Vinegar, lime juice, orange juice, lemon zest, white wine and lemongrass are some of the great substitute for lemon juice.

Lemon is a fruit which not just adds taste to your food but also refreshes your mood with its pungent flavors. It boosts your overall health with its rich vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, B-family vitamins, citric acid, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. Lemon juice is also used in alternative health remedies such as skin cleansers and infusions.

So if you are looking to replace it in your recipe then you probably are out of lemons at your home or are allergic to this yellow, ellipsoidal fruit. Nevertheless, there are a number of alternatives that can be used, which provide you with more or less similar taste and flavor.

The best and easily found alternatives of lemon juice are vinegar, lemon zest, lime juice, orange juice, white wine or lemongrass. All of these solutions may not be suitable in all kinds of situations, therefore pick the one that seems like the best match for your recipe and enjoy your cuisine without losing any of the flavors.

6  Best Substitutes of Lemon Juice

Vinegar

One of the most common ingredients we find in our kitchen and the best replacement for lemon juice is vinegar. Though it doesn’t contain the sweetness and pungent smell of lemon, it acts as an adequate replacement to add that acidic flavor to the recipe. For people who are allergic to lemon may opt for vinegar but use it in limited quantity to prevent it from overpowering the other flavors.

Lime juice

The closest ingredient to replace lemon juice is lime juice. Though lemon and lime are closely related and somewhat have similar tastes and many of the same minerals and vitamins, lemon tends to be slightly sweeter than lime. Hence, if you want a tangy flavor for your recipe then swap lemon juice with lime juice and get great results.

Orange juice

If you are using lemon juice just for its flavor then you can switch to another citrus family fruit i.e. Orange, which contains similar minerals and the citric acid. So if you are out of lemons and want the tartness in your recipe then look no further than orange juice which will add both sweetness and citrusy flavor to your dish.

Lemon zest

If you just want the citron flavor in your dish or have used up all the juice from your lemons, then you can use the zest of the lemon peel and get same results. The lemon zest also contains same nutrients and releases stronger scent and flavor when used in cocktails and other beverages, and soups.

White wine

Out of all kinds of citrus fruits? No worries, cause another good option to replace lemon juice is white wine. Though not for all the dishes but for majority of them, particularly the savory ones, lemon juice can be replaced with half the amount of white wine. Using equal ratio of white wine as of lemon juice may increase the acidity and drastically change the taste of your dish. Therefore, use it in limited amount to get the required flavor.

Lemongrass

If you are looking for an ingredient similar to lemon but do not want it to overpower other flavors then the best option is lemongrass. Though lemongrass does not belong to the citrus family, it contains a similar compound called citral, which is found in other lemon-y plants, hence, making it suitable to replace lemon juice.

Lemongrass has a mix flavor of lemon and lemon mint which when used releases slightly sharp and tangy taste without the bitterness of lemon. Therefore, for the people who are looking for something mild with a touch of tangy flavor may switch to lemongrass.

These are the top most ingredients which can be used to replace lemon juice. Other than these solutions, there are also similar other substitutes of lemon juice like, tomato juice, apple cider vinegar, vitamin C solution, powdered citric acid and different kinds of lemon herbs(lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon basil), which have minty flavors and work well for medicinal applications as well as cooking.