This post may include affiliate links; for details, see our disclosure policy.
It tastes like the real thing! These genius hacks make the best Worcestershire sauce substitutes with pantry ingredients you have on hand.
Worcestershire sauce is a common condiment that adds savory and complex flavors to dishes from Caesar dressing to chili to the classic Bloody Mary. Worcestershire sauce was invented in Britain in the mid-1800’s. Its flavor is tangy, salty, sweet, savory, and a little funky all at once! It includes cured anchovies, so Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian or vegan.
Looking for a Worcestershire sauce substitute in a recipe? Here’s a genius hack that uses ingredients you likely have on hand in your pantry! It tastes very similar to the real thing, and it takes 1 minute to put together. It also works as a vegan Worcestershire sauce! There are also a few more ideas as a Worcestershire sauce alternative.
How to say Worcestershire sauce? Say it like “wusster-shir sauce.”
Best Worcestershire sauce substitutes
1. Soy sauce, ketchup and white wine vinegar
The best Worcestershire sauce substitute? A combination of soy sauce, ketchup, and white wine vinegar! This combination is a mix of pantry ingredients that tastes oddly similar to the real thing. Here’s what you need for a small batch (multiply as needed):
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1 dash hot sauce (optional)
You’ll find this mix of ingredients brings in just the right elements: tangy, salty, savory, and a little sweet. If you have it, hot sauce adds a bit of the spice that Worcestershire sauce brings from chili extract. You could even add a dash of fish sauce, but it’s not needed. Use tamari (gluten free) or coconut aminos (gluten free and soy free) as soy sauce substitutes.
2. Soy sauce or vinegar
Don’t have all of the ingredients above? The overriding flavors in Worcestershire sauce are salty and tangy. If you don’t want to make the recipe above, you could use soy sauce, vinegar, or a mix of the two. You could also use miso in combination with either of the two. But the recipe above is really the best fit!
- For 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, use ½ teaspoon soy sauce and ½ teaspoon rice vinegar.
- If you have it, stir in ½ teaspoon miso paste until it dissolves.
3. Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment made from fermented fish that’s used often in Southeast Asian cuisine, like the food of Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, Burma, and Vietnam. It’s got a funky, tangy and salty flavor that works as a 1:1 replacement for Worcestershire sauce. However, Worcestershire sauce tastes sweeter and has more notes of onion and garlic, so you could add a hint of sugar and onion or garlic powder if desired.
4. A1 sauce
A1 sauce is a condiment that’s typically used as a steak sauce. It’s a great Worcestershire sauce alterative if you have it on hand since the flavor profiles are very similar, though A1 sauce is thicker in texture. It’s made with tomato puree, raisin paste, vinegar, orange puree, garlic and onions.
Worcestershire Sauce Substitute (Genius Hack!)
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 2 ½ tablespoons 1x
Description
It tastes just like the real thing! This genius hack makes the best Worcestershire sauce substitute with pantry ingredients you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or ½ tablespoon white vinegar)
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1 small dash hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Related recipes
Here are some recipes where you could use this Worcestershire sauce substitute:
thanks!
I was making a Cottage pie but didn’t have any Worcestershire sauce so used the first method but used balsamic vinegar in place of wine vinegar, turned out perfectly! Thanks so much
Thanks for this recipe! I needed a Tbsp of sauce for a recipe and had all the ingredients. I used sugar-free ketchup. :)
To the rescue on Christmas Eve while making the Chex Mix–thought I had plenty (and guess what??!). Thanks!!!!!
Can this be substituted fir worcestershire sauce in Chex Mix?
We haven’t tried it, but it should work!
I have been looking for a substitution for Worcestershire Sauce for quite a while, as I could not find it here in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it would not be Kosher for the more observant Jews as the original sauce contains fish, which the more observant to do not mix with meat and therefore would, most likely, not be certified Kosher.
In any event, I accidentally came across your recipe for Worcestershire Sauce (with either white wine vinegar or Balsalmic vinegar, I tried both ways. While, the white wine vinegar was good, the version with Balsalmic vinegar absolute HIT THE SPOT. Thank you.
So glad it worked for you! Thanks for the comment.
Such an easy and convenient substitute for Worcestershire!
Needed this in a pinch to make salisbury steak – worked wonderfully with items I readily had on hand.
Thanks for sharing!
This was magical, thank you!