Fig Vinegar substitute

Best substitute

Balsamic Vinegar Plus Fig Jam

For every 1 tbsp fig vinegar: 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar + ½ tsp fig jam

Best for salad dressings

Close match

The closest match by a wide margin, because it rebuilds the two things fig vinegar actually contributes: dark, mellow acidity from the balsamic and jammy fig sweetness from the jam. A dressing made this way tastes essentially like the real bottle, just a touch less syrupy.

Other fig vinegar substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Balsamic Vinegar On Its Own
Different taste
Use the same amount
Perfectly good and the swap most people should reach for.
What changes
You lose the specific fig note and a little sweetness, so a vinaigrette comes out sharper and more straightforwardly winey than jammy. Add a pinch of brown sugar or a few drops of honey if the dish tastes too lean.
Best for
vinaigrettes, roasted vegetables, caprese-style salads, pan sauces
Use a thicker, sweeter supermarket balsamic rather than a thin, harsh one. Aged balsamic is even closer, since age brings the same raisin-and-fig sweetness.
3Balsamic Glaze Thinned With Vinegar
Close match
For every 1 tbsp fig vinegar: 2 tsp balsamic glaze + 1 tsp red wine vinegar
Balsamic glaze is already reduced and sweet, so it matches fig vinegar's thickness and clinginess very well.
What changes
Straight glaze alone is too sweet and too syrupy, which is why you cut it with a sharper vinegar to bring the acidity back up.
Best for
drizzling over cheese, prosciutto or flatbread, finishing roasted squash, plate presentation
This is the best option when the recipe uses fig vinegar as a drizzle rather than as an ingredient, because texture is doing half the work there.
4Red Wine Vinegar Plus Honey Or Brown Sugar
Taste and texture differ
For every 1 tbsp fig vinegar: 1 tbsp red wine vinegar + ½ tsp honey or brown sugar
The pantry rescue when there is no balsamic in the house.
What changes
It gets the sweet-sour balance right but stays bright red-fruit rather than dark and figgy, so the dish reads fresher and less rich. Nobody will notice in a dressing with mustard and shallots in it.
Best for
salad dressings, coleslaw, quick pan sauces, marinades
Dissolve honey in the vinegar first, before adding oil, or it will bead up. Brown sugar gets you slightly closer than white because of its molasses note.
5Pomegranate Molasses With A Splash Of Vinegar
Different taste
For every 1 tbsp fig vinegar: 2 tsp pomegranate molasses + 1 tsp red wine vinegar
Thick, dark, sour-sweet and fruity, which covers the same structural role.
What changes
The fruit is unmistakably pomegranate though: tangier and more tart-berry than the mellow raisiny fig, so a cheese-board drizzle tastes sharper and more Middle Eastern than Italian.
Best for
roasted vegetables, lamb and duck, grain salads, cheese boards
A genuinely good result rather than a compromise, just a different dish. Lean into it by adding walnuts or mint instead of trying to hide it.
6Sherry Vinegar Plus Date Syrup
Different taste
For every 1 tbsp fig vinegar: 1 tbsp sherry vinegar + ½ tsp date syrup
Sherry vinegar brings a nutty, slightly oxidised depth and date syrup brings dried-fruit sweetness that is genuinely close to fig.
What changes
The result is a little more savoury and wine-cellar than the real thing, which suits meat and mushrooms better than it suits fruit.
Best for
pork chops, mushrooms, warm lentil or farro salads, manchego and hard cheeses
Sherry vinegar is sharper than balsamic, so taste before adding all of it. Maple syrup works in place of date syrup, though it pushes the flavour toward breakfast.

What is Fig Vinegar?

Fig Vinegar is Fig vinegar is a dark, thick, sweet-tart vinegar made from figs or fig must, and the bottle most shops sell as fig balsamic vinegar or fig-infused vinegar is really a balsamic-style vinegar sweetened and flavoured with fig.

Cooking tips

Fig vinegar is doing two jobs at once: it is the acid that keeps a rich dish from tasting flat, and it is a source of sweetness and fruit aroma. When you swap it, check that whatever you use covers both, or the dish will taste either sour and thin or sweet and cloying.
Add it off the heat, or right at the end. Its sweetness is delicate and long boiling turns the fruit note dull and slightly burnt, leaving you with plain sourness.
In a vinaigrette, fig vinegar is sweet enough that you can use more oil than usual, roughly four parts oil to one part vinegar instead of three to one, without the dressing tasting harsh.
It shines against salty and funky things, so it is genuinely worth the bottle for blue cheese, goat cheese, prosciutto and aged pecorino. If you are replacing it in that context, prioritise thickness so the drizzle clings rather than running off the plate.
Do not use fig vinegar, or any sweetened or infused vinegar, in a canning or pickling recipe that calls for a specific vinegar at a specific acidity. Sweetened and fruit-flavoured vinegars are often below the 5 percent acidity that tested recipes rely on, and lowering acidity in a preserved food is a botulism risk. Follow the tested recipe exactly and see the National Center for Home Food Preservation for guidance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave fig vinegar out?

Not if it is the only acid in the recipe, because the dish will taste flat and heavy with nothing to cut the fat. In that case use any vinegar you have, ideally balsamic, plus a small pinch of sugar. You can leave it out safely when it is a finishing drizzle over an already-seasoned dish, or one of several flavourings in a marinade that also contains lemon, wine or mustard.

Is fig balsamic vinegar the same thing as fig vinegar?

Usually, in practice. True fig vinegar is fermented from figs, but almost every bottle on a shop shelf labelled fig balsamic, fig-infused vinegar or fig vinegar is a grape-based balsamic-style vinegar that has been sweetened and flavoured with fig. That is exactly why balsamic plus fig jam is such a convincing substitute: you are rebuilding the same thing.

Can I make fig vinegar at home?

You can make a very good approximation in a few minutes: gently warm 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons chopped dried figs or fig jam, let it sit off the heat for fifteen minutes, then strain. Keep it in the fridge and use it within a couple of weeks. Treat it as a flavouring, not a preserving vinegar, because you have no way of knowing its final acidity.

What is the best substitute for a cheese board or charcuterie drizzle?

Balsamic glaze thinned with a teaspoon of red wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar whisked with fig jam. Both stay thick enough to sit on the plate in a line instead of soaking away, which is most of the appeal of fig vinegar in that setting.

Can I use fig vinegar in place of regular vinegar in a recipe?

In dressings, marinades and pan sauces, yes, but reduce any sugar in the recipe because fig vinegar is sweet. In baking, where vinegar reacts with baking soda, use it at 1:1 and expect a slightly darker crumb. Do not use it in canning or fermenting recipes, where the acidity has to be known and exact.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Fig Vinegar substitute

Other fig vinegar substitutes

2Balsamic Vinegar On Its Own

3Balsamic Glaze Thinned With Vinegar

4Red Wine Vinegar Plus Honey Or Brown Sugar

5Pomegranate Molasses With A Splash Of Vinegar

6Sherry Vinegar Plus Date Syrup