3 Simple Substitutes For Beer In A Recipe

Beer is one of those underrated culinary ingredients. Beer-battered onion rings, beer bread, beer cheese — all of these tasty dishes rely on the flavor, carbonation, and moisture that beer provides. This effervescent beverage is key for creating an airy, crispy batter or infusing a malty flavor into a glaze. Beer is also a game-changing hack for boxed cornbread, and it can even help tenderize meat – but there are a ton of reasons why someone might not be able to use it in their next dish.

It could be a matter of not drinking alcohol due to age, health reasons such as pregnancy, or religion. Beer also contains gluten, so this is not a suitable ingredient for those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. And sometimes, it's simply not worth going to the store just for one ingredient. Whatever the reason may be, there are solutions for each situation. When substituting beer, it's important to first consider the beer's purpose in this particular recipe — is it to help bread rise? Is it to provide flavor? Then, you can make an educated substitution that replicates that function.

If eliminating alcohol is the main goal here, the obvious replacement is non-alcoholic beer. This swap is super easy, as you can follow a 1:1 ratio of whatever amount of beer the recipe calls for. Although non-alcoholic beer can certainly have a different flavor than regular beer, the difference is not noticeable when it is cooked down in a recipe; it's still one of the best substitutes for when beer is specifically used for flavor. Many popular beers in America — including Corona, Guinness, and Heineken — make non-alcoholic options, so chances are you can use whatever beer brand you're accustomed to. Non-alcoholic Guinness still provides nutty and malty flavor, for example, while alcohol-free lagers provide crisp, wheaty notes.

Non-alcoholic beer is often kept near the regular beer, whether it be in an aisle or refrigerated. The labels can look quite similar, so double-check for the "0.0%" or "non-alcoholic" label. For those under the age of 21, only some states allow the sale of non-alcoholic beer to minors, so other replacements may be a better choice. 

One reason beer is delicious is because of its effervescence — the fine bubbles of carbon dioxide that give this beverage an incredible mouthfeel. When beer is added to something such as batter or bread, these bubbles are what helps the dough and batter rise. When looking for a beer substitute in recipes such as beer bread, fish and chips, or beer-battered onion rings, go for another carbonated beverage.

Club soda is an easy beer replacement because it doesn't have flavor or sugar like other sodas, but it does have all the desired carbonation. This is perfect for creating a light, airy texture and crispy exterior for fried foods such as hush puppies. For baked bread, club soda is good because it doesn't impart any odd flavors, but supports the leavening and rising process. 

If you do want to want to add more depth, go for a flavored soda. First, consider if the recipe calls for a light beer or a dark one, and try to best match the color and flavor. Ginger ale or a lemon-flavored soda could work in place of a light beer, while drinks such as Coke or root beer could stand in for a dark beer. These darker sodas work particularly well replacing beer in a meat marinade. These sodas contain a lot of sugar, while beer is not a sugary beverage; if possible, use a sugar-reduced option or a mix of club soda and sweet soda. 

If you happen to have an unfinished bottle of wine sitting on the counter, this can be used as a beer substitute as well. Wine is already commonly used in cooking to braise beef and mushrooms, create rich sauces, and even infuse desserts, so it can naturally replace beer in some recipes. 

For sauces, marinades, and glazes that call for beer, wine is a definite yes, with dry wines being ideal. White wines should be used to replace light beers while reds are good swaps for dark beers. For fried foods, the average white or red isn't going to cut it — a sparkling wine or Prosecco is the best option to add to the batterto achieve the correct texture. If you still desire to use a flat wine in a fried-food batter or in bread, cut it with soda so the carbonation is present.