Balsamic Vinegar substitute

Best substitute

Red Wine Vinegar + Sugar

1 tbsp + ½ tsp sugar

Best for vinaigrettes and marinades

Needs a tweakLikely in your cupboard

Balsamic is doing two jobs, so a plain vinegar alone will not cover it. Per 1 tbsp of balsamic use 1 tbsp red wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp brown sugar, stirred until the sugar dissolves - that replaces both the acid and the sweetness.

Other balsamic vinegar substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Apple Cider Vinegar + Sugar
Needs a tweak
1 tbsp + ½ tsp + sugar
A 5% vinegar, so it needs slightly more volume, and its apple fruitiness partly stands in for balsamic's fruit.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardvegangluten-freedairy-free
Best for
slaws, bean salads and roast root vegetables, barbecue-leaning marinades, when cider vinegar is the only bottle open
Taste
fruity
Texture
thinner
Covers
Acid
Sweetness
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
This is the swap worked through in detail at apple cider.
3Pomegranate Molasses
Needs a tweak
2 tsp + 1 tsp water
Reduced pomegranate juice: already thick, already sweet-tart and already dark, which makes it the one bottle that behaves like balsamic in a glaze.
What changes
Special tripvegangluten-freedairy-free
Best for
glazes that must cling to chicken, salmon or sprouts, dressings for grain salads, feta and pomegranate seeds, when you need thickness as well as acidity
Taste
tart, fruity
Texture
similar
Covers
Acid
Sweetness
Browning & colour
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Sits below the household options only because most kitchens do not have it. For a glaze it is the best answer here.
4Rice Vinegar + Sugar
You'll taste it
1 ½ tbsp + ½ tsp sugar
The mildest vinegar there is at 4-4.5% acid, so it needs half again as much volume and still lands gentle and pale.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardvegangluten-freedairy-free
Best for
a lighter dressing for delicate leaves, when the dish should not turn dark, the only vinegar in a mostly Asian pantry
Taste
mild, sweet-sour
Texture
thin
Covers
Acid
Sweetness
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
The weakest option here for a reason: it is the furthest from balsamic on every axis except sourness.
5Sherry Vinegar
You'll taste it
Use the same amount no sweetness
An aged, nutty wine vinegar with real depth of flavour but almost no sugar, so it matches balsamic's complexity and not its sweetness.
What changes
Special tripvegangluten-freedairy-free
Best for
dressings for bitter leaves, lentils and roast peppers, when you want depth without sweetness, Spanish dishes and anything with smoked paprika
Taste
nutty, dry
Texture
thinner
Covers
Acid
Misses
Sweetness — not covered
The closest match on complexity of anything here, and the furthest on sweetness.
6Worcestershire Sauce
In a pinch
½ tbsp max, cooked
A thin, dark, salty sauce built on vinegar, tamarind, molasses and anchovies, so it brings acid and colour along with a lot of salt and fish.
What changes
Likely in your cupboard
Best for
a cooked marinade for beef or mushrooms, adding depth to an already-savoury pan sauce, when it is the only dark bottle in the house
Taste
savoury, salty
Texture
thin
Covers
Acid
Browning & colour
Misses
Sweetness — not covered
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Standard Worcestershire contains anchovies and barley malt, so it is neither vegetarian nor gluten-free unless the label says so.

Don’t use these

Soy Sauce
Not for this
Dark and glossy like balsamic, but salty rather than sour and sweet: it has almost no acid and around a hundred times the sodium.

Check your case

Is the balsamic being cooked, or served as it comes out of the bottle?

It goes into a vinaigrette, a marinade or a pan sauce with other strong flavours.
Rebuild it: 1 tbsp red wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp brown sugar per tablespoon, or cider vinegar at 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp with the same sugar. The dressing and marinade cases are at salad dressing and marinade.
Jump to Red Wine Vinegar + Sugar or Apple Cider Vinegar + Sugar
You need a glaze that clings - brushed on chicken, salmon, sprouts or roast vegetables.
The sugar is doing structural work here, so it is not optional. Pomegranate molasses is already a thick sweet-tart syrup and needs no reduction. Otherwise simmer 1 cup of any vinegar with 2 tbsp brown sugar down to about 1/3 cup.
Jump to Pomegranate Molasses or Red Wine Vinegar + Sugar
It is served raw and alone - drizzled on caprese, on strawberries, over parmesan, or as a dip with oil and bread.
There is no swap. The raisiny wood-aged smell is the whole point and nothing in the cupboard has it. Dress the dish with good olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon and serve it as a different, honest dish.
You are canning or pickling.
Do not use balsamic at all unless the tested recipe names it. Its sugar and its labelled acidity are not what those recipes are built on, and there the acid level is a safety control.

Remember that balsamic is two ingredients in one bottle: acid and sugar. Any plain vinegar covers the acid, so the real question is who supplies the sweetness. In a dressing or marinade, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar per tablespoon does it. In a glaze the sugar is structural - it is what thickens - so either add 2 tbsp brown sugar per cup before reducing, or use pomegranate molasses, which is already a syrup. And if the balsamic is being drizzled on raw, accept that there is no swap.

Don’t substitute balsamic vinegar here

When to keep looking rather than swap

Balsamic served raw and alone - drizzled over caprese, strawberries, peaches or parmesan, or as a dip with olive oil.
What you are tasting there is the wood-aged, raisiny smell of the vinegar itself. Every substitute here replaces the sourness and the sugar, and none of them replaces that.
Instead. Dress the plate with good olive oil, flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon and serve it as the dish it now is - or use half as much real balsamic if there is any left in the bottle.
Reducing a plain vinegar to make a glaze.
Balsamic thickens when it reduces because of its grape sugar. A plain wine or cider vinegar has almost none, so it does not thicken - it just concentrates the acid until it is harsh enough to make you cough.
Instead. Add 2 tbsp brown sugar per cup of vinegar before you reduce it, then simmer to about a third of the volume. Or use pomegranate molasses, which is already a syrup and needs no cooking.
Canning or pickling with balsamic, or swapping it in for the vinegar a tested recipe names.
Acidity in a sealed jar is a safety control against Clostridium botulinum. Balsamic's sugar, its thickness and its labelled acidity are not what those recipes were tested on.
Instead. Use the exact vinegar the tested recipe names, at 5% acidity or higher, and follow a current tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Using soy sauce tablespoon for tablespoon because it is also dark and glossy.
Soy sauce has almost no acid and a very large amount of salt, so the dish comes out salty and flat rather than sweet-tart, and there is no fixing the salt afterwards.
Instead. Use 2 tsp of any vinegar plus 1 tsp of soy sauce per tablespoon of balsamic, and leave the recipe's own salt out until you have tasted it.

What is Balsamic Vinegar?

Balsamic Vinegar is a dark, syrupy vinegar made from cooked grape must and aged in wood; supermarket bottles are labelled at around 6% acidity but carry enough grape sugar to taste sweet rather than sharp.

Cooking tips

Balsamic does two jobs at once, acid and sugar, so a plain vinegar alone always tastes thin: add 1/2 tsp brown sugar per tablespoon of vinegar you use in its place.
The sugar is also what makes a reduction thicken. Reducing plain vinegar only makes it sourer.
To make a glaze, simmer 1 cup of balsamic down to about 1/3 cup over medium-low heat, 15-20 minutes, until it coats a spoon - it thickens further as it cools.
Brush any balsamic glaze on in the last 10 minutes of roasting. Earlier than that and the sugar scorches.
Everyday balsamic and traditional aged balsamico are different products: the aged one is used by the drop as a finishing condiment and should never go into a marinade.
Pomegranate molasses is the only common bottle that already has balsamic's thickness as well as its sweet-tart balance, which is why it works for glazes with no reduction at all.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for balsamic vinegar?

One tablespoon of red wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp of brown sugar for each tablespoon of balsamic. Both are grape vinegars of similar strength, so once you put the sweetness back the mixture behaves the same way in a dressing or a marinade. What you cannot replace is balsamic's raisiny, wood-aged smell.

Can I use red wine vinegar with sugar instead of balsamic vinegar?

Yes, and it is the best everyday answer. Use 1 tbsp red wine vinegar plus 1/2 tsp brown sugar per tablespoon of balsamic, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Expect a sharper, thinner and more translucent dressing - it will not coat the leaves the way balsamic does.

Can I use pomegranate molasses instead of balsamic vinegar?

Yes, and for glazes it is the closest thing there is, because it is already a thick sweet-tart syrup. Use 2 tsp plus 1 tsp of water per tablespoon of balsamic, reduce any other sugar in the recipe by about 1/2 tsp, and brush it on in the last 10 minutes of cooking so it does not scorch.

How do I make a balsamic glaze, and can I make one from ordinary vinegar?

Simmer 1 cup of balsamic over medium-low heat until it reduces to about 1/3 cup, roughly 15-20 minutes, and stop while it still runs off the spoon - it thickens as it cools. You cannot do this with a plain vinegar unless you add sugar: without it there is nothing to thicken, and reducing only concentrates the acid. Add 2 tbsp brown sugar per cup first.

Can I use soy sauce instead of balsamic vinegar?

Not on its own. Soy sauce is dark and glossy but salty rather than sour, with almost no acid, so the dish comes out flat and oversalted. Use 2 tsp of any vinegar plus 1 tsp of soy sauce per tablespoon of balsamic, and leave out the recipe's salt until you have tasted it.

What's the difference between balsamic vinegar and regular vinegar?

Balsamic is made from cooked grape must and aged in wood, so it keeps real grape sugar alongside its roughly 6% acidity. That sugar is why it tastes sweet, why it is thick, and why it reduces into a syrup. Regular wine, cider and white vinegars have the acid and none of the sugar.

Is balsamic vinegar gluten-free?

Balsamic is made from grapes and contains no gluten, though flavoured and thickened glazes can include other ingredients, so read the label. Note that two of the swaps here do carry allergens: Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovies and barley malt, and most soy sauce contains wheat.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Balsamic Vinegar substitute

Other balsamic vinegar substitutes

2Apple Cider Vinegar + Sugar

3Pomegranate Molasses

4Rice Vinegar + Sugar

5Sherry Vinegar

6Worcestershire Sauce

Soy Sauce