Having a good ground mustard powder substitute on hand is key to making dishes like deviled eggs or delicious sauces without lacking some tanginess or spice.
What Is Mustard Powder?
Mustard powder is the ground seeds from the mustard plant. It is an aromatic spice that adds a slight hint of spice to savory dishes such as stews, soups, and rubs. It is usually a mixture of ground-up yellow and brown mustard seeds.
What Does Ground Mustard Powder Taste Like?
Ground Dry mustard powder has no taste unless it is added to water or other liquids. When mixed, it has an earthy, warm, and slightly tangy flavor. The powder can also be spicy if added in larger amounts to your dishes or sauces.
Common Uses for Ground Mustard Powder
- Sauces – mustard adds some hot, tangy flavor to sauces as well as a slight hint of color.
- Emulsifying sauces – other than adding flavor, mustard helps to emulsify sauces such as hollandaise which is a mixture of oil and acid, amongst other ingredients.
- Rubs and spice mixes – mustard powder is often added to spice rubs and blends to sprinkle over meat, veggies, eggs, and pasta dishes.
How to Choose a Substitute for Ground Mustard Powder
- Emulsifying agent – if you need to use a substitute for ground mustard that will emulsify your dressings and sauces, use an ingredient that is acidic or add acid to ensure it will emulsify.
- Color – ground mustard is added to recipes for its spice but also gentle coloring properties so choose an ingredient like turmeric to achieve the same results
- Spice – mustard has a spicy tanginess that is unique to the spice but can be found in ingredients such as horseradish or wasabi too.
10 Best Ingredients for a Ground Mustard Powder Substitute
1. Yellow Mustard
Yellow mustard usually refers to mustard sauce, which is made from ground yellow mustard seeds and a few other ingredients. It is milder than mustard powder and is a liquid as opposed to a powder, but still makes for a good hollandaise sauce from All Recipes.
2. Whole Mustard Seeds
Whole mustard seeds would be the best substitute for ground mustard seeds. You can use it in a whole form or quickly crush it at home. Spread the Mustard has a few tips to crush mustard seeds at home if you don’t have a spice blender.
3. Dijon Mustard
Dijon mustard is a sauce made from ground or whole mustard seeds and white wine. It is much stronger than yellow mustard and thus makes for a convincing substitute for dry mustard powder. You can use it in a 3:1 ratio for mustard powder since it is still milder than the powder. All Recipes use dijon mustard in their version of mac and cheese.
4. Horseradish Powder
If you need a tangy substitute for mustard powder, try using horseradish powder since it has a similar tanginess. It also adds a slight hint of spice to your dish, making it ideal to use in any recipe you would use mustard powder in. Spices Inc describes the flavor profile of mustard.
5. Horseradish Sauce
It is worth mentioning horseradish sauce as an alternative to dry mustard since it is more pungent than horseradish powder. Use half the amount of horseradish sauce to replace dry mustard. Natasha’s Kitchen has a recipe for horseradish sauce that pairs well with a variety of meat, just like mustard would.
6. Wasabi Powder
Wasabi powder is the dried version of the spicy green paste you often find when eating sushi. It has a much spicier flavor profile than mustard, so use this ingredient with caution. My Recipes uses wasabi powder to spice salmon.
7. Turmeric
Turmeric doesn’t have a spicy flavor profile nor any tanginess, but it does work well with recipes where you would use mustard powder. It has a distinct yellow color which might be desirable, but it will not emulsify your sauces or dressings. Bon Appetit describes the spice’s flavor in depth.
8. Arugula
It might come as a surprise to use a green leafy herb as a substitute for ground mustard, but arugula has a spicy, tangy, and peppery flavor profile that goes very well with salads or you can blend it into a paste and use it as a dressing or wet rub. NYT Cooking has a recipe for arugula pesto that can be added to sauces or used as is on salads.
9. Prepared Wasabi
Wasabi paste is also known to be spicy and earthy, much like its powdered form, but beware that some wasabi pastes found in grocery stores are not made with real wasabi root since it doesn’t store too well. Its spice is intense but fades quickly. Martha Stewart uses wasabi in her deviled eggs recipe.
10. Honey Mustard
If you need to use mustard powder in a sweeter recipe or in a recipe that pairs well with honey, using honey mustard will work best. All Recipes use honey mustard with their pork chops.
Tips for Ground Mustard Powder Substitution
- If you are using a substitute for ground mustard powder for its spice, make sure you understand how spicy it is before adding it to your dish to avoid it overpowering your dish.
- Dried alternatives are often stronger than sauces or wet ingredients, with horseradish and wasabi being an exception.
- Make sure, if your recipe calls for mustard for its emulsifying qualities, that you either add another emulsifying ingredient or add an acid like lemon juice or cream of tartar to ensure the dish or sauce will be a success.
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