3 Best Substitutes for Shallots

by Vanya Sharma last updated -

Although not a cooking essential, shallots come in handy when a recipe specifically demands it. In such a situation, if you find yourself without this allium vegetable then you don’t have to ditch the recipe. Here we have a list of the amazing substitutes for shallots with which you can alternatively cook your dish, without compromising on the taste! Does it sound interesting? Let’s take a look!

Substitutes for Shallots

The top substitutes for shallots include yellow onions, scallion, white or red onions, leeks, roasted garlic, and chives.

Onion & Garlic

Shallots have mild flavor tones of onion and garlic. In a recipe, you can replace 4 shallots with 1 medium chopped onion and 1 finely minced garlic clove. Professionals suggest that yellow onions are the best to replace shallots as they are neither very sweet nor very sharp like white or red onions. If you don’t have garlic on hand, you can also use half a teaspoon of garlic powder for that enhanced flavor. [1]

A close-up shot of a basket of onions and garlic

Onions and garlic have complementary tastes. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Scallion or Green Onion

Next in the list of substitutes for shallots is scallion or green onion. In order to utilize their proper flavor, the white portion of the onion should be used in dishes to replace shallots; the green portion can be used as a substitute for chives. Scallion does a good job at mimicking the flavor of shallots and can be added to soups, salads, and other seafood dishes.

Garlic Scapes

With a taste that falls somewhere between garlic and onions, garlic scapes can be another good substitute for shallots. Because garlic scapes have a powerful flavor, you should be a bit mindful while adding them to your dish – for every 4 pieces of shallots only add one garlic scape. [2]

Other less popular substitutes for shallots include leeks, roasted garlic, and chives as they all belong to the same family.

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About the Author

Vanya Sharma is a writer at heart with interests in the health and nutrition domain and has experience in content creation, collaboration, and content strategy. Vanya has completed the “Introduction to Food and Health” certificate program from Stanford University, US. She aims to bring unbiased and helpful information to all those seeking to make their health and lifestyle a priority.

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