Pickled herring substitutes
Pickled herring substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Jarred pickled mackerel or sprats
Same amount by weight as the pickled herring
The closest substitute for pickled herring is jarred pickled mackerel or pickled sprats, used measure for measure. Marinated white anchovies work if you want the same salt-and-vinegar punch in a smaller fillet, and gravlax or smoked salmon is the right answer if the real problem is that you do not like herring.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- smorrebrod
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of pickled herring | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarred pickled mackerel or spratssmorrebrod | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 2 | Marinated white anchovies (boquerones)open sandwiches | Same amount by weightBut taste before you commitYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Smoked mackerel + vinegar and sugarsalads | Same amount by weightPlus 1 tsp white wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar per 100 gYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Gravlax or cold-smoked salmonChristmas and Easter platters | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Sardines in oil, drained and quickly dressedsandwiches | Same amount by weightDressed with 1 tsp vinegar and a pinch of sugar per 100 gTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | No fish at all: beetroot, egg and caper saladherring salad | Replace the herring entirely: cooked beetroot, hard-boiled egg, dill and sour cream, with 1 tbsp chopped capers or cornichons per 200 g beetrootYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Jarred pickled mackerel or sprats
similar taste and texture
The same oily northern fish given the same vinegar cure, so it slices, drapes and tastes the closest of anything you can buy.
- Best for
- smorrebrod, open sandwiches, Christmas and midsummer platters, herring salad
Mackerel comes in bigger, meatier flakes and tastes a little stronger; sprats are smaller and sweeter than plain inlagd sill. Neither has herring's particular soft, almost creamy bite, so a platter reads slightly firmer and more assertive.
Marinated white anchovies (boquerones)
different taste and texture
Vinegar-cured rather than salt-packed anchovies deliver the same salt-and-acid hit that makes herring work against rye bread and potatoes.
- Best for
- open sandwiches, potato salads, canapes, egg dishes
Noticeably sharper and saltier bite for bite, and the fillets are thin, so a sandwich topped with them tastes acidic and lean rather than rich. Rinse them, pat dry, and add a spoonful of sour cream or creme fraiche to restore the fatty body.
Smoked mackerel + vinegar and sugar
different taste and texture
Widely available, cheap, and the right kind of fatty fish. The vinegar and sugar fake the marinade.
- Best for
- salads, rye bread, dips, potato dishes
Rich and flaky rather than sliceable, and the smoke sits where the pickle tang should be, so the dish tastes campfire-savoury instead of clean and sour. Works well in a creamy herring salad, less well on a bare slice of rye.
Gravlax or cold-smoked salmon
different taste and texture
This is the substitute to reach for when the problem is not availability but taste, because pickled herring is a genuinely acquired flavour and nobody should be miserable at their own dinner.
- Best for
- Christmas and Easter platters, smorrebrod, canapes, brunch
It does the same job on the plate, which is cured oily fish with salt and fat, but it is sweeter, silkier and has no vinegar bite at all. Serve it with a sharp mustard-dill sauce or a squeeze of lemon so the acid the herring would have brought is still there.
Sardines in oil, drained and quickly dressed
different taste, similar texture
The pantry version. Sardines have the oily depth and soft texture, and just need the acid added.
- Best for
- sandwiches, salads, quick canapes
Similar richness and softness, but the flavour is more mineral and meaty and the acid never fully penetrates, so it tastes dressed rather than cured. Drain them well or the dish turns oily.
No fish at all: beetroot, egg and caper salad
different taste and texture
For sillsalad or sursild salad when nobody at the table will eat herring, the capers and cornichons take over the salty-sour role the fish was playing.
- Best for
- herring salad, beetroot salad, vegetarian platters
Be honest about what you have made: it is a very good Nordic beetroot salad, not herring salad. You keep the sweet-sour-creamy balance and the colour, and lose the oily savour completely, so lean harder on dill, mustard and black pepper.
Questions
5 questionsCan I just leave the pickled herring out?
On a mixed platter, yes, nobody will miss one jar among the cheeses, eggs and breads. In sillsalad, sursild salad or a herring-and-potato dish it is the main ingredient, so you need to replace it with pickled mackerel or sprats, or rebuild the dish around beetroot, egg and capers and accept that it is a different salad.
What is the best substitute if I simply do not like herring?
Gravlax or cold-smoked salmon, used measure for measure. Both are cured oily fish that fill the same slot on a Nordic table without herring's strong, slightly fermented tang. Smoked mackerel or smoked trout are cheaper and work the same way in a salad, though they are much stronger, so use about a third less.
Can I use fresh herring instead of pickled herring?
No, not directly. Fresh herring is raw and unseasoned, and pickled herring's flavour comes entirely from days in a salt and vinegar cure. You would have to pickle it first, and that is not something to improvise, because the salt and acid levels in a curing recipe are there for food safety. Buy a jar, or use pickled mackerel.
Is matjes herring the same as pickled herring?
They are relatives. Matjes herring is cured with more sugar and spice and matured, so it is softer, sweeter and less sharply acidic than plain vinegar-pickled sill. Rollmops are the same kind of vinegar-cured herring rolled around onion or pickle. You can swap between them in most dishes if you adjust the sugar to taste.
Can I substitute canned herring in tomato sauce?
Only in cooked or heavily dressed dishes. Herring in tomato sauce is cooked rather than vinegar-cured, so it is soft, sweet and tomato-forward, and it will not behave like a sliced pickled fillet on a piece of rye. Rinse it, break it into flakes, and use it in a creamy salad rather than on a sandwich.
Tips for substituting pickled herring
6 tips- Plain vinegar herring (inlagd sill, sursild), matjes herring and rollmops are not straight swaps for each other. Matjes is matured, sweeter and much more tender, so if a recipe asks for matjes and you have plain vinegar herring, stir a teaspoon of sugar into the dish.
- Drain the jar and taste the fish before you season anything else. Commercial brines swing wildly in salt and sugar, and a herring salad is very easy to over-salt after the fact.
- If the fish tastes too aggressive, rinse the fillets briefly under cold water and pat them dry. You lose a little of the spice but the dish becomes far more approachable for anyone new to herring.
- If you are making your own pickled herring, do not adjust the vinegar, salt or sugar in a tested recipe. Those ratios control safety in a cured raw fish, not just flavour, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation is the place to check before improvising.
- Dress anything creamy close to serving time. Sour cream and creme fraiche thin out and weep once they sit against a vinegar brine for an hour or more.
- Serve it cold but let it stand out of the fridge for ten minutes first. Fridge-cold herring tastes mostly of salt and vinegar; slightly cool herring tastes of the fish and the spices.