Longaniza substitutes

The right answer for Spanish longaniza, which is a cured, heavily black-peppered sausage. Chorizo brings much more smoked paprika, so a lentil stew or a plate of sliced sausage comes out visibly redder and distinctly smoky where longaniza is peppery and comparatively plain. In a stew that is an easy trade; on a charcuterie board the difference is obvious.

Best for

lentil and bean stews, paella and rice dishes, slicing for tapas boards, cocido and Spanish soups

Cut back or drop any paprika elsewhere in the recipe, since chorizo brings plenty. Semi-cured chorizo is softer and closer to a fresh longaniza than the hard, salami-like kind.

The best swap for Mexican, Puerto Rican or Dominican longaniza, all of which are fresh sausages. It is much softer and crumbles into the pan rather than holding a link shape, and it carries far more chile and vinegar tang, so rice or beans made with it taste sharper and hotter than the original. The bright orange fat it releases is close to the annatto fat longaniza gives off, which is why it works.

Best for

arroz con longaniza and rice dishes, beans and stews, breakfast with eggs, tacos and fillings

Squeeze it from the casing and brown it in a dry pan. If your dish needs whole links rather than crumbles, this is the wrong choice; use fresh sausage seasoned yourself instead.

The most useful option on this page, because it is the only way to actually match the version your recipe wants. Start with plain fresh pork sausage or ground pork shoulder, remove any casing, and season it. For Puerto Rican or Dominican longaniza, per pound add 1 teaspoon ground annatto or achiote, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon sour orange juice, or orange and lime juice mixed. For Filipino longganisa, per pound add 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon cane vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper.

Best for

any longaniza recipe, Filipino breakfast longganisa, Caribbean rice and bean dishes, when you want whole links or patties

Let the seasoned mixture rest in the fridge for a few hours or overnight; the garlic and vinegar need time to work through the meat. Form into fat links or patties and pan-fry.

A convenient base with the right fat content and casing behavior. The problem is fennel: even sweet Italian sausage usually has it, and that faint anise note is not something any longaniza has, so the dish picks up a flavor that reads Italian. Buy a fennel-free breakfast sausage if you can find one.

Best for

rice and bean dishes, grilling whole links, stews, dishes with strong sofrito or tomato to cover the fennel

Add the missing seasoning from the option above, and either accept the fennel or pick out visible seeds if the sausage is loose.

Garlicky, paprika-forward and lightly smoked, these are the closest smoked links in most US supermarkets. They are firmer and smokier than a fresh longaniza and less peppery than a Spanish dry one, so a stew made with them tastes more barbecue-adjacent, but the garlic and paprika direction is right.

Best for

bean and rice dishes, stews and soups, grilling, breakfast hash

Already cooked or semi-cured, so they only need heating through. Slice on the bias and brown to render some fat before adding the rest of the dish.

For Spanish dry-cured longaniza specifically, a black-pepper-heavy salami is closer than chorizo because it is peppery rather than smoky, which is the actual character of the Spanish sausage. It is less garlicky and usually finer-textured, so it tastes cleaner and less rustic.

Best for

tapas boards, sliced into lentils or chickpeas, sandwiches, cold plates

Only use this for the cured Spanish style. It is entirely wrong for Filipino or Caribbean recipes, which need a fresh sausage that cooks in the pan.