Stock cube substitutes

The nearest equivalent product and a straight swap. Knorr Stock Pots, Better Than Bouillon and supermarket own-brand stock pastes are all concentrated stock in jelly or paste form rather than dried into a block.

Best for

gravy, stews and casseroles, soups, risotto, rice and grains, braises

Better than the cube in most cases. The jellied and paste forms carry fat and gelatin, so a gravy made with them has a silkier body and a rounder flavour, where a cube gives a thinner and sharper saltiness. They are often slightly less salty than cubes too, so taste and adjust rather than assuming you can skip the seasoning.

If the recipe says one cube dissolved in 500 ml of water, use 500 ml of liquid stock and add no water. This gives the cleanest and most natural flavour of any option here.

Best for

soups, risotto, gravy, poaching, braises, sauces

Considerably less salty than a cube, so expect to add salt, roughly a quarter teaspoon per 250 ml, and taste. It is also less intensely savoury, without the concentrated yeasty note cubes have, which reads as cleaner in a light soup and slightly underpowered in a rich gravy. Chilled fresh stock is much better than long-life carton stock for this.

The same product in loose form, and it has one real advantage: it dissolves instantly and you can measure a half or a quarter of a cube's worth, which is awkward to do with a solid block.

Best for

gravy, sauces, seasoning rubs, rice and grains, soups

Tastes essentially identical because it is the same formulation. The only trap is dosing, since powders differ in density and a level teaspoon of one brand is not a level teaspoon of another. Look for the water quantity on the tub and match that to the cube's water quantity rather than measuring spoon for spoon.

An unexpectedly good vegetarian swap, because yeast extract is where a lot of a stock cube's savoury punch comes from in the first place. It delivers salt, deep glutamate savour and a dark colour in one spoonful.

Best for

gravy, beef-style stews, shepherd's pie, onion soup, lentil and bean dishes, vegetarian cooking

Distinctly yeasty and considerably darker, so it is superb in a brown gravy or a rich stew and completely wrong in a pale chicken soup or a light risotto, where it turns everything muddy brown and tastes of toast. Start with less than you think, because it is very assertive, and dissolve it in a splash of hot water first.

Takes the cube apart into what it actually does, which is salt, savoury glutamate and a trace of fat, and rebuilds it from three things almost every kitchen already has. Works well in gravies and pan sauces.

Best for

gravy, pan sauces, stir-fries, risotto, braised meat, rice

Darkens whatever it goes into, so use less in anything pale or add a pinch of MSG instead of the soy sauce if colour matters. Worcestershire sauce in place of the soy gives more complexity and a fruity tang, and fish sauce gives more savour still, though it needs to be cooked for a minute so it does not smell raw.

A stock cube is mostly salt with flavourings, and in a dish with plenty of flavour of its own it is contributing very little beyond seasoning. Salt the water properly and move on.

Best for

curry, chilli, tomato-based stews, heavily spiced soups, cooking rice, couscous and pulses

It falls apart in anything where the liquid is the main flavour, so a risotto, a clear broth or a plain gravy will taste thin and watery and adding more salt will not fix it, because what is missing is savoury depth rather than saltiness. In those dishes use one of the umami routes above instead.