If your recipe calls for an alcoholic beverage, what can you use instead?
After posting two recipes for Green Peppercorn sauce, I received an email from a gentleman telling me he does not drink any alcohol and would prefer not to use it in any recipe and what he could substitute for red wine.
That's a great question and one I'm asked a lot. The answer really depends on what you are cooking and what type of alcohol the recipe calls for. Although I think most of the alcohol is cooked off in the process, I can respect someone's wishes not to handle it at all.
Why cook with an alcoholic beverage in the first place?
The main reason is to add flavor to what you are cooking. Although you may use red wine to deglaze a sauté pan to make a pan sauce, the wine adds additional flavor to the sauce. Adding a beer bottle to a slow-cooked braise leaves some alcohol but contributes a lot to the flavor.
Think of those holiday rum cakes you may have enjoyed. I remember my Aunt Tess's rum cakes that would make us kids a little sleepy after a meal at her house. Those cakes would burn in a fireplace like logs.
Another reason you cook with alcohol is for the chemical reaction that occurs. For example, beer has yeast in it that helps leaven or get a rise out of bread. Acidic wine is used in some marinades to help break down meat fibers. And what about using wine in fondue to lower the boiling point of cheese to prevent curdling?
So what can home cooks use instead of alcoholic beverages?
Some of the more common substitutes are juices (especially grape, orange, apple, and cranberry), beef, chicken, and vegetable stock, vinegar, and fruit syrups.
Most Commonly Used Substitutes
| Beer or Ale | non-alcoholic beer, chicken stock, beef stock or mushroom stock |
| Port | grape juice with a little lime zest, cranberry juice with a little lemon juice added, or orange juice |
| Red Wine | Concord grape juice, red wine vinegar, or non-alcoholic red wine |
| White Wine | white grape juice with a little white wine vinegar added or non-alcoholic white wine |
| Sweet White Wine | white grape juice with a pinch of powdered sugar added. |
| Champagne | ginger ale, sparkling cranberry or white grape juice, or sparkling apple cider |
| Coffee Liqueur | espresso, non-alcoholic coffee extract, or coffee syrup |
Other Commonly Used Substitutes
| Amaretto | almond extract |
| Anisette | anise Italian soda syrup or fennel |
| Bourbon | vanilla extract, orange or pineapple juice or peach syrup |
| Brandy | brandy extract |
| Chambord | raspberry juice, syrup or extract |
| Cherry Liqueur | syrup form a can or jar of cherries |
| Cherry Brandy | same as Cherry Liqueur |
| Cognac | juice from peaches, apricots, or pears |
| Cointreau | orange juice concentrate |
| Creme de Cacao | non-alcoholic vanilla extract, and powdered sugar |
| Creme de menthe | spearmint extract diluted in a little water |
| Kahlua | coffee liqueur |
| Rum | white grape juice, apple juice or apple cider flavored with almond extract |
| Sherry | vanilla extract, orange or pineapple juice, or peach syrup |
| Vodka | white grape juice or apple cider mixed with lime juice |
Sahar
I want to make a double chocolate mousse cake and the recipe says to use 1/4 cup coffee flavoured liqueur. What can I use instead of the liqueur and coffee.
Thank you
Jenni
@Sahar You can sub 1/4 cup of almost any liquid. If you don't want the alcohol and you don't like coffee, you may want to look for a different recipe, but to sub, I'd just go with water or milk. You could also use 1 tablespoon of vanilla (if it's not already called for) and 3 tablespoons of almost any other liquid that would taste good with chocolate. An out-of-the-box idea would even be orange juice since orange and chocolate go so well together.
Margie
How can I substitute Irish cream in a recipe.
The Reluctant Gourmet
Margie, are you looking for a non alcoholic version?
Nate
I use Irish Cream coffee syrup as a substitute. I prefer Torani if I want a stronger flavor or DiVinci if I’m going for a more subtle flavor.
Sarah
Hi, i am making a grasshopper pie and would require an alternative for 4 tbsp of white creme de cacao, how much vanilla extract should i combine with the powdered sugar?
Julia
I came here looking for the same answer! My grasshopper pie recipe calls for 3 tablespoons creme de menthe and 3 table spoons white creme de cacao. Since this year a baby will be eating the pie I want to remove the alcohol. A sub for the creme de menthe was easy to find but not the creme de cacao.
Did you ever find an acceptable substitute?
G. Stephen Jones
Here is what I found on the Internet: Powdered white chocolate mixed with water, non-alcoholic vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
Nate
For the Coffee liqueur, there are coffee syrups that are coffee flavored. We use one that is Kahlua flavored- I think it’s made by DiVinci or Torani and it is sugar free...which for some reason also prevents it from being too sweet. I would add for those who don’t drink coffee, this is also coffee free. (Don’t ask me what it’s made of, I don’t want to know.) Another option is to make Postum (I think it is still available, as it came into production again.) I would add to make it double strength if you go that route.
For the Irish Cream I would use the syrup as well. It will add a bit of sweetness, so you may wish to adjust sugar levels.
The Last thing, anyone use rum extract/flavoring to successfully make chocolate rum truffles (not Rum Balls) or Torrone (Italian Nougat?) I love Sees candies rum nougat and I’m trying to find a way to replicate...but the flavoring and extracts just don’t taste good. Thanks!
Ziyanda Ngxabazi
I have an ice cream Christmas cake recipe that has 2T brandy.What can I substitute the brandy with?
G. Stephen Jones
Hi Ziyanda, as mentioned in the post, you may want to look for a brandy extract.
Kyle
Apologies if I missed this in the article. Are these substited for each alcohol 1 to 1?
Cindy Piccirillo
how much alcohol free vanilla extract would I substitute for 1/4 cup of bourbon in a pecan pie chocolate truffle recipe?