Ingredient Substitution List for Baking

Are you ever looking for alternatives to certain ingredients in your recipes? Here are some great ingredient substitutes for you!

Here at MOMables, we’re asked almost daily for ingredient substitution suggestions on recipes. We do our best to respond with the best advice and as quickly as possible.

Jump to:

• Egg Substitutes
• Dairy Substitutes
• Flour Substitutes
• Peanut Butter Substitutes

Egg Substitutes

• When a recipe calls for 3 or more eggs for one batch, substitutions typically do not work.
• Commercial egg replacement (like Ener-G brand Egg Replacer) works for binding or leavening purposes and not always as a 1:1 ratio. I’d be careful substituting recipes that call for 2 or more eggs.

(1 Egg) can be substituted with:

• ½ mashed banana
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (or other pureed fruit such as pears or prunes)
• ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• ¼ cup pureed tofu + 1 tablespoon flour
• ¼ cup oil
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons warm water. (Mix and let stand for 5 minutes until gel-like.)
• commercial egg replacer
• 2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon oil + 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon apple cider or white distilled vinegar + 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon oil + 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon apple cider or white distilled vinegar + 1 teaspoon baking soda

More egg replacements and information can be found in my recipe for eggless pancakes!

Dairy Substitutes

When replacing milk with nondairy milk, it is substituted cup for cup. Some great options are:

• Rice milk
• Coconut milk
• Almond milk
• Soy milk
• Hemp milk

For 1 cup of:

• Buttermilk: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar + 1 cup nondairy milk. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Yogurt, cream, or sour cream: nondairy yogurt, such as coconut milk yogurt to retain texture
• Butter: coconut oil, shortening, or nondairy buttery spread (cup for cup)
• Melted butter: applesauce (cup for cup, usually up to ¾ cup)

Flour Substitutes

When cooking gluten-free, it is not always a cup-for-cup replacement. Amounts may vary, and other chemical agents may be needed. Gluten-free flours can require more moisture and often thickeners/binders such as xanthan gum or guar-gum added.

I explain all of the best all-purpose flour replacements and give details on selecting the best flour replacement for your recipe here.

But to get you started, here are the basics when you need to substitute flours.

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour:  ½ cup all purpose + ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose: ½ cup whole-wheat + ½ cup all-purpose (white). If you make this 100% whole-wheat, baked goods will be “dense.”
• 1 cup all-purpose (white) flour: 1 cup soft white wheat also called whole-wheat baking flour
• Almond flour: substitute 1:1 with all-purpose (white) flour. Note: Almond flour typically requires more egg or binding agent, so the recipe might need to be altered. More about almond flour substitutes here.
• Coconut flour: To reduce the coconut flour in a recipe, substitute  2 tablespoons coconut flour + general all-purpose flour for the rest. Recipes that call for coconut flour have often been developed specifically for the ingredient; I recommend seeking an alternative recipe altogether.
• Buckwheat flour: Just like substituting for whole-wheat above. ½ cup buckwheat + ½ cup all-purpose to 1 cup all-purpose.

Peanut Butter Substitutes

When replacing peanut butter in recipes, it is typically a one for one replacement. See how each of the top 5 peanut butter alternatives compare and learn about which substitute to use in which recipe here.

• Sunflower butter
• Soy butter
• Almond butter
• Cashew butter