13 Best Beer Substitutes In Cooking You Should Try!

Are you a non-alcoholic person, but your recipe demands beer? Or are you preparing dessert but have run out of beer? Do these situations sound familiar? Then, you are at the right place. Here is a blog post that suggests the best beer substitutes. Thus, whenever you run out of beer next time, you don’t have to worry about it!

Some of the best beer substitutes are beef broth, chicken broth, red wine, white wine, apple cider, mushroom stock, hard cider, lemon juice, tomato juice, brewed coffee, water, juice, sake, and many more.

Beer has a bit of a sweet or nutty taste that adds richness to the desserts. It is suitable for adding earthy flavors to recipes, including soups, sauces, and stews.

If you are worrying about getting drunk, don’t worry; all the alcohol evaporates during the making process. Moreover, you can also use a beer dispenser if your recipe demands a chilled beer.

In this article, I am going to tell you about the best beer substitutes with their best substitution ratio. You will learn about some vegan options, easily accessible substitutes, and some ingredients that share a similar taste to the beer.

13 Best Beer Substitutes In Cooking

Let’s zone in and find the best beer substitutes you can try your hands on while cooking.

1. Broth (Beef or Chicken)

Well, you must have this one in your kitchen. You can use chicken or beef broth as a substitute for beer. Well, it might not add a malty flavor to the dish, but it surely gives a great umami flavor.

The addition of chicken broth elevates the savory flavors in the recipes. Chicken broth is an ideal combo of chicken meat, bones, herbs, and veggies.

All these ingredients enriched it with flavors, thus having a low viscosity. Despite its flavors, it is also loaded with nutrients and minerals.

You can use both beef and chicken broth as beer substitutes in any recipe. But recipes like rich stews work wonders with beef broth, and chicken broth suits delicate dishes.

Here is an extra tip: squeeze a lemon or add a bit of apple cider vinegar to the broth to get a beer-like acidity. You can use a standard 1:1 substitution ratio to replace beer with chicken broth.

In addition to this, if you are substituting sweet beer with chicken broth, you have to add some amount of sugar to mimic that sweetness.

2. Wine (Red Or White)

If looking for an alcoholic substitute for beer, white or red wine serves the purpose. Wine already has acidic nature and thus works best for beer substitutes.

It just adds similar flavors and tastes to the recipes. White wine is quite a suitable substitute for dishes rich in dairy or light protein-enriched food recipes.

White wine is suitable for cheese fondue, and it tastes extremely delicious. But when we talk about dark beer, red wine is quite an appropriate choice.

You can also get a gluten-free wine option but do check the labels. Use an equal amount of wine as a replacement for beer.

3. Mushroom stock

Looking for something vegan substitute for dark beer? Here it is! You can use the mushroom stock to substitute beer loaded with the richness of mushrooms, and it works wonders in stews and sauces.

Mushroom stock just gives a rich, umami flavor to the dishes. Moreover, you can also enhance its flavors by adding some spices and herbs. You can squeeze lemon juice to enhance acidity, just like chicken or beef broth. You can use it in a 1:1 ratio.

4. Apple cider

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If you prepare pork-based recipes or sausages, apple cider is a great beer substitute. If you do not like the sweetness of apple juice, then you can switch to apple cider.

It works as a delicious substitute for beer and is paired well with meat recipes. It adds a tangy flavor to the recipes and makes them more delicious. Apple cider also works wonders with baking, stews, and sauces. You can use it in a 1:1 ratio.

5. Hard cider

Another beverage substitute for beer is hard cider. It works well with recipes demanding light beer. Hard beer is a fermented drink that adds acidic notes to the recipes, similar to beer.

It adds a fruity sweetener to the dishes like gravies, stews, baking, and desserts. It works wonders with pork-based recipes; if it feels extra sweet, you can add the apple cider vinegar. When it comes to the substitution ratio, you can use a 1:1 ratio.

6. Lemon juice

You might be confused about this substitution for beer, but beer and lemon juice really compliments each other.

Just add a tablespoon of lemon juice to it and notice the enhancement of the flavors. The lemon juice just adds a nice savory flavor to the recipe and makes it more delicious.

When it comes to the replacement ratio, you can use two tablespoons of lemon juice to replace a cup of beer. It works well with bakery items. You instantly notice the tangy addition of flavors.

7. Brewed Coffee

For all coffee lovers, here is the good news! You can use brewed coffee as a beer substitute. It may sound odd, but replacing dark beer is a great option.

You can use coffee to replace stouts or porters. Its bitter flavor is surely gonna remind you of the flavors of beer. The addition of coffee can give a nice depth to the recipes.

This works wonders in marinades and has acidic nature. Well, I suggest you skip using coffee when it comes to seafood or chicken recipes. Replace beer with coffee in a 1:1 ratio.

8. Tomato juice

If you love tomato’s sweet and sour flavors, you can use its juice to replace beer. Tomato juice is enriched with rich sour flavors with undertones of sweetness.

Tomato juice gives a nice red color to the recipe. It might not be a great option for substituting beer, but it surely elevates the dish’s flavors.

This substitute is a much healthier option than beer and even is a great source of vitamins and minerals. You can use it in a 1:1 ratio, which works well with sauces and stews.

9. Non-alcoholic beer

Well, how can we miss this perfect replacement for beer in cooking? Non-Alcoholic beer is an obvious choice in this substitution list.

This is because the brewing process of a non-alcoholic one is quite identical to beer. So, these provide an exactly needed yeasty punch of flavors to the dishes.

A variety of flavors and brands are available in the market, so you can choose any one that best fits your taste.

If you are dealing with lighter dishes, you must choose lighter brews, such as shrimp scampi! Non-alcoholic beers paired well with tenderized meat, batter, and bread. You can substitute it in a 1:1 ratio.

10. Water/seltzer and yeast

You can use water as a beer substitute if you have nothing in hand. It might sound uninteresting, but this is the most accessible beer substitute you can get.

Water works well when you are on a diet as it has no calories and is non-alcoholic. You can also try your hands-on yeast if you want to add some flavors.

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This gives a yeasty lick to the dish and usually mimics the beer flavors. You can also use soy sauce or Maggi seasoning ingredients if you do not have yeast.

Here is a tip: if you replace beer with nutritional yeast or vegemite, add it in small amounts until you get your required taste. When you want to replace beer with water or yeast, then use a 1:1 ratio.

11. Juice (white grapes, apple, or pomegranate)

Another non-alcoholic beer substitution is fruit juice. You can use different juices as per your dish. When it comes to replacing light beer, you can replace it with white grape juice in chicken or pork-based recipes.

Use apple juices to replace medium beers. Pomegranate juice works well to replace dark beers. You might miss that fizz in these juices.

But you can fix it by adding soda to them. Adding juices surely adds sweetness to the dishes, so you might need to balance them with something savory.

You can also alter the sweetness by adding some water to it. Using a similar amount of juice is appropriate to replace beer.

12. Sake

If you are wondering about this beer substitute, then don’t worry! It is just a Japanese rice wine; the best part is its taste is less bitter than beer with the undertones of sweetness.

Sake paired well with the Asian-based recipes and elevated the flavors of the recipes. But you must avoid using it with heavy chili.

You can use it for preparing marinades and sauces. When it comes to substitution ratio, you can use sake in similar proportions as beer.

13. Soda (Cola, ginger ale, or root beer)

If you have a soda can in your fridge, you don’t have to spend your penny buying beer. You can easily replace beer with soda.

Soda is acidic and carbonated, making them a great beer replacement. You can use it in tenderizing meat, baking, batters, and stews. You can use a variety of sodas for various dishes.

You can also use cola as it is acidic in nature and is loaded with deep caramel flavors. Cola serves as a great substitute for dark beers. If cola feels extra sweet, you can also go for root beer to reduce the sweet flavor.

Also, you can use ginger ale to replace beer in the recipes. It adds a nice gingery kick to the recipes. You can use it in baking or batters.

Short Recap Of Best Substitute For Beer

I know that was a whole parade of beer substitutes. So, if you are in a hurry and don’t have much time to go through the whole article, here is a little recap section for you! In this section, I have sorted all the beer substitutes in terms of flavors, texture, and availability.

Best Beer Substitutes In Terms Of Flavors –

• Lemon Juice
• Non-Alcoholic Beer
• Soda
• Red Wine
• White Wine

Best Beer Substitutes In Terms Of Texture –

• Lemon Juice
• Non-Alcoholic Beer
• Soda
• Sake
• Water
• White Wine
• Apple Cider
• Hard Cider

Best Beer Substitutes In Terms Of Availability –

• Water
• White Wine
• Apple Cider
• Tomato Juice
• Fruit Juice
• Brewed Coffee
• Lemon Juice

How To Use Beer Substitutes In A Recipe

Conclusion

So now we are at the end of the article. You must have a good idea of what beer substitutes go well with which recipe. If you find beef or chicken broth less flavorful, you can simply add lemon juice to the recipe, and you are good to go!

Some recipes are easily available and come share a similar flavor profile with beer. So choose any beer substitute from the above list that fits best to your recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Categories: Recipe