Gribenes substitutes
Gribenes substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Homemade gribenes from chicken skin
Same amount as the gribenes
The real thing, made from the skin and fat you trim off a chicken, rendered slowly with sliced onion until the skin is brown and brittle.
Make your own - it takes twenty minutes and needs nothing but chicken skin, an onion and salt. If you have no skin, crushed pork rinds or crumbled crisp bacon give you the same salty crunch, and fried shallots or onions give you the crunch without the meat. Whatever you use, add it at the very last moment: gribenes are a texture ingredient, and anything crisp goes soft the second it hits a warm dish.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- chopped liver
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of gribenes | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homemade gribenes from chicken skinchopped liver | Same amountWorks | Works |
| 2 | Crisp-fried bacon or pancetta, crumbledkugel | Same amount by volumeTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Crushed pork rinds or chicharronesgarnish | Same amount by volumeAdded at the last secondTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Crisp fried shallots or onionschopped liver | Same amount by volumeTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Crisped chicken skin from a roastchopped liver | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Schmaltz alone, accepting the losschopped liver | Use 1 tablespoon schmaltz per ¼ cup gribenes omittedTweak it | Tweak it |
Homemade gribenes from chicken skin
similar taste and texture
The real thing, made from the skin and fat you trim off a chicken, rendered slowly with sliced onion until the skin is brown and brittle.
- Best for
- chopped liver, matzo balls, kugel, mashed potatoes, garnish
Cut skin and fat into half-inch pieces, put them in a cold pan with a splash of water, and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Add sliced onion for the last ten minutes so it browns without burning, then salt while hot. You get schmaltz as a bonus, and a butcher will usually sell you a bag of chicken skin cheaply if you ask.
Crisp-fried bacon or pancetta, crumbled
different taste, similar texture
The most available substitute for the salty, fatty, crunchy job gribenes are doing.
- Best for
- kugel, mashed potatoes, salads, soups, garnish
Texturally excellent and immediately convincing. The difference is smoke and cure - bacon brings a smoky, cured, almost sweet flavour that gribenes do not have, so a chopped liver made with it tastes distinctly of bacon rather than of roasted chicken. Pancetta is the closer of the two because it is unsmoked. Neither is kosher, which rules them out of the traditional dishes gribenes belong to.
Crushed pork rinds or chicharrones
different taste, similar texture
Puffed fried pork skin, which is essentially the same idea as gribenes applied to a different animal.
- Best for
- garnish, toppings, salads, mashed potatoes
The crunch is spot on and the flavour is closer than bacon because there is no smoke or sugar. What is missing is the browned onion sweetness that real gribenes pick up from being rendered with onion. They also go soggy faster than gribenes, so scatter them on at the table. Not kosher.
Crisp fried shallots or onions
different taste, similar texture
Thin-sliced shallot or onion fried in oil or schmaltz until brown and brittle, or the ready-fried kind from a jar.
- Best for
- chopped liver, kugel, mashed potatoes, vegetarian versions, soups
This is the best non-meat option and the one to reach for if you keep kosher and have no chicken skin, or if you want the dish to stay vegetarian. It gives you the crunch and a good deal of the savoury sweetness, but none of the poultry richness - fry them in schmaltz rather than oil if you have any and you close most of that gap.
Crisped chicken skin from a roast
similar taste, different texture
The skin you pull off a roast chicken, torn up and crisped for a few minutes in a hot dry pan or under the broiler.
- Best for
- chopped liver, garnish, salads, matzo balls
Flavour-wise this is nearly identical to gribenes and it uses something you would otherwise throw away. It is thinner and shatters rather than crunches, and it has no browned onion in it, so stir in a spoonful of caramelised onion if the recipe is leaning on that sweetness.
Schmaltz alone, accepting the loss
similar taste, different texture
The honest answer when you have the fat but not the crackling: keep the flavour and give up the crunch.
- Best for
- chopped liver, matzo balls, kugel, soups
There is no real substitute for the specific texture of gribenes, and this option admits it. Schmaltz carries the same roasted chicken flavour and richness, so the dish will taste right and simply be softer throughout. In chopped liver that is a genuine loss, since the contrast between smooth liver and crisp bits is half the point; in matzo balls or kugel you will barely notice.
Questions
5 questionsCan I just leave gribenes out?
Yes in most dishes, with one exception. In matzo balls, kugel or mashed potatoes they are a bonus and a tablespoon of schmaltz covers the flavour they would have added. In traditional chopped liver they are load-bearing - the whole dish is built on smooth liver against salty crunch - so leave them out and you have a pate rather than chopped liver. Crisp fried onions are a good rescue there.
What is the difference between gribenes and schmaltz?
They come out of the same pan. Schmaltz is the liquid rendered chicken fat you pour off; gribenes, sometimes called grieven or chicken cracklings, are the solid crisp bits of skin and onion left in the pan. If a recipe calls for both, one batch of rendering gives you both.
Are pork cracklings the same as gribenes?
They are the same idea and a decent substitute, but not the same thing. Gribenes are chicken; pork rinds, chicharrones and Polish skwarki are pork. The crunch transfers well, the flavour is fattier and less poultry-like, and pork obviously cannot be used in the kosher dishes gribenes traditionally belong to.
Where do I buy chicken skin to make gribenes?
A butcher or the meat counter will usually sell you skin and fat trimmings for very little if you ask, and kosher butchers often keep them bagged. Otherwise save the skin and fat every time you break down a chicken and freeze it until you have a couple of cups, which is enough for a proper batch.
Can I make gribenes in the oven instead of a pan?
Yes, and it is more forgiving. Spread the skin in a single layer on a rimmed sheet and roast at 325F for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring a couple of times, adding sliced onion for the last ten. You get less control over the browning than in a pan, but nothing sticks and nothing scorches while you are not looking.
Tips for substituting gribenes
5 tips- Gribenes do two jobs at once - crunch and roasted-poultry savouriness - and almost every substitute covers one but not both. Decide which one your dish actually needs. Chopped liver needs the crunch. Matzo balls and kugel mostly need the fat and flavour, which schmaltz alone supplies.
- Start rendering in a cold pan with a tablespoon of water. The water keeps the skin from seizing and scorching while the fat slowly melts out, and it evaporates long before the skin browns. Skin dropped into a hot pan browns outside before the fat renders and comes out chewy rather than brittle.
- Add the onion only in the last ten minutes. Onion put in at the start burns bitter over a half-hour render, and burnt onion will taint the schmaltz you are collecting at the same time.
- Salt gribenes the instant they come out of the fat, while the surface is still slick - salt will not stick once they cool. Then drain them on paper towel and leave them uncovered, because a lid traps steam and softens them within minutes.
- They keep badly. Gribenes are best within an hour or two of being made and lose their crunch in the fridge; if you must store them, keep them airtight at room temperature for a day and re-crisp in a dry pan for a minute before serving. This is also why every substitute should be added at the end of cooking rather than stirred in early.