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Alcohol Substitutes

Alcohol Substitute. How to find a substitute for alcohol, especially in cooking. It's often unnecessary to add the exact liquor called for in a recipe or to even add alcohol at all, if that is your choice. Following is an entire table of different alcohols and options for a proper alcohol substitute.

There are many different kinds of alcohol products and many are used in marinating, cooking and baking. Use this table to find a proper brandy substitute, beer substitute, bourbon substitute, rum substitute, among other listed alcohol substitutes for your recipes. We offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic substitutions for alcohol, whenever possible. If there is more than one choice for an item in the table, the non-alcoholic substitution choices will be listed first and denoted with an '*'. Whichever type of alcohol is called for in your recipe, you should find a suitable alcohol substitute in the table below.

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Alcohol Substitutes

	Amount	Substitute
Amaretto substitute	2 Tbs	1/4 ro 1/2 tsp Almond Extract*
Anisette substitute	2 Tbs	1/4 to 1/2 tsp Anise Extract*
		OR same amount Italian soda syrup*
		OR crushed Anise*
		OR crushed Fennel* seeds
Beer substitute	1 Cup	1 cup of White Grape Juice*
		OR 1 Cup of Apple Cider*
		OR 1 Cup of Apple Juice*
		OR 1 Cup of Water* (with less flavor)
Bourbon substitute	Any	1 part Vanilla extract +Plus 2 parts Water*
		OR Blended Whiskey
		OR Cognac (for cooking)
		OR Scotch (for sipping)
Brandy substitute	1/4 Cup	1 teaspoon Brandy Extract +plus enough Water to equal 1/4 cup*
Champagne substitute	Any	An equal amount of Sparkling Apple Cider, Sparkling White Grape Juice or Ginger Ale*
Cognac substitute	Any	An equal amount of Apricot, Peach or Pear Juice*
Cointreau substitute	Any	Mix 3 cups of natural orange juice with 9 Tbs of Sugar and about a Tbs of grated orange peel. Stir them over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and then boil for about 15-20 minutes until thickened. This orange syrup can be refrigerated for 2-3 days.*
		OR Orange Curacao
		OR Grand Marnier
		OR Triple Sec
Creme de Menthe	1 Tbs	Put 2 drops of Spearmint Oil or Extract in the tablespoon and then fill with water*
Grand Marnier substitute	2 Tbs	Mix 2 Tbs Orange juice concentrate (unsweetened) with 1/2 tsp Orange extract*
Kahlua substitute	Any	Use an equal amount of strong brewed Coffee (or 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in each tablespoon of water for amount desired) - add a dash of cocoa powder or a squeeze of chocolate syrup*
Kirsch	Any	An equal amount of syrup or juice from cherries, berries, currents or pomegranates*
Rum substitute	1/4 Cup	1 Tablespoon Rum Extract +plus enough water to equal 1/4 cup*
		OR an equal amount of Pineapple Juice*
		OR an equal amount of Apple Cider*
Southern Comfort	Any	Peach nectar with a splash of apple cider vinegar*
Triple Sec	Any	Equal amount of Orange Juice*
Vermouth - Dry	Any	Equal amount of white Grape juice or white wine Vinegar*
Vermouth - Sweet	Any	Equal amount of Apple juice, Grape juice or Balsamic vinegar*
		OR an equal amount of Water with fresh squeezed Lemon*
Vodka	Any	Equal amount of white Grape juice with a squeeze of Lime*
		OR an equal amount of Water*
Red Wine substitute	1/2 Cup	1/4 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar*
White Wine substitute	--	See our white wine substitute page
Marsala Wine substitute	--	See our Marsala wine substitute page
Rice Wine substitute	--	See our Rice wine substitute page

* = non-alcoholic alcohol substitute choices.
Note: For some recipes, for instance Beer Bread, you just can't substitute for the beer. Beer bread needs both the flavor of beer and the yeast in the beer to help the bread rise, so be careful in finding a substitute for beer in your recipes. Likewise, beer batter for frying also needs beer to make an airy yet crunchy crust.

Please note that an alcohol substitute may alter the final outcome of your recipe in either taste, texture, moisture or smell.

For more information on the shelf life of wine visit our wine page, for more information on the shelf life of beer visit our beer page and for more information on other alcohol products visit our liquor page.

A note regarding Substitutions...

Using these substitute suggestions may slightly alter the taste, texture or appearance of your resulting recipe. However, we recommend these substitutions as similar replacement ingredients when the original ingredients are unavailable.