Use the chart below as a starting point for brainstorming alternatives. The process might look a bit intimidating but is easy once you dive in and start asking questions such as: What do I really want this dish to taste like? What textures do I like? Why did the recipe writer put all of these things in here, anyway? Here are some general guidelines about making substitutions in recipes.

	Try to keep ingredients within the same ethnic category. Ethnic flavor combinations have been developed over centuries and blend together naturally. If you are making a Mexican dish and don't want to use meat, use traditional Mexican proteins and starches such as posole (hominy), pinto beans and black beans, not Asian mung beans or Indian lentils.
	Dissect the basic flavors of the dish. If you don't have a certain flavoring, ask yourself if it is basically sweet, salty, sour, bitter or spicy? Think of something in your cupboard from the same category.
	Substituting starches and proteins makes less of a difference in overall taste than spices and flavorings.
	Try the pantry approach to cooking. If you find yourself continually missing key ingredients, analyze your pantry and consider restocking it.
	Assemble herbs, spices and flavorings which are complementary in groupings in your pantry. That way, when you are experimenting with a dish, Italian, for example, your Italian seasonings such as basil, parsley, garlic and oregano will be grouped together, and you can substitute accordingly.
	Keep staples such as flours, oil, beans and grains on hand so you don't have to run out to the store at the last minute.

 
Meat-free

Ingredient	Substitute
Gelatin	Agar-agar (sea vegetable powder or flakes), arrowroot (starchy powder from tropical tuber), ground nuts and seeds, gums (guar gum is from an East Indian seed, xanthan gum is from corn), kudzu (starchy powder from tropical tuber)
Meat	Beans, cheese, seitan (wheat meat), tempeh (cultured soy food), textured vegetable protein (TVP), tofu
Meat, chicken or seafood stock	Apple, cranberry, orange or pomegranate juice, beer, Dr. Bronner's mineral tonic, garlic broth, miso (fermented soybean paste) diluted with water, sherry, vegetable bouillon cubes, vegetable stock, water in which beans, pasta or vegetables have been cooked, wine
Seasoned or smoked meats	For sausage, substitute crumbled tofu seasoned with fennel, parsley and garlic. For smoked meats, substitute canned chipotle chilies, oven-roasted vegetables, toasted nuts, smoked tofu or smoked cheeses

Vegan

Ingredient	Substitute
Buttermilk	Clabbered soymilk (to clabber, mix 2 tsps. lemon juice or white vinegar per cup of soymilk)
Cheese	Soy- and nut-based cheeses
Cottage cheese/ricotta	Crumbled tofu
Eggs	Crumbled or pureed tofu
Mayonnaise	Tofu mayonnaise
Milk	Nut milk, rice milk, soymilk

Low fat

Ingredient	Substitute
Creamed soups and sauces	Arrowroot (starchy powder from tropical tuber), kudzu. Use roasted, pureed vegetables as a base, then finish the soup or sauce with nonfat strained yogurt
Oil in baked goods	Applesauce, pureed bananas, pureed stewed prunes
Oil for sauteing	Apple juice, sherry, vegetable stock, wine
Salad dressing	Citrus juice or cider vinegar thickened with pureed roasted red peppers, carrots, onions or garlic
Sour cream	Strained nonfat yogurt
White sauce	Pureed white beans

Yeast-Free

Ingredient	Substitute
Bread	Baking soda breads (quick breads), flatbreads, muffins, sprouted breads
Salad dressing (wine-or vinegar-based)	Puree citrus juice and avocado Puree citrus juice and oil Mix peeled, cubed fruit such as mango, oranges and papaya into green salads
Vinegar	Cranberry or pomegranate juice, lemon or lime juice, mango powder (amchoor), tamarind paste or pulp, vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid)
White sugar	Bananas, barley malt, brown rice syrup, date sugar, dried fruits, fruit juices, maple syrup

Allergy

Ingredient	Substitute
Butter	Clarified butter (milk solids have been removed), olive oil, sesame oil
Chocolate	Carob
Cow's milk	Almond, goat, rice and soymilk
Cow's milk cheese	Cheeses made from soy, nuts, goat or sheep milk
Eggs	Egg Replacer; liquid lecithin with 2 tsp. guar gum; baking soda plus pureed fruit or vegetables; and flax seeds pureed with water
Peanuts	Almonds
Wheat flour (for baking)	Barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, rice, rye, spelt
Wheat pasta	Corn, kamut and spelt pasta, rice noodles

Ethnic

Origin	Ingredient	Substitute
Americas	Cactus pads (nopales)	Green beans, okra
	Chayote squash	Yellow or green pattypan squash or zucchini
	Masa flour	Mix corn flour with lime juice
	Poblano or Anaheim chilies	Minced jalapeno chili and green bell pepper
	Posole (dried hominy)	Canned white hominy
Asian	Bok choy (Chinese white cabbage)	Beet greens, kale and Swiss chard
	Chinese cooking wine	Dry sherry
	Chinese five-spice powder	Anise seed or star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, black peppercorns and whole cloves. (If you have a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder, use whole spices, otherwise use ground dry spices.)
	Galangal (Thai ginger)	Fresh ginger
	Lemon grass	Lemon zest
	Lotus root	Jicama or water chestnuts
	Mirin (Japanese rice wine)	Sweet white wine
	Nam pla (Thai fish sauce)	Soy sauce and lime juice
	Rice wine vinegar	Cider vinegar, white wine vinegar
	Sesame oil	1 Tbs. sesame seeds fried in 1/2 cup vegetable oil
	Thai basil	Italian basil
	Water chestnuts	Jicama
Indian	Atta (chapati flour)	1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole wheat flour
	Chana dal	Split yellow peas
	Curry powder	Mix together to taste ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel
	Garam masala (mixed spices)	1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. nutmeg. (If you have a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder, use whole spices, or mix together ground dry spices.)
	Jaggery (coarse palm sugar)	Date sugar or brown sugar
	Toor dal, urad dal, mung dal	Red lentils
Mediterranean	Broccoli rabe (rapini)	Broccoli plus arugula or dandelion greens
	Cannellini beans	Great Northern beans, navy beans, red kidney beans
	Fava beans, dried	Butter beans
	Fava beans, fresh	Fresh or frozen lima beans
	Fennel	Celery plus some fennel or anise seeds
	Parmesan cheese	Any hard, aged grating cheese such as Asiago or Romano or aged Monterey jack
	Pine nuts	Walnuts or a mixture of walnuts and almonds

Alcohol-Free

Ingredient	Substitute
Red wine	Pomegranate juice; 1/2 cup water plus 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
White wine	Apple, carrot or bell pepper juice, vegetable stock
Wine or beer	Non-alcoholic wine or beer

This is based on an article by Gigia Kolouch. She specializes in creating and cooking vegetarian fare, especially low-cholesterol and allergy-free foods. She is based in Denver, Colorado.