Ingredient Substitution Calculator

What to replace

How much the recipe calls for

Result

What to use and how muchvegetable oil — 80 ml margarine — 100 g ghee — 90 g apple sauce (cakes only, the crumb turns softer) — 100 g
Ingredient replacedbutter
Amount in the recipe100 g
Closest substitutevegetable oil — 80 ml
Options available4

Not only what, but how much

Suggests what to use instead of an ingredient you have run out of and works out how much of the substitute your recipe needs, in grams and millilitres.

Substitution lists online usually stop at the words 'can be replaced with'. The trouble is that almost no swap is one for one: oil goes in lighter than butter, honey lighter than sugar, and dried herbs at a third of the fresh weight.

Every entry here carries its ratio, so the quantity is worked out for your recipe rather than left as an exercise. Each one also says what changes in the result — a softer crumb, a denser loaf, an oven that needs turning down.

What this calculator shows

Several substitutes with the quantity already scaled to your recipe
Which of them lands closest to the original
What else needs adjusting alongside the swap

What to keep in mind

The ratios are tuned for baking. Some behave differently elsewhere — cream faked from milk and butter, for instance, will not whip.
Replacing sugar with honey or syrup means cutting the liquid and dropping the oven temperature: they carry water and brown much faster.

FAQs

What can I use instead of an egg in baking?

One egg is 7 g of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, 60 g of apple sauce, 50 g of mashed banana or 45 ml of aquafaba. Purées suit cakes; aquafaba suits meringue and sponge.

How much bicarbonate of soda replaces baking powder?

A quarter of the weight, but only with an acid alongside it — vinegar, lemon juice, buttermilk or soured cream. Without one it will not lift and it leaves a taste.

What replaces buttermilk?

A cup of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, left ten minutes to curdle. Yoghurt or soured cream loosened with water work too.

Can honey replace sugar one for one?

No. Use about a quarter less honey, cut the liquid in the batter, and drop the oven by 15 degrees — honey browns noticeably faster than sugar.

Worked example

A loaf cake without butter

Input: 100 g butter

Output: 80 ml vegetable oil

Note: Less oil goes in because butter is about 18% water while oil is fat throughout. The cake comes out slightly moister and without the dairy note.

Useful links

All tools in Cooking calculators: temperatures, ratios and substitutions How long to cook guides How long to cook chicken breast in the oven How long to cook salmon fillet in the oven How long to cook pork chops in the oven

Ingredient Substitution Calculator

Result

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