Turmeric Substitutes for Color, Earthy Flavor and Curry, Ranked by the Job

Turmeric does two jobs at once: it turns a dish golden yellow, and it brings an earthy flavor that one reference calls bitter, slightly acrid, yet sweet.¹ No other spice does both, so if you’re out, first figure out which job it’s doing in your recipe. For color, saffron, or annatto bloomed in oil, will get you there. For flavor, half as much ground ginger is a good start. And when it’s one spice among many, curry powder works, and sometimes leaving it out is the better call.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

The published turmeric-substitute ratios we found are rules of thumb from a food writer and a merchant. Neither says where its numbers came from.

If turmeric is there for color

In a lot of recipes, especially ones that call for just a pinch or 1/4 teaspoon, turmeric is mostly there for color. In the US it’s even regulated as a color additive.² It’s traditionally used to turn boiled white rice golden.

1. Saffron

Frontier Co-op recommends saffron for its golden color and “delicate floral flavor.”³ That flavor is the catch. Saffron has a strong aroma and a bitter taste, and it won’t taste like turmeric. It’s also the most expensive spice in the world, which makes it an odd pick for a dish that only needs color.

Ratio (Disputed): Three figures, two of them from the same writer, answer the same question: how much turmeric matches one large pinch of saffron?

Frontier Co-op just says to use “a small pinch” of saffron threads.³ Our starting point: for each teaspoon of turmeric, steep a small pinch of saffron in a spoonful of the recipe’s warm liquid, add it, and check the color before adding more.

2. Annatto

Most of annatto’s color dissolves in oil, though some of it dissolves in water.⁷ The seeds have a weak, perfumed smell that doesn’t carry into food,⁸ so annatto gives you color with little flavor. A Couple Cooks lists annatto (achiote) powder as a turmeric substitute but doesn’t give an amount.⁴

Ratio (Method): Warm the seeds in the oil at the start of cooking, fish them out once the oil is well colored, and cook with that oil. With annatto powder, start with about half the turmeric amount and add more for color.

3. Ground mustard

Frontier Co-op and A Couple Cooks both list dry mustard as a substitute.⁴ Frontier describes it as bright yellow, pungent and slightly bitter.³ Neither gives an amount.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half the turmeric amount. Mustard brings heat that turmeric doesn’t, so taste before you add more.

If turmeric is there for earthy flavor

1. Ground ginger

Ginger and turmeric are in the same plant family, and they share a little of their aroma chemistry.⁹ The big difference is heat. Ginger has a bite that turmeric doesn’t, and ginger won’t turn anything yellow, either.

Ratio (Attributed): A Couple Cooks suggests trying half as much ground ginger as the turmeric called for.⁴ Frontier Co-op lists ginger without an amount and advises starting small and adding to taste.³

2. Cumin

Cumin is a different kind of earthy, and none of the sources we read recommends it for turmeric. If the dish already has cumin in it, a little more can fill some of the gap in a stew or dal.

Ratio (Method): Start with about 1/4 teaspoon for each teaspoon of turmeric, and don’t expect any color.

If turmeric is one spice among several

Curry powder

Curry powder is the obvious blend to grab. The USDA’s federal purchasing specification lists turmeric first among the ingredients curry powder should include, along with coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, ginger and cardamom.¹⁰ Turmeric is what gives curry its distinctive yellow. The proportions aren’t standard, though: there’s never been a set combination of spices.¹¹

Ratio (Attributed): A Couple Cooks says to use slightly less curry powder than the turmeric the recipe calls for.⁴ Frontier Co-op lists curry powder without an amount.³ Curry powder brings other spices along, so check them against the recipe.

Leave it out

If turmeric is one of many spices and the recipe only calls for a little, leaving it out changes the color more than the flavor. That’s often better than adding a spice the dish wasn’t built for.

If you have fresh turmeric

Ratio (Computed): McCormick’s conversion is a 1-inch piece of fresh root for 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric.¹² That’s McCormick’s kitchen figure, and it doesn’t account for how big or how fresh the rhizome is.

What isn’t known

• None of the sources we found defines “a large pinch” of saffron by weight.
• We found no source for the claim that smoked paprika and mace together make a turmeric substitute, so we’ve left it out.

Related

• Turmeric, fresh turmeric vs powder, cooking with turmeric, too much turmeric
• Turmeric vs curry powder, turmeric vs ginger, turmeric vs cumin, saffron vs turmeric, galangal vs turmeric
• Saffron, annatto seeds, ginger, curry powder, mustard powder
• Saffron substitutes, ginger substitutes