Oh no – Surprise!
You’re missing an ingredient . . .
Don’t despair!
Don’t pull out your hair!
Don’t you dare!
Here are some options.
Whether you’re missing an ingredient, or just don’t want to use something listed on the recipe – here are some substitutions and simple swaps.
If the recipe calls for . . .
Buttermilk
| 1 cup of buttermilk | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice + ~ 1 cup milk (ideally whole, but any will do). Put the 1 tbsp of lemon juice into a 1 cup measure, then fill up the remainder of the 1 cup with milk and wait at least 5 minutes. The lemon will curdle the milk a bit while you wait. |
| or, replace with . . . | 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (whole fat, ideally) + 1/2 cup milk (whole fat, ideally) + 1 tsp lemon juice |
Dried Currants
| 1 tbsp dried currants | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp fresh pomegranate. Note that recipes will often call for soaking the dried currants or cooking them in rice – if this is the case, don’t cook it. Just throw it in fresh at the end. |
| or, replace with . . . | 1 tbsp raisins, preferably dark raisins (golden will be sweeter). |
Flour, All Purpose
| 1 cup all purpose flour | replace with . . . | 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour You can typically make this substitution without making any other changes to the recipe. However, if you want to change to 100% whole wheat flour, you’re probably going to need to make some other changes to the recipe because whole wheat flour is a bit thirstier than all purpose. |
Mustard
| 1 tsp mustard | replace with . . . | 1 tsp Greek yogurt + 1/8 tsp paprika The flavor profile will be slightly different, but this will add a subtle savory tanginess similar to mustard. |
| 1 tbsp mustard | replace with . . . | 1 tbsp Greek yogurt + 1/2 tsp paprika |
Shallots
| 4 shallots | replace with . . . | Approximately 1 small red onion. If using raw: Keep in mind that the raw onion flavor will be more prominent – so if you’re using the onion raw, make sure to slice thinly, and err on the side of using a bit less! If not using raw: They’re pretty darn similar. |