Sage Substitute: Have you gone to the market and brought fresh herbs like oregano, parsley, rosemary, and many others and remembered about sage after coming home? nothing to worry about this as you have bought many best sage alternatives to use in place of sage. Sage is a common herb that is often used in cooking. Even if you are unable to find fresh sage at supermarkets, you can use many other fresh sage or dried sage substitutes. Look into them below.
In our blog post, we are going to cover many of the sage substitutes that can be used instead of sage. Still, other information is also discussed to know about the types of sage and answered your queries like can you use fresh sage instead of dried sage and vice versa and many more. Explore now!!
- What is Sage?
- 5 Best Substitutes of Sage – Fresh and Dried Substitutes For Sage
- What are Different Types of Sage
- Can You Substitute Rubbed Sage For Ground Sage And Vice Versa?
- Can You Substitute Dried Sage instead of Fresh Sage? – Fresh Sage Vs Dried Sage
- When Can We Use Sage Alternatives?
- FAQs on Perfect Sage Substitute – What Can I Use In Place of Sage
What is Sage?
Sage is a fresh herb that is related to the mint family. And this sage has many other names like culinary sage, garden sage, and common garden sage. The scientific name of sage is salvia Officinalis. Even it can be in dried form too. This plant will be very small, and shrubby with soft green leaves along with flowers. Sage is used for culinary uses and even it has medicinal properties too. Even sage extract is popular as an essential oil for aromatherapy and holistic medicine.
Sage adds very good flavor to food like sweet, savory, vegetables, meats, and many more. In sage, we will have both fresh and dried sage.
5 Best Substitutes of Sage – Fresh and Dried Substitutes For Sage
- Marjoram
- Oregano
- Poultry Seasoning
- Thyme
- Rosemary
When your recipe calls for sage, if you don’t have it with you or if you would like to avoid sage then all these perfect sage alternatives that you have in your kitchen will help you very well that give you similar flavor, color, and taste. As sage has a unique flavor of sweet, savory, and bitter taste it is difficult to find a replica of sage. But we have done a lot more research and bought you some substitutes that can swap in place of sage.
Marjoram
Like sage, marjoram is a wonderful herb and also a family of mints which is having a very similar flavor, taste, and color. So, this will be a good substitute for fresh or dried sage. Because for dried or fresh sage, you can use fresh or dried marjoram accordingly. But one thing is unlike sage, it cannot retain its potency for long, so you need to add it last while cooking any dishes. This substitute will work best for meats, stews, poultry, sausage, savory dishes, salad dressings, and pasta dishes.
You can use equal amounts of marjoram to substitute sage, it may be dry sage or fresh sage.
Oregano
Oregano is the best fresh and dried herb that gives an earthy tone to the dishes. This will be good only if it is dried. Even dried oregano is one of the best substitutes for dried sage as fresh oregano is not very close to sage which is fresh in flavor. Even this is very similar to marjoram, so you can use it if you do even don’t have marjoram at home. To use this as a substitute for dried sage, add 3/4 teaspoon of dried oregano for one teaspoon of dried or fresh sage.
Poultry Seasoning
When you think of it to add as a substitute for sage, it will be an absolute solution because sage is used as the main ingredient in poultry seasoning. But the bad part is it works only in place of dried sage. Not only sage, but poultry seasoning also have multiple dried herbs and spices like marjoram, oregano, parsley, nutmeg, cloves, and many more. You can use this substitute for the recipes like poultry dishes or in-stuffing dishes.
To use this as a substitute, add one teaspoon of dried sage to one teaspoon of dried poultry seasoning. And for fresh sage also use one teaspoon of poultry seasoning for one tablespoon of sage.
Thyme
Another mint family herb to use as a substitute for fresh sage is fresh thyme. Even thyme has a woodsy flavor, aromatic flavor that is available, especially in sage but it will be little compared to sage. And unlike sage, it is also having less potency so you need to add it later in cooking dishes. Use this as a substitute by adding equal parts of fresh or dried thyme for fresh or dried sage.
This substitute will work best for recipes like meat, poultry, and root vegetable, and for fish dishes in place of sage.
Rosemary
If you don’t have any of the above substitutes at home, then rosemary is also the best substitute for sage. It gives very same flavors and aromas like sage along with pine and citrus flavors. So when you are using it, you can use it for dishes like bread, potato dishes, stews, soups, steaks, and poultry. And as it has high aromatic flavors, add it at the last minute of cooking and remove it very fast.
To use this as a substitute for sage, you need to use 1/3 teaspoon of fresh or dried rosemary for one teaspoon of fresh or dried sage.
By looking at these substitutes you may think these are the only substitutes that you can use for sage, But no, these are the top 5 sage alternatives that can replace sage. But there are many other alternatives like winter savory, fresh basil, dried basil, mint, tarragon, and many more.
What are the Different Types of Sage
When it comes to sage herbs we can use both fresh and dried. Generally, sage is used in its dry form than fresh. In dried sage, we have two types they are
- Rubbed Sage
- Ground Sage
Rubbed sage is a dried sage leaf that is loosely broken up. And this sage will be available in larger pieces and used to rub on meat and root vegetables. Coming to ground sage is dried sage which is a fine powder. It will have more concentrated than rubbed sage. This sage is used as a seasoning mixed into recipes.
Related Articles:
Can You Substitute Rubbed Sage For Ground Sage And Vice Versa?
Yes, you can add rubbed sage instead of ground sage and ground sage in place of rubbed sage. Look into the substitution for rubbed and ground sage. Always keep in mind that ground herbs have a strong flavor compared to others.
- For one teaspoon rubbed sage, you can use a half teaspoon of ground sage.
Can You Substitute Dried Sage instead of Fresh Sage? – Fresh Sage Vs Dried Sage
Yes, you can substitute dried sage in place of fresh sage as an alternative. And even as we have ground and rubbed sage in dried sage you can use any of them. Even though dried and fresh sage taste the same but there will be differences in intensity. So, if you want to use dried sage instead of a fresh one, you need to know the substitution ratio. look into it below.
- For the normal common sage, you can use a 1:2 ratio for one tablespoon of dried sage, you can use 2 tablespoons of fresh sage.
- For one tablespoon of fresh sage, you can use one teaspoon of rubbed sage(Use it in equal amounts).
- For one tablespoon of fresh sage, you can use half a teaspoon of ground sage.
As you have seen the substitution ratio, you need to know when you need to add it to cooking. As we add fresh sage at the end of the cooking, dried sage needs to be added at the beginning of the cooking.
When Can We Use Sage Alternatives?
If you are not a regular cook of Mediterranean and Italian cuisine, sage will not be in your kitchen cupboard. So, when you want to make those cuisines suddenly, you will not have, at that time these alternatives will be useful. Even if you are allergic to ragweed pollen as sage is a family of ragweed you can use these substitutes according to the American academy of allergy, sage causes the allergic reaction due to the pollen that remains on the leaf that may cause symptoms like cough and itchy mouth.
Even if you are unable to find sage in the grocery store or if you cannot go to the grocery store to buy sage,
FAQs on Perfect Sage Substitute – What Can I Use In Place of Sage
1. What is the flavor of the sage?
The flavor of the sage will be slightly peppery notes, and earthy, along with hints of lemon, mint, and eucalyptus. Coming to the taste depends on the type of sage that you are using like a common, garden, and cooking sage.
2. What is the best sage substitute for soup?
Thyme and poultry seasoning is the best substitute that you can use in place of sage for soups.
3. What is the best substitute that you can use instead of sage in cooking?
The best substitute that you can use instead of sage in cooking is rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. You can also use seasonings, like poultry and Italian seasonings for sage.
4. What can I do with fresh sage?
You can use fresh sage as sprinklers on salads, whip up a batch of herb and blossom tempura, and make sage blossom jelly or syrup.
In a Nutshell
We are hoping that the knowledge we have shared on sage substitute had shed some light on you. You can use these substitutes when you are allergic to sage or if you are running out of sage and many more. Still, if you have any doubts, you can comment to us in the comment section. For more interesting articles, you can check out our canfoodgobad.com website.