Apple cider vinegar substitutes
Apple cider vinegar substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called cider vinegar, ACV, raw apple cider vinegar, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, apple vinegar
Use Distilled white vinegar
Same amount as the apple cider vinegar
Distilled white vinegar is the same 5% strength, so it goes in tablespoon for tablespoon with nothing to recalculate - add 1/8 tsp sugar per tablespoon if the dish is eaten raw, because cider vinegar's fruitiness is the only thing you are losing.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Stir in 1/8 tsp sugar if the dish is eaten raw
- Best for —
- any recipe where the acid is doing chemistry
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the apple cider vinegar doing?
Pick your caseWill you taste the vinegar, or is it only doing chemistry?
Only the 5% matters and nobody will taste which bottle you used. Distilled white vinegar goes in tablespoon for tablespoon; white wine vinegar is stronger, so use 2 ¼ tsp per tablespoon.
Notes on distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar or lemon juice
Same amount
You are replacing a flavour as well as an acid. Use distilled white vinegar plus 1/8 tsp sugar per tablespoon to stand in for the fruitiness, or lemon juice if a citrus note suits the dish.
Notes on distilled white vinegar or lemon juice
Same amount
Any 5% vinegar works, but the timing matters more than the bottle: 30 minutes to 2 hours. Acid keeps working, and a long soak leaves the surface of the meat chalky rather than tender.
Notes on distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar or lemon juice
Same amount
Use commercial vinegar labelled 5% acidity - which cider vinegar is - in exactly the amount the tested recipe gives. Do not dilute it, do not swap in rice vinegar at 4-4.5%, and never use homemade vinegar, whose strength is unknown.
Ask whether you will taste the vinegar. If it is doing chemistry - baking soda, souring milk, a marinade, a pickle - only the 5% on the label matters, and distilled white vinegar is an exact swap. If the vinegar is a seasoning you taste raw, you are replacing a flavour too: use distilled white vinegar plus 1/8 tsp sugar per tablespoon, or lemon juice where citrus suits the dish.
Apple cider vinegar is a 5% acid with a faint apple note. In a dressing or a slaw the apple note matters; in a soda-leavened batter, in quick buttermilk or in a pickle only the 5% matters.
Acidprimary
At a standardised 5% acetic acid it is strong enough to react with baking soda, curdle milk into buttermilk in about five minutes, and hold a refrigerator pickle - all jobs that depend on the number, not the flavour.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
The apple smell survives in anything raw, which is why a cider-vinegar slaw tastes fruity and the same slaw made with distilled white vinegar tastes bare - and why it vanishes entirely in anything simmered.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Distilled white vinegarany recipe where the acid is doing chemistry | 1 tbspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | White wine vinegarvinaigrettes and pan sauces | 2 ¼ tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Rice vinegardressings you want softer than the recipe intends | 1 tbsp + ½ tsp rice vinegarTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Lemon juicesouring milk into buttermilk | 1 tbspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Red wine vinegarbean salads, lentils and grain bowls | 2 ¼ tspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Balsamic vinegarmarinades for red meat and mushrooms | 2 tsp + 1 tsp waterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Apple juice or apple cider | not an acid swap — 2 tsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp apple juiceNot for this | Not for this |
Distilled white vinegar
flatly sour with no fruit behind it
The same 5% acid in a colourless, flavourless form, so the chemistry is identical and only the apple note is missing.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Then
- stir in 1/8 tsp sugar if the dish is eaten raw
- Best for
- any recipe where the acid is doing chemistry, quick buttermilk and soda-leavened batters, refrigerator pickles and canning recipes that specify 5% vinegar
- Taste
- flatly sour with no fruit behind it; obvious in a raw slaw, undetectable in a cake or a braise
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- clearer - a dressing loses cider vinegar's faint amber cast and stays colourless
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free
- Use the same amount - both are standardised at 5%, so there is nothing to recalculate.
- Add 1/8 tsp sugar per tablespoon in anything raw. Without it a slaw or dressing tastes stripped rather than tangy.
The closest swap on strength and the cheapest. Its only weakness is the one thing sugar can partly fix.
White wine vinegar
drier and cleaner, with a faint wine note in place of the apple
Stronger at 6-7% acid and dry rather than fruity, so you need about three quarters as much.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 ¼ tsp white wine vinegar for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Then
- top up with ¾ tsp water if the recipe is a batter, where the total liquid matters
- Best for
- vinaigrettes and pan sauces, dishes where a dry, savoury acid suits better than a fruity one, anything that should stay pale
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- very pale, so a dressing looks slightly lighter than the cider version
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 2 ¼ tsp, not a level tablespoon - at 6-7% it is roughly a quarter stronger than cider vinegar.
- In a soda-leavened batter a full tablespoon is harmless; the extra acid only means a fraction more rise.
Red wine vinegar is the same strength and works at the same amount, at the cost of tinting the dish pink.
Rice vinegar
softer and slightly sweet; the tang is rounder and less insistent
Milder at 4-4.5% acid and faintly sweet, so it needs slightly more volume and lands gentler.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp + ½ tsp rice vinegar for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Best for
- dressings you want softer than the recipe intends, slaws with an Asian leaning, pale dishes where cider vinegar's amber tint would show
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- paler and clearer than cider vinegar
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp per tablespoon to make up the weaker acid.
- Check for the word seasoned on the label - seasoned rice vinegar already holds sugar and salt, so drop about ½ tsp of the recipe's sugar per tablespoon.
Good for anything eaten fresh, wrong for anything sealed in a jar.
Not for shelf-stable pickles or canning - 4-4.5% is below the 5% those recipes require.
Lemon juice
bright and citrus
At 5-6% citric acid it carries about the same sour load as cider vinegar, and an unmistakable citrus smell instead of apple.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp lemon juice for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Best for
- souring milk into buttermilk, dressings for fish, chicken or green salads, when there is no vinegar in the house at all
- Taste
- bright and citrus. Good in a slaw, distinctly odd in a barbecue sauce or a braise that expects apple
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- stays pale; bottled juice can leave a dressing faintly cloudy
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free
- Use the same amount; the two are within a few tenths of a percent on acid strength.
- Add it off the heat in a cooked dish, since simmering drives the citrus smell off and leaves only the sourness.
Interchangeable with cider vinegar for making buttermilk: 1 tbsp of either plus milk to the 1-cup line.
Not in a tested canning recipe unless the recipe itself names lemon juice - the two acids are not interchangeable by volume there.
Red wine vinegar
deeper and slightly tannic, without the sweetness cider vinegar has
The same 6-7% strength as white wine vinegar with a fuller flavour and enough pigment to colour a pale dish.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 ¼ tsp red wine vinegar for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Best for
- bean salads, lentils and grain bowls, marinades for red meat, dishes already dark enough to hide the colour
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- the reason this row is not higher - it tints a pale slaw or dressing visibly rosy
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 2 ¼ tsp per tablespoon, as with white wine vinegar.
- Keep it out of anything pale - a tablespoon will turn coleslaw or potato salad pink.
Flavour-wise a good swap. Colour-wise, only in dark dishes.
Balsamic vinegar
sweet and jammy where cider vinegar is tart and fruity
About 6% acid, so the sourness is covered, but it carries grape sugar and a dark colour that will dominate a simple dish.
- Covers
- Acid
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar + 1 tsp water for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Then
- cut the recipe's sugar or honey by about ½ tsp per tablespoon used
- Best for
- marinades for red meat and mushrooms, an already-dark barbecue or tomato sauce, when it is the only vinegar in the house
- Texture
- slightly thicker, so a dressing clings more
- Look
- turns a pale slaw or dressing muddy brown - the change everyone notices first
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Use 2 tsp plus 1 tsp water and take about ½ tsp of sugar out of the recipe per tablespoon replaced.
- Never in a pale slaw, a white sauce or a fridge pickle you want to look fresh.
Listed because it is often the only bottle on the shelf, not because it is close.
Dark, robust dishes only, and never in canning.
Apple juice or apple cider
sweet and flat, with none of the tang the recipe was built on
Sweet apple liquid with roughly a tenth of the acid, because the fermentation that turns cider into vinegar is exactly what has not happened to it.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Misses
- Acid — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar + 1 tsp apple juice for 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Then
- let the vinegar do the souring and use the juice only for the apple note
- Best for
- adding the apple flavour back alongside a real vinegar, basting or glazing, where sweetness is wanted, understanding why cider and cider vinegar are different bottles
- Texture
- no change
- Look
- a soda-leavened cake rises less and stays pale and flat-topped, because the acid that should have made gas was never there
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free
- Combine rather than substitute: 2 tsp of any 5% vinegar plus 1 tsp apple juice reproduces cider vinegar closely.
- Reduce the recipe's sugar by about 1 tsp per ¼ cup of juice you add.
Listed because the shared word cider sends people to the wrong bottle.
Never on its own where the acid has a job: no baking soda, no souring milk, no pickling, no canning.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- SafetyCanning, or pickles you intend to store on a shelf.Use commercial vinegar labelled 5% acidity, in exactly the amount the tested recipe gives, and follow a current tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
- A Carolina-style vinegar barbecue sauce, a cider-vinegar slaw, or any dressing where the vinegar is the only real seasoning.The nearest rebuild is 2 tsp distilled white vinegar plus 1 tsp apple juice per tablespoon, with 1/8 tsp sugar. Otherwise make the dish sharper on purpose and call it that, or wait until you have cider vinegar.
- Leaving meat in an acid marinade for hours because you swapped in a stronger vinegar.Marinate 30 minutes to 2 hours, and use buttermilk or yogurt if you want to leave it overnight - they are far gentler acids.
- Using apple juice, apple cider or a cider drink in place of cider vinegar.Use any vinegar you have. If you want the apple flavour too, mix 2 tsp vinegar with 1 tsp apple juice per tablespoon called for.
Safety
1 note- Canning
Never change the acid in a tested canning, pickling, fermenting or curing recipe. Use commercial vinegar labelled 5% acidity in the exact amount the recipe gives, do not dilute it, do not substitute a weaker vinegar such as rice vinegar, and never use homemade vinegar, whose acidity is unknown. Acidity is what keeps a sealed jar safe.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)
If it went wrong
3 fixes- You added vinegar to milk for buttermilk and nothing happened.The milk was fridge-cold, or it was oat or almond milk, which have too little protein to curdle.Give it 10 minutes at room temperature. With oat or almond milk it will never curdle, but the batter will still work - what a soda-leavened recipe needs is the acid, not the curds.
- The slaw or dressing tastes harsh after you swapped in distilled white vinegar.You replaced the acid but not the fruitiness, so there is nothing rounding off the sourness.Stir in 1/8 tsp sugar per tablespoon of vinegar used, then a little more oil. Both are reversible.
- The fridge pickle tastes weak and the vegetables have gone soft.A weaker vinegar, usually rice vinegar, or the brine was cut with extra water.Drain and rebrine with a 5% vinegar at full strength, and eat them within a week. Never leave an under-acidified jar at room temperature - remake it and follow a tested recipe.
Measure it
6 measures- Apple cider vinegar aciditystandardised at 5% acetic acidThe same strength as distilled white vinegar, which is why those two swap tablespoon for tablespoon.
- Acid strength, strongest firstwine vinegars 6-7% > balsamic about 6% > distilled white and cider vinegar 5% > lemon juice 5-6% citric > rice vinegar 4-4.5% > orange juice about 1%The percentage is what decides the amount. Per 1 tbsp of cider vinegar: 1 tbsp distilled white, 2 ¼ tsp of a wine vinegar, or 1 tbsp + ½ tsp rice vinegar.
- Quick buttermilk1 tbsp cider vinegar + milk to make 1 cupStir, then leave 5-10 minutes until it looks curdled and clings to the spoon. Lemon juice or distilled white vinegar work identically.
- Filtered vs unfilteredthe cloudy strands are the mother, a harmless cellulose and bacteria matIt does not change the 5% acidity. Strain it out if you want a clear dressing; leave it in if you do not mind the cloudiness.
- Marinade timing30 minutes to 2 hours for a vinegar marinadeLonger than that and the acid firms the surface of the meat instead of tenderising it. Use buttermilk or yogurt for an overnight soak.
- 1 tbsp vinegar3 tsp = 15 ml
Questions
6 questionsWhat's the difference between apple cider vinegar and white vinegar?
Both are standardised at 5% acid, so they behave identically in chemistry - souring milk, reacting with baking soda, holding a pickle. The difference is flavour: cider vinegar tastes faintly of apple and has a light amber colour, while distilled white vinegar is colourless and flatly sharp. Swap them tablespoon for tablespoon and add 1/8 tsp sugar if the dish is raw.
Can I use apple juice or apple cider instead of apple cider vinegar?
No. They have roughly a tenth of the acid, because the fermentation that turns cider into vinegar has not happened. A cake will not rise, milk will not curdle and a pickle will not keep. If you want the apple flavour, use 2 tsp of any vinegar plus 1 tsp of apple juice per tablespoon.
What is the best apple cider vinegar substitute for baking?
Distilled white vinegar or lemon juice, both tablespoon for tablespoon. In a batter the acid is only there to react with baking soda or sour the milk, and once baked nobody can tell which one you used. Rice vinegar is weaker, so use 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp.
Can I use apple cider vinegar for pickling and canning?
Yes where the tested recipe names it, because commercial cider vinegar is labelled 5% acidity. Use the exact amount the recipe gives, do not dilute it, and do not swap in a weaker vinegar such as rice vinegar or a homemade vinegar of unknown strength. Follow a current tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at https://nchfp.uga.edu/.
Does the cloudy mother in unfiltered apple cider vinegar matter for cooking?
Not for how it behaves. The strands are a harmless cellulose and bacteria mat and the vinegar is still 5% acid. Strain it out if you want a clear dressing, and shake the bottle first if you do not mind the cloudiness.
Is apple cider vinegar gluten-free?
It is made from apples, so plain cider vinegar contains no gluten. Flavoured or blended products can include other ingredients, so read the label if you are avoiding gluten strictly.
Tips for substituting apple cider vinegar
6 tips- Apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar are both standardised at 5% acid, so they swap tablespoon for tablespoon; only the apple flavour changes.
- For quick buttermilk, put 1 tbsp cider vinegar in a measuring cup, top with milk to the 1-cup line, stir, and leave 5-10 minutes until it looks curdled.
- Wine vinegars are 6-7%, so use about 2 ¼ tsp of them per tablespoon of cider vinegar, and rice vinegar is 4-4.5%, so use 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp.
- In a raw dressing or slaw, 1/8 tsp of sugar per tablespoon of vinegar stands in for cider vinegar's fruitiness.
- Keep vinegar marinades to 30 minutes to 2 hours. Past that the acid firms the surface of the meat instead of tenderising it.
- For canning and shelf-stable pickles, use commercial vinegar labelled 5% at the exact amount the tested recipe gives - never homemade vinegar, whose strength is unknown.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)