Clementine substitute

Best substitute

Mandarins, satsumas or tangerines

Use the same amount fruit for fruit as the clementine you are replacing

Best for eating and lunchboxes

Close match

A clementine is mostly bringing sweetness and gentle citrus perfume, with much less acid than a lemon or even an orange, so the swap has to be another sweet citrus rather than anything sharp. Mandarins, satsumas and tangerines are exact 1:1 replacements. A regular navel or Cara Cara orange is the everyday answer: one medium orange stands in for two clementines, though the segments are bigger and the membranes tougher, so halve them for salads. For juice or zest, use orange, and count 2 tablespoons of juice and 1 teaspoon of zest per clementine. Out of season, drained canned mandarin segments work in cakes and salads if you accept a softer texture.

Other clementine substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Navel or Cara Cara orange
Different texture
1 medium orange for 2 clementines
The most available substitute and a good one.
What changes
Oranges give you the same sweet citrus job with slightly more acidity and a fuller, less floral flavour.
Best for
juice, zest, cakes and bakes, sauces and glazes
Two real differences to plan for. Orange segments are large with chewy membranes, so cut them into pieces or supreme them for a salad where clementine segments would have gone in whole. And orange juice is more acidic, so a dressing or glaze tastes brighter and slightly sharper: a pinch of sugar closes the gap. Cara Cara oranges are the closest in sweetness.
3Canned mandarin segments, drained
Different texture
1 can (about 11 oz, drained) for 4 clementines
The reliable off-season option, and the one that already sits in most pantries.
What changes
These are usually satsumas, so the flavour is right even though the texture is not.
Best for
fruit salads, upside-down cakes, trifles and jellies, glazed savoury dishes
Much softer and wetter than fresh, and they will collapse if you stir them hard. Rinse them if they are packed in heavy syrup, or they will make the dish cloyingly sweet, and pat them dry before putting them on a cake or the batter around them stays gummy. There is no usable zest in a can, so add a little fresh orange zest if the recipe wanted it.
4Minneola tangelo or honey tangerine
Close match
1 tangelo for 2 clementines
These late-winter hybrids are juicier and more strongly perfumed than clementines, with a bell-shaped neck that makes them easy to recognise.
What changes
Best for
juice, sorbets and granitas, marinades, cocktails
Noticeably more aromatic and slightly tarter, which is an advantage in a sorbet or a drink where clementine juice can taste flat, and a disadvantage if you wanted the mild sweetness that makes clementines a child's fruit. Usually seedier, so strain the juice.
5Orange juice plus orange zest
Close match
Use 2 tbsp juice plus 1 tsp zest for every clementine
When the recipe only wanted the liquid and the aroma, not the segments, this is all you need, and it works with either fresh oranges or carton juice.
What changes
Best for
cake batters, custards and creams, syrups, salad dressings
Carton juice is pasteurised, so it tastes cooked and slightly duller than fresh clementine juice, and any zest you add matters more as a result. It is also more acidic than clementine juice, which can be enough to curdle a delicate cream, so add it to the warm mixture off the heat rather than heating them together.
6Grapefruit or blood orange (only when you want a shift)
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume of juice or segments
Both are perfectly good citrus but neither is trying to be a clementine.
What changes
Use them when you know you want the dish to taste sharper or deeper rather than mild and sweet.
Best for
salads with bitter leaves, sorbets, cocktails, fish and seafood
Grapefruit brings a bitterness that clementines do not have at all, so a fruit salad made with it tastes adult and slightly astringent, and you will want a spoonful of honey. Blood orange is closer, with a berry-like edge and a colour that will tint anything pale pink or red.

What is Clementine?

Clementine is A clementine is a small seedless easy-peeler mandarin, sold in winter under brand names like Cuties and Halos, with very sweet low-acid juice, thin fragrant skin and tender segment membranes.

Cooking tips

One medium clementine gives roughly 2 tablespoons of juice and 1 teaspoon of finely grated zest, so a recipe wanting a quarter cup of juice needs about two of them.
Clementine skin is thin, which means you get far less zest than from an orange. If a recipe calls for a tablespoon of clementine zest, expect to zest three or four fruit, or use the zest of one orange instead.
The segments have unusually soft membranes, which is why recipes fold them in whole. If you substitute orange, cut the segments in half or supreme them or the chewy membrane stands out.
Because clementine juice is low in acid, it is a poor choice where the recipe needs sourness to work, such as a marinade meant to tenderise or a dressing that has to cut through fat. Add a squeeze of lemon rather than more clementine.
Clementines are a winter fruit, roughly November to February in the northern hemisphere. Out of season the fruit sold under the same brand names is often a different mandarin variety and can be drier, so taste one before committing it to a dessert.

Frequently asked questions

Are Cuties and Halos the same as clementines?

They are brand names, not varieties. Both brands sell easy-peeling seedless mandarins, which are clementines early in the season and usually switch to murcott or other mandarins later on. For cooking purposes treat any of them as a clementine and use them 1:1.

Can I use an orange instead of a clementine?

Yes, and it is the most practical swap. Use one medium orange for two clementines. The two things to allow for are that orange segments are bigger with tougher membranes, so cut them up for salads, and that orange juice is a little more acidic, so add a pinch of sugar if the recipe was relying on clementine sweetness.

Can I just leave the clementine out?

If it is a garnish or one fruit among several in a salad, yes. If the recipe is a clementine cake, sorbet or marmalade, the fruit is the entire flavour and leaving it out gives you a plain sponge or a sugar syrup, so substitute rather than omit. In savoury dishes such as a glazed ham or a duck sauce, orange juice and zest fill the gap completely.

What is the difference between a clementine, a mandarin and a tangerine?

Mandarin is the umbrella group. Clementines are small, seedless and very easy to peel, satsumas are similar and even more delicate, and tangerines are a bit larger, slightly tarter and often have seeds. In a recipe they are interchangeable at 1:1, with the only practical difference being seeds and how sweet the result tastes.

Can I use clementine juice where a recipe asks for lemon or lime juice?

No, not directly. Clementine juice has a fraction of the acidity, so it will not set a curd, cut through richness or brighten a dressing the way lemon does. If you only have clementines, use their juice for flavour and add a teaspoon or two of vinegar or lemon juice for the sourness the recipe needs.

Related substitutes

More fruits substitutes

Clementine substitute

Other clementine substitutes

2Navel or Cara Cara orange

3Canned mandarin segments, drained

4Minneola tangelo or honey tangerine

5Orange juice plus orange zest

6Grapefruit or blood orange (only when you want a shift)