4 Swaps for Celery That'll Fix Any Dinner Dilemma

Celery is a vegetable that we don't often give much thought to. It's not often the star of the show, but like onions and carrots, celery is one of the building blocks of flavor in many recipes and techniques. It's integral to French mirepoix and Creole's holy trinity, and you'll find it called for in almost every soup or stock recipe. Celery is a behind-the-scenes helper that builds flavor in many of our favorite dishes, even when we don't know it's there.

Why Substitute Celery?

Since celery isn't as flashy as some of its peers, it's easy to forget to grab it at the grocery store– it's always just kind of there in the crisper drawer, so it might slip your mind when making the weekly grocery list. Other times, the produce department at your local store may be out of celery, and who wants to make a second trip?

Maybe a spur-of-the-moment craving hits, and you have most of the ingredients for your favorite soup on hand, plus a few extras, but no celery. Regardless of the reason, if you've found yourself without, there are a few easy replacements that can keep dinner on track.

Best Celery Substitutes

Fennel

In recipes that call for raw celery or in celery salads, the best substitute is raw fennel bulb. Fennel and celery have a very similar texture and crunch. When shaved thinly, they hold up nearly identically in raw applications. Their flavor is somewhat similar, though fennel has a light licorice flavor and doesn't have as much water as celery.

For salads and other raw celery dishes, use the same amount of raw fennel as celery. Fennel can also stand in for celery in cooked recipes; especially well in soups and stews. Just like raw recipes, swap in the same amount of fennel bulb as celery.

Leeks

When cooked, celery and leeks share a similar fibrous and slightly soft texture. Leeks impart a light onion flavor that celery doesn't have and tend to be a bit stringy. This swap works best in soups or recipes like stuffing, where you would typically find an oniony flavor along with the celery.

Leeks are a great alternative if you like the texture celery brings but aren't a fan of the flavor. For this swap, use one large leek per two stalks of celery in a recipe. Reduce the onion by half to account for the added flavor from the leeks.

Get the recipe: Bread and Celery Stuffing

Onion and Celery seed

Cooked diced onion and cooked diced celery are very similar in texture. So if you're looking to replicate that consistency with a slight celery flavor, pair onion with celery seed. This combination works exceptionally well in blended soups like butternut squash or loaded potato soup where celery and onion are already working together, and they're supporting characters to other, bolder flavors. Substitute half an onion and a teaspoon of whole celery seed (or half a teaspoon ground) for every two stalks of celery in a recipe.

Celeriac

Celery root, a.k.a celeriac, is a root vegetable that tastes just like celery. If you've never had celeriac, it has the same flavor as celery but the texture of a potato. It doesn't sound appealing, but it's actually delicious; its texture makes it perfect for roasting along with other root veggies in place of celery. It also works as a great substitute in recipes that call for celery and potato, like celery and potato soup, or anywhere you want the flavor of celery.

This is also a great hack if you want to reduce the milk or cream in a recipe, cooked celeriac blends to an ultra-creamy texture and can easily replace the dairy in creamy soups or help veganize recipes like scalloped potatoes while adding a hint of celery flavor. Whether blending or roasting, replace three stalks of celery with half a large head of celeriac.

The most important thing to know when substituting celery is that there's no perfect swap. The end result will taste slightly different and that's okay. You might even find you like the new version better. Experimenting with new flavors in a tried and true recipe can make them even tastier, especially when using new ingredients.

Related:

• How To Regrow Celery From Scraps
• 30 Classic Recipes With Celery and Carrots
• What Is Celeriac?