10 Shallot Substitutes That'll Make Your Life Simpler

Restaurant kitchens might stock shallots by the gallon jug, but that doesn't mean you do. And even if a steady supply is standard for you, sometimes stores run out. Luckily, there are a good amount of ingredients that can work in a pinch, guaranteeing either the store or your pantry has at least one of them already.

Raw Vs. Cooked Uses

Since shallots have the distinctive ability to be delicious in both cooked and raw forms, it'll be important to note the application of shallots to the dish before you choose a substitution. For example, yellow onions wouldn't be the correct choice when the dish calls for raw shallots to be sprinkled on something or chopped up into a mignonette for oysters.

Best Shallot Substitutes

Yellow Onions

Yellow onions may be the best swap for shallots. To make the switch, you want to measure with chopped product, not whole. Shallots are much smaller than onions and both vary enough in size that just saying "medium" won't tell you much.

When chopped, you can use an equal substitution of yellow onion for shallots.

Try this in a dish that uses shallots in the aromatic early steps of a recipe. Just make sure it can stand up to the stronger onion flavor – for example, this delicate pea soup couldn't, but this hearty braised beef could.

Using yellow onions in place of shallots would be especially great if the recipe is whole-roasting the shallots or pickling them. The yellow onion will act very similarly in either case, becoming melted and creamy when roasted and perfectly tangy in a brine.

Leeks

Leeks are decidedly more delicate in flavor than onions and become gloriously melted and creamy in texture when cooked, like shallots do. Also like shallots, leeks can hold the role of star or supporting cast in a dish, making them one of the best options for substitution. You can use leeks 1:1 for shallots. Try this in baked goods, soups, pastas, risottos, or vegetable side dishes.

Get the recipe: Beef Tenderloin With Roasted Shallot

Chives

Chives have the advantage of being similar in size to chopped shallots and the ability to be enjoyed raw. Letting chives step in would be appropriate if shallots are being used as a garnish or final mix-in for a dish, in a potato dish, an omelet, or even a compound butter. Try chives in a mignonette for fresh oysters or in other sauces or dressings. Using the flowers of chives would be a really cool replacement for shallots in a vinaigrette or salad, or again, as a garnish. Though chive flowers can be hard to source if you don't happen to be growing your own chives in your garden.

Garlic Scapes

Garlic scapes may sound fancy, but they're simply the stems of the garlic plant. These stems are much milder in flavor than garlic and are often compared to shallots in taste. Go ahead and use them anywhere you use shallots in an equal amount, especially in any vegetable side dish. The only caveat is they won't be commercially available in stores, farmers markets or CSA boxes will have to hook you up, sometime in the late spring or early summer.

Scallions (Green Onions/Spring Onions)

Scallions, green onions, and spring onions are all immature onions in various stages of growth. The younger they are, the milder they will be, so the younger you can find them the better they'll be at replacing shallots, especially in raw dishes or dip. Though they're labeled interchangeably in stores, you're looking for flat ones without a noticeable bulb at the end.

Ramps

This glorious allium is only available in the spring and honestly, even if you don't run out of shallots, just play around with swapping in ramps just because you can. They look like scallions, but have broader, flatter leaves and a purply section above the white bulb. Their flavor lands somewhere between garlic, scallions, and leeks. Save them for cooked dishes like a gourmet mushroom risotto or stuffed pork tenderloin, since they're pretty strong raw, or let them take the place of pickled shallots on top of rich dishes, tacos, or in sandwiches.

Chopped Garlic

As long as the shallots are being cooked, substituting chopped garlic will work fine, since they're closely related. You may not want to choose this if the recipe already calls for chopped garlic, but if you're one of those people who believes no amount of garlic is too much, then go nuts. 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (roughly one clove) will work for every ½ teaspoon shallot.

Granulated or Powdered Garlic

Given their closeness, what works for garlic often works for shallots and vice versa. When you're in a real bind, you can utilize garlic powder or granulated garlic to get the allium flavor into your dish. With their longer shelf life, it's likely you at least have one of these around even if you run out of shallots.

In a vinaigrette or other liquid, go with the larger granulated garlic. This would be a good swap for any dish that cooks quickly. For garlic powder, use 1/8 teaspoon for every teaspoon chopped shallot and for granulated garlic, use an equal amount to shallot.

Onion Powder or Flakes

These spices will have a stronger umami and more savory onion flavor, so remember that a little will go a long way. Like the difference between granulated garlic and powdered garlic, the difference here is the size of the pieces/flakes. Onion flakes will be a better swap in general, whether in a cooked dish or liquid, but for either one, use only 1 tablespoon for every ½ cup chopped fresh shallots.

French Fried Onions

You know those handy pre-made fried onions mom used to break out to top a green bean casserole at Thanksgiving? Yup – those. If shallots are being used as a garnish – and especially if they're fried shallots – this is a great choice. Plus, French fried onions have a shelf life of around 2 years, so likely whatever was left over from the last holiday is still good and just itching for a nice place to land.

Related:

• Scallions vs. Green Onions: What's the Difference?
• 5 Ways to Cook with Leeks
• Key Ingredients Professional Cooks Use to Make Food Taste Better