Bottarga substitute

Best substitute

Anchovy plus grated pecorino romano

For every 1 tablespoon grated bottarga, use 1 mashed anchovy fillet or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste, plus 1 tablespoon grated pecorino

Best for spaghetti and linguine

Taste and texture differ

The most useful swap and the one an Italian cook would actually reach for. Melt the anchovy into warm olive oil so it dissolves, then finish the dish with the cheese off the heat. It is markedly fishier and sharper than bottarga, without the faint bitterness or the waxy coating on the palate, and there is no shaved texture on top.

Other bottarga substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Dried shrimp or dried scallops, finely ground
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume
Salt-dried seafood ground to a powder gives you both the sprinkle-on texture and the concentrated sea-savoury hit, which makes it structurally the closest thing to bottarga you can buy cheaply.
What changes
The flavour is sweeter and distinctly shrimpy or scallop-like rather than the mineral, roe-ish taste of bottarga.
Best for
finishing pasta, sprinkling over rice or noodles, seasoning vegetables, when you have an Asian grocery nearby
Grind them in a spice grinder or pound in a mortar until fine. Toast briefly in a dry pan first to wake up the aroma, and use a light hand because they are very salty.
3Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), crushed fine
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume, plus a small pinch of salt
Crumble the flakes to a powder between your fingers or in a mortar.
What changes
This gets the savoury depth and even the scattering texture, but the flavour is smoky and dry rather than briny and rich, so the dish tastes more like a Japanese seasoning than a Sardinian one. It also lacks bottarga's oiliness, so add extra olive oil.
Best for
finishing pasta, seasoning vegetables and eggs, rice dishes
Bonito flakes are much less salty than bottarga, so season the dish separately. Crush them fine or they will sit on top as papery shavings rather than melting into the sauce.
4Colatura di alici or a few drops of fish sauce plus pecorino
Taste and texture differ
For every 1 tablespoon grated bottarga, use 1 teaspoon colatura or ½ teaspoon fish sauce, plus 1 tablespoon grated pecorino
Colatura, the Italian anchovy liquid, is essentially the umami concentrate you are missing, and fish sauce is the same idea from Southeast Asia.
What changes
Because it is liquid, it thins the sauce slightly and cannot give any texture. Fish sauce is noticeably funkier and more pungent, so use less than you think.
Best for
pasta with oil and garlic, dressings, seafood pasta, quick sauces
Add it off the heat, at the end, or the volatile aroma cooks away and only the salt remains. Salt the pasta water lightly to compensate.
5Grated pecorino romano with lemon zest
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume, plus the finely grated zest of a quarter lemon per tablespoon
The right choice when you cannot get anything fishy or do not want to.
What changes
Pecorino delivers the salt and a savoury, faintly sharp bite, and the lemon zest mimics the light bitterness and citrus edge that makes bottarga taste bright rather than merely salty. It is not fishy at all, so the dish reads as a good lemon and cheese pasta.
Best for
pasta, vegetarian versions of bottarga dishes, salads, cooking for people who dislike fish
Aged parmesan works the same way but is sweeter and nuttier; pecorino is closer because of the sheep-milk sharpness. Add a good grind of black pepper.
6Anchovy pangrattato (toasted breadcrumbs with anchovy)
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs plus 1 anchovy fillet for every tablespoon of bottarga
Fry coarse breadcrumbs in olive oil with a mashed anchovy and a scrap of garlic until crisp.
What changes
This is the swap that best reproduces what bottarga feels like on the plate: a savoury, slightly bitter, textured scattering over the top of the pasta. It is crunchy rather than waxy and tastes toasted, so it is a different pleasure that fills the same role.
Best for
spaghetti and linguine, any pasta where bottarga was a finishing garnish, roasted vegetables
Add lemon zest to the crumbs at the end. Sprinkle over the plated pasta rather than tossing it in, or the crumbs go soft.

What is Bottarga?

Bottarga is a whole roe sac of grey mullet or tuna that has been salt-cured and air-dried into a firm amber block, then grated or shaved over food in small amounts, so it works as a concentrated salty, briny seasoning rather than as a piece of fish you eat.

Cooking tips

Never cook bottarga. Grate it over the finished dish off the heat, or at most warm it briefly in olive oil away from the flame; direct heat turns it grainy and bitter and drives off the aroma you paid a lot of money for.
Peel the thin wax or membrane off the block before grating. Producers often coat the outside to stop it drying out, and it will not grate or melt.
Use less than you think: about 5 to 8 g per person is right for a plate of pasta, roughly a heaped teaspoon of gratings. Bottarga is very salty, so salt the pasta water lightly and do not add salt to the sauce until after the bottarga goes in.
A microplane is the right tool for the mullet roe and a vegetable peeler for tuna bottarga if you want shavings. Grating over a warm plate lets the fat soften slightly so it clings to the pasta instead of sitting on top.
It needs fat and acid to show at its best. Good olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley are the classic partners, and without the oil the roe tastes dry and salty rather than rich.
Wrapped tightly in parchment and then plastic, a block keeps for months in the fridge, though it hardens over time; the harder it gets the finer you should grate it.

Frequently asked questions

Is bottarga the same as caviar?

No, despite the nickname Sardinian caviar. Caviar is loose, unpressed, lightly salted sturgeon eggs served in soft beads. Bottarga is the entire roe sac, salted and dried for weeks until it is firm enough to grate, and it is used as a seasoning rather than eaten by the spoonful. The two are not interchangeable in any recipe.

Can I use anchovies instead of bottarga?

Yes, and it is the best practical substitute. Melt one anchovy fillet, or a teaspoon of anchovy paste, into warm olive oil for every tablespoon of bottarga the recipe wants, and add a tablespoon of grated pecorino at the end. It will be fishier and sharper and will not give you the shaved amber flecks on top, but the salty, savoury backbone of the dish will be there.

Can I just leave bottarga out?

Yes, honestly, more easily than most expensive ingredients. Spaghetti with garlic, good olive oil, lemon zest, parsley and toasted breadcrumbs is a genuinely good dish on its own. What you lose is the savoury depth and the salt, so season more assertively and add something umami-rich, even a spoon of grated pecorino, so the plate does not taste thin.

What is the difference between bottarga di muggine and bottarga di tonno?

Bottarga di muggine is grey mullet roe, the Sardinian style, and it is smaller, paler amber, more delicate and more expensive. Bottarga di tonno is tuna roe, mostly Sicilian, in bigger darker blocks with a stronger, meatier, more assertively fishy flavour. If a recipe does not specify, mullet is the safer assumption; tuna bottarga is better shaved than grated.

Does bottarga need to be cooked or refrigerated?

It is already fully cured and needs no cooking. Keep it wrapped tightly in the fridge, where a whole block will last many months; once you have started grating a piece, wrap the cut face well because it dries and hardens quickly. It can be frozen, though the texture becomes slightly crumblier.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Bottarga substitute

Other bottarga substitutes

2Dried shrimp or dried scallops, finely ground

3Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), crushed fine

4Colatura di alici or a few drops of fish sauce plus pecorino

5Grated pecorino romano with lemon zest

6Anchovy pangrattato (toasted breadcrumbs with anchovy)