Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Has this scenario ever happened to you? You wrote out your menu and grocery list, went shopping, and your week is on track. Then your plans change, and you need to make a dish for work or to help a family in need.

You piece together a plan and start to prepare the dish only to discover that you are missing one ingredient. In using time wisely, you don’t want to go to the store or find a neighbor that has a spare cup of sugar. What’s a girl to do?

For those of you cooks, who can change the recipe to fit what you have on-hand and the dish comes out perfectly, you might not need this list. But the bakers, who tend to ruin the entire dish when making a substitute, will appreciate this tip.

I found the following fantastic list of ingredient substitutions originally presented by Mary Jo in Denver, Colorado through the Krazy Coupon Lady network:

• Eggs (baking) – applesauce, mashed banana, yogurt.
• Eggs (cooking) – mayonnaise.
• Ketchup – 1 cup = 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 tsp. vinegar and 1 Tbsp. sugar
• Prepared Mustard – 1 Tablespoon = 1 Tbsp. dried mustard, 1 tsp. water, 1 tsp. vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar.
• Hot Sauce – Three-quarters tsp. cayenne pepper and 1 tsp. vinegar.
• Red Wine – Beef broth, apple cider, vinegar, or just plain water.
• Milk – Thinned out yogurt, water, cream, half-and-half.
• Buttermilk – One cup of milk plus 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for five minutes after mixing.
• Sour Cream – Plain yogurt, drain water off in a sieve.
• Soy Sauce – Kosher salt and granulated sugar dissolved in hot water.
• Vinegar – Lemon and lime juice or white wine.
• Bread Crumbs – Cracker crumbs, oatmeal, or matzo meal.
• Cottage Cheese – Farmer’s cheese or ricotta cheese.
• White Sugar – Brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, honey or corn syrup.
• Jam – Canned fruit drained and mashed.
• Baking Soda – Baking powder but triple the amount.
• Molasses – Three-quarters cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp. cream of tartar (per cup of molasses).
• Mozzarella – For pizza or lasagna, jack cheese and Parmesan.
• Pepperoni – Salami.
• Allspice – Half tsp. cinnamon, quarter tsp. ginger, and quarter tsp. cloves (per teaspoon of allspice).
• Beef or Chicken Broth – Bouillon mixed with 1 cup of boiling water or vegetable broth.
• Butter – Margarine, shortening or lard.
• Unsweetened Chocolate – 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa plus 1 Tbsp. shortening or vegetable oil.

NOTE: When I first read Mary Jo’s post, dated June 5, 2012, I starred the post in my Google Reader. Later, I clicked the link, and the post was gone. Since it was a great article to which I cannot link, I copied and saved the article. Now you can read Mary Jo’s article Put Me In, Coach: Hit a Savings Home Run With Recipe Substitutions  from my unedited copy.

As you continue using time wisely and prepare to feed your family, reach for this list of substitutes when your plans change. I know this list will save the day for me because one of my favorite marinade recipes calls for soy sauce which I ran out of twice last summer. (I did stockpile, but we still ran out more than once. :-)) Happy saving!

Question: What substitutions would you add to this list?