Gelatin substitutes
Gelatin substitutes — 3 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called gelatine, unflavored gelatin, unflavoured gelatine, gelatin powder, powdered gelatin, gelatin sheets, gelatin leaves, leaf gelatine, sheet gelatine, Knox gelatin
Use Agar agar powder
2 tsp for every 7 g envelope
A gelling agent from red seaweed, and the only common substitute that will actually set a liquid firm enough to unmold.
Only agar agar actually sets a liquid the way gelatin does, and it is not a drop-in: whisk 2 tsp agar powder into the cold liquid you would have set with one 7 g envelope of gelatin, bring it to a full rolling boil for 1-2 minutes, then pour fast, because agar sets at room temperature. Cornstarch, arrowroot and xanthan gum thicken but never gel, so they cannot make a jelly that unmolds.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Whisk into cold liquid, bring to a full rolling boil for 1-2 minutes, pour into a warmed mold at once.
- Best for —
- when the dessert has to unmold and hold an edge
- Pantry —
- Special trip
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the gelatin doing?
Pick your caseDoes the finished thing have to hold its own shape, or just be thick?
You need a real gelling agent, and agar agar is the only one most shops sell. Nothing in the starch family will do this. If you are setting a no-bake cheesecake, the amounts are worked out on our gelatine substitute for cheesecake page.
Notes on agar agar powder or kappa carrageenan
2 tsp per 7 g envelope
Cornstarch or arrowroot is genuinely fine here, and often what the recipe should have said in the first place. Accept that it will be a pudding you spoon, not a jelly you turn out.
Notes on cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 tbsp per cup
Pectin is the right tool, not agar. But pectin only gels with enough sugar and enough acid, so it works from a jam recipe and not from a jelly-dessert recipe. Never change the acid in a tested canning recipe.
Notes on pectin
Per the pectin box
There is no substitute. Gelatin's stretch comes from a protein mesh that melts at body temperature; agar's set is brittle and shatters instead of stretching. Buy a box of gelatin, or make a different sweet today.
Those fruits carry enzymes that digest gelatin protein, so the dessert will never set no matter how much you add. Either simmer the fruit for 5 minutes first, use canned fruit, or switch to agar, which is a carbohydrate and immune to them.
Notes on agar agar powder
2 tsp per 7 g envelope
Ask one question: does the finished thing have to hold its own shape? If it must unmold or be sliced, only agar agar (or kappa carrageenan) will do it, and agar has to be boiled and poured fast. If it only has to be thick in the dish you serve it in, cornstarch is fine and you should change the recipe's wording rather than fight it. If it is jam, use pectin from a pectin recipe. If it is marshmallow, gummies or a whipped mousse, there is no substitute.
Gelatin is a protein. Dissolved in warm liquid it stays loose; as it cools below about 95F/35C its strands link into a mesh that traps the liquid, so the dessert holds a clean edge and unmolds. That mesh melts again in your mouth, which is why gelatin desserts feel like they dissolve.
Aerationsecondary
It holds beaten air in place while it cools, which is what makes a marshmallow stay inflated and a mousse hold its height overnight instead of weeping.
Thickeningsecondary
Below setting doses it makes a sauce or glaze cling and shine while cold, then loosen as it warms on the plate.
Setting & gellingprimary
Cooling collagen strands link into a three-dimensional mesh that holds liquid in place, so a panna cotta turns out of its mold standing up with a sharp top edge instead of pouring out.
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of gelatin | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agar agar powderwhen the dessert has to unmold and hold an edge | 2 tspper 1 envelope gelatin (7 g, 2 ½ tsp, sets 2 cups liquid)Tweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Pectinjam and fruit preserves | The amount printed in the pectin box's own recipe, not a gelatin conversionper 1 batch of jam or fruit jellyYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Kappa carrageenanvegan panna cotta and milk-based sets | ½ tspper 1 cup (240 ml) liquidYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Cornstarch | 1 tbsp, slaked in 2 tbsp cold liquid firstNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Arrowroot powder | 1 tbsp, slaked in 2 tbsp cold liquid firstNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Xanthan gum | ¼ tspNot for this | Not for this |
Agar agar powder
clean and neutral, but the dessert no longer melts on the tongue
A gelling agent from red seaweed, and the only common substitute that will actually set a liquid firm enough to unmold.
- Covers
- Thickening
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp agar agar powder for 1 envelope gelatin (7 g, 2 ½ tsp, sets 2 cups liquid)
- Then
- Whisk the powder into the COLD liquid, bring it to a full rolling boil and keep it boiling 1-2 minutes, then pour immediately. Agar only hydrates at a boil, and it starts setting at about 100F/38C, so it will firm up in the pan if you hesitate.
- Best for
- when the dessert has to unmold and hold an edge, vegan and vegetarian sets, any recipe containing raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya or mango
- Taste
- clean and neutral, but the dessert no longer melts on the tongue, so flavors read a little flatter and shorter
- Texture
- firm and brittle rather than wobbly and stretchy: it breaks with a clean snap where gelatin would stretch
- Look
- cuts to sharper edges than gelatin and can look slightly cloudy rather than glassy; a set surface may weep a little clear liquid if you cut it cold
- Prep
- Whisk into cold liquid, bring to a full rolling boil for 1-2 minutes, pour into a warmed mold at once.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher, halal
- Boil it. Gelatin must never boil, agar must: 1-2 minutes at a rolling boil or it will set weakly and grainy.
- Work fast once it is off the heat. Agar sets at room temperature, so warm your mold and have it ready before you boil.
- Using agar FLAKES instead of powder: use 1 tbsp flakes per 1 tsp powder, so 6 tsp (2 tbsp) flakes per envelope of gelatin, and simmer 5 minutes to dissolve them fully.
- For a softer, more gelatin-like wobble, drop to 1 ½ tsp powder per envelope and chill a test spoonful in the freezer for 2 minutes before you commit the batch.
Everything that goes wrong with agar goes wrong at the stove, not in the fridge. It is not dissolved until it has boiled, and it is already setting by the time it hits room temperature.
Not for marshmallows, gummies or anything that needs chew, and not for a mousse that has to hold whipped air.
Pectin
sweeter, because the sugar it needs to gel is part of the dose
A gelling fiber from fruit, and the correct setting agent for jam and fruit jelly rather than for jelly desserts.
- Covers
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Thickening — not covered
- Amount
- The amount printed in the pectin box's own recipe, not a gelatin conversionper 1 batch of jam or fruit jelly
- Then
- Follow the box: pectin is dosed against the weight of fruit and sugar, and the sugar and acid are part of how it gels, not optional extras.
- Best for
- jam and fruit preserves, a fruit glaze on a tart, when the recipe is already high in sugar and acid
- Texture
- spreadable and slightly sticky, like jam, rather than a clean wobble
- Look
- glossy and jammy; it will not turn out of a mold, it slumps into a mound
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Regular (high-methoxyl) pectin will not gel at all without both sugar and acid: it needs a very sweet mixture and a tart one. If your recipe is low in sugar, buy low-sugar pectin, which is a different product and has its own amounts.
- Do not try to convert gelatin amounts to pectin amounts. Start from a pectin recipe instead.
The reason pectin gets recommended and then disappoints is that it needs company. Gelatin sets water; pectin sets sugar syrup with acid in it.
For sweet fruit mixtures only. Never as the setting agent in a savory aspic or a panna cotta, and never adjusted inside a tested canning recipe.
Kappa carrageenan
neutral
Another seaweed extract, sold to home cooks mainly as a vegan panna cotta setter; kappa is the firm-setting type and iota the soft one.
- Covers
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Amount
- ½ tsp kappa carrageenan for 1 cup (240 ml) liquid
- Then
- Whisk into the cold liquid, heat to a simmer to hydrate, then chill. It sets firmest in dairy, so it suits milk panna cotta better than a water jelly.
- Best for
- vegan panna cotta and milk-based sets, when agar's snap is too brittle
- Taste
- neutral
- Texture
- firm but less brittle than agar; can feel slightly slippery
- Look
- sets opaque in milk and can look slightly cloudy in a clear liquid
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Check which type you bought. Kappa gels firm and works with dairy; iota gels soft and stays creamy; the two are not interchangeable at the same amount.
- Start at the low end and chill a teaspoonful for 2 minutes in the freezer before setting the whole batch.
Worth buying only if you set vegan desserts often. For one dessert, agar is easier to find and better documented on the box.
Milk and cream sets. Not for gummies, marshmallows or anything chewy.
Cornstarch
slightly starchy and dulled unless you boil it a full minute
A thickener, not a setting agent: it makes a hot liquid viscous, and on cooling you get a pudding you spoon rather than a jelly you turn out.
- Covers
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp cornstarch, slaked in 2 tbsp cold liquid first for 1 cup (240 ml) liquid you wanted to set
- Then
- Whisk the slurry into the rest and boil it for a full minute, stirring, or it will taste chalky and thin back out as it cools.
- Best for
- when the dessert is served in the dish it set in, pie fillings and puddings, when you have nothing else and can change what you are making
- Texture
- creamy and pudding-like, and it can turn stringy or weep if reheated
- Look
- cloudy and matte, and it slumps into a soft mound instead of standing up with a clean edge
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Change the recipe, not just the ingredient: pour into serving glasses or a pie shell, because it will not unmold.
- Do not add more to force a firmer set. Past about 2 tbsp per cup you get a pasty, gluey texture, not a gel.
This is the swap most people find first and it is why so many no-bake cheesecakes come out as a puddle. Cornstarch has no way to build a mesh that holds a shape once it is cold.
Never in anything that has to unmold, slice or hold an edge, and never in a cold set that is not cooked.
Arrowroot powder
neutral, cleaner than cornstarch
A clearer, glossier cousin of cornstarch that thickens sauces well and, like every starch, cannot make a jelly that holds its shape.
- Covers
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tbsp arrowroot, slaked in 2 tbsp cold liquid first for 1 cup (240 ml) liquid you wanted to set
- Then
- Stir it in off the boil and heat only until it thickens. Arrowroot thins out if you hold it at a boil, and it breaks down in acidic mixtures.
- Best for
- when you want a clear glossy sauce rather than a cloudy one, acidic fruit sauces cornstarch would dull
- Texture
- glossy and slightly slippery, still spoonable rather than set
- Look
- clear and shiny, but it pours off a spoon instead of holding a shape
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Do not boil it hard or hold it hot: arrowroot loses thickening power with prolonged heat, unlike cornstarch.
- Do not use it in a dairy set. Arrowroot in milk turns slimy.
Better than cornstarch for a clear fruit glaze, no better than cornstarch at the thing gelatin is actually for.
Sauces and glazes only. It will not set a panna cotta, an aspic or a mousse at any amount.
Xanthan gum
neutral, but a slippery mouthfeel that reads as artificial at higher amounts
A thickener that holds particles in suspension and stops a mixture separating, but it never gels, so nothing set with it will slice.
- Covers
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum for 1 tsp gelatin powder
- Then
- Sprinkle it in slowly while blending or whisking hard. Dumped in, it forms rubbery lumps that never disperse.
- Best for
- stopping a cold filling from separating, giving body to a gluten-free batter or a dressing
- Texture
- thick and slightly slimy; it never firms into a gel however long you chill it
- Look
- glossy and viscous, and it sags flat within minutes of being turned out
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Never match gelatin gram for gram or spoon for spoon. Use a quarter of the amount, or the mixture turns slimy and gluey.
- If a no-bake filling is your problem, chilling it with more cream cheese or melted white chocolate will firm it more honestly than xanthan will.
Listed because it comes up constantly in gluten-free baking and people reach for it here. It is the wrong tool: gelatin builds a solid, xanthan just makes liquid stubborn.
A quarter teaspoon per teaspoon of gelatin is a ceiling, not a starting point. Never in anything that must unmold.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- Marshmallows, gummies, chewy candy, or a mousse that has to hold whipped air overnight.Buy a box of unflavored gelatin, or make something else today. This is the one case where waiting is the right answer.
- Anything that must be turned out of a mold or sliced: panna cotta, aspic, terrine, layered jelly, a cut-and-served no-bake cheesecake.Use agar agar with the boil step, or set it in individual glasses and serve it as a pudding you spoon.
- Your recipe contains raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, fresh figs or fresh ginger.Simmer the fruit or its juice for 5 minutes first to kill the enzyme, use canned fruit, which is already heat-treated, or switch to agar agar, which is a carbohydrate and unaffected.
- SafetyA tested canning recipe for jam, jelly or preserves.Use the exact pectin and amounts the tested recipe calls for. If you want a different set, choose a different tested recipe from NCHFP rather than editing this one.
Safety
2 notes- Canning
Do not change the gelling agent, the sugar or the acid in a tested canning recipe for jam, jelly or preserves. Those amounts are part of what makes the sealed jar safe, not just what makes it set. Use a tested recipe as written.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)
- Diet
Gelatin is made from animal collagen, usually pork or beef hide and bone, so it is neither vegetarian nor vegan, and it is only kosher or halal if the box is certified. Agar agar, kappa carrageenan and pectin are all plant-derived.
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The jelly or panna cotta is still liquid after hours in the fridge.Either the gelatin was boiled, or it never fully dissolved, or the recipe contains raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, fig or ginger, whose enzymes digest gelatin.You can restart it once: warm the mixture to about 120F/50C, whisk in one fresh envelope bloomed in ¼ cup cold water, and if enzymic fruit is the cause simmer the fruit or juice 5 minutes before adding it back. Do not let it boil.
- The agar mixture turned to jelly in the saucepan before you could pour it.Agar sets at about 100F/38C, so it firms up as soon as it stops being hot.Return it to the heat and bring it back to a boil; agar is reversible, so it will melt again. Warm the mold with hot water first and pour the moment it comes off the burner.
- There are chewy lumps or gritty specks running through the set dessert.Gelatin powder was added to hot liquid instead of bloomed in cold, or agar was not boiled long enough to hydrate.Melt it down gently and strain through a fine sieve, then reset. Next time bloom gelatin 5 minutes in cold liquid, or hold agar at a rolling boil a full 2 minutes.
- The set is rubbery and bounces instead of wobbling.Too much gelatin for the volume of liquid.Melt it gently, add liquid to bring it back toward 1 ¼ tsp of gelatin per cup, and reset. A firm set cannot be softened by chilling it less.
Measure it
8 measures- 1 envelope powdered gelatin¼ oz = 7 g = about 2 ½ tspOne envelope sets 2 cups (475 ml) of liquid to a standard dessert wobble, so roughly 1 ¼ tsp per cup.
- Gelatin by weightabout 1.5% of the liquid's weight for a soft set7 g in 475 g of liquid. Weighing is the only way to match sheet gelatin to powder reliably.
- Sheet or leaf gelatingraded silver, gold, platinum; sheets weigh roughly 1.7-3.3 gThe grades are designed so one sheet of any grade sets about the same liquid. If you have a scale, match the total grams to the powder amount and check the box, because sheet counts per envelope differ by brand.
- Blooming gelatinsprinkle over ¼ cup cold liquid, stand 5 minutes, then warm to dissolveThe step beginners skip. Powder tipped straight into hot liquid clumps, and the clumps never dissolve.
- Gelatin temperaturesdissolves around 110-140F/45-60C, sets below about 95F/35C, never boil itBoiling breaks the protein down and you get a weak, syrupy set.
- Agar temperaturesmust reach a full boil to hydrate, sets at about 100F/38C, melts near 185F/85CThe reverse of gelatin in both directions: it needs the boil, and it will not melt on your tongue.
- Agar dose2 tsp powder replaces one 7 g envelope of gelatinAgar flakes are much less dense: use 1 tbsp flakes per 1 tsp powder.
- Xanthan gum dose¼ tsp per 1 tsp gelatin, and it still will not gelMatching spoon for spoon is what makes a filling slimy.
Questions
8 questionsIs gelatin the same thing as gelatine?
Yes. Gelatin is the American spelling and gelatine the British and Australian one, and both mean the same collagen setting agent. Unflavored gelatin sold in 7 g envelopes and gelatine sold as sheets or leaves are the same ingredient in different formats; the sheets are graded by strength, so match them to powder by weight, roughly 7 g per envelope.
Can I use agar agar instead of gelatin?
Yes, and it is the only common substitute that really sets a liquid, but it is not a 1:1 swap. Use 2 tsp agar powder in place of one 7 g envelope of gelatin, whisk it into the cold liquid, and hold it at a full rolling boil for 1-2 minutes; agar does not hydrate below boiling. It then sets at room temperature, so pour it straight away. The finished set is firmer and more brittle than gelatin and does not melt in your mouth.
Can I use cornstarch instead of gelatin?
Only if you change what you are making. Cornstarch thickens a liquid while it is hot and slumps when it cools, so it gives you a pudding you spoon, never a jelly that unmolds. Use 1 tbsp cornstarch per cup of liquid, boil it a full minute, and set it in the glasses you will serve it in. For a panna cotta, aspic or sliced no-bake cheesecake, cornstarch cannot do the job at any amount.
How much agar agar equals one packet of gelatin?
About 2 tsp of agar powder per 7 g (2 ½ tsp) envelope of gelatin, which is enough for 2 cups of liquid. If you have flakes rather than powder, use 1 tbsp of flakes for every 1 tsp of powder and simmer 5 minutes to dissolve them. Chill a teaspoonful in the freezer for 2 minutes to check the firmness before you pour the whole batch.
Why didn't my jelly set?
Four causes cover almost every case. The gelatin was boiled, which breaks it down; it was tipped into hot liquid and never dissolved; the recipe had raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, fig or ginger in it, whose enzymes digest gelatin protein; or there was simply not enough for the volume, which is about 1 ¼ tsp per cup. You can rescue it once by warming to 120F/50C and whisking in a fresh bloomed envelope.
What is a vegetarian or vegan substitute for gelatin?
Agar agar for anything that must set and unmold, kappa carrageenan for creamy milk-style sets, and pectin for jam. All three are plant-derived. Gelatin itself is made from animal collagen, usually pork or beef, so it is not vegetarian, and it is only kosher or halal when the box says so.
Can I substitute gelatin sheets for powder?
Yes, in either direction, and the safest way is by weight: use the same total grams. Sheets are graded silver, gold or platinum and weigh roughly 1.7-3.3 g each, and the grades are designed so one sheet of any grade sets about the same amount of liquid. Soak sheets in cold water for 5 minutes, squeeze them out, then melt them into warm liquid; powder is bloomed in a measured ¼ cup of cold liquid instead.
Will xanthan gum set a no-bake cheesecake?
No. Xanthan thickens and suspends but never gels, so the filling stays soft and slightly slippery however long it chills. If you use it at all, use ¼ tsp per 1 tsp of gelatin, because matching spoon for spoon turns the filling slimy. Agar is the working substitute here.
Tips for substituting gelatin
8 tips- Bloom powdered gelatin first: sprinkle it over ¼ cup cold liquid, leave it 5 minutes until it looks like wet sand, then warm it to dissolve. Tipping powder into hot liquid makes lumps you cannot fix.
- Never boil gelatin. Above a simmer the protein breaks down and the set goes weak and syrupy; agar is the opposite and must boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Agar sets at room temperature, so warm your mold and pour the second it leaves the heat.
- Test before you commit: chill a teaspoon of the mixture in the freezer for 2 minutes. That tells you if the set is right while you can still fix it.
- Raw pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, fresh figs and fresh ginger contain enzymes that dissolve gelatin. Simmer them 5 minutes first, use canned, or use agar.
- Gelatin needs 4 hours in the fridge for a soft set and overnight for a firm one, and it keeps firming for the first day.
- Sugar softens a gelatin set and acid weakens it, so a very sweet or very tart jelly needs a little more gelatin than a plain one.
- Freezing ruins a gelatin set: ice crystals cut the mesh and it weeps into a puddle when it thaws.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)