5 BEST Substitutes for Mustard Seeds: Flavor Boost

Mustard seeds are one of the essential spices used in many dishes to enhance the flavor and taste of the dish.

When cooking your favorite dish, suddenly you find that you are out of mustard seeds, then don’t panic, as you can find several substitutes available for mustard seeds.

A dish can contain various nutritions values, proteins, and many veggies, but without mustard seed, it loses all its value.

That is why you should know more about the substitutes that can be used as a replacement for mustard seeds.

What are Mustard Seeds?

Mustard seed are available in brown or yellow color seed obtained from a mustard plant.

It is a cooking ingredient, often used to spice up the taste in soups, meat, dressing, etc.

Mustard seeds are of three types, including yellow, brown, and black mustard seeds.

They are oval, come in different sizes, and are available whole or ground.

The seeds can be added raw to salads or cooked with vegetables.

They are used to make a mustard paste prepared by mixing them with vinegar, salt, and water.

Mustard’s flavor is very strong, so it should be used sparingly.

Mustard seeds are available in two forms, either whole or ground.

You can buy them at a store or even make them at home.

However, if you do not have mustard seeds, then don’t worry.

Here we have listed several substitutes that can be used instead of mustard seeds whenever you need them to add flavor to your food.

5 Best Substitutes for Mustard Seeds

1 – Horseradish

First of all, you can substitute mustard seed with horseradish root.

Horseradish is a very intense root vegetable that is used mainly in salad dressings.

You can easily find horseradish at the grocery store or even make it at home if you have some time and effort to spare.

It is the best alternative that comes to your rescue when you don’t have mustard seed at hand.

Horseradish is very similar to mustard seeds as they both belong to the same family.

These two spices’ tastes and appearance might differ, but they both provide similar flavors when added to the dish.

When you want to use horseradish in the place of mustard seeds, make sure to use the same portion.

If you want your dish less spicy, add only half a portion of horseradish instead of a 1:1 ratio and check if you got the required flavor.

2 – Caraway Seeds

Caraway seeds are another substitute for mustard seeds.

They are used in the same way as other spices like cumin, coriander, fennel to add flavor to your food dishes.

They are also used to make different sauces and marinades that can be digested easily by the body, along with vegetables or meat.

Caraway can be used as a replacement for mustard seeds for a 1:1 ratio.

Always use the same quantity of caraway that is equal to one teaspoon of mustard seed.

However, you need to remember that caraway seeds are not as spicy as mustard seeds, so you should add more spices if required.

3 – Prepared Mustard

If you do not like the taste of horseradish, you can always use prepared mustard that is readily available at any grocery store or supermarket.

You can easily prepare it by mixing vinegar and oil with the mustard seeds.

This will provide your dish a different flavor along with the spicy taste of mustard seeds.

Most people will keep a bottle of prepared mustard in their fridge to use when they run out of mustard seeds.

You can also prepare prepared mustard at home from scratch; all it requires is mustard seeds, vinegar, and water; blend them all well and make it a paste.

Prepared mustard is the perfect alternative to make wet recipes like stews, sauces, and marinades.

However, prepared mustard is not as spicy as ground mustard, and you should add more prepared mustard in your dish if you do not like the mild taste.

You should also reduce the liquid quantity in the recipe when you add prepared mustard to the dish.

Many people agree that prepared yellow mustard is the best and efficient option; even Dijon or spicy brown prepared mustard serve as great substitutes for mustard seed.

When adding Dijon-prepared mustard, add slowly as it is made of dark mustards that contain a strong flavor compared to yellow mustards.

4 – Wasabi Powder

Wasabi powder is very common and is readily available in most grocery stores and supermarkets.

People who do not like the hot taste of horseradish or mustard seed can use wasabi powder to give their dish a spicy kick.

You can buy wasabi powder at any store even though it costs much more than other substitutes like prepared mustard, which you can make at home.

Wasabi powder contains the same flavor as a mustard seed, but it has a much stronger taste.

You can mix wasabi paste with white or rice vinegar to make your homemade horseradish.

Wasabi is the perfect choice if you want to cook Asian dishes such as sushi.

Wasabi is a special and flavorful spice that enhances the flavor in most Asian dishes, and many chefs often use this spicy ingredient in their recipes.

Wasabi powder contains natural spiciness and heat factor that makes the spice a perfect alternative for mustard seeds.

Like horseradish, wasabi powder also gives out strong flavors compared to mustard seeds.

That is why you should reduce half of the quantity of wasabi powder when using it in a dish.

If you need extra spiciness, you can always add more as per your taste or the recipe’s requirement.

5 – Turmeric

Last but not least is turmeric powder that can be used as an alternative for mustard seeds.

You can easily buy it from most grocery stores or supermarkets at a reasonable price.

People often use turmeric in their cooking to enhance the flavor of Indian dishes like curry and lentils.

It gives out a strong spicy taste to any dish you cook with it.

However, if you are using turmeric for its health benefits, always remember that it has a different flavor than mustard seeds.

Turmeric is a very popular ingredient, and it is one of the basic ingredients in Asian cuisine.

This spice is globally very popular because of its therapeutic and nutritional values.

Turmeric has a similar peppery flavor and yellow color to mustard seeds, and it makes the best alternative for mustard seeds.

Replacing mustard seeds with turmeric is the best option if you want to get a milder taste.

Turmeric is not as spicy as horseradish or wasabi.

Also, health experts recommend using turmeric in all dishes as it contains outstanding medicinal properties, like reducing inflammation, increase immunity, etc.

Conclusion

Mustard seed is a very important ingredient that increases different flavors when used in dishes.

If you run out of Mustard seeds, you can as well use the substitutes mentioned above to make your dish spicy and flavorful.

These substitutes give out similar spicy and peppery flavors, just like mustard seeds.

So, we can say that these spices and ingredients do a pretty good job, and you should use them regularly.

You need to be careful not to put too much of these spices as they might make your dish taste bitter or spicy.

About The Author

Sharing is caring!