Home Cooks, Take Note: These Are the Best White Wine Substitutes (2024)

FAQs

Home Cooks, Take Note: These Are the Best White Wine Substitutes? ›

Broth. Chicken or vegetable broth can be a flavorful replacement for white wine. You can even swap it in equal amounts (go for low-sodium broth so your dish doesn't end up too salty). Just keep in mind that broth won't add any acidity, so you might want to add a touch of white vinegar to achieve a similar tang.

Broth. Chicken or vegetable broth can be a flavorful replacement for white wine. You can even swap it in equal amounts (go for low-sodium broth so your dish doesn't end up too salty). Just keep in mind that broth won't add any acidity, so you might want to add a touch of white vinegar to achieve a similar tang.

Dry vermouth, with a shelf life of several months, makes a good substitute for white wine. Measure 1 tablespoon of wine into each well of an ice cube tray and freeze. Use a paring knife to remove each cube, then store in a zipper-lock bag. Add the frozen cubes to sauces as desired.

The sweetness and light color of apple juice make it a great non-alcoholic substitute for white wine in cooking. White wine can be replaced with apple juice in recipes at a 1:1 ratio. It is worth mentioning that apple juice works best as a wine replacement when a recipe calls for only a small amount of wine.

Swap the wine for light-colored vinegars, like white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Avoid harsher vinegars, like distilled white vinegar, which could add too much acidity. While most vinegars can play as a tasty substitute, be careful with the color of the vinegar.

Yes you can! White wine vinegar is a great cleaning agent. It's got a high acidic content, making it great for cutting through grease and grime, plus, it's natural and environmentally friendly. Believe it or not, you can use white wine vinegar to clean just about anything in your home.

The recipes that normally call for white wine can easily use rosé as a substitute; rosé will add a touch of sweetness and aromatic components that will make your dish even better.

There are a myriad of great choices but we tend to favor pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. These lighter-style wines will bring out the flavor of your dish without overwhelming it. Avoid robust and oaky white wines like chardonnay.

Sauvignon Blanc is another all-purpose dry white wine, but it tends to be a little more acidic than Pinot Grigio. Pick something with less than 13 percent alcohol—anything higher than that will take longer to reduce and have a lower acidity.

Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white wine? ›

Apple Cider Vinegar

This is probably the best substitute for white wine of all. It has a similar flavour profile with the acidity and subtle sweetness of wine. You can do a direct swap here using the same amount of apple cider vinegar as you would wine.

Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Replace the white wine called for with an equal amount of chicken broth (vegetable broth will work, too). This will add depth to the recipe, even if it changes the flavor a bit.

Acetic acid kills bacteria and fungi, so red wine vinegar doesn't go bad in the sense of being dangerous to drink. Red wine vinegar will look and taste its best if you use it within 2 to 3 years from the time you buy it.

Lemon juice is much more acidic than white wine, so be sure to dilute it when substituting. For example, if a recipe calls for a cup of white wine, swap it out for a half cup of lemon juice and a half cup.

Non-alcoholic substitute would be grape juice or sparkling grape juice. Welch's makes a good one. As for the flavor, you can make your own wine coolers by adding sprite, 7 up or ginger ale and fruit juice.

Shrimp Scampi without wine

Wine can be omitted completely OR substitute with chicken broth if you wish. Chicken broth has a much better flavour than fish broth, however, if you have homemade fish broth laying around, you can definitely use that!

Wine substitutes for risotto

Some of the most common substitutions used to replace the acidity of wine in risotto are other alcohols (like dry sherry, vodka, or gin). Just a squeeze of citrus fruits like lemon and lime can help to brighten the dish, notes Substitute Cooking.

Red wine vinegar: The acidity in vinegar makes it a good substitute for deglazing the pan. Grape, pomegranate, or cranberry juice: These rich-flavored juices are also acidic which makes them a good substitute for deglazing a pan. Their deep fruit and berry flavors will also add depth of flavor to a recipe.

Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and dry sparkling wines labeled "brut" are especially good choices. Fuller whites with strong, oaky flavors, like some Chardonnays, don't work as well for cooking because they are lower in acidity and don't provide as much punch as the crisper wines.

Does white wine make a difference in cooking? ›

Wine's acidity also helps more delicate ingredients stay tender and moist in quicker-cooking recipes, such as poached vegetables or steamed fish. As wine cooks, its flavor becomes concentrated, so it also lends savoriness or sweetness to a dish. Generally, dry red and white wines are recommended for savory dishes.

For white wines, dry wines add a lot of acidity to brighten a dish, just as a light squeeze of lemon juice right at the end of cooking might do. They can also counteract sweetness in the recipe. White wines have less tannin and are more forgiving of a long cook than red wines.

If you happen to have it on hand, apple cider vinegar is a great substitute for white wine. It's slightly sweet and has a similarly aged depth, just like wine. Add the same amount of vinegar as the amount of wine called for in the recipe.