My chicken turned out the best I’ve ever made it."
It happens to the best of us.
So redditoru/jnwiggs1asked, “What ingredientdo you normally replace in your recipes?”
And lots of home cooks chimed in with their advice.
(Some responses also come from thispost.)
“Depending on what I’m making, I will often replace liquids with other liquids.
For example, instead of water, I will use stock.
Or instead of stock, I might use wine (or vice versa).
I always just use generic green chile peppers or jalapenos.”
“I use green onions instead of chives.
Theyre cheaper, and I cant really tell the difference.
Plus, I usually have a jar of them growing in my kitchen.”
“I always swap out Italian bread crumbs for panko.
IMO, panko is superior in almost every way.”
“I replace unsalted butter with salted butter, even when I’m baking.
I like the extra salt, especially in desserts because it balances out the sweetness.”
“Oils and vinegars.
“I replace shallots with onions 99% of the time.
Shallots are so expensive!
“I use coconut milk in any recipe that calls for heavy cream.
I find that coconut milk imparts the perfect creaminess without altering the flavor too much.”
“I often replace sour cream or mayonnaise withGreekyogurt in things like tuna or chicken salad.
Its not for health reasons or anything.
I just love the tanginess that Greek yogurt adds to a dish.”
“I use Worcestershire sauce in dishes that call for fish sauce and vice versa.
“I never buy brown sugar.
Instead, I just add molasses to white sugar.
This allows me to easily control the darkness of the sugar.”
“Celery is the real devil’s lettuce.
I always replace it with diced green bell pepper whenever a recipe calls for it.”
“I usually use croutons, soup crackers, or crushed-up Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs.
Recently, I used croutons to bread Parmesan chicken, and the result was amazing.”
“I never keep buttermilk in my fridge, but I almost always have heavy cream.
“I use sunflower seeds as a cheaper alternative to pine nuts when making homemade pesto.
They’re about one-fourth the cost but a similar texture.”
“When baking, I’ll sometimes replace an egg with a mashed banana.
The final product is more moist and has a subtle, natural sweetness.
“I use creamy Italian dressing instead of mayo.
Try it when you’re making a BLT sandwich.
It’s next level.”
Or I’ll substitute finely chopped dill or cornichonpickles.
All three give a dish the same salty, flavor-packed punch.”
“I personally hate green bell peppers, so I replace them with poblanos.
They taste a lot better and don’t have any noticeable heat.”
“Try using coconut milk instead of water or broth when cooking rice.
I usually just substitute sake for both of them and call it a day.”
“I use half-and-half and skim milk for pretty much any dairy product that a recipe might call for.
Keeping a half dozen different liquid dairy products is annoying.
Between half-and-half and skim milk, the two options pretty much cover my needs.”
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
