16 Substitutes for Vanilla Extract & 4 Tips
Diana Barkley
(Senior Editor)
Nowadays, vanilla extract is the most commonly used form of vanilla, so what happens if you run out or simply want to explore other options? Read on to find out. We’ll share 16 substitutes for vanilla extract with you.
With a wide flavor profile consisting of sweet, fruity, woody, beany, smokey, buttery, floral, and creamy notes, it’s no wonder why vanilla is one of the world’s most popular cooking and baking ingredients. The versatility of this spice explains its features in both sugary and savory recipes.
From vanilla ice cream and cookies to vanilla vinaigrette and beurre blanc, vanilla extract stars in hundreds of desserts and hearty dishes.
While vanilla extract is flavorful, easy to work with, and readily available, its sweeping popularity made the existence of comparable replacements a must.
Our guide to vanilla extract substitutes will introduce you to 16 practical alternatives to the conventional vanilla-loaded liquid to help you achieve a similar effect without compromising too much on flavor.
Facts about Vanilla Extract
Facts about Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract is a slightly viscous, brown liquid made from vanilla pods through maceration and percolation in a mixture of water and ethyl alcohol (also known as ethanol).
The main constituent of vanilla extract is a chemical compound called vanillin, but it’s not the sole culprit behind the rich complex taste of the solution. That rather comes from combining vanillin with several hundred other flavorings.
The chopped vanilla pods are kept with water and ethanol in steel containers for around 48 hours (this was once a time-consuming step that often lasted up to 12 hours).
The solution is then filtered and concentrated to create the extract. Thanks to this production process, natural vanilla extract is always tinted and never clear or colorless.
The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has set specific values for a vanilla extract to be considered a genuine extract. For every liter, a vanilla extract should contain at least 35% alcohol and 100 grams of vanilla beans.
That said, there are no regulations to control the type of quality of the vanilla beans used or the types and rations of their additives such as corn syrup, sugar, or stabilizers.
Since there are over 300 varieties of vanilla beans, a lot of folks assume there’s an equal number of vanilla extract types available.
But that’s not even close; you can count the species used commercially today on one hand. The most widely spread one is Bourbon/Madagascar vanilla beans, which use the same species as Mexican vanilla extract.
What Vanilla Extract Is Good For
What Vanilla Extract Is Good For
Vanilla extract can play a part in a long list of recipes. At the top, there’s the classic role of vanilla extract as a baking staple featured in traditional cakes, cupcakes, cookies, sweet bread, brownies, pies, and cheesecakes.
Vanilla extract is also an almost permanent ingredient in desserts like ice cream, pudding, custard, meringue, frosting, icing, glaze, French toast, Greek yogurt, pancakes, and more.
You can also find vanilla extract as an ingredient in cranberry sauce, candied fruits, caramel candy, and whipped cream.
Beyond sweets and baked goods, vanilla extract is also great for flavoring both hot and cold beverages. Examples include iced coffee, punch, hot cocoa, cider, tea, milkshakes, smoothies, and various cocktails.
Additionally, vanilla extract has many creative uses in savory dishes where the sweetness, spiciness, and earthiness add new depths of flavor.
These recipes include vanilla aioli sauce, vanilla vinaigrette, vanilla goat cheese, brown butter sauce, meat marinades, and tomato sauces. You can also use vanilla extract in risotto instead of wine.
Differences between Vanilla Beans, Vanilla Extract, and Vanilla Essence
Differences between Vanilla Beans, Vanilla Extract, and Vanilla Essence
Despite popular belief, vanilla extract and vanilla essence aren’t the same thing. They’re both also different from vanilla beans. Let’s break it down.
First things first, vanilla beans are the crude form of vanilla extract. In other words, vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans (also referred to as pods).
Vanilla beans also vary in their physical form; they’re solid fruits whereas vanilla extract is liquid.
That’s right, vanilla beans aren’t actually beans. They’re dry fruits that contain seeds inside, with a seam along the pod’s wall that you can split open. If you can get your hands on some vanilla beans, you can make vanilla extract at home using alcohol such as vodka, bourbon, rum, or even brandy.
Vanilla extract and vanilla essence are both liquids, but they differ in taste, color, and texture. This is mainly due to the different manufacturing processes of each product.
While vanilla extract is a natural product made by soaking vanilla pods in water and ethanol for a certain period, vanilla essence is artificial.
The vanillin in vanilla essence is man-made in labs. The synthetic vanillin is combined with water, propylene glycol, ethanol, emulsifiers, chemically produced flavor agents, sweeteners, and preservatives.
Since it’s not natural, vanilla essence is colorless. Some manufacturers add artificial colors to give their product a brown shade similar to the real thing.
The concentration of vanillin in vanilla essence is lower than in vanilla extract. This is why pure vanilla extract has a more complex, deeper flavor profile than vanilla essence. It depends on the brand, but vanilla extract is typically double the strength of vanilla essence.
Generally, the difference in taste is more obvious in recipes that are uncooked, call for low heat to prepare, or don’t contain other prominent ingredients (like chocolate or carrot cake). Examples include ice cream, pudding, frosting, icings, pastry cream, custards, and vanilla cake.
Reasons for Substituting Vanilla Extract
Reasons for Substituting Vanilla Extract
Here are the most common reasons why some people look for vanilla extract alternatives. If you relate to one (or more) of the following, you’re in the right place.
You Don’t Have Enough or Can’t Find It
Running out of vanilla extract is a universal scenario. You either discover the absence of enough vanilla extract for your recipe as you gather the ingredients, or you find out you’re short on the flavorful liquid in the middle of baking.
Another possibility is you making a trip to your local grocery store only to realize it doesn’t carry vanilla extract.
You Want to Cook with Alcohol-free Ingredients
You Want to Cook with Alcohol-free Ingredients
We explained above that the production of vanilla extract requires it to contain a minimum alcohol concentration of 35 percent.
The presence of alcohol in this food ingredient may not sit well with some people (due to dietary or religious reasons), causing them to look at other vanilla flavoring options that are free of alcohol.
You Want to Cook with Colorless Vanilla
You Want to Cook with Colorless Vanilla
Vanilla extract has a signature deep brown color that comes naturally from the vanilla pods during production.
When incorporated into light-colored mixtures (such as batters, frostings, or sauces), vanilla extract may give them a brownish tint.
As such, some bakers and cooks prefer a colorless vanilla substitute.
You Want to Save Some Money
Pure, natural vanilla extract used by professional chefs and serious home bakers can be quite expensive. The prices of such high-grade vanilla extract increase even more in cases of low crop output (such as the 2016-2018 Madagascar shortage and the consequent 6x vanilla price surge).
As a result, some people look for a more affordable alternative.
You Have Concerns About the Industry’s Sustainability
You Have Concerns About the Industry’s Sustainability
Some people may be uncomfortable with the controversy surrounding the vanilla industry, particularly the planting/cultivation stage of production.
Environmental concerns include soil erosion, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity (triggered by the expansion of vanilla fields to meet global demand).
Ethical concerns include unfair/insecure income for farmers, violence resulting from "vanilla wars", and child labor.
Can You Substitute Vanilla Beans for Vanilla Extract?
Can You Substitute Vanilla Beans for Vanilla Extract?
Yes, you can use whole vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract. In fact, this substitution will likely generate the closest taste to vanilla extract. After all, vanilla extract is the product of soaking vanilla beans in water and alcohol.
You have two options when carrying out this switch. For every teaspoon of vanilla extract, you can chop a 2-inch piece off of a vanilla pod and use it whole or ground in your recipe.
The other way is to slice open the vanilla bean and scrape its insides; the contents of 1 vanilla pod are equivalent to one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Best Substitutes for Vanilla Extract in Cakes and Cookies
Best Substitutes for Vanilla Extract in Cakes and Cookies
When it comes to baking –whether it’s cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, pies, or anything in between– it should be easy enough for you to find a vanilla extract substitute.
The following are the most effective ones, and they can also work when cooking non-baked desserts as well as savory dishes that call for vanilla extract.
Vanilla Powder
Vanilla Powder
One of the best replacements of vanilla extract is vanilla powder. It’s made by grinding dried vanilla pods or beans into fine particles.
The flavor strength of vanilla powder is equal to or greater than vanilla extract, so the substitution ratio is either 1:1 or 2:1 depending on the brand you use.
Vanilla powder is light-colored, so unlike vanilla extract, adding it to a recipe won’t produce a brown tint.
It’s also free of alcohol and more tolerant to the high temperatures of baking; it won’t evaporate as vanilla extract might, so the yield turns out better flavored.
You can also mix vanilla powder into beverages or sprinkle it on breakfast bowls.
Vanilla Bean Paste
vanilla-extract-substitutes-paste
A favorite among professional and home chefs looking for a vanilla extract alternative is vanilla bean paste (also known as vanilla paste). It consists of vanilla beans or vanilla powder, vanilla extract, and sugar blended together.
The final product has a syrup-like consistency and contains black flecks. The flavor strength of vanilla paste is at the same level as vanilla extract, so we generally recommend a 1:1 substitution ratio.
Vanilla Syrup
Vanilla Syrup
Vanilla pods are infused in a water and sugar solution to produce vanilla syrup, an alcohol-free sweet concoction with a warm and rich taste.
While this vanilla extract alternative is commonly used as a flavoring/sweetener in coffee drinks, tea, smoothies, and shakes, it also works for baking and making frosting, glaze, or icing.
We suggest using 2 teaspoons of vanilla syrup to replace 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract since the former’s vanilla flavor is less intense. Due to its sugar content, however, you may want to tweak the amount of other sweeteners in your recipe.
Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla Sugar
When sugar is infused with vanilla pods, it turns into vanilla sugar; a sweetener that carries the rich flavor of vanilla extract. This alcohol-free ingredient is widely used in Europe and is becoming more popular in the US.
That said, the flavor of vanilla sugar is weaker than vanilla extract, so you’ll need to replace all the regular sugar in your recipe with vanilla sugar to get that vanilla kick. You can also sprinkle some on top of granola, cookies, cakes, and pies.
Vanilla Oil
Vanilla Oil
You may have heard of vanilla essential oil in the context of aromatherapy, but did you know that food-grade vanilla oil also exists out there?
It’s made by extracting the essential oil from vanilla beans through a distillation process. The final product is light in color and doesn’t contain alcohol.
Vanilla oil is a lot more concentrated than vanilla extract, so start with ¼ of a teaspoon of oil for every teaspoon of extract and work your way up from there if needed.
Vanilla oil is especially effective in heavier baked goods where you would use more eggs; many bakers use it to help mask any lingering egg flavor.
Vanilla Concentrate
Vanilla Concentrate
A much more concentrated form of vanilla extract, vanilla concentrate is significantly stronger when it comes to the vanilla flavor although the flavor profile of the extract is more complex.
As such, you should replace every teaspoon of vanilla extract with ¼ or ½ a teaspoon of vanilla concentrate to avoid a too-intense taste.
Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Essence
A less expensive alternative to pure vanilla extract, vanilla essence will get the job done despite containing synthetic vanillin.
It’s also weaker than the natural extract, so you’ll need to add more of it to your recipes to achieve a similar effect. We recommend going for a 2:1 substitution ratio.
Many home bakers prefer using vanilla essence not only because it’s more affordable, but also because it’s colorless so it won’t disrupt light-colored batters. The difference in the flavor profile is almost unnoticeable in baked goods.
Imitation Vanilla/Vanilla Flavor
Imitation Vanilla/Vanilla Flavor
Imitation vanilla or vanilla flavor is an artificial substitute for vanilla extract, so it’s similar to vanilla essence in its manufacturing process.
However, it’s made to have a stronger vanilla taste and enriched with other ingredients such as pine bark and clove oil to add depth to its flavor profile and mimic vanilla extract more closely.
When using imitation vanilla instead of vanilla extract, a 1:1 substitution ratio will work for most recipes. You may need to add double the amount in no-bake recipes.
Flavored Spirits
Flavored Spirits
If you don’t mind cooking with alcohol and you’ve run out of vanilla extract, liquor can take its place.
Specifically sweeter spirits such as rum, brandy, bourbon, coffee liqueur, or vanilla liqueur can offer the caramel-like warm flavor of vanilla extract.
The fact that it’s alcohol also means that the change in texture would be minimal thanks to the similar composition.
Generally, you should mix 2 teaspoons of the flavored spirit into the batter for every teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you’re whipping up a no-bake recipe, the alcohol won’t cook off since there’s no heat.
Vanilla Milk
Last but not least in our vanilla-based alternatives is vanilla-flavored milk. This would typically be a plant-derived product such as oat, soy, or almond milk. However, the flavor of the milk will be milder than vanilla extract, so using double the original amount should be a good starting point.
Healthy Vanilla Extract Substitutes
Healthy Vanilla Extract Substitutes
If you’re not particularly concerned with the taste of vanilla in your recipe, you can incorporate one of the following alternatives instead. These healthy options can work a similar depth into your dish or introduce new flavors to enjoy.
Almond Extract ( and Other Flavored Extracts)
When vanilla extract isn’t an option, you can still elevate the flavor profile of your recipe with another flavored extract. One of the most popular alternatives is almond extract, offering a nutty taste that goes beautifully with baked goods.
Almond extract tends to be more intense, so ½ a teaspoon is usually equivalent to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
If you feel like changing things up a bit more, use peppermint or orange extract with the same ratio. Coffee extract is also a delicious option, especially in recipes featuring chocolate.
Honey
Honey
A healthy way to add flavor to your recipe in place of vanilla extract is honey with a 1:1 ratio.
The final flavor will depend on the type of honey you use, but it’s generally warm and a bit more subtle than vanilla. Keep in mind that honey is also a sweetener, so adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe accordingly.
Maple Syrup
Maple Syrup
Similar to honey, you can substitute vanilla extract with pure maple syrup starting at a 1:1 ratio. It’s rich with hints of toffee and caramel that somewhat resembles vanilla. Maple syrup is also sweeter and can introduce extra moisture to baked recipes.
Baking Spices
Baking Spices
These include cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. You can use a blend of spices or just one to give your recipe a distinct flavor instead of vanilla.
We recommend starting with ½ a teaspoon of spice for every teaspoon of vanilla extract to get a feel of its strength first.
Fruit Zest
Another healthy flavoring agent that can elevate your recipes in place of vanilla is some fruit zest. Grate the skin of oranges, limes, lemons, or any citrus fruit you prefer, and add 1 or 2 teaspoons for every teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Espresso Powder or Instant Coffee
Espresso Powder or Instant Coffee
The rich, earthy taste of coffee powder can be the perfect replacement for the vanilla flavor in your sweet treats, especially in recipes that involve chocolate.
Start with ½ or 1 teaspoon of espresso or coffee powder since it can be quite strong.
Tips for Substituting Vanilla Extract
Tips for Substituting Vanilla Extract
Now that you’re aware of all the different ingredients you can use instead of vanilla extract, here are a few pointers to help you get the most out of the substitution.
Consider the Different Strengths of Vanilla-Based Alternatives
Specifically when using a vanilla-based substitute in place of vanilla extract, don’t just add an equal amount and call it a day.
This may work for vanilla bean paste or vanilla powder, but not with weaker options such as vanilla milk or imitation vanilla. You need to first check the strength of the substitute compared to vanilla extract and then calculate how much to add accordingly.
Choose the Alternative to Suit the Recipe
Choose the Alternative to Suit the Recipe
The sort of recipe you’re working on may lead you to use a certain vanilla extract substitute instead of another. For example, recipes that rely on vanilla as the primary flavoring agent call for a vanilla-based alternative.
On the other hand, if it’s just to add depth to the recipe’s flavor profile, you get more freedom in using vanilla alternatives with a different taste like nut extracts or honey.
Factor for the Possible Change in Taste or Texture
Some vanilla extract replacements can alter the taste or consistency of the recipe, so you should consider these aspects beforehand.
For example, baking spices or nut/fruit extracts may change the recipe’s flavor, whereas the acidity of fruit zest or the extra liquid from vanilla milk may change the texture.
Compare the Nutritional Profiles of the Substitutes
Compare the Nutritional Profiles of the Substitutes
Finally, keep track of variations in the nutritional value of your vanilla extract substitute as some of these ingredients can increase the caloric content of a recipe without you realizing it.
This is mainly a possibility if you’re adding more than a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup or honey in place of vanilla extract.
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