Pastis substitute

Best substitute

Ouzo or raki

Use the same amount as the pastis you are replacing

Best for bouillabaisse

Close match

Use ouzo or raki 1:1 for pastis, or sambuca at about two-thirds the amount because it is much sweeter. With no anise spirit at all, steep half a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds and a small piece of star anise in two tablespoons of hot stock for ten minutes, strain, and use that. Recipes usually only call for a tablespoon or two, so this is an easy swap to get right.

Other pastis substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sambuca
Different taste
Use 2 teaspoons for every 1 tablespoon pastis
Italian anise liqueur, flavoured with star anise and elderflower and heavily sweetened.
What changes
Best for
fish stews, cream sauces, desserts
Roughly twice as sweet as pastis, so a savoury fish sauce made with a straight 1:1 swap tastes faintly of dessert. Use about two-thirds as much, and if the dish has any other sugar in it, leave that out. The anise aroma itself is very close.
3Anisette
Different taste
Use 2 teaspoons for every 1 tablespoon pastis
Sweetened anise-seed liqueur, lower in alcohol than pastis.
What changes
Best for
fish stews, baking, poaching liquid
Sweeter and softer than pastis and with less alcoholic lift, so it perfumes the dish less forcefully. Use a little less than the recipe asks for and taste before adding more.
4Absinthe
Different taste
Use ½ tablespoon for every 1 tablespoon pastis
The much stronger, wormwood-bitter ancestor of pastis.
What changes
Best for
bouillabaisse, rich shellfish sauces
Higher in alcohol and distinctly bitter and herbal from the wormwood, which can turn a delicate sauce medicinal. Use half as much and add it early enough that some of the alcohol cooks off.
5Fennel seed and star anise infusion (no alcohol)
Close match
Use ½ tsp crushed fennel seeds plus 1 star anise point for every 2 tablespoons pastis
A quick steeped infusion that supplies the aroma without any alcohol.
What changes
Best for
bouillabaisse, moules, alcohol-free cooking, fish soup
Steep the crushed seeds and star anise in two tablespoons of the recipe's hot stock or water for ten minutes, then strain and stir in. You get the licorice-fennel perfume but not the alcoholic sharpness that carries it, so the aroma sits lower in the dish and is a bit softer and rounder. Very good in a long-simmered stew, less effective in a quick pan sauce.
6Dry vermouth or dry white wine plus crushed fennel seed
Different taste
Use the same amount wine plus ¼ tsp crushed fennel seed per tablespoon
The pantry answer when you have no anise liqueur of any kind.
What changes
Best for
moules, pan sauces, fish braises
The wine covers the alcohol and acidity, and the fennel seed supplies the anise note, though it reads greener and more vegetal than the sweet licorice of pastis. Bruise the seeds in a mortar first so they release. Least authentic of the options here, but it does keep the dish recognisably Provencal.

What is Pastis?

Pastis is Pastis is a strong, anise-flavoured French liqueur from Provence, sold under brand names like Pernod and Ricard, that turns cloudy when water is added and is used in tiny amounts to perfume fish dishes.

Cooking tips

Pernod and Ricard are both pastis and are interchangeable in cooking, though Ricard is more licorice-forward and Pernod slightly sweeter and more herbal. If a recipe names one, buy whichever you find.
Add pastis off the heat or early in a long simmer, not at the very end. Straight from the bottle into a finished sauce it tastes raw and solvent-like; a couple of minutes of cooking rounds it out.
A tablespoon is usually plenty for four servings. Anise is one of those flavours that goes from an appealing background perfume to overwhelming toothpaste in about half a teaspoon, so start low and add more.
Pastis and fennel amplify each other. If your bouillabaisse or fish braise already includes fennel bulb or fronds, cut the pastis back by a third or the licorice takes over.
The bottle keeps almost forever in a cupboard, so a small one is a reasonable buy if you cook Provencal food. Sealed and out of direct sunlight it will not deteriorate the way an open bottle of wine does.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the pastis out?

Yes, in most recipes. It is an aroma, not a structural ingredient, and one or two tablespoons in a large pot of bouillabaisse or mussels is a background note rather than the point of the dish. The result will taste good but less distinctly southern French. If you want something in that gap, a pinch of crushed fennel seed costs nothing.

Is Pernod the same as pastis?

Pernod Anise is a brand of pastis, and so is Ricard. Both are anise liqueurs from the same tradition and either will do whatever your recipe wants. Confusingly, Pernod also makes an absinthe, which is much stronger and more bitter, so check the bottle.

What does pastis actually do in bouillabaisse?

It contributes aroma, not body, salt or acid. The alcohol carries the anise and herbal volatiles up out of the pot so you smell them before you taste anything, which is exactly why it goes in near the start and again sometimes in a small splash at the end.

Can I use anise extract or licorice candy instead?

Anise extract works if you are careful: use about a quarter teaspoon of extract per tablespoon of pastis, because extract is far more concentrated and easily overpowers a dish. Licorice candy is not a good idea, since most of it is flavoured with licorice root rather than anise and brings a lot of sugar and a slightly bitter, earthy taste.

Is there a non-alcoholic substitute for pastis?

Yes. Steep crushed fennel seeds and a piece of star anise in a little hot stock, then strain the liquid into the dish. Some non-alcoholic aperitifs also carry an anise note and can be used 1:1. Neither gives the alcoholic lift, so the aroma is quieter, but both are genuinely useful in a fish soup.

Related substitutes

More liquor substitutes

Pastis substitute

Other pastis substitutes

2Sambuca

3Anisette

4Absinthe

5Fennel seed and star anise infusion (no alcohol)

6Dry vermouth or dry white wine plus crushed fennel seed