Teff substitute

Best substitute

Amaranth

Use the same amount as the teff you are replacing

Best for breakfast porridge

Different taste

Amaranth is the closest swap for whole teff at 1:1, since it is similarly tiny and cooks into the same soft, slightly sticky porridge. Millet is the better choice if you want a savory pilaf or side, and both are gluten-free. If you actually need to make injera, none of these will do it: injera requires fermented teff flour, and the honest fallback is a blend of teff flour with sorghum or barley flour rather than a swap for teff itself.

Other teff substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Millet
Different taste
Use the same amount
Small round gluten-free grains that can be cooked either fluffy or creamy depending on liquid.
What changes
Best for
pilafs and savory sides, porridge, grain bowls
The most versatile substitute and the easiest to find. Cooked in 2 parts water it comes out fluffy and separate like couscous; in 3 to 4 parts water it goes creamy and porridge-like, which is how you want it if you are standing in for teff. About 15 to 20 minutes either way. It tastes mild and slightly corn-like, much quieter than teff, so season it more assertively. Toasting the dry millet for 3 minutes first adds a nuttiness that gets it closer.
3Quinoa
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
A gluten-free pseudocereal seed that cooks in about 15 minutes and keeps its shape.
What changes
Best for
grain bowls, salads, savory sides
Reliable and available, but a poorer textural match. The seeds are several times the size of teff and they stay distinct and pop between the teeth rather than merging into a creamy mass, so a porridge made with quinoa reads as loose seeds in liquid. There is also a faint bitterness from the saponins, so rinse it thoroughly. Good for a savory teff side dish, wrong for breakfast porridge.
4Buckwheat groats or kasha
Different taste
Use the same amount
Hulled buckwheat seeds, gluten-free, sold raw or pre-toasted as kasha.
What changes
Best for
porridge, savory pilafs, hearty sides
Cooks fast, about 10 to 12 minutes, and goes soft and slightly sticky, which suits a porridge. Buckwheat is strongly flavored, dark and earthy, and toasted kasha is stronger still, so it will dominate a dish rather than sit under it the way teff does. Good where you want a robust, wintry porridge, wrong where teff was providing a mild malty background. Watch it closely, as it turns to mush quickly past 12 minutes.
5Whole sorghum
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Round gluten-free grains of sorghum, also sold as milo or jowar.
What changes
Best for
grain bowls, savory sides, pilafs, salads
The opposite trade to amaranth: sorghum is firm, chewy and stays completely separate, and it takes 50 to 60 minutes. That makes it a poor stand-in for teff porridge but a good one for a savory whole grain side, and it is culturally coherent, since sorghum is widely used across the same regions of Africa. If your recipe was a pilaf, take this route; if it was breakfast, do not.
6Steel-cut oats
Different taste
Use the same amount
Chopped oat kernels that cook into a creamy porridge with chewy bits.
What changes
Best for
breakfast porridge, savory grain bowls
Behaves very much like teff porridge, creamy with texture running through it, and it is easy to find. Cook 1 part to 3 or 4 parts liquid for 25 to 30 minutes. It tastes mild and milky rather than malty. The caveat is gluten: oats are naturally gluten-free but are routinely cross-contaminated, so if you chose teff because it is gluten-free, only use a bag specifically labeled gluten-free, or pick amaranth or millet instead.

What is Teff?

Teff is Teff is the smallest cereal grain in the world, a naturally gluten-free Ethiopian and Eritrean staple about the size of a poppy seed, with a malty, faintly molasses-like flavor and a habit of cooking into a thick porridge rather than separate grains.

Cooking tips

Teff grains are so small that they cannot be strained through an ordinary sieve, so cook them by absorption rather than draining. Use 1 part teff to 3 parts water for a soft porridge, or 1 to 2 for something firmer, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes covered. Any substitute you use should be cooked by the same absorption method for the same reason of consistency.
Whole teff and teff flour are not interchangeable, and this trips up a lot of people. The whole grain makes porridge, pilaf and a polenta-like set loaf. Only the flour, fermented for a couple of days, makes injera. If your recipe is injera and you bought whole grain, you need to grind it or buy flour.
Ivory teff is milder and slightly sweeter; brown or dark teff is earthier and more assertively malty. If a substitute tastes flat next to the teff you remember, you were probably using dark teff, and a teaspoon of molasses per cup of cooked grain is the fastest way to get that note back.
Teff porridge sets firmly as it cools, much like polenta, because the tiny grains release a great deal of starch. You can pour it into a pan, chill it and then slice and pan-fry it. Amaranth does this too; millet does it reasonably; quinoa does not, so do not choose quinoa if the recipe involves chilling and slicing.
Toast any of these small grains dry in the pan for 2 to 4 minutes before adding liquid. Teff has a natural malty depth that millet, amaranth and quinoa lack, and toasting is the cheapest way to build some of that flavor rather than ending up with a bland bowl.

Frequently asked questions

Can I substitute anything for teff to make injera?

Not really, and it is better to know that than to waste three days on a fermentation. Injera's sour flavor and its distinctive spongy holes come from fermented teff flour, whose particular starches and wild yeasts do that job. Even in Ethiopia, teff flour is commonly blended with sorghum, barley or wheat flour to stretch it, and that blended approach is the realistic compromise: keep at least half teff flour and make up the rest with sorghum flour. An all-sorghum or all-rice-flour version can be made to ferment and cook, but it is flatter, less sour and much less spongy.

Is whole teff the same as teff flour?

No. They are the same grain in two forms doing two different jobs. Whole teff grains are cooked in liquid into porridge, a creamy side dish or a sliceable set loaf. Teff flour is milled and used in batters and baking, above all for injera. A recipe written for one will not work with the other, so check which your recipe means before you shop.

What is the closest gluten-free substitute for teff?

Amaranth for texture, since its tiny seeds create the same creamy cohesive porridge, and millet for versatility and availability. Both are naturally gluten-free, and both are milder than teff, so add a little molasses for sweet dishes or toast the grain first and season firmly for savory ones. Avoid oats if gluten is the reason for the substitution unless the bag says gluten-free.

Can I just leave the teff out?

If it is the base of the dish, such as a porridge or a pilaf, no, because it is the substance rather than a seasoning. If it is a small addition, for example a couple of tablespoons stirred into a soup or a bread dough for texture and nutrition, you can skip it with very little consequence, or use the same amount of millet or amaranth.

What job is teff doing in the recipe?

Usually two. It supplies bulk and a distinctive creamy body, because the grains are so small that they break down and thicken whatever liquid they are cooked in. And it supplies a specific flavor, malty and faintly of molasses and cocoa, that is more interesting than most grains manage on their own. In injera it does a third job entirely, providing the starch and the wild microbes that create a sour fermented batter. Substitutions get much easier once you know which of the three you need.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Teff substitute

Other teff substitutes

2Millet

3Quinoa

4Buckwheat groats or kasha

5Whole sorghum

6Steel-cut oats