Out of Food coloring, one case

Red food coloring substitute

5 options, ranked, with the exact amount

Use thisBest of 5 options

Use Beet powder

1 to 2 tsp for every batch

Beet powder is the strongest natural stand-in for red food coloring: start with 1 to 2 teaspoons per batch of frosting or batter. It gives a deep pink to red in frosting and other unbaked foods, and it fades toward brown in the oven. Red coloring adds no flavor, so you can also leave it out: red velvet cake without it is a light cocoa brown and tastes the same.

Verdict —: You'll taste it
The tweak —: Sift it in with the dry ingredients, or stir it into 1 tsp of water to make a paste for frosting. Add more by the ½ tsp until the color is where you want it.
Best for —: buttercream and cream cheese frosting
Pantry —: Special trip

One casethe full food coloring card

Every option, one card

Ranked

Food coloring substitutes compared
#	Substitute	Instead of food coloring	Verdict
1	Beet powderbuttercream and cream cheese frosting	1 to 2 tsp per batchYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
2	Beet juiceglazes and royal icing	1 to 2 tbsp per batchYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
3	Freeze-dried strawberry or raspberry powderpink buttercream and whipped cream	2 tbsp per batchYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
4	Pomegranate or tart cherry juicepowdered sugar glaze	1 to 2 tbsp per cup of powdered sugarYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
5	Paprikarice and savory sauces	½ tsp per batchYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
Not a swap	Turmeric	not a swapNot for this	Not for this

What changesWhat changes, option by option5 options

Beet powder

none at 1 tsp; faintly earthy if you keep adding

Dried, ground beets. It is the most concentrated natural red and adds almost no liquid, which makes it the first choice for frosting and for cake batter.

Best for: buttercream and cream cheese frosting, red velvet cake and cupcakes, pink pancakes, icing and play dough
Prep: Sift it in with the dry ingredients, or stir it into 1 tsp of water to make a paste for frosting. Add more by the ½ tsp until the color is where you want it.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: A bright, fire-engine red. In frosting it reads deep pink to magenta. In a baked cake it dulls to a reddish brown, more so with baking soda in the batter.

In a cake, keep the batter acidic: use buttermilk and vinegar as written, and natural cocoa, not Dutch-process. Beet color holds better in acid.

Beet juice

slightly sweet and earthy in larger amounts

The liquid from canned or cooked beets, or bottled beet juice. Less concentrated than the powder, so the color is lighter and it brings liquid with it.

Best for: glazes and royal icing, dyed eggs, pink batters and pancakes
Prep: Take the same amount of milk or water out of the recipe. For a stronger color, simmer ½ cup of juice down to 2 tbsp first.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: Buttercream, where more than a tablespoon of liquid makes it loose. Juice from pickled beets tastes of vinegar. Baked goods fade as they do with the powder.

Freeze-dried strawberry or raspberry powder

clearly berry, slightly tart

Freeze-dried berries ground to a powder in a blender or a bag with a rolling pin. It colors frosting pink and flavors it at the same time.

Best for: pink buttercream and whipped cream, glazes for donuts and cookies, white cake batter
Prep: Grind the berries fine and sift out the seeds before adding.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: Anything meant to be red, not pink, and anything that should not taste of fruit.

Pomegranate or tart cherry juice

tart and fruity

Dark red juices that tint a simple glaze or a drink. Use the juice as the liquid in the recipe instead of adding it on top.

Best for: powdered sugar glaze, drinks, punch and gelatin desserts, poaching liquid for pears
Prep: In a glaze, replace the milk or water with the juice.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: Cake batter and buttercream: the color is too weak to show against flour, cocoa or butter.

Paprika

mild sweet pepper

For savory food only. Sweet paprika gives an orange-red tint to rice, stews, deviled eggs and sauces.

Best for: rice and savory sauces, tandoori-style marinades, deviled eggs and potato salad
Taste: mild sweet pepper; use sweet paprika, not hot or smoked, unless you want that flavor
Prep: Start with ½ tsp and warm it briefly in oil so the color spreads. Add more to taste.
Suits: vegan
Where it fails: Any dessert. The color is orange-red, not true red.

Turmeric

Turmeric colors food yellow, not red.

It stands in for yellow food coloring at ¼ to ½ tsp per batch.

Best for: yellow, not red
Where it fails: It turns reddish brown only when mixed with a lot of baking soda, and a batter that alkaline tastes soapy and bitter.

Tips for substituting food coloring

5 tips

Frosting: mix 1 tsp beet powder with 1 tsp water into a paste, beat it in, then wait 10 minutes. The color deepens as the powder hydrates.
Red velvet with beet powder: use 1 to 2 tsp sifted with the flour, keep the buttermilk and vinegar, and use natural cocoa. Expect a brick or maroon crumb, not bright red.
Liquid colorings add liquid. For every tablespoon of juice you stir in, take a tablespoon of milk or water out.
Natural reds fade with heat and time. Color frosting on the day you serve it and keep it out of direct sun.
If you have gel or paste coloring and the recipe calls for liquid, start with about a quarter of the amount and add more a drop at a time. Gel is much more concentrated.

Questions

5 questions

What can I use in place of red food coloring in red velvet cake?

Beet powder, 1 to 2 teaspoons sifted in with the flour, or nothing at all. With beet powder the cake bakes to a brick or maroon red, not the bright red of bottled dye. Without any coloring it is a light cocoa-brown cake with the same flavor and texture.

Can I leave red food coloring out of a recipe?

Yes. Food coloring adds color and nothing else. If the recipe uses a full 1 oz bottle of liquid coloring, which is 2 tablespoons, add 2 tablespoons of milk or water in its place so the batter has the same amount of liquid.

Can I use turmeric as a red food coloring substitute?

No. Turmeric makes food yellow. It shifts toward red-brown only in a strongly alkaline mixture, such as a batter with far too much baking soda, and that tastes soapy. For red or pink, use beet powder or berry powder.

Will beet powder make my frosting taste like beets?

Not at 1 to 2 teaspoons per batch. The sugar and vanilla cover it. Past about a tablespoon you may notice an earthy note, so if you want a deeper color, pair the beet powder with freeze-dried raspberry powder instead of adding more.

Can I mix other food colorings to make red?

Not from the yellow, green and blue in a standard box. If you have pink or rose coloring, a generous amount gives a deep pink, and a drop of yellow or orange moves it toward red, but it will not match bottled red.