14 easy ingredient swaps that show how recipes can be easily adapted (2024)

Following a recipe and midway through realise you don’t have all the ingredients? We’ve all been there before. The good news is, you don’t have to always dash to the shops.

You can still sometimes make a yummy dish that tastes like the original recipe but with a few tweaks. Some recipes are made to be broken!

As learning to cook and cooking in general is a pathway to a healthy eating journey, it is important to feel relaxed and confident in the kitchen.

Here are some of our tips for ingredients swapping…

14 ingredient swaps that prove recipes sometimes can be broken

1. Swap eggs for chia seeds

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Eggs are a common issue. You always think they are in the fridge but when you go to get one, they are not.

When baking, try chia seeds instead. 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with around 3 tablespoons of water well gelatinise in a minute in a cup. This will be worth one egg.

If you do not have chia seeds, even try 1/2 mushy banana or apple sauce. Go on, try it!.

2. Swap butter for oil

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If you are baking try a veggie oil but if it is for a muesli bar or non cooked slice of some sort, try coconut oil.

For non cooked things it is the firmness and texture of the butter you might be after.

3. Swap self-raising flour for plain flour with baking soda

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No self raising flour? Try using plain with some baking soda or even a pinch of bicarbonate side. Self raising flour often has a combination of these ingredients in it already.

You can add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to 2 cups of plain flour.

4. Swap white flour for whole meal

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Try whole meal instead of white flour. It is best to add additional baking powder or bicarbonate soda to it as well as the fibre in the wholemeal flour will be a denser finish.

5. Swap milk for juice in a cake

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You might actually swap this out for good long term as it is DELICIOUS! Orange juice or lemon juice are a perfect combination in a chocolate cake.

6. Swap almonds for a different nut

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If you find you’ve run out of almonds and need it in a recipe then why nottry a different nut like macadamia or walnuts.

7. Swap pinenuts for almonds

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If you have no pine nuts for pestotry macadamia or almonds. Make sure you either roast them or pan fry them before you blend them as they are bigger almonds and harder to break down. The heat will soften them slightly.

8. Swap pre-made breadcrumbs for bread or cornflakes

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No pre-made breadcrumbs but have some bread? Try toasting some actual bread and blending it in the mix master or roast it in the oven at 120 degrees celsius for 10 minutes.

If you are making crumbed chicken or fish you could also use ground nuts or cornflakes! Yummy!

9. Swap sour cream for Greek yoghurt

Sometimes sour cream just provides a creamy taste that can also be achieved by mixing in plain or Greek yoghurt.

10. Swap buttermilk for lemon

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No buttermilk in the fridge? The closest substitute would be another dairy product with a spoonful of lemon juice or white vinegar.

11. Swap parsley for coriander

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Parsleyandcilantroherbs are related.Ifyour recipe usescilantromainly as a garnish,parsley couldbe a great substitute, if not try coriander.

12. Swap lemons for limes or oranges

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Sometimes a dish just needs an acidic fruit to bring out the flavours or give it a zest. In most cases, limes and oranges work well if you don’t have any lemons in the fruit bowl.

13. Swap soy sauce for a stock or oyster sauce

A lot of people often usesoy sauceas anoyster sauce substitute, but it can work both ways! They both provide the same colour and a similar taste to a dish.

13. Swap tomato passata for canned tomatoes

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No tomato passata? The bestsubstitutionis tomato purée or canned tomatoes blended and with a little water.

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14 easy ingredient swaps that show how recipes can be easily adapted (2024)

FAQs

How do you substitute ingredients in baking? ›

Common Baking Substitutions
  1. Baking Powder. 1 teaspoon baking powder = ¼ teaspoon baking soda + ½ teaspoon cream of tartar + ¼ teaspoon cornstarch. ...
  2. Butter. 1 cup salted butter = 1 cup margarine. ...
  3. Cake Flour. 1 cup cake flour = ¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons cornstarch. ...
  4. Cocoa Powder. ...
  5. Milk. ...
  6. Vegetable Shortening.
Jul 19, 2016

What are the 3 main parts of a recipe explain what determines a well written recipe? ›

A well-written recipe will have a title that sums up the dish, a list of ingredients and quantities for each ingredient, a set of directions that explains how to make the dish, a number of servings, a cooking temperature and time, nutrition facts, and information on necessary equipment, tools, and containers.

What are 4 common baking substitutes? ›

Common Ingredient Substitutions
IngredientAmountSubstitution
Evaporated milk1 cup1 cup light cream
Farmer's cheese8 ounces8 ounces dry cottage cheese OR 8 ounces creamed cottage cheese, drained
Fats for baking1 cup1 cup applesauce OR 1 cup fruit puree
Flour: bread1 cup1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon wheat gluten
83 more rows
Jan 6, 2021

What are common substitutions in cooking? ›

Spices
IngredientSubstitutions
CorianderCardamom, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, saffron, turmeric
CuminChili powder, coriander, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric
GingerAllspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander
NutmegAllspice, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger
8 more rows

What are 2 qualities of a good recipe? ›

My Cheat Sheet for Identifying a Good Recipe

Look for recipes that have the following: Ingredient measurements in multiple formats (weight, volume, size). Context clues for timing of each relevant piece of cooking instruction.

What are the seven 7 parts to a well written recipe? ›

  • Using BLUE write the seven components to a recipe in the boxes provided. Underline the component. Look them up on my webpage under “7 Components to a Recipe”.
  • 7components'16.
  • INGREDIENTS: AMOUNTS: DIRECTIONS: EQUIPMENT: TEMPERATURE: TIME:
  • YIELD:
  • 7 Components to a Recipe.

What are the 5 elements in a standard recipe? ›

  1. Yield. The yield tells the number and size of servings the recipe will make.
  2. List of Ingredients & Amounts.
  3. Step By Step Directions for Mixing & Handling.
  4. Equipment (Container Size & Type)
  5. Temperature & Time.

What is the substitution of ingredients? ›

Each ingredient in a recipe has a specific function. Substitution of one ingredient for another may alter the taste, color, moisture content or texture of the product. For this reason, it is suggested that ingredient substitution be used in unexpected situations only.

What is a substitute for 1 cup of flour? ›

Substitute with 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, potato starch, rice starch or arrowroot starch; or 1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca. All-purpose flour, 1 cup sifted. Substitute with 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons; or 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour.

Why might you substitute an ingredient in a recipe? ›

Not only can substitution save the day when you lack an ingredient called for in a recipe, but it also enables you to make a recipe better for you. That's helpful whether you are trying to improve your overall eating pattern or are cooking for a specific health condition.

What is a substitute for 1 cup of butter? ›

If you find your fridge empty in the butter department or can't tolerate dairy, you can swap it completely with these butter replacements. For 1 cup unsalted butter, substitute 1 cup shortening, ⅞ cup (that's 14 Tbsp. or ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp.) vegetable oil, or ⅞ cup lard.

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