Anise Extract substitute

Best substitute

Anise seed, crushed and steeped

Use 1 to 2 tsp crushed anise seed for every 1 tsp extract

Best for pizzelle

Different texture

Anise extract contributes aroma only, that sweet liquorice note, and nothing structural, so a pizzelle or biscotti recipe will bake identically without it and simply taste plain. The best swaps are anise seed, crushed or ground, at 1 to 2 teaspoons per teaspoon of extract steeped in the recipe's warm butter; anise-flavoured liqueur such as sambuca, anisette, ouzo or pastis at 1 tablespoon per teaspoon with the liquid reduced to match; or ground fennel seed at 1 tablespoon per teaspoon, which is milder and slightly greener but genuinely close. If you have anise oil instead of extract, use a quarter as much, because oil runs roughly four times stronger and overshooting it is unpleasant and irreversible.

Other anise extract substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sambuca, anisette, ouzo, pastis or absinthe
Close match
Use 1 tbsp for every 1 tsp extract, minus 1 tbsp of the recipe's liquid
Anise-flavoured spirits, which are essentially anise extract at drinking strength, so the aroma is spot on and the only issues are liquid, sugar and alcohol.
What changes
Best for
pizzelle and waffle cookies, biscotti, cake soaks and glazes, Italian Christmas cookies, fruit compotes and fish dishes
The easiest swap to get right if you have a bottle. Remove the tablespoon of liquid you add. Sambuca and anisette are sweet, so cut the recipe's sugar by a teaspoon or two; ouzo, pastis and absinthe are not sweet and need no sugar adjustment. Absinthe carries wormwood bitterness alongside the anise and is the least neutral of the group. Alcohol mostly bakes off in a cookie but stays in an unbaked icing.
3Ground fennel seed
Different texture
Use 1 tbsp ground fennel seed for every 1 tsp extract
A different plant with much of the same aroma chemistry, and the most likely of these options to already be in your cupboard.
What changes
Best for
biscotti and cookies, sweet breads, sausage and pork dishes, roasted vegetables, syrups
Prep. Toast the seed lightly, grind it fine, and bloom it in the recipe's warm butter or oil.
Fennel is genuinely close but not identical: it is milder, sweeter and greener, with a faint grassy edge, so an anise cookie made with fennel reads as pleasantly spiced rather than emphatically liquorice. Use three times as much as you would anise seed to compensate for the lower intensity. Toasting brings the flavour forward. Ground fennel will speckle a pale dough, and if you grind it coarsely it will feel gritty.
4Star anise, ground
Different texture
Use 1 tsp ground star anise for every 1 tsp extract
An unrelated plant that happens to contain the same dominant aroma compound as anise seed, and is much easier to buy in most supermarkets.
What changes
Best for
syrups and poached fruit, cookies and cakes, braises and Asian dishes, mulled drinks
Prep. Break the stars up, grind them in a spice grinder, and sift the powder to remove the woody bits, or steep whole stars in the recipe's warm liquid and remove them.
Stronger, warmer and more medicinal than anise seed, with a resinous woody note behind the liquorice, so it is excellent in a syrup or braise and slightly heavy-handed in a delicate cookie. Start at 3/4 teaspoon and taste if you can. Star anise is tough and fibrous, so grinding it produces splinters unless you sift, and unsifted powder is unpleasant to bite into.
5Anise oil, at a quarter the amount
Close match
Use ¼ tsp anise oil for every 1 tsp extract, and start with half of that
The concentrated oil-based version rather than a substitute in the usual sense.
What changes
Included because the two bottles look alike and people constantly buy one and use it as the other.
Best for
hard candy and lozenges, pizzelle, cookies, chocolate work
Prep. Add it with a toothpick dipped into the bottle rather than from a spoon, stir it fully through, then taste before adding more.
Anise oil is roughly four times stronger than extract and the difference between correct and medicinal is a matter of drops. Only use a bottle sold for food or candy flavouring, never one intended for aromatherapy or topical use. Oil is actually superior in hard candy, where extract added to a hot syrup would spit and largely evaporate, and in chocolate, where extract's water content can cause seizing.
6Nothing at all, plus a little extra vanilla
Different taste
Omit, and add 1 tsp vanilla extract in its place
Straightforwardly fine, since extract adds no sugar, fat, liquid or structure to any recipe.
What changes
Best for
biscotti, pizzelle, cookies, sweet breads
The cookies will bake, spread and crisp exactly as written; they simply will not taste of anise. That is a genuine loss in traditional recipes where anise is the point, such as pizzelle or springerle, and a small one in a biscotto that also contains almonds, citrus zest and vanilla. Lemon or orange zest in its place gives the dough something bright to lean on and makes the absence feel deliberate rather than accidental.

What is Anise Extract?

Anise Extract is a small bottle of concentrated liquorice-scented flavouring in an alcohol base, made from anise seed or star anise oil and used a teaspoon or two at a time to give Italian and northern European Christmas cookies their sweet liquorice aroma. It contributes scent only and nothing structural, so no dough depends on it to bake correctly.

Cooking tips

Anise extract and anise oil are not interchangeable, and this is the most expensive mistake in Christmas baking. Oil is about four times stronger, so a recipe wanting 1 teaspoon of extract needs roughly 1/4 teaspoon of oil. Measure oil from a dipped toothpick, because an overdose tastes medicinal and cannot be corrected.
Anise flavour is oil-soluble, so put whichever form you use into the fat rather than the flour. Warming crushed seed in the recipe's melted butter for a few minutes extracts several times more flavour than stirring the same seed into dry ingredients.
Anise seed, star anise and fennel seed all share the same dominant aroma compound but are three different plants with three different intensities. Roughly: 1 teaspoon of extract equals 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed anise seed, 1 teaspoon of ground star anise, or 1 tablespoon of ground fennel seed.
Grind star anise and then sift it. The stars are woody and fibrous, and unsifted powder leaves splinters that are genuinely unpleasant in a cookie. If you would rather not grind at all, steep two whole stars in the recipe's warm butter or milk and lift them out.
Anise flavour intensifies as baked goods rest. Pizzelle, biscotti, springerle and pfeffernusse all taste noticeably more strongly of anise on day two, so season for the day you plan to serve them and resist adding more on the day you bake.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for anise extract?

Crushed anise seed, 1 to 2 teaspoons per teaspoon of extract, warmed for a few minutes in the recipe's melted butter or milk so the oil-soluble flavour is released. If you have a bottle of sambuca, anisette or ouzo, 1 tablespoon per teaspoon is even easier, provided you remove a tablespoon of the recipe's liquid to compensate.

How much anise oil equals a teaspoon of anise extract?

About 1/4 teaspoon, and it is safer to begin with 1/8 teaspoon and taste. Anise oil is roughly four times the strength of extract, and brands vary, so add it with a toothpick dipped into the bottle rather than measuring by spoon. Overshooting anise gives a distinctly medicinal cough-drop flavour that cannot be fixed once it is in the dough.

Can I use fennel seed instead of anise extract?

Yes, and it is a better substitute than most people expect, since fennel and anise share the same main aroma compound. Use about 1 tablespoon of lightly toasted, finely ground fennel seed per teaspoon of extract, bloomed in the recipe's warm butter. The result is milder, sweeter and a little greener, so an anise cookie made this way tastes gently spiced rather than boldly liquorice.

Can I just leave the anise extract out?

Yes. It adds only aroma, so the cookies will spread, crisp and keep exactly as written and simply will not taste of anise. Replace it with the same amount of vanilla, or better, with a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest, so the dough still has something to carry it. In pizzelle or springerle, where anise is the traditional identity of the cookie, the absence will be obvious to anyone who knows the recipe.

Is star anise the same as anise extract?

They are different plants but taste remarkably similar, because both are dominated by anethole. Star anise is stronger, warmer and more resinous, so use about 1 teaspoon of ground star anise per teaspoon of extract, and sift the powder to remove woody splinters. It is superb in syrups, poached fruit and braises, and slightly heavy in a delicate cookie where anise seed would be more elegant.

Related substitutes

More flavorings substitutes

Anise Extract substitute

Other anise extract substitutes

2Sambuca, anisette, ouzo, pastis or absinthe

3Ground fennel seed

4Star anise, ground

5Anise oil, at a quarter the amount

6Nothing at all, plus a little extra vanilla