Hoisin sauce substitutes
Hoisin sauce substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called Chinese barbecue sauce, haixian sauce, hoisin paste, Peking duck sauce
Use Miso paste + honey + soy sauce + rice vinegar
1 tsp miso + 2 tsp honey for every 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
For 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce, mix 1 teaspoon of white miso paste, 2 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon of soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon of rice vinegar and a pinch of Chinese five-spice. Miso and sugar are the two things doing the work: hoisin is a fermented soybean paste that has been sweetened, and the five-spice is the anise note your mouth recognises as hoisin.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Mash 1 tsp white miso into 2 tsp honey, then stir in ¼ tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp rice vinegar and a pinch of five-spice.
- Best for —
- when you want the closest flavour match
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the hoisin sauce doing?
Pick your caseIs the hoisin going to be cooked into the dish, or served as it is?
Sugar is doing the visible work. Any of the mixes below will glaze as long as it contains 2 tsp of honey or brown sugar per tablespoon; brush it on in the last 10 minutes so the sugar does not scorch.
Notes on miso paste + honey + soy sauce + rice vinegar or oyster sauce + brown sugar
1 tsp miso + 2 tsp honey per 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
This is the easiest case and the one where a BBQ-sauce mix passes. Garlic, ginger and soy sauce in the pan will cover most of the difference.
Notes on BBQ sauce + soy sauce + five-spice or soy sauce + brown sugar
2 tsp BBQ + 1 tsp soy
Nothing here survives being tasted on its own with nothing else going on. The peanut version is the best of them; otherwise serve the dish without it rather than with something that tastes wrong.
Notes on peanut butter + soy sauce + honey
1 tsp PB + 1 tsp soy
Most hoisin contains wheat flour, so it is not gluten-free to begin with. Build the miso version with tamari instead of soy sauce and brown sugar instead of honey and it is gluten-free and vegan; skip the oyster sauce row, which contains shellfish.
1 tsp miso + 2 tsp honey per 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
Hoisin is a sweetened fermented soybean paste, so a good substitute needs three things: something fermented and savoury, roughly 2 tsp of sugar per tablespoon, and a pinch of five-spice. Miss the sugar and it will not lacquer; miss the fermented element and it tastes like jam with soy sauce in it; miss the five-spice and it tastes like sweet soy sauce. Then check where the sauce is going - anything cooked in a hot pan forgives a lot, and anything served cold in a bowl forgives nothing.
Hoisin is a sweetened fermented soybean paste. The sugar is what lacquers pork and clings to a pancake; the fermented soybean makes it savoury rather than merely sweet; five-spice is the anise note.
Sweetnessprimary
Sugar is usually the first or second ingredient on the label. As it cooks it caramelises into the sticky, shiny coat on char siu and glazed ribs - a substitute without sugar in it will never lacquer, however long you cook it.
Umami & savory depthprimary
Fermented soybeans supply free glutamates, which is why hoisin tastes savoury and rounded and a sweet chilli sauce does not. This is the function a jam or a ketchup-based swap misses entirely.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
Five-spice, garlic and a touch of chilli give hoisin its identity. Reproduce the sweet and the savoury without the star anise and the result tastes like sweet soy sauce, which is close but recognisably not hoisin.
Thickeningsecondary
It is a paste, not a liquid, so it sits where you put it - brushed on ribs, spread on a pancake, thinned into a dip. A watery swap runs off and pools.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tbsp hoisin sauce| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tbsp hoisin sauce | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miso paste + honey + soy sauce + rice vinegarwhen you want the closest flavour match | 1 tsp white miso + 2 tsp honey or brown sugar + ¼ tsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp rice vinegar + a pinch of Chinese five-spiceTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Oyster sauce + brown sugarwhen you already have oyster sauce open | 2 tsp + 1 tsp brown sugar, plus a pinch of five-spice if you have itTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | BBQ sauce + soy sauce + five-spicewhen the fridge has BBQ sauce and nothing else Asian | 2 tsp barbecue sauce + 1 tsp soy sauce + 1/8 tsp Chinese five-spiceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Peanut butter + soy sauce + honeydipping sauces and summer rolls | 1 tsp smooth peanut butter + 1 tsp soy sauce + 1 tsp honey + ¼ tsp rice vinegarYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Plum sauce + soy sauceduck and pork, where fruit sweetness fits | 2 tsp plum or duck sauce + 1 tsp soy sauce + a pinch of five-spiceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Soy sauce + brown sugarwhen the cupboard has only staples | 1 tsp + 2 tsp brown sugar + ¼ tsp rice vinegarYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Miso paste + honey + soy sauce + rice vinegar
very close; slightly cleaner and less garlicky than a bottled hoisin
The closest match, because it is built the same way hoisin is: a fermented soybean paste that has been sweetened and spiced. It is also vegan if you use brown sugar, and it needs no shellfish and no bottled sauces.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Umami & savory depth
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Thickening
- Amount
- 1 tsp white miso + 2 tsp honey or brown sugar + ¼ tsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp rice vinegar + a pinch of Chinese five-spice for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Mash the miso into the honey first so it has no lumps, then stir in the liquids. It will be the same consistency as hoisin straight away.
- Best for
- when you want the closest flavour match, glazing pork, ribs and wings, vegan and shellfish-free cooking
- Texture
- the same - a spreadable paste
- Look
- a shade lighter and less glossy in the bowl, though it lacquers the same way in the oven
- Prep
- Mash 1 tsp white miso into 2 tsp honey, then stir in ¼ tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp rice vinegar and a pinch of five-spice.
- Suits
- vegetarian, dairy-free, shellfish-free
- Contains
- soy, wheat
- Use 1 tsp of miso, not a tablespoon. Miso carries roughly 630 mg of sodium per tablespoon against hoisin's 260 mg, so a bigger spoonful makes the sauce salty rather than sweet.
- If you only have red (aka) miso, use ½ tsp and add an extra ½ tsp of sugar - red miso is about twice as salty as white.
- Add the pinch of five-spice. Without the star anise the mix tastes like sweetened soy sauce, which is the single most common reason a homemade hoisin substitute tastes almost-but-not-quite right.
Use tamari instead of soy sauce and brown sugar instead of honey and this becomes both gluten-free and vegan, which no bottled hoisin is.
Do not scale the miso up to make it stronger; scale the sugar and the five-spice instead.
Oyster sauce + brown sugar
brinier and less sweet, without hoisin's anise warmth
Oyster sauce is the other thick, dark, savoury bottle in the Chinese aisle. It is less sweet and more briny than hoisin, so you add sugar and, ideally, the five-spice.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Umami & savory depth
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp oyster sauce + 1 tsp brown sugar, plus a pinch of five-spice if you have it for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Stir until the sugar dissolves. No cornstarch needed - oyster sauce is already thick.
- Best for
- when you already have oyster sauce open, beef and chicken stir-fries, when you want the cling with no mixing effort
- Texture
- the same - thick and clinging
- Look
- very similar, slightly glossier and less red-brown
- Prep
- Stir 1 tsp brown sugar into 2 tsp oyster sauce until dissolved; add a pinch of five-spice.
- Suits
- dairy-free
- Contains
- shellfish, soy, wheat
- Use 2 tsp, not a tablespoon: oyster sauce is about 490 mg of sodium per tablespoon against hoisin's 260 mg.
- Add 1 tsp brown sugar. Without it the dish is savoury where it should be sweet-savoury, and it will not lacquer.
- A pinch of five-spice closes most of the remaining gap.
Oyster sauce contains shellfish, including bottles labelled oyster-flavoured sauce. Read the label if that matters for anyone at the table.
Not for anyone avoiding shellfish, and not as a cold spread where the oyster note is exposed.
BBQ sauce + soy sauce + five-spice
tomatoey and often smoky, sharper on the finish
The swap most people can make from what is already in the fridge door. It has the right sweetness and thickness, but tomato and smoke pull the dish towards American barbecue, and the five-spice is what pulls it back.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Umami & savory depth
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp barbecue sauce + 1 tsp soy sauce + 1/8 tsp Chinese five-spice for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Whisk together. If your BBQ sauce is smoky, use a little less and add ½ tsp water.
- Best for
- when the fridge has BBQ sauce and nothing else Asian, ribs, wings and meatballs, kids' dinners where a familiar flavour is a feature
- Texture
- similar, sometimes looser
- Look
- redder and glossier than hoisin, and it can catch and blacken faster under a grill
- Prep
- Whisk 2 tsp BBQ sauce with 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/8 tsp five-spice.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- soy, wheat
- Add the 1 tsp of soy sauce for the savoury depth; BBQ sauce is sweet and tangy but has no fermented soybean in it.
- Choose the least smoky bottle you have. Hickory and mesquite sauces cannot be talked out of tasting like a barbecue.
- Cut any vinegar elsewhere in the recipe - BBQ sauce already contains plenty.
Skip the five-spice and this tastes like barbecue sauce with soy sauce in it. That one pinch is the difference between a passable hoisin and an obvious substitute.
Brush it on in the last 10 minutes only. BBQ sauce has more sugar than hoisin and burns sooner.
Peanut butter + soy sauce + honey
clearly nutty; reads as satay or peanut dip rather than hoisin
The best of the improvised options for a cold sauce, because the peanut butter gives it the body and richness a hoisin spread needs. It tastes like a peanut-hoisin dip, which is a real thing served with summer rolls.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Umami & savory depth
- Thickening
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tsp smooth peanut butter + 1 tsp soy sauce + 1 tsp honey + ¼ tsp rice vinegar for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Stir the peanut butter and honey together first, then loosen with the soy sauce and vinegar and a teaspoon of warm water until it drops off the spoon.
- Best for
- dipping sauces and summer rolls, lettuce wraps and cold noodles, spreading, where a thin sauce would soak through
- Texture
- richer and heavier, coats the mouth more
- Look
- matte, pale beige-brown instead of dark glossy mahogany
- Prep
- Stir 1 tsp peanut butter with 1 tsp honey, then loosen with 1 tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp rice vinegar and warm water.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- peanuts, soy, wheat
- Loosen with warm water 1 tsp at a time until it moves - peanut butter alone is far thicker than hoisin.
- Use smooth peanut butter, not crunchy, and unsweetened if you have it, or drop the honey to ½ tsp.
- Add a pinch of five-spice or a scrape of garlic if the dish is Chinese rather than Vietnamese.
Contains peanuts, which is a serious allergen. Do not serve this version to anyone whose allergies you do not know, and do not mix it in the same bowl you will refill for guests.
Not for glazing - the fat separates and the sauce goes greasy rather than lacquered under high heat.
Plum sauce + soy sauce
fruity and noticeably tarter
Plum sauce is the sweet-tart dip that comes with duck in Western Chinese restaurants. It is fruity rather than fermented, so it brings the sugar and the body but not the savoury backbone.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Thickening
- Misses
- Umami & savory depth — not covered
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 2 tsp plum or duck sauce + 1 tsp soy sauce + a pinch of five-spice for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Stir well; both are thick, so they combine without heat.
- Best for
- duck and pork, where fruit sweetness fits, when the fridge has takeaway sachets, cold dips where you want something sweet and thick
- Texture
- similar, sometimes slightly looser and more jelly-like
- Look
- lighter and more orange-brown; it glazes but with a sticky, jammy shine
- Prep
- Stir 2 tsp plum sauce with 1 tsp soy sauce and a pinch of five-spice.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- soy, wheat
- Add the soy sauce, and consider ¼ tsp of miso as well - without a fermented element this tastes like jam with soy sauce in it.
- Cut other sugar and other vinegar in the recipe; plum sauce has plenty of both.
- Add the five-spice, which pushes it much closer to hoisin than the plum flavour alone suggests.
Duck sauce, plum sauce and apricot preserves behave alike here; with preserves, add ¼ tsp rice vinegar as well to cut the sweetness.
Not where the hoisin is the main savoury element of the dish - it has none of hoisin's fermented depth.
Soy sauce + brown sugar
one-dimensionally sweet and salty, with no fermented depth or spice
Sweet soy sauce, essentially. It seasons and it glazes, and it does not taste like hoisin, but it is made from two things every kitchen has.
- Covers
- Sweetness
- Umami & savory depth
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Thickening — not covered
- Amount
- 1 tsp soy sauce + 2 tsp brown sugar + ¼ tsp rice vinegar for 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Then
- Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens slightly and coats a spoon, or stir in ¼ tsp cornstarch slurried in 1 tsp cold water.
- Best for
- when the cupboard has only staples, stir-fries with lots of garlic and ginger to hide behind
- Texture
- thin unless you reduce or thicken it
- Look
- dark and shiny, but it slides off meat and puddles under it
- Prep
- Simmer 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp brown sugar and ¼ tsp rice vinegar for 1 to 2 minutes until it coats a spoon.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- soy, wheat
- Keep the soy sauce at 1 tsp. More makes it salty, not more hoisin-like - soy sauce is more than three times as salty as hoisin per spoonful.
- Reduce it or thicken it, or it will run off whatever you brush it onto.
- Any pinch of five-spice, star anise or even ground cinnamon and clove improves this row more than any other change.
If you have any fermented paste at all - miso, doubanjiang, even a scrape of Marmite - ¼ tsp of it turns this from an emergency into a decent sauce.
Do not use it as a cold spread or a dip, where there is nothing to distract from how simple it is.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- The hoisin is served as it is, in a bowl or spread on a pancake - Peking duck, mu shu, a banh mi, the dish of dark sauce beside a bowl of pho.Serve the dish without it - pho is complete with lime, chilli and herbs - or put out the peanut version and call it a peanut dip. Or buy a jar: hoisin keeps for months in the fridge.
- SafetyYou are making the peanut butter version for anyone whose allergies you do not know.Use the miso or oyster sauce version for shared food, and if you do make the peanut one, say so out loud and keep it in a separate bowl with its own spoon.
- You leave the sugar out because you want something less sweet.Keep 2 tsp of honey or brown sugar per tablespoon of hoisin and cut the sweetness elsewhere in the meal. If the dish genuinely should not be sweet, it did not want hoisin.
- SafetyYou need the dish to be gluten-free and are swapping one bottled sauce for another.Build the miso version with tamari and check that the miso is a rice-koji type, since barley miso contains gluten. Read every label rather than assuming.
Safety
2 notes- Allergen
Hoisin normally contains soy and wheat, and often sesame; it does not contain shellfish. The substitutes here add their own: oyster sauce contains shellfish, the peanut butter version contains peanuts, and barley miso contains gluten. A dark brown sauce gives no visual warning, so tell people what is in a dip you have improvised.
- Infant
If you use honey in these mixtures, do not serve them to a child under 12 months old. Honey can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum, which an infant's gut cannot handle. Use brown sugar instead for food a baby will eat.
Source — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in a new tab)
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The glaze never went sticky - it ran off the pork and burned onto the tray instead.Not enough sugar in the substitute, and it went on too early. Lacquer is concentrated sugar; a thin sauce just drips.Mix 2 tsp honey or brown sugar per tablespoon of the sauce you used, simmer 1 to 2 minutes until it coats a spoon, and brush it on in the last 10 minutes of cooking only.
- The dish tastes like American barbecue rather than Chinese.A tomato-based BBQ sauce, especially a smoky one, is carrying the flavour.Stir in 1/8 tsp five-spice and ¼ tsp soy sauce per tablespoon of sauce, plus a scrape of grated garlic. Add ¼ tsp of miso if you have it - the fermented note is what is missing.
- The sauce is too salty and not sweet enough.Soy sauce, miso or oyster sauce went in at a full tablespoon, where hoisin is much less salty than any of them.Add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp water per tablespoon of sauce and taste. Next time use 1 tsp of miso or 2 tsp of oyster sauce per tablespoon of hoisin.
- The peanut version is stiff and will not spread.Peanut butter is far thicker than hoisin, and it tightens when it meets cold liquid.Add warm water 1 tsp at a time and stir hard. It loosens suddenly, so stop as soon as it drops off the spoon in a ribbon.
Measure it
7 measures- 1 tbsp hoisin sauceabout 260 mg sodiumLess salty than it tastes. Soy sauce is about 880 mg and oyster sauce about 490 mg per tablespoon, which is why both go in at reduced amounts.
- What is actually in the bottlefermented soybean paste, sugar, salt, garlic, vinegar, chilli, five-spiceSugar is usually first or second on the label. Read your bottle and you can rebuild it: a fermented paste, a sweetener, a splash of vinegar and a pinch of spice.
- Five-spice dose1/8 tsp per 1 tbsp of substituteStar anise is the note the brain reads as hoisin. Without it, every mix on this page tastes like sweetened soy sauce.
- Sugar for a glaze2 tsp honey or brown sugar per 1 tbsp of substituteThis is the amount that lacquers. Brush it on in the last 10 minutes of roasting or it blackens.
- Thick enough testit coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a lineIf the line closes up, simmer 1 more minute or stir in ¼ tsp cornstarch slurried in 1 tsp cold water.
- Gluten and allergenshoisin usually contains wheat and soy, and often sesameThere is no shellfish in hoisin itself, which is why it is the easy swap for oyster sauce in a shellfish-free kitchen.
- Once openedkeep it in the fridge, where it holds for monthsIt darkens and stiffens over time; loosen a stiff jar with ½ tsp of warm water rather than throwing it out.
Questions
7 questionsWhat is hoisin sauce made from?
Fermented soybean paste and sugar, with salt, garlic, vinegar, chilli and Chinese five-spice, and usually wheat flour as a thickener - some brands also add sweet potato or sesame. Sugar is typically the first or second ingredient on the label, which is why the sauce lacquers meat, and the fermented soybean is what makes it savoury rather than merely sweet.
What is the best substitute for hoisin sauce?
Per tablespoon of hoisin: 1 teaspoon of white miso paste, 2 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon of soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon of rice vinegar and a pinch of five-spice. If you have oyster sauce instead, use 2 teaspoons of it with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. If all you have is barbecue sauce, use 2 teaspoons with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1/8 teaspoon of five-spice.
Can I use oyster sauce instead of hoisin sauce?
Yes, with sugar added. Use 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce plus 1 teaspoon of brown sugar per tablespoon of hoisin: oyster sauce is nearly twice as salty and much less sweet, so a straight swap gives you a savoury, briny sauce that will not lacquer. Oyster sauce also contains shellfish, so it is not an option for a shellfish allergy or a vegan meal.
Is hoisin sauce the same as teriyaki sauce?
No. Hoisin is a thick fermented soybean paste flavoured with garlic, vinegar and five-spice; teriyaki is a thinner Japanese glaze of soy sauce, sake or mirin and sugar. Teriyaki tastes cleaner and sweeter, and because it is thinner it will not spread or cling the way hoisin does. In a stir-fry you can swap them; in a pancake you cannot.
Is there a gluten-free or vegan hoisin substitute?
Yes, and it is worth knowing that most bottled hoisin is neither - it usually contains wheat flour. Mix 1 teaspoon of rice-based white miso with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon of tamari, ¼ teaspoon of rice vinegar and a pinch of five-spice per tablespoon. Check the miso label, since barley miso contains gluten.
Can I use hoisin sauce as a dipping sauce?
Yes - it is the standard dip for spring rolls, mu shu pancakes and Peking duck, and it is the dark sauce served beside pho. Because it is tasted on its own in that role, this is the one use where substitutes struggle: with nothing cooking alongside it, the difference is obvious. The peanut butter version is the best of them for dipping.
How do I make a hoisin substitute thick enough to glaze?
Get 2 teaspoons of honey or brown sugar into each tablespoon of sauce and simmer it for 1 to 2 minutes. It is thick enough when it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a line that holds for a second. If it is still thin, stir in ¼ teaspoon of cornstarch mixed into 1 teaspoon of cold water and cook 30 seconds more.
Tips for substituting hoisin sauce
6 tips- Hoisin's sugar is structural, not just sweet - it is what turns into the sticky lacquer on char siu. Keep 2 tsp of honey or brown sugar per tablespoon in any substitute you mix.
- Brush hoisin or a hoisin substitute on in the last 10 minutes of roasting or grilling. Put on at the start, the sugar blackens before the meat is done.
- A pinch of Chinese five-spice, about 1/8 tsp per tablespoon, is what makes a homemade mix read as hoisin rather than as sweetened soy sauce. Star anise is the note people recognise.
- Hoisin is less salty than it seems - about 260 mg of sodium per tablespoon, against 880 mg for soy sauce. That is why soy sauce goes into a substitute by the teaspoon, not the tablespoon.
- Hoisin usually contains wheat flour, so it is not gluten-free. For a gluten-free version, mix white miso with tamari, sugar and vinegar instead.
- Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge. If it stiffens, loosen it with ½ tsp of warm water rather than replacing it.
Sources — USDA FoodData Central (opens in a new tab), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in a new tab)