What's The Best Substitute To Use For Shallots?

Shallots are versatile vegetables that serve a variety of purposes in many dishes, whether they're used as a pickled salad topping or a base for a stew. The small, purplish-brown papery bulb looks almost like an elongated onion, which is probably why they're usually located near the onions and potatoes at the grocery store. 

Anyone who likes to try out new recipes has likely come across a shallot on ingredient lists. Recipes often call for shallots for a variety of uses, since they are mild and sweet enough to eat raw, yet add complexity and richness to dishes when cooked. Among their many uses, shallots may be diced and mixed into vinaigrettes; sauteed and used in pasta dishes, baked into quiches, fried and sprinkled on soups or dips, or even roasted whole alongside chicken or beef tenderloin. 

That being said, shallots are not always a household staple, and sometimes you just don't have one on hand when the recipe calls for it. Either you don't have one, or you can't seem to find one at the grocery store — we've been there! So what exactly makes the best substitute for a shallot? Typically, your best bet is a yellow onion.

Yellow onions make the best substitutes, since sweet onions can be too sweet, and red and white onions can be too sharp. Yellow onions may be an especially good substitute when chopped and sauteed to build flavor at the beginning of a recipe. Usually, a 1:1 ratio of chopped yellow onions for shallots will be fine.

As reported by the Food Network, shallots and yellow onions are both members of the allium family, which also includes garlic, leeks, chives, and other onions. Flavor-wise, shallots are similar to onions, but with sweeter, more subtle flavors. Because of this, you may need to mellow the flavor of the onion when using it as a substitute for shallots.

A popular method for dulling the bite of raw onion is soaking the onion in cold water. Simply place the cut onions in cold water for about 30 minutes before using them. In cooked recipes, another strategy to mellow out the onion's flavor could be letting it cook down and caramelize more than you typically would.

While yellow onions are often the best substitute, there are situations where a different substitute may be better suited. For example, chopped red onion may more closely resemble the raw shallot called for in a vinaigrette. When using a red onion, it can be easy to overdo the onion, since shallot is naturally subtler, so you may want to scale back the ratio. Start small and taste before adding more. Or, try the cold water-soaking method to mellow out the flavor.

Sometimes, it's best to avoid substituting for shallots altogether. If the recipe calls for a lot of shallots, or features "shallot" in the name, such as Caramelized Shallot Meatloaf Muffins or Tomato Coulis With Shallots And White Wine, that usually means they are a key ingredient. In these situations, you may be better off avoiding a substitution and saving the recipe for when you have shallots on hand.