Ginkgo nuts substitutes
Ginkgo nuts substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Cooked chestnuts
Same amount by count as the ginkgo nuts
Cooked chestnuts are the best all-round swap at 1:1 by count, giving a similar dense sweet bite in congee, soups and stuffings without any bitterness. Cooked lotus seeds are the closest match for Chinese soups, and quartered macadamia nuts work well in chawanmushi where you want that waxy pale density. If the ginkgo was mostly there for its jade colour and tender pop, shelled edamame at 1:1 does the job. Ginkgo is not a bulk flavour ingredient: it is doing texture, a small bitter accent and colour, always in small quantities. One important note: ginkgo nuts should only ever be eaten cooked and in modest amounts, and they are not suitable for young children.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- congee
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of ginkgo nuts | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooked chestnutscongee | Same amount by countWorks | Works |
| 2 | Cooked lotus seedsChinese soups | Same amount by countTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Macadamia nuts, quarteredchawanmushi | Same amount by volumeTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Shelled edamame or fresh fava beanschawanmushi | Same amount by countYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Pine nutscongee | Same amount by volumeTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Fresh water chestnuts or jicamastir-fries | Same amountWith reservationsYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Cooked chestnuts
similar taste and texture
The most reliable swap. Chestnuts share ginkgo's dense, slightly waxy, faintly sweet character and hold their shape in a simmered dish, so a congee or soup still has the same punctuation of firm morsels.
- Best for
- congee, Chinese soups, braises, stuffings, rice dishes
Softer and mealier than ginkgo, distinctly sweeter, and with none of the resinous bitterness. Vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts are very soft, so dried chestnuts soaked and simmered come closer to ginkgo's chew. They carry no safety caveat, which makes them the easy choice when cooking for a family.
Cooked lotus seeds
similar taste, different texture
The closest match for Cantonese soups and congee, which is exactly where lotus seeds and ginkgo often appear together. Similar pale ivory colour, similar firm rounded bite.
- Best for
- Chinese soups, congee, sweet soups, herbal broths
More starchy and chalky than ginkgo's springy density, and mild rather than resinous, though if the bitter germ is left in the centre you get a hint of the bitterness ginkgo provides. Dried lotus seeds need soaking and simmering until tender before use.
Macadamia nuts, quartered
different taste, similar texture
The best visual and textural match for chawanmushi and other delicate dishes, because macadamias have the same pale, waxy, buttery density that makes a ginkgo nut satisfying to bite in a soft custard.
- Best for
- chawanmushi, steamed custards, rice dishes, salads
Sweeter and much richer, with no bitterness at all, and they soften considerably in a wet custard rather than staying springy. Add them just before steaming rather than soaking them in advance.
Shelled edamame or fresh fava beans
different taste and texture
The right answer when ginkgo is in the dish mainly for its jade colour and tender pop, which is often true of chawanmushi and takikomi gohan.
- Best for
- chawanmushi, takikomi gohan, rice dishes, clear soups, salads
The colour match is excellent, arguably better than ginkgo itself. Flavour goes green and beany rather than resinous and faintly bitter, and the texture is tender-firm rather than dense and chewy. Blanch them briefly first so they stay bright.
Pine nuts
similar taste, different texture
Worth considering for congee and porridge, because pine nuts share a faintly resinous, almost coniferous quality that no other nut on this list has.
- Best for
- congee, porridge, rice dishes, stuffings
They are much smaller and soften completely, so you lose the chew entirely and get a creamy nuttiness instead. Flavour-wise this is the nearest thing to ginkgo's odd pine note, which is why it is here despite the texture mismatch.
Fresh water chestnuts or jicama
different taste and texture
Right size, right pale colour, and they hold up in a simmered dish, so they look correct in the bowl.
- Best for
- stir-fries, soups, braises
The texture is wrong in a specific way: water chestnuts and jicama stay crisp and snappy no matter how long you cook them, where ginkgo is dense and chewy. They are also sweet and watery rather than faintly bitter. Use them only when appearance and a bit of bite are all you need.
Questions
5 questionsAre ginkgo nuts safe to eat?
Cooked and in small quantities, they are a normal food eaten across East Asia. They should not be eaten raw or in large amounts, because they contain a naturally occurring compound sometimes called ginkgotoxin, and cases of poisoning from eating many at once are documented, particularly in young children. Traditional practice keeps portions to a small handful per adult within a dish, and children should have very few or none. If you are pregnant, on medication, or unsure, leave them out, which is easy in almost every recipe that uses them.
Can I just leave ginkgo nuts out of chawanmushi?
Yes, without any real loss to the dish. In chawanmushi, congee and most Chinese soups ginkgo is a garnish and a textural accent rather than a structural or flavouring ingredient, so the custard sets and the soup tastes the same. If you want something in that place, a few blanched edamame give the same jade colour and tender pop.
Can I use canned or vacuum-packed ginkgo nuts?
Yes, and for most home cooks it is the sensible option, since shelling and peeling fresh ginkgo is fiddly work. They are already cooked, so rinse them well to remove the packing liquid and simply warm them through at the end of cooking. Do not simmer them for long or they turn rubbery.
Are ginkgo nuts actually nuts?
No. They are the kernels of the ginkgo tree's seeds, not tree nuts in the botanical or allergen sense, which is why they sometimes appear in nut-free contexts. Separately, the fleshy outer pulp of the ginkgo fruit is a strong skin irritant and smells terrible, which is why the nuts are sold already cleaned. If you have a tree nut allergy, ask an allergist rather than assuming they are safe on the basis of botany.
What is the closest substitute for ginkgo nuts' flavour?
Honestly, nothing quite matches it. That faintly bitter, slightly resinous, almost pine-like edge is unusual, and every substitute here trades it for sweetness. Pine nuts get closest on flavour but lose the chew completely, while chestnuts and lotus seeds match the bite and lose the bitterness. If the ginkgo flavour is the reason you want the dish, the better move is to leave it out and not pretend, rather than to fake it.
Tips for substituting ginkgo nuts
6 tips- Ginkgo nuts should always be cooked and eaten in modest amounts. They contain a naturally occurring compound sometimes called ginkgotoxin, and eating a large quantity at one sitting can cause poisoning. Traditional practice is a small handful for an adult as part of a dish, and young children should be given very few or none at all. This is a genuine, well-documented caution rather than folklore.
- To shell fresh ones, crack the hard tan shell with the flat of a heavy knife or a pair of pliers, then boil or dry-roast the kernels briefly and rub the thin brown inner skin off while they are still warm. That inner skin is the bitterest part and it comes away easily hot and stubbornly cold.
- Fresh ginkgo turns from dull yellow to a beautiful translucent jade as it cooks, which is your doneness signal. Overcooked they go grey-yellow and hard, so add them in the last few minutes rather than at the start of a long simmer.
- Vacuum-packed and canned ginnan is already cooked. Rinse it and warm it through only, because boiling it again makes it rubbery and dulls the colour.
- For the classic izakaya version, thread shelled nuts on a skewer, dry-roast or grill them until blistered and jade, and finish with flaky salt. Nothing else is needed and it is the best way to understand what the ingredient actually tastes like.
- Fresh in-shell ginkgo does not keep. Store it in the fridge and use it within a couple of weeks, because the kernels go rancid and shrink away from the shell.