Emergency Cooking Substitutions and Equivalents
Our alternative ingredients will rescue your recipe
If you ever find yourself in the middle of cooking a recipe and discover you are missing an ingredient, fear not. We pulled some substitution tips from our classic Sunset’s New Easy Basics cookbook (1997) when you find yourself in a pinch.
Shopping for recipes isn’t always straightforward. Our equivalent yields guide is handy when you need to figure out how many lemons to buy for a recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (the answer: 1).
You’ll be able to make conversions effortlessly with our weights and measures guide below.
Emergency Substitutions
Equivalence is based on how product functions in recipe, not on sweetness.
Cake flour
Amount: 1 cup cake flour (109 g)
Substitution: 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons
Baking powder
Amount: 1 teaspoon baking powder
Substitution: ¼ teaspoon baking soda plus ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Active dry yeast
Amount: 1 package (1¾ teaspoons) active dry yeast
Substitution: 1 compressed yeast cake, crumbled
Cornstarch (used for thickening)
Amount: 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Substitution: 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Buttermilk or sour milk
Amount: 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk or sour milk
Substitutions: 1 cup (240 ml) plain yogurt or 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar or lemon juice stirred into 1 cup (240 ml) milk and allowed to stand for 5 minutes
Corn syrup
Amount: 1 cup (240 ml) corn syrup
Substitution: 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar plus ¼ cup (60 ml) liquid
Note: Use a liquid called for in the recipe.
Honey
Amount: 1 cup (240 ml) honey
Substitution: 1¼ (250 g) granulated sugar plus ¼ cup (60 ml) liquid.
Note: Use a liquid called for in the recipe.
Egg yolks (used for thickening)
Amount: 2 egg yolks
Substitution: 1 whole egg
Unsweetened chocolate
Amount: 1 square (1 oz./30g) unsweetened chocolate
Substitution: 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon (15 ml) melted butter or margarine
Semisweet baking chocolate
Amount: 1 ounce semisweet baking chocolate
Substitution: 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Tomatoes
Amount: 1 can (about 1 lb./455 g) tomatoes
Substitution: 2½ cups (323 g) chopped, peeled, fresh tomatoes, simmered for about 10 minutes
Catsup or tomato-based chili sauce
Amount: 1 cup (240 ml) catsup or tomato-based chili sauce
Substitution: 1 can (8 oz./240 ml) tomato sauce plus ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white vinegar
Dry mustard
Amount: 1 teaspoon dry mustard
Substitution: 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Grated fresh ginger
Amount: ½ teaspoon fresh ginger
Substitution: ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Sliced leeks
Amount: ½ cup (50 g) sliced leeks
Substitutions: ½ (80 g) sliced shallots or ½ cup (50 g) green onions
EQUIVALENT YIELDS
Lemon
Amount: 1 lemon
Yield: 3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice and 1 tablespoon grated peel
Orange
Amount: 1 medium-size orange
Yield: ⅓-½ (80-120 ml) orange juice and 2 tablespoons grated peel
Bell pepper
Amount: 1 medium-size bell pepper
Yield: 1 cup (150 g) chopped
Carrot
Amount: 1 medium-size carrot
Yield: ½ cup (65 g) chopped
Celery
Amount: 1 medium-size stalk celery
Yield: ½ cup (60 g) chopped
Garlic
Amount: 2 small cloves garlic
Yield: 1 teaspoon minced
Green onion (white part only)
Amount: 1 medium-size green onion
Yield: 1 tablespoon chopped
Onion
Amount: 1 medium-size onion
Yield: ¾-1 cup (128-170 g) chopped
Egg whites
Amount: 8 large egg whites
Yield: 1 cup (240 ml)
Semifirm/firm cheese (Cheddar, jack, Swiss)
Amount: 4 ounces semifirm/firm cheese
Yield: 1 cup (113 g) lightly packed shredded cheese
Hard cheese (Parmesan, Romano)
Amount: 1½ hard cheese
Yield: ½ cup (40 g) grated cheese
Butter or margarine
Amount: ¼ pound (1 stick) butter or margarine
Yield: ½ cup (4 oz./115 g)
Whipping cream
Amount: 1 cup whipping cream
Yield: 2 cups (470 ml) whipped cream
Granulated sugar
Amount: 1 pound granulated sugar
Yield: 2⅓ cups (470 g)
Brown sugar
Amount: 1 pound brown sugar
Yield: 2⅓ cups (513 g) firmly packed
Powdered sugar
Amount: 1 pound powdered sugar
Yield: 3¾ cups (450 g) unsifted or 4½ cups sifted
Baking chocolate (semisweet or unsweetened)
Amount: 1 square baking chocolate
Yield: 1 ounce (30 g)
Walnuts or almonds
Amount: 4 ounces walnuts or almonds
Yield: ¾-1 cup (94-125 g) chopped nuts
Dry bread
Amount: 1 sandwich-size slice crisp, dry bread
Yield: ¼ cup (25 g) fine crumbs
Fresh bread
Amount: 1 sandwich-size slice fresh bread
Yield: 1 cup (45 g) soft crumbs
Graham crackers
Yield: 14-16 squares graham crackers
Yield: 1 cup (85 g) crumbs
Vanilla wafers
Amount: 22-24 vanilla wafers
Yield: 1 cup (80 g) crumbs
Chocolate wafers
Amount: 18 chocolate wafers
Yield: 1 cup (125 g) crumbs
Dry yeast
Amount: 1 package dry yeast
Yield: 1¾ teaspoons (7 g)
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Liquid measure equivalents
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon (15 ml)
2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce (30 ml)
4 tablespoons = ¼ cup (60 ml)
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = ⅓ (80 ml)
8 tablespoons = ½ cup or 4 fluid ounces (120 ml)
10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons = ⅔ cup (160 ml)
12 tablespoons = ¾ cup (180 ml)
16 tablespoons = 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces (240 ml)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons = ⅜ cup (90 ml)
½ cup + 2 tablespoons = ⅝ cup (150 ml)
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons = ⅞ cup (210 ml)
2 cups = 16 fluid ounces or 1 pint (470 ml)
4 cups = 2 pints or 1 quart (950 ml)
1 quart = .946 liters (950 ml)
1 liter = 1.06 quarts
4 quarts = 1 gallon (3.8 liters)
Dry measure equivalents
2 pints = 1 quart
Weights or avoirdupois equivalents
16 ounces = 1 pound (455 g)
2.2 pounds = 1 kilo