5 Ginger Substitutes (and How to Use Them)

From stir fry to green juice to gingerbread cookies, ginger is a common and versatile root that plays a part in many of our favorite flavor profiles. If you reach into the fridge for ginger and realize what you have looks more like a raisin than a spritely knob of ginger, or if you have a picky eater at the table, never fear. Even though ginger is unique, a few savvy tricks exist to duplicate the flavor without the real thing.

What Is Ginger?

Ginger is a knobby rhizome that grows underground and originated in the continent of Asia; you'll see it crop up in a plethora of different Asian cuisines. The ginger we're familiar with is the root-looking part of the plant that grows underground. Above the soil, ginger actually has a beautiful flower. Ginger is incredibly versatile and is found in sweet or savory recipes. You can use it fresh, dried and ground, or crystalized; there's nothing it can't do!

How to Use Ginger

To use fresh ginger, you need to peel it first, which can be difficult to do with a standard vegetable peeler; reach for a spoon instead and easily remove the thin skin that way. From there, you can mince it fine for a more homogeneous flavor or keep it in matchsticks for a spicy crunch. It can be left in big slices to infuse flavor and removed before serving like you would with a bay leaf. You can even grate it and juice it. Ginger not only tastes delicious, but many seek it out due to its health benefits. It's most often used to calm stomach woes and reduce inflammation; you'll often find it in medicinal teas.

What Does Ginger Taste Like?

If you've ever tasted fresh ginger, you know it packs a wallop. It's slightly sweet and fresh but has an intense burn similar to the sinus-clearing power of horseradish. Unlike chilis, which can have a sharp heat, ginger has a very warming, almost numbing sensation. If you get a bite loaded with ginger, you'll feel its heat travel through your whole head.

Best Ginger Substitutes

If you're out of fresh ginger, try one of these substitutes:

Ground ginger

Dried ground ginger is the next best thing if your recipe calls for fresh ginger. Ground ginger is stronger and more pungent than fresh ginger, so use about half a teaspoon of ground ginger for every tablespoon of fresh ginger your recipe calls for. This swap works best in marinades, sauces, soups, or anywhere the fresh ginger in the recipe is finely minced or grated and easily mixes in with the dish. Ground ginger isn't a good stand-in for fresh ginger in dishes where it is left in larger pieces, like in a stir fry, as it can't replicate the texture and crunch of fresh ginger. If a recipe calls for ground ginger and you only have fresh on hand, use four tablespoons of minced or grated ginger for every teaspoon of ground ginger.

Allspice

Dried, and sometimes fresh, ginger is a common ingredient in warming spiced recipes like pumpkin spice cupcakes and other spiced fall treats. Both allspice and ginger have a sharp, warming flavor, though ginger tastes much fresher than allspice. Swap in equal amounts of ground allspice for ground ginger in sweet recipes to pull off this swap.

Galangal

This can be hard to find, it's not usually carried at your local grocery store than ginger is, but it's a great substitute if you're dealing with an allergy or aversion. Galangal, sometimes called "Thai ginger," tastes very similar to ginger but a bit more mellow and slightly citrusy. If you have an Asian grocery or specialty food store in your area, you'll find fresh galangal there. Galangal and ginger are both common in many Southeast Asian dishes. If you've ever had Thai coconut soup, rendang, or panang curry, you've likely had galangal and ginger together. Use equal amounts of fresh galangal for fresh ginger in a recipe; this swap works best for savory recipes; sweet dishes don't love galangal.

Horseradish or wasabi

In savory recipes that rely on ginger's warming heat, like in carrot ginger soup, turn to horseradish or wasabi to mimic that flavor. Much of the commercial wasabi we see in stores is actually made with horseradish since real wasabi is much more expensive and difficult to source. Both horseradish and wasabi are hotter and have a larger burn than ginger, so use half as much horseradish as ginger and reduce the amount of other heat, like chili flake, in your recipe by half as well. Wasabi and ginger are often paired together in dishes like ginger soy baked salmon, so just upping the wasabi in recipes like these works excellent if you find yourself without ginger.

Ginger Substitution Tips

Ginger is such a unique and robust flavor; no other food can replicate it exactly. The best substitute for fresh ginger is dried since it's the same plant; it will most closely mimic the intended flavor in a dish. If you're only interested in that ear-popping heat, look to ginger's cousin, horseradish.

When substituting ginger, the most important thing is to consider what you want the flavor of the final dish to be. Wasabi isn't a good swap in pumpkin pie, and allspice would seriously alter Thai ginger chicken because those flavors don't mesh well with those dishes.