What Can I Use Instead of Baking Powder? 12 Great Substitutes

Baking powder is a major ingredient in many baking recipes. Good substitutes for baking powder include whipped egg whites, cream of tartar, buttermilk, and other foods.

Baking powder is a major ingredient in many baking recipes. It's commonly used to add volume and lift to baked goods. If you're short of it, you can combine many other ingredients like yogurt, vinegar, and lemon juice with baking soda in its place. These combinations act as good baking powder substitutes because of their ability to leaven the dough. You just need to make slight changes to your recipe to use them. 

Baking powder is a high-quality leavening agent — a substance used in dough to make it rise. It contains a base (high pH) substance called sodium bicarbonate (commonly known as baking soda) and one or more acids (low pH) like cream of tartar. Some commercial manufacturers also add cornstarch, which acts as a filler. 

Do not confuse baking powder with baking soda. The latter only contains sodium bicarbonate. Since it doesn't have an acid component, it must be combined with an acid to have similar leavening properties to baking powder. 

When baking powder is added to a wet mixture, the acid in it reacts with sodium bicarbonate to release carbon dioxide gas. This leads to the formation of bubbles, which cause the mixture to expand and rise. As a result of this leavening activity, breads, cakes, and other baked goods gain volume and become fluffier. 

There're many acidic ingredients that you can mix with baking powder to form leavening agents for your baked goods. Here are some that are easy to find:

Cream of tartar. The powdered version of tartaric acid is produced during the winemaking process. When looking for it, keep in mind that it's also sold as potassium acid tartrate. You can find it in most spice and baking aisles of grocery stores. 

Bakers most often use it to stabilize creams and whipped egg whites in cakes and meringues and prevent sugar crystals from forming. But you can also use it with baking soda to make your dough rise. 

For best results, maintain a 1:2 ratio of baking soda and cream of tartar. For example, in place of 5 grams (1 teaspoon) of baking powder, you can use these ingredients:

• Cream of tartar: 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams)
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) 

Molasses. It's a thick, dark brown sticky-sweet substance produced during the process of sugar refining. Since it's made up of 40% to 60% sugar, most people use it in place of refined sugar. However, you can also use it with baking soda as a substitute for baking powder. This is because there's enough acidity in molasses to produce carbon dioxide gas when coupled with baking soda.

Many baking experts suggest using these amounts to replace 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder: 

• Molasses: 1/4 cup (84 grams) 
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)  

Since molasses contains large amounts of sugar, you should think about reducing the quantity of sweetener in your baking recipe. Also keep in mind that molasses has a potent, spicy flavor. So, use it only if it's all right for you that your baked food's flavor profile changes.

Sour milk. If your milk spoils, you can use it with baking soda as a substitute for baking powder. Just make sure that you're using milk that smells sour but is not curdled or lumpy. 

Due to its acidic nature, sour milk can act as a leavening agent when paired with baking soda. In place of 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder, you can use these:

• Sour milk: 1/2 cup (122 grams)
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)

As sour milk can add extra liquid to the recipe, remove the same amount of liquid from your recipe. 

Buttermilk. Buttermilk, known for its distinct sour taste, is one of the healthiest dairy products. You can make it at home by churning butter. Commercially, it's made by adding bacterial cultures to low-fat or skim milk, which ferments and thickens over time to develop a slightly tangy taste.

Owing to its acidic nature, buttermilk combined with baking soda offers the same leavening effect as baking powder. This is why many bakers use it for making baked goods like muffins and pancakes. 

To replace 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder, you can use:

• Buttermilk: 1/2 a cup (122 grams) 
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) 

Keep in mind that buttermilk is a liquid. So, make sure to reduce the volume of other liquids in your recipe so that your final baked product has the right consistency and texture.

Baker's Ammonia. Before baking soda became popular, people mainly used baker's ammonia as a leavening agent. Even today, you can find it in the ingredients column of many cookies and crackers, listed as ammonium bicarbonate. It is known for giving baked goods a light and crisp texture.

For good results, you should use the same amount of baker's ammonia as you would use baking soda. Pair it up with an acidic substance, and you will get your substitute for baking powder. 

Ammonium bicarbonate has quite a strong smell. But you shouldn't worry about it as the smell goes away while cooking and doesn't stay in the end product. Another thing to consider is that this compound doesn't work for all baked goods. So, you may have to experiment a bit to see if it suits your recipe.

Vinegar. This is something you may easily find in your kitchen. To produce it, manufacturers use bacteria to ferment alcohol into acetic acid — the chemical name of vinegar. Being an acid, it reacts with baking soda to release carbon dioxide gas, which causes the baked products to rise. This is why it's often used to help leaven cakes and cookies.

To substitute 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of baking soda, you only need:

• Vinegar: 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams)
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)

Most baking experts recommend using white vinegar since it doesn't add any color to the baked product and has a neutral taste. But if you don't have this vinegar variety, you could also add slightly more sugar to your recipe to balance out its distinct flavor.

Plain yogurt. Just like buttermilk, yogurt is a fermented milk product. To produce it, manufacturers add lactic acid bacteria to milk, which then convert the milk sugars into lactic acid, which gives yogurt its sour quality.

Yogurt and baking soda are a great substitute for baking powder as they provide a leavening effect without adding flavor to the final baked product. To use this combo in place of 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder, you need:

• Plain yogurt: 1/2 cup (122 grams) 
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)

As you would do with buttermilk, reduce the amount of liquid in your recipe based on the amount of yogurt you use. Moreover, if you're making sweets, you could add berry or vanilla yogurt for some extra flavor.

Self-rising flour. You could use self-rising flour if you have neither baking powder nor baking soda. It's made up of regular flour, baking powder, and salt — everything you need to make your baked goods rise. This is why it's often used for making quick bread, commercial biscuits, and packaged cake mixes.

To use self-rising flour instead of baking powder, replace your regular flour with self-rising flour. Then follow the rest of the recipe, but without any baking soda or salt since they're already present in self-rising flour.

Potassium Bicarbonate. It's a common ingredient of antacids and hyperkalemia drugs. This is why you can get it more easily from pharmacies and drug stores. However, potassium bicarbonate also has some leavening effects, which makes it a good substitute for baking soda. You can often find it used in German cookie and bread recipes. 

To replace baking powder, you could use potassium bicarbonate (in the same amount of baking soda), salt, and any acidic substance like yogurt or vinegar. Salt is needed in this recipe because, unlike sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate isn't a form of salt. However, if you have heart issues or are limiting the use of sodium, you could also leave the salt out of your recipe.

Club soda. It's an artificially carbonated beverage containing various minerals like sodium bicarbonate — commonly known as baking soda. This is why many baking recipes use it as a leavening agent when baking powder isn't available. Using club soda can add volume and extra lightness to your final baked product. 

However, it's important to remember that club soda contains tiny amounts of sodium bicarbonate. So, you should consider using it for making foods that don't require much volume, like pancakes. For those cases where the liquid ingredients don't add much flavor to the food, it's best to use just club soda in place of all the liquid in the recipe.

Whipped egg whites. Many bakers use whipped egg whites as a baking powder substitute. This is because while beating egg whites, tiny bubbles form in the batter, which helps the baked foods rise. This method is often used to add an airy and light texture to meringues, pancakes, soufflés, and cakes.

To make good whipped egg whites, beat egg whites slowly until they turn frothy. Then increase the speed and whip them until stiff. Only then, add them to the batter. The number of egg whites you need will depend on your recipe. For example, compared to pancakes, cakes need more whipped egg whites to leaven the large volume of heavy batter. 

Lemon juice. As a rich source of citric acid, lemon juice has a strong reaction with base substances like sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. So, when paired with baking soda, it can trigger an acid-base reaction and release carbon dioxide gas, which can cause the dough to rise. 

To use it as a substitute for 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder, all you need is:

• Fresh lemon juice: 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams)
• Baking soda: 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)  

Due to its strong flavor, lemon juice can change the taste of the final baked product. So, it's best to use it only in recipes that don't require much baking powder or where the lemon flavor is a welcome addition to the finished product.

The best substitute for baking powder would be the one that gives your finished baked food the flavor you desire. For example, molasses may be better suited for sweet desserts, while buttermilk would be appropriate for savory breads. Ultimately, it may take some trial and error to find an ingredient that has good leavening effects and adds the right taste to your baked good.