Sorghum Grain substitute

Best substitute

Wheat berries or kamut

Use the same amount as the sorghum grain you are replacing

Best for grain salads

Different taste

Whole wheat or khorasan kernels with the bran intact.

Other sorghum grain substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Wild rice
Different taste
Use the same amount
The dark slender seed of an aquatic grass, naturally gluten-free and very firm when cooked.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free grain salads, pilafs, stuffings, grain bowls
The best gluten-free match for texture on this list. It takes 45 to 55 minutes, holds a firm, almost crunchy bite, and stays completely separate in a salad. The trade-off is flavor: wild rice is strongly grassy and tea-like where sorghum is mild and quietly sweet, so it will step forward in the dish rather than staying in the background. It is also much darker, which changes how the plate looks.
3Short-grain brown rice
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Whole grain rice with the bran layer intact, gluten-free and available everywhere.
What changes
Best for
grain bowls, salads, pilafs, side dishes
The easy answer, done in about 45 minutes. It gives you a whole grain with real chew, though it is softer than sorghum and the grains cling slightly rather than staying loose, and its flavor is quiet enough that a salad will lean entirely on the dressing. Rinse the cooked rice briefly under cool water if you want the grains separate in a cold dish.
4Hulled or pearl barley
Different taste
Use the same amount
Whole or polished barley kernels with an earthy flavor and slippery chew.
What changes
Best for
soups and stews, grain salads, pilafs
Hulled barley matches sorghum's timing at 50 to 60 minutes; pearl barley is done in 25 to 30, so add it much later in a soup. Barley sheds far more starch than sorghum, which thickens a broth nicely but makes a cold salad feel slick and clumpy unless you rinse the cooked grain. It also tastes distinctly earthy against sorghum's mildness. Not gluten-free.
5Quinoa
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
A small gluten-free pseudocereal seed that cooks in about 15 minutes.
What changes
Best for
quick grain salads, grain bowls, weeknight sides
The fastest gluten-free option by a wide margin, and a decent salad grain, but a genuine downgrade in texture. Quinoa seeds are much smaller and softer, they pop lightly rather than resisting the tooth, and they go slack overnight in dressing where sorghum stays firm for days. Rinse it well to remove the bitter saponin coating. Choose this when time matters more than mouthfeel.
6Millet
Different texture
Use the same amount by volume
Small round gluten-free grains, cooked fluffy in 2 parts water or creamy in 3 to 4.
What changes
Best for
pilafs, savory sides, porridge, Indian dishes
Culturally close, since millet and sorghum are used side by side across India and much of Africa, and done in 15 to 20 minutes. The texture is the problem: millet is soft and either fluffy or creamy depending on liquid, never chewy, so it cannot carry a grain salad the way sorghum does. Toast the dry grains for 3 minutes to add nuttiness, and use 2 parts water if you want the grains distinct.

What is Sorghum Grain?

Sorghum Grain is a small round gluten-free cereal kernel, sold as whole grain sorghum or milo in the United States and as jowar in India, that simmers into firm pearly grains with a mild, faintly sweet flavor and a chew that survives cooling and dressing, which is why it turns up as the structure of grain bowls and make-ahead salads.

Cooking tips

Cook sorghum and its whole-grain substitutes like pasta, in a large pot of well-salted water, then drain. Whole kernels absorb unevenly, so a strict absorption ratio tends to leave you with some grains blown out and others still hard, plus a scorched pot bottom.
Sorghum takes 50 to 60 minutes unsoaked, and soaking overnight cuts that to about 35. It is one of the more forgiving grains, though: it stays firm and pleasant even if you overshoot by ten minutes, which is not true of farro or pearl barley. If you are substituting a faster grain, start tasting well before the recipe's time.
Salt the water but hold back on acid. Vinegar, wine, lemon or tomatoes added early will keep any bran-covered kernel firm almost indefinitely, so dress the grain after it is cooked, not while it cooks.
Do not confuse three very different sorghum products. Whole grain sorghum is the kernel you simmer. Sorghum flour is milled and used in gluten-free baking and for jowar bhakri. Sorghum syrup is a sweetener pressed from the cane and has nothing to do with either. A recipe calling for one cannot use another.
Whole sorghum will pop like tiny popcorn in a dry covered pan over medium-high heat, which is a genuinely good snack and a nice salad garnish. No other grain on this substitute list does this, so if that is what your recipe wanted, use popcorn or puffed quinoa instead of a cooked grain.

Frequently asked questions

Is sorghum grain the same as jowar or milo?

Yes, these are all the same cereal. Jowar is the common name across India, milo is the name used in American agriculture, particularly for animal feed varieties, and whole grain sorghum is the food label you will see in health food aisles. If an Indian recipe calls for jowar as a whole grain rather than as flour, whole sorghum is exactly what it means.

What is the best gluten-free substitute for sorghum?

Wild rice, if you want to keep that firm chewy bite, since it stays distinctly separate and firm for 45 to 55 minutes of cooking and beyond. Short-grain brown rice is the easiest to find and a solid choice, just softer. Quinoa and millet are much quicker but noticeably softer, and neither holds up as well in a salad that has to sit in dressing.

Can I use sorghum flour instead of whole sorghum grain?

No. These are different products doing unrelated jobs. Whole grain sorghum supplies chew and bulk in a bowl or salad; sorghum flour is a powder for gluten-free baking and flatbreads. Substituting flour into a grain recipe gives you paste, and substituting whole grains into a batter gives you gravel.

Can I just leave it out?

Only if it is a minor component of a mixed dish, such as one grain among several in a soup, in which case use more of the others. If sorghum is the base of a grain bowl or salad it is the structure of the meal, and something has to occupy that slot. Pick whichever chewy whole grain you have and adjust the cooking time to it rather than to the original recipe.

What job is sorghum doing in a recipe?

Almost entirely texture and bulk. Its flavor is deliberately mild, faintly sweet and a little corn-like, so it does not compete with dressings or spices. What it contributes is round, firm grains that pop between the teeth and, crucially, stay that way after cooling, dressing and reheating, which is why it turns up in meal-prep salads and grain bowls. And it does all of that while being naturally gluten-free, which is often the whole reason it was chosen.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Sorghum Grain substitute

Other sorghum grain substitutes

2Wild rice

3Short-grain brown rice

4Hulled or pearl barley

5Quinoa

6Millet