Common ingredient alternatives

It can be fun and easy to adapt recipes to mix things up when you don't have all of the ingredients! Whether you have a food allergy or intolerance, don't have the ingredients or just don't care for an ingredient try using these instead:

Baking flours

Use the following flours interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

Almond flour: substitute hazelnut flour or sunflower seed flour
Oat flour: substitute any all-purpose baking flour

If you don't have almond or oat flour on hand, you can create your own by pulsing almonds/oats in a high-speed blender or food processor until a fine flour forms.

Sweeteners

Liquid sweeteners to use in a 1:1 ratio:

Date paste
Maple syrup
Coconut nectar

Dry sweeteners to use in a 1:1 ratio:

Coconut sugar
Any sugar you have on hand!

Non-dairy milks

Use the following non-dairy milks interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

Unsweetened almond milk
Coconut milk
Cashew milk
Oat milk

The only exception is canned coconut milk. Canned coconut milk has a higher fat content and is irreplaceable if you want to achieve a creamy consistency in your recipes.

Eggs

The best way to mimic eggs is with a flax "egg." For one egg: mix 1 tablespoon ground flax with 3 tablespoons water and let sit for 5 minutes until a gelled mixture forms. Don't have ground flaxseed? Try using ground chia or hemp hearts.

Nuts and seeds

Use the following nut and seed butters interchangeably in a 1:1 ratio:

Peanut butter: substitute any nut or seed butter
Almond butter: substitute sunflower seed butter, cashew butter
Cashews: substitute almonds, walnuts or peanuts
Sunflower seeds: substitute pumpkin seeds
Hemp hearts: substitute chia seeds or ground flaxseed

Binders

Use the following purées interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

Pumpkin purée: butternut squash purée, winter squash purée or sweet potato purée
Unsweetened applesauce
Mashed banana
Mashed avocado

Oils

Use the following oils interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

Avocado oil: substitute any high-heat cooking or baking oil
Olive oil: substitute any medium-heat cooking or baking oil
Coconut oil: substitute any low-heat cooking or baking oil

Oil replacements for baking

Tahini
Any nut or seed butter
Yogurt (dairy or dairy-free works)
Avocado
Unsweetened almond milk

Legumes

Use the following beans interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

White beans to use interchangeably in recipes: chickpeas, cannellini beans, navy beans, etc.
Black beans to use interchangeably in recipes: Black beans, kidney beans, lentils, etc.
Red beans to use interchangeably: small red beans, adzuki beans, pinto beans, etc.

Grains

Use the following grains interchangeably in recipes using a 1:1 ratio:

Quinoa
Rice
Millet

Soy

Use tofu and tempeh interchangeably for a meat alternative.

Tofu: swap out tempeh
Tempeh: swap out tofu

If you're avoiding soy altogether, try using your favorite legumes or grains instead.

Herbs

If you don't have fresh herbs on hand you can easily swap them out for dried herbs using a 1:3 ratio. Dried herbs are much more concentrated than fresh so be sure to use 1/3 the amount.

Fresh herbs: swap out dried herbs using a 1:3 ratio

For example, if a recipe calls for fresh parsley, use one-third of the amount listed when using dried parsley.

Thickeners

Cornstarch: swap out arrowroot starch using a 1:1 ratio

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