Dandelion root substitutes

Dried roasted chicory root, sold cut-and-sifted or ground for coffee. It is the standard stand-in and the backbone of nearly every commercial dandelion blend, so the two taste like close cousins.

Best for

caffeine-free coffee-style brews, New Orleans style chicory coffee, herbal blends and iced brews, dark colour in a mug or in baking

Chicory is slightly sweeter and more caramel-like, and dandelion has a sharper mineral bitterness at the back of the sip. Brewed side by side, chicory tastes rounder and dandelion tastes greener and more medicinal. Use one heaped teaspoon per cup and simmer for eight to ten minutes rather than just pouring hot water over it, exactly as you would with dandelion root.

Whole barley kernels roasted until dark, sold loose or in large teabags in Japanese, Korean and Chinese groceries and now in many supermarkets.

Best for

everyday caffeine-free brewing, iced drinks, drinking through the evening, when you want no bitterness at all

Much gentler. It gives you the roasted grain aroma and the brown colour but almost none of dandelion's bitterness, so a mug of it tastes toasty and mild rather than coffee-like. If you are drinking dandelion root because you want something with backbone, brew the barley strong, two tablespoons per two cups, and add a pinch of cocoa powder to put some bitterness back.

Sliced dried burdock root, roasted, brewed the same way as dandelion. Burdock is dandelion's nearest relative on the shelf in flavour terms.

Best for

matching dandelion's earthy root character, Japanese-style root teas, herbal blends where dandelion was one of several roots

The single closest flavour match after chicory. It is earthy and slightly sweet with the same faint drying finish, though less bitter and with a woody note some people read as almost mushroomy. If your grocer stocks fresh burdock, you can slice it thin, dry-toast it in a pan until brown and fragrant, and simmer it, which tastes better than most bagged versions.

Instant powders built from roasted barley, rye, chicory and sometimes beet, made to be stirred into hot water as a caffeine-free coffee replacement.

Best for

the fastest caffeine-free cup, recipes needing coffee-like colour and roast, cakes, glazes and ice creams

Sweeter and maltier than dandelion, with a definite cereal note, and it dissolves instantly instead of needing a simmer. In a mug it reads as a soft mock coffee rather than a bitter root brew. In baking it is arguably better than dandelion because it disperses evenly and deepens chocolate without adding a herbal edge.

The obvious cheat if what you actually want is the roasted bitter flavour rather than the herbal aspect.

Best for

recipes where dandelion root was supplying colour and bitterness, chocolate cakes, brownies and frostings, spice rubs and barbecue sauces

Real coffee is more acidic and fruitier, and dandelion root is flatter and earthier, so a drink made with coffee tastes brighter and sharper. Decaf keeps it near enough caffeine-free but is not caffeine-free, which matters if that was the reason you were using dandelion. In a batter or a sauce, nobody will be able to tell the difference.

Scrub, chop into pea-sized pieces, roast at 175 C or 350 F for 30 to 45 minutes until dark brown and fragrant, then simmer.

Best for

when no shop nearby stocks it, getting a fresher, more aromatic brew

Home-roasted root is noticeably more aromatic than bagged root that has sat on a shelf, and roasting depth is entirely in your control: pale roast tastes green and bitter, dark roast tastes nutty and almost chocolatey. Only dig from ground you know has not been treated with weedkiller or run off from a road, wash the roots hard, and take the usual sensible line on foraging: if you are not certain what a plant is, do not brew it. This is a flavour swap, not health advice.