Sprats substitutes
Sprats substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Tinned sardines in oil
Same amount by drained weight as the sprats
Plus ¼ tsp smoked paprika per tin if replacing smoked sprats
Tinned sardines in oil are the easiest swap at 1:1, and for smoked sprats add a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika or two drops of liquid smoke per tin. Smoked herring or kipper fillets match the smoke better, just chop them down to size. For fresh sprats to fry, whitebait or smelt eat almost identically.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- different taste, similar texture
- Best for —
- toast and rye bread
Updated 19 Aug 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of sprats | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tinned sardines in oiltoast and rye bread | Same amount by drained weightPlus ¼ tsp smoked paprika per tin if replacing smoked spratsTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Smoked herring or kipper filletsrye bread and butter | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Tinned smoked trout or smoked mackerelpate | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Anchovies in oilseasoning a dish | About one third the weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Fresh whitebait, smelt or small herringdeep-frying whole | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 6 | Tinned smoked mussels or oysterssnack boards | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Tinned sardines in oil
different taste, similar texture
The most widely available small oily tinned fish.
- Best for
- toast and rye bread, salads, pate, pasta
Same oiliness, same soft edible bones, same mineral flavour, and about twice the size, so the pieces look chunkier on a slice of rye. The one real gap is smoke, which smoked paprika or a drop of liquid smoke fills convincingly. Slightly meatier and less delicate than a sprat.
Smoked herring or kipper fillets
similar taste, different texture
Larger smoked fish from the same family, sold as fillets or tinned.
- Best for
- rye bread and butter, pate, potato salad, breakfast
The smoke and the salt are right, since these are cured the same way sprats are. The fillets are much bigger and flakier, so cut them into sprat-sized strips if appearance matters, and they are saltier, so hold back on seasoning the dish.
Tinned smoked trout or smoked mackerel
similar taste, different texture
Ready-to-eat smoked oily fish in flakes rather than whole small fish.
- Best for
- pate, dips, toast, salads
Plenty of smoke and fat, and excellent anywhere the fish gets mashed or flaked. What you lose is the whole-fish shape, so a plate of sprats on buttered rye becomes a pile of flakes instead of a neat row of little fish. Mackerel is closer in intensity, trout is milder and sweeter.
Anchovies in oil
different taste and texture
Salt-cured anchovy fillets, far more concentrated than sprats.
- Best for
- seasoning a dish, dressings, on toast in small amounts
Use these to season rather than to fill a plate. They are dramatically saltier and more pungent, so the dish will taste of anchovy rather than of smoky oily fish, and a straight swap by weight would be inedible. Roughly a third of the weight, and cut other salt right back.
Fresh whitebait, smelt or small herring
similar taste and texture
Small whole fresh fish for flouring and frying.
- Best for
- deep-frying whole, pan-frying, serving with lemon and mayonnaise
For fresh sprats rather than tinned, this is a near-exact swap: same size, same eat-them-whole approach, same 2 to 3 minutes in hot oil. There is no smoke or cure at all, so season them properly with salt before frying and serve with lemon.
Tinned smoked mussels or oysters
different taste and texture
Smoked tinned shellfish with a similar smoke-and-brine profile.
- Best for
- snack boards, crackers, dips
Good on a tinned-fish board where you want another smoky, oily thing to eat on a cracker. The chew is dense and shellfish-like rather than a soft fishy flake, and they are sweeter, so this is a swap of one pleasure for another rather than a like-for-like.
Questions
5 questionsAre sprats the same as sardines?
No, they are different fish, though both are small and oily and both belong to the herring family. Sprats are smaller and are usually sold hot-smoked. The confusion is real, though, because fish labelled brisling sardines actually are sprats, sold under the sardine name.
Are sprats and brisling the same thing?
Yes. Brisling is the Norwegian name for sprat, and tins labelled brisling or brisling sardines contain the same fish. Riga sprats are the smoked Latvian version, which is the style most recipes have in mind.
Do I eat the bones and heads?
The bones, yes, they are soft and completely edible. Heads are a matter of taste: tinned smoked sprats are often sold headless, and if yours have heads you can pinch them off in a second. There is no need to fillet them.
Can I use fresh sprats where the recipe says smoked?
Only if you add the smoke back, and even then it is a stretch. Fresh sprats are mild and delicate; smoked ones are salty, firm and assertive. If the recipe is smoked sprats on rye, tinned sardines with a pinch of smoked paprika will get you far closer than fresh sprats will.
Can I just leave them out?
If they are a topping on an open sandwich or one item on a snack board, yes, and nothing else needs changing. If they are the salt and smoke in a pate, a potato salad or a pasta sauce, no, because nothing else in the dish is doing that job. Use tinned sardines plus smoked paprika instead.
Tips for substituting sprats
5 tips- Eat them whole, bones, tail and often heads included. Smoking and canning soften the skeleton completely, and that faintly crunchy structure is part of what a sprat is. Picking them apart leaves you with very little fish.
- Fresh sprats need almost nothing: a dusting of seasoned flour and 2 to 3 minutes in hot oil until the tails are crisp. Gut them if you prefer, though the Baltic habit is to fry them as they come.
- The oil in a tin of smoked sprats is heavily flavoured. Use it on the toast or whisk it into the dressing rather than reaching for fresh olive oil, which just dilutes the smoke.
- They want blunt, sturdy partners. Dark rye bread, salted butter, boiled egg, raw or pickled onion, dill, mustard and boiled potato all stand up to the smoke; delicate salads and cream sauces get bulldozed by it.
- Salt the dish after adding the sprats, never before. Between the brine and the smoke they carry a lot of salt, and it varies wildly between brands.