Out of Brandy, one case

Non-alcoholic substitute for brandy

5 options, ranked, with the exact amount

Use thisBest of 5 options

Use White grape juice

Same amount as the brandy

For no alcohol, replace brandy with the same amount of white grape juice or apple juice in desserts, fruit dishes and glazes, and with the same amount of stock in savory pan sauces. Juice is sweeter than brandy and has no bite, so cut a little sugar elsewhere and add a few drops of lemon juice. None of these will flame, and none will preserve a fruitcake the way brandy does.

Verdict —: You'll taste it
The tweak —: Use the same amount and add a few drops of lemon juice to stand in for brandy's sharpness. Reduce another sweetener slightly if the recipe uses more than ¼ cup.
Best for —: cakes, fruitcake batter and soaked dried fruit
Pantry —: Likely in your cupboard

One casethe full brandy card

Every option, one card

Ranked

Brandy substitutes compared
#	Substitute	Instead of brandy	Verdict
1	White grape juicecakes, fruitcake batter and soaked dried fruit	Same amountYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
2	Apple juice or apple ciderpork and chicken pan sauces	Same amountYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
3	Peach or apricot nectarsoaking dried fruit	Same amountYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
4	Chicken or beef stocksteak au poivre and other pan sauces	Same amountYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
5	Brandy extract + watercakes and cookies	½ tsp extract + 2 ½ tsp water per 1 tbspTweak it	Tweak it

What changesWhat changes, option by option5 options

White grape juice

fruity and sweet, with no warmth

Brandy is distilled from wine, so grape juice is the nearest flavor without alcohol. It is pale and does not color a sauce or a batter.

Best for: cakes, fruitcake batter and soaked dried fruit, cream sauces and glazes, poached fruit
Prep: Use the same amount and add a few drops of lemon juice to stand in for brandy's sharpness. Reduce another sweetener slightly if the recipe uses more than ¼ cup.
Suits: alcohol-free, vegan
Where it fails: Flambé dishes: juice does not ignite. It also adds sugar, so a pan sauce reduces to something sweeter and stickier.

Apple juice or apple cider

clearly apple, and sweeter

Unsweetened apple juice or fresh, non-alcoholic cider. It suits the dishes where brandy sits next to pork, poultry, apples or warm spices.

Best for: pork and chicken pan sauces, apple desserts and mincemeat, glazes for ham
Prep: Use the same amount. In a savory sauce, simmer it down by about half so it does not taste thin.
Suits: alcohol-free, vegan
Where it fails: Beef and mushroom sauces, where the apple flavor does not belong. Hard cider is alcoholic; check the bottle.

Peach or apricot nectar

sweet stone fruit

Thicker and more fragrant than juice, close to the stone-fruit notes in many brandies.

Best for: soaking dried fruit, trifles and dessert sauces, glazes for fruit tarts
Prep: Use the same amount. If the recipe needs a thin liquid, loosen the nectar with a spoonful of water.
Suits: alcohol-free, vegan
Where it fails: Savory sauces, and anywhere a thick, pulpy liquid would cloud the dish.

Chicken or beef stock

savory; no fruit and no warmth

In a pan sauce the brandy's first job is to lift the browned bits from the pan. Stock does that and adds savory depth, with none of the brandy flavor.

Best for: steak au poivre and other pan sauces, stews and gravy, deglazing
Prep: Deglaze with the same amount of stock and finish the sauce with a small splash of lemon juice or wine vinegar.
Suits: alcohol-free
Where it fails: Desserts, and any dish where brandy is a flavor you would recognize.

Brandy extract + water

brandy flavor without the heat

The closest to the taste of brandy. The water makes up the liquid the recipe expected. Treat the amount as a starting point and add extract a drop at a time.

Best for: cakes and cookies, custards and whipped cream, frostings
Prep: Stir the extract into the water, juice or milk that replaces the brandy, then taste before adding more.
Where it fails: Uncooked desserts for anyone who avoids alcohol completely, and deglazing, where there is too little liquid to do the work.

Most brandy extracts, including imitation ones, are made with alcohol. The amount per serving is very small, but read the label if you need none at all.

Tips for substituting brandy

5 tips

Desserts and soaked fruit: white grape juice at the same amount, plus a few drops of lemon juice. For ¼ cup brandy that is ¼ cup juice.
Pan sauces: the same amount of stock to deglaze, reduced by half, then a small splash of lemon juice or vinegar off the heat.
Juice adds sugar that brandy does not. In a recipe with more than ¼ cup, take out a tablespoon or so of the recipe's sugar and taste.
Skip the flambé step. Nothing without alcohol will light, and the dish does not need it: simmer the sauce a minute longer.
A fruitcake fed with juice does not keep the way one fed with brandy does. Store it in the refrigerator and eat it within about a week, or freeze it.

Questions

5 questions

Does the alcohol in brandy cook off?

Not all of it. A sauce simmered for 15 minutes keeps about 40% of its alcohol, and one cooked for an hour keeps about 25%. A flamed dish keeps most of it. If you need a dish with no alcohol, use juice or stock from the start.

What can I use in place of brandy in fruitcake without alcohol?

Soak the fruit in the same amount of white grape juice, apple juice or orange juice, and use the same juice in the batter. The cake tastes fruitier and sweeter. It will not keep for weeks at room temperature as a brandy-fed cake does, so refrigerate or freeze it.

What is a non-alcoholic substitute for brandy in a pan sauce?

Use the same amount of chicken or beef stock to deglaze the pan, then add a small splash of lemon juice or wine vinegar at the end. For pork or chicken, apple juice simmered down by half also works.

Is brandy extract alcohol-free?

Usually not. Most extracts are flavor dissolved in alcohol, and that includes many imitation brandy extracts. A recipe uses only a teaspoon or so, but if you avoid alcohol entirely, read the label or use juice.

Can I just leave the brandy out?

If the recipe uses a tablespoon or two for flavor, yes: replace it with the same amount of water, juice or milk so the liquid stays the same. If it uses ¼ cup or more, replace it with juice or stock, because the recipe counts on that liquid.