Balsamic Glaze substitute

Best substitute

Balsamic vinegar reduced on the stove

1 cup vinegar yields about ⅓ cup glaze

Best for caprese, tomatoes and mozzarella

Close match

This is the real substitute and it is better than most bottled glazes. Pour cheap balsamic into a small nonreactive pan, bring it to a bare simmer and let it bubble gently for 10 to 15 minutes until it is syrupy on a cold spoon. What changes compared with a bought glaze is almost nothing in flavour - it may be very slightly sharper, since many commercial glazes carry added sugar and thickener - and it is glossier and cleaner-tasting. A tablespoon over a caprese, roasted sprouts or a steak behaves exactly as the recipe intends.

Other balsamic glaze substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Balsamic vinegar stirred with honey, maple syrup or brown sugar
Different texture
2 parts balsamic to 1 part sweetener
The no-cook fix for when the food is already on the plate.
What changes
Stirring honey into balsamic gets both jobs right - the acid and the concentrated sweetness - and it is fast. The gap is body: it stays pourable rather than syrupy, so it spreads across the plate instead of sitting in glossy beads on the mozzarella. Honey adds a floral note, maple a woody one, brown sugar the most neutral molasses hint. Warming it for a minute in a pan closes most of the texture gap.
Best for
last-minute salad and caprese drizzles, marinades and dressings, brushing on grilled meat or halloumi, strawberries and vanilla ice cream
Start with less sweetener than you think and taste - supermarket balsamics vary enormously in how sweet they already are.
3Saba, vincotto or mosto cotto
Different taste
Use the same amount
Cooked-down grape must, sold in Italian delis, and structurally the ancestor of balsamic itself.
What changes
Straight from the bottle it is already thick, dark and glossy, so it drizzles and clings exactly like glaze. The difference is that saba is barely fermented, so it is markedly sweeter and much less acidic - a caprese finished with it tastes fruity and dessert-like rather than tangy. Add a few drops of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon per tablespoon to put the sharpness back.
Best for
cheese boards and cured meats, roasted vegetables and squash, fruit, panna cotta and ice cream, finishing risotto or polenta
Vincotto is often sold in a version fortified with a little vinegar, which is closer still to glaze. Check the label - if it lists vinegar you may not need to add any.
4Pomegranate molasses
Different taste
Use the same amount or 3 parts to 1 part water if very thick
Genuinely good here, and often already in a Middle Eastern cook's cupboard.
What changes
It is the same physical thing - a dark, thick, sweet-sour fruit syrup - so the drizzle looks and behaves right. Flavour goes brighter and more tart, with a distinct tannic pomegranate twang instead of balsamic's mellow woody sweetness, so roasted carrots or feta finished with it taste zippier and more Levantine. Excellent on vegetables and lamb, slightly odd on strawberries.
Best for
roasted vegetables, aubergine and cauliflower, feta, halloumi and labneh, lamb, chicken and meatballs, grain salads and fattoush-style plates
Brands vary from syrupy-sweet to bracingly sour. Taste yours first and add a pinch of sugar if it is on the sour end.
5Red wine vinegar reduced with brown sugar
Different taste
½ cup vinegar plus 3 tbsp brown sugar, reduced to about 3 tbsp
For when you have no balsamic at all.
What changes
Simmer the two together until syrupy and you get a dark, tangy-sweet reduction that does the same job on the plate. What is missing is balsamic's particular mellow, raisiny, wood-aged depth, so it tastes simpler and more straightforwardly sweet-sour. A teaspoon of molasses or a splash of grape or cherry juice in the pan adds back some of that fruit-and-barrel roundness.
Best for
roasted vegetables, pan sauces for pork and steak, salad drizzles, any savoury use of glaze
Works with white wine vinegar or cider vinegar too, though the colour will be paler and the look on the plate less dramatic.
6Plain balsamic vinegar, used as is
Taste and texture differ
use about half as much
The least-bad option and worth stating honestly: it will taste noticeably sharper and thinner, and it will run straight off the tomato or the steak into a watery pool on the plate rather than sitting where you put it.
What changes
On a salad, mixed with oil, nobody will care. On a caprese or a plated dessert, the difference is obvious both in taste and in looks. Use a light hand, because without the sweetness to balance it, the same quantity tastes twice as acidic.
Best for
salads and dressings where oil is involved, marinades, deglazing a pan, situations where appearance does not matter
If you have even two minutes, reduce it in a small pan instead. The difference between plain balsamic and a quick reduction is the single biggest upgrade available here.
7Soy glaze or teriyaki-style glaze
Different taste
Use the same amount expect a different dish
Not a match, but it is a thick sweet-savoury drizzle and sometimes the drizzle is what you actually need.
What changes
It brings salt and umami where balsamic brings fruit acid, so grilled aubergine or salmon finished with it tastes savoury and glossy rather than tangy and bright. On tomatoes and mozzarella it is simply wrong. Treat it as choosing a different dish rather than substituting an ingredient.
Best for
grilled or roasted aubergine, mushrooms and broccoli, salmon, chicken and pork, rice bowls, savoury plates only
It contains a lot of salt, so cut back on seasoning elsewhere in the dish. Never use it in a dessert application.

What is Balsamic Glaze?

Balsamic Glaze is Balsamic glaze, also sold as balsamic reduction, balsamic drizzle or glassa di balsamico, is ordinary balsamic vinegar that has been cooked down and sweetened - often with grape must, sugar or a little starch - until it is thick, glossy and syrupy enough to cling to food instead of running off it.

Cooking tips

Reduce balsamic in a small, tall, nonreactive pan - stainless steel or enamel, not bare aluminium or cast iron - and keep it at a lazy simmer. A hard boil scorches the sugars, and a wide pan gives you two tablespoons of glue instead of a third of a cup of glaze.
Judge doneness on a cold spoon, not in the pan. Dip a metal spoon that has been in the freezer, and if the coating clings and slowly drips, it is done. Hot reduction always looks too thin; cooled reduction is roughly twice as thick.
Use the cheapest balsamic you own for a reduction. Reducing an expensive aged bottle wastes it, since you are manufacturing by heat the same syrupy sweetness the aged bottle already has.
If your finished glaze sets like toffee, it is fixable: return it to low heat with a teaspoon of hot water or a splash more vinegar and stir until it loosens. If it tastes bitter or burnt, it is not fixable - start again with lower heat.
Drizzle glaze on at the very end and off the heat. Baked or grilled at high heat it scorches and turns acrid, which is why recipes always say to add it after the vegetables come out of the oven.
Homemade glaze keeps for at least a month in a sealed jar in the fridge, and pours better if you let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes first. Store it in a squeeze bottle if you want the neat restaurant-style zigzag.

Frequently asked questions

Is balsamic glaze the same as balsamic vinegar?

No. Glaze is balsamic vinegar that has been cooked down, usually with added sweetness, until it is syrupy. That changes both the texture and the taste: the water has gone, the grape sugars are concentrated, and it reads as sweet with a tangy edge rather than sharply sour. If a recipe asks for glaze, plain vinegar will taste much more acidic and will not cling to the food.

How do I make balsamic glaze from balsamic vinegar?

Simmer 1 cup of balsamic vinegar gently in a small stainless pan for 10 to 15 minutes until it has reduced by half to two thirds and coats a cold spoon, then cool. That yields roughly a third of a cup. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of brown sugar or honey at the start if your vinegar is on the harsh side. Stop while it still looks slightly thin, because it thickens as it cools.

Can I just leave it out?

Usually yes, since glaze is nearly always a finishing drizzle rather than a structural ingredient - the caprese or the roasted sprouts will still be good. But it is doing real work, supplying the sweet-sour lift that keeps rich or plain food from tasting flat. If you skip it, add acid another way: a squeeze of lemon, a scatter of pomegranate seeds, or a light vinaigrette.

Is there a sugar-free balsamic glaze substitute?

Reduce balsamic vinegar on its own with no added sweetener. Balsamic already contains grape sugar, so reduction alone makes it sweet and syrupy - no extra sugar is needed, it just takes a few minutes longer to thicken. Reduce it more gently and more slowly, as there is less water buffering the sugars that are already there.

Can I use balsamic glaze in a marinade or does it burn?

It burns. The concentrated sugars scorch well before meat is cooked through, which is why glaze belongs on food after it comes off the heat. If you want balsamic flavour in a marinade, use plain balsamic vinegar for the marinating and brush the glaze on in the last minute or after resting.

How long does homemade balsamic glaze keep?

At least a month in a clean sealed jar in the fridge, and often longer - it is acidic and high in sugar, both of which preserve it. It will thicken when cold, so let it warm up or stir in a few drops of hot water before drizzling.

Related substitutes

More condiments substitutes

Balsamic Glaze substitute

Other balsamic glaze substitutes

2Balsamic vinegar stirred with honey, maple syrup or brown sugar

3Saba, vincotto or mosto cotto

4Pomegranate molasses

5Red wine vinegar reduced with brown sugar

6Plain balsamic vinegar, used as is

7Soy glaze or teriyaki-style glaze