Skip to content

Taramosalata substitute

Best substitute

Grated bottarga in a potato and olive oil base

Use 1 tablespoon finely grated bottarga for every ½ cup mashed potato, with ¼ cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Best for homemade taramosalata

Close match

Pressed and dried mullet or tuna roe, grated fine and whipped into the same starch-and-oil base taramosalata uses.

Other taramosalata substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Taramosalata with ratios

  1. 2Smoked cod roe

    Close match

    Use the same amount with the tarama called for

    Salt-cured smoked cod roe, sold in vacuum packs or jars in Greek, Scandinavian and British delis.

    What changes
    Best for
    homemade taramosalata, mezze, dips, spreads

    Almost the same product with an extra layer of smoke. The dip is noticeably smokier and slightly firmer, which some people prefer. Peel away the tough outer membrane before blending or the dip will be stringy, and cut the lemon back slightly since smoked roe is often saltier than plain carp tarama.

  2. 3Anchovy paste or salted anchovy fillets in a potato base

    Different taste

    Use 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or 3 to 4 anchovy fillets for every ½ cup mashed potato, with ¼ cup olive oil and lemon to taste

    A pantry route to the same salty, oily, fishy-umami spread using something most kitchens already have.

    What changes
    Best for
    mezze, dips, spreads on toast, quick substitutes

    Structurally very close and it does the same job on the plate: salt, umami, emulsified fat, acid. The flavour is browner and deeper where roe is delicately briny and mineral, so it reads more like an anchovy spread than taramosalata. Mash the anchovies to a paste before adding oil or you will get salty pockets.

  3. 4Whipped feta with olive oil and lemon

    Different taste

    Use the same amount as a replacement for the finished dip

    Feta blended smooth with olive oil, lemon and a splash of water, in the style of a mild tirokafteri.

    What changes
    Best for
    mezze plates, vegetarian tables, spreading on bread, dipping vegetables

    The best swap if the point is a salty, creamy, lemony dip on a mezze plate. It hits the same notes of salt, fat and acid and is the same pale colour and spoonable texture. There is no fish flavour at all, so if the recipe or the meal is built around Lenten seafood traditions, this changes what the plate means.

  4. 5Salmon roe or lumpfish caviar whipped into a bread base

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 2 tablespoons roe for every ½ cup soaked and squeezed white bread, with ¼ cup olive oil and lemon

    Wet, whole-egg roes used in place of the cured paste.

    What changes
    Best for
    mezze, canapes, dips, special occasions

    These are not cured the same way, so they are milder, more mineral and much less salty, and the individual eggs pop rather than dissolving into the paste. Pulse briefly rather than blending, or you get a grey dip. You will need more salt than the recipe suggests, and the flavour is cleaner and less funky than real tarama.

  5. 6Skordalia or another Greek dip

    Different taste

    Use the same amount as a replacement on the plate

    Not a flavour substitute at all, but the practical answer when you need something in that slot on a Greek table.

    What changes
    Best for
    mezze plates, serving with fried fish, vegetarian tables

    Worth being blunt about: skordalia is garlic and potato, tzatziki is yogurt and cucumber, and neither tastes remotely of fish roe. What they share with taramosalata is that they are creamy, tangy, olive-oil-based dips eaten with bread and fried food. If the fish flavour is what you are after, none of these will do it.

What is Taramosalata?

Taramosalata is Taramosalata, also spelled taramasalata, is a Greek dip made by whipping salt-cured fish roe called tarama, usually carp or cod, with olive oil and either soaked bread or boiled potato, plus lemon juice.

Cooking tips

  • Understand what tarama is doing before you swap it: it is salt, cured fish umami and enough protein to help the olive oil emulsify. The bread or potato is only the body. Any substitute has to bring the salt and the savour, and you can always supply the body yourself.
  • For a light, fluffy dip use soaked stale white bread with the crusts off, squeezed almost dry. For a denser, richer dip use boiled floury potato, cooled. Warm potato makes the emulsion break and go greasy.
  • Add the olive oil in a slow stream with the blender running, exactly as you would for mayonnaise. Dumping it in at once splits the dip, and a split taramosalata tastes oily rather than creamy.
  • If the dip is too salty, add more bread or potato rather than water. Water thins the emulsion and makes it slack without fixing the seasoning.
  • Real taramosalata is beige or pale grey-pink. The bright pink jars in supermarkets are dyed, so do not judge your homemade version against that colour.
  • Chill it for at least an hour before serving and taste again cold, since salt reads much stronger at room temperature and the balance shifts.
  • Tarama and other cured roes are salt-cured rather than cooked. Anyone who has been advised to avoid uncooked fish should skip taramosalata and choose the whipped feta version instead.

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of tarama to make taramosalata?

Smoked cod roe is the closest and often easier to find, at a one to one swap. Grated bottarga also works well but is far more concentrated, so start with a tablespoon per half cup of potato or bread base. Failing both, a teaspoon of anchovy paste gives you the salty umami if not the exact briny character.

Does taramosalata taste fishy?

It tastes salty and savoury rather than fishy in the way cooked fish does. The dominant impressions are salt, lemon and olive oil, with a mineral, faintly briny depth behind them. A good version tastes more like a cured, oceanic seasoning than like a plate of fish.

Is there a vegetarian substitute for taramosalata?

There is no vegetarian version that tastes of roe, so be honest about it. Whipped feta with olive oil and lemon fills the same slot on a mezze plate with the same salty creamy tang. A little finely chopped nori or a few capers blended in adds a briny hint if you want to nudge it toward the sea.

Can I leave taramosalata off a mezze spread?

Easily, if there is another dip on the table. It is one dish among several rather than a component in a recipe. Where it matters is on a Greek Lenten table, where taramosalata is one of the traditional dishes, and swapping it for a cheese dip changes the point of the meal.

Why did my taramosalata turn out oily and split?

The oil went in too fast, or the potato was still warm. Blend the roe with the bread or cooled potato and lemon first, then trickle in the olive oil with the motor running. To rescue a split batch, blend a fresh spoonful of potato in a clean bowl and add the broken mixture to it slowly.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Need a different ingredient?

Browse the full index, or the rest of this category.

Browse all substitutesMore sauces & condiments