids, so they can often be used interchangeably as well. And if you’re looking for a vegan alternative to honey, maple syrup and agave nectar are two other liquid sweeteners that will do the job just as well. There are also a wide variety of different flours out there if you’re looking to mix up your recipe or you’ve developed a gluten allergy. Don’t be scared of ingredient substitutions! There are plenty out there that will work in the vast majority of recipes.  

We hope you’ve gained some valuable tips from this list that will help you elevate your cooking skills. The next time you run out of an ingredient you thought you needed, don’t panic! Consult this list, do a quick Google search and get creative. I might not recommend doing these experiments on Thanksgiving Day or when you’re preparing food for your wedding, but most of the time, you can absolutely swap ingredients and everyone will be equally as happy as if you hadn’t. Keep upvoting the tips you find most useful, and then feel free to share your own tips with your fellow pandas in the comments below! I would love to expand my culinary knowledge, so I’ll be looking forward to your replies.