Imagine you are in the kitchen thinking of making your favorite celery dishes and suddenly notice that the core ingredient celery is missing. I know how terrible it feels.
How amazing will it be if you can use some alternative veggies when running out of celery?
No doubt, celery is a nutritious vegetable. However, many people are not comfortable with how celery tastes. Just think that one of your family members does not like the celery test as you do. Or, maybe you have an allergic reaction to it, or there could be other reasons you need to find a replacement for celery.
Now you might be thinking about what would be the best celery replacer? Or are there have one? But to be frank, there is no exact substitute for celery because every vegetable has its uniqueness. Therefore, you cannot replace it with another. There are various celery replacements.
In this article, I will discuss All the celery substitutes and their different purposes and uses in food.
So keep reading and explore the different and affordable types of substitutes you can try your own.
What Makes Celery So Unique?
Before knowing the celery alternatives, we need to understand what makes celery unique, which will help you to pick and use the right vegetable for the right recipe.
Crunchiness:
One of the main reasons for using celery in cooking is that it provides crunch to the recipe. Raw celery itself very crispy. Also, its flavor plays a vital role in increasing the taste. Moreover, celery can add fresh taste. When you use it in your recipe, it never loses its freshness.
Celery’s Vibrant Color:
Color plays an essential role in cooking or even in food decoration. How amazing is that when you got served with a colorful, vibrant dish? Celery has a beautiful green, vibrant color, which helps to make your recipe pop up more.
Food Value:
Celery is full of varieties of nutritional value. It is low in calories and enriched with vitamin K, fiber, vitamin c, and potassium. Also, it has antioxidant benefits. Those who are on a vegan diet love to consume celery just because of low calories.
Celery In Recipes
Most people know about juicing celery, but it is also used in making fantastic recipes. We use celery leaves, green stalks mainly for cooking, even for food decoration, dressings. But along with this, celery salts or even celery spice are also used in so many recipes.
Here are some of the methods where celery is used either as a main ingredient or side dish. Don’t forget to try out those unique dishes.
Cream Of Celery Soup:
Where it use as the main ingredient
Chicken Wings With Celery:
celery uses as a side dish
Tuna Celery Salad:
Celery stems can be chopped and used in the mixture. It will give a crunchy taste.
Herby Celery & Bulgur Salad:
Both celery leaves and stock are used in this dish. A tasty, healthy snack.
Vegan Leek And Potato Soup:
added for extra flavor
Bloody Marry With Celery On Top:
uses as a garnish.
Mirepoix:
As a core ingredient.
Substitutes For Celery In Recipes:
Jicama:
A perfect substitute. Its scientific name is Pachyrhizus erosus. In Jamaica, people know it as yum been or Mexican potato. It’s a powerhouse of dietary fiber. It is starchy inside, and outside it has brown skin. Jicama is a root vegetable, and you can only eat its roots. The leaves and entire beans are toxic. It adds a mild flavor and a little bit nutty.
t contains less sugar, so it is a good option as a carbohydrate. You can use it as a substance of celery because it has crunchiness.
But make sure you peel off the skin before you eat. Use your knife to cut those into slices or strips the way you prefer. Use it in spring rolls; although the test will be slightly different, you can get the same texture.
Carrot
A common ingredient in our kitchen. Carrot is an excellent celery alternative. You can get the same crunchy texture as the celery also has the right amount of nutrition value. It riches in fiber, carotene, and potassium. It helps to improve your vision and immunity.
You can use carrot in your stews and pasta sauce. It adds a sweet flavor. You can also eat carrots as a snack just by making some slices. Please make sure the carrots are fresh, and you washed them properly.
Celery Seed
It is a concentrated source of celery flavor and another excellent celery replacer. If you love to cook staffed celery appetizer recipes, you can use this ingredient as the celery stock replacement. It tastes close to celery stem but not the exact.
Although the seeds have a robust, strong flavor profile, so while using them, use them at an optimum amount.
Celery Salt
It is a really popular spice and a Perfect alternative for celery. You can increase the flavor of your pasta sauces and stews with it. It is the combination of ground celery seed with the addition of salt. You can find it in the grocery stores item or any common grocery shop.
Fennel Stocks Or Fennel Bulbs
The closest test you can relate to the fennel stem is Mild anise. But after cooking, it brings very aromatic and fresh celery like flavor.
Most people think fennel is an herb, and its stem has little or no use in the kitchen. But you can use fennel stem as a great celery replacement or even the closest of celery when you are preparing any fish recipe. They may use as a celery replacer in soups, pies, and stews.
Bok Choy
Bok Choy is originally from China, also known as Chinese cabbage. It’s another effective substitute. It has lots of usage in Asian dishes or Asian cuisine. But nowadays they are using in American cousins too. You can find them in the grocery store. It can be when celery is not available. Many people like it over celery because it has a richer flavor. Always look for a bright green one for better taste.
You can eat bock Choy raw and cooked booth. If you like it as crunchy as celery, then soaking it in water will not be a good idea; use stir-frying instead. If you want to make it an excellent addition to your favorite green snacks, then use it raw.
Celeriac
The cleric is the closest relative of celery, also a root vegetable. If you are looking for the closest replacement of celery in terms of its taste, then it should be the one you can choose without any hesitation. Or someone who has an allergy to celery can use it as the best option.
You can use the leaves, root, and stock of the celeriac. Dried leaves will provide the strong celery flavor along with the closest taste and are often used in soups, stews.
The root and stem none of them have any close taste of celery. The root tastes nutty and earthy, but the stocks have a bit bitter.
Green Apple
The common characteristic an apple has with celery is its crunchiness. So you can use it as a crunchy substitute or make smoothies.
Water Chestnut
Water chestnuts are mostly found in southern Asia. It grows underwater and an aquatic tuber vegetable. It does not taste like nuts, but the color and shape are similar to the chestnut. The water chestnut gives a crunchy texture and has a bit of milky flavor. Often found in Asian cousins. It can also use as a substitute in greens or stir-fries.
Cucumber
Cucumber is one of the easy-to-find veggies. Mostly Used in dressing, bring freshness and crunch. Although it’s not very flavorful, we can use it as an alternative to celery because of its crunchiness.
Leeks
Leek is one kind of vegetable. A member of the genus Allium. Some other veggies like onion, garlic, etc. belong to the same family. Leeks are an excellent replacement for celery in soups. The only edible part of leeks is its stem. Its look and taste are similar to an onion. The flavor of the leeks is firm and crunchy when it is raw.
Cardoon
Cardoon is an excellent celery alternative in cooking and a close relative of Artichoke Thistle. It is a leaf-stem vegetable as we find in celery, but its branches are slightly bigger. Choosing the right cardoon is essential for recipes. Always purchase a grey-green and fresh cardoon that has moist. If you are familiar with artichokes taste, then I believe you will like this too. Cardoon has a nutty flavor with a slightly bitter taste.
To prepare it for cooking, separate the stocks from the root, and chop it into small pieces. The Cardoon should not be eaten raw. You can soak it in salted water to reduce its bitter taste.
Just like celery, Cardoon contains low calories.
Some other ingredients like mustard greens, kale, green beans, Wild celery, Celery flakes are also considerable. Among them, I will highly recommend using celery flake to get a closure taste of celery.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the substitutes for celery in the potato salad?
The main thing we will look for in the substitute is the refreshing crunch. The best option could be using bok choy, water chestnut, jicama, or Green apple. All of them have crunchiness, and you can surely use them as a replacement for celery in your favorite potato salad.
According to USDA, a bunch of celery is called the celery stalk. But in everyday usage, it is a bit different. We commonly refer to one stem equals one piece or stick of celery. So you have to be careful when you are interpreting recipes. Always measure the proportion with other ingredients, and be sure the recipe author meant a single stick or a bunch of ribs!
- 2 stalks of celery equal how many cups?
Two stems of celery make 1 cup. But, That depends on the size of the celery. The measurement I provided applies to medium-size celery. Additionally, How you are cutting the stick is also a crucial factor. If you cut it to slice, then two stocks will make 1 cup, but cutting them in diagonally sliced will require three stocks to make 1 cup.
Rib refers to the single-piece stick from the celery branches.
Approximately 1/4 teaspoon of seed equals one stalk. Although it can not give you the same taste of fresh celery, so use a small pinch. Also, you will miss the crunch and freshness. You will found celery seed has a slight hint of bitterness and produce after taste. But it still a great replacement if you do not have celery available.
Here are 5 easy steps for making minced celery:
1. Clean the celery first with water.
2. Separate the stems from the root.
3. To make the process faster, You need to cut it lengthwise.
4. Cut the whole stock into two pieces using your kitchen knife.
5. Then, you can cut each piece one more time if you need small pieces and according to your recipe requirement.
- What is the Difference between cardoon and Artichoke thistle?
They have mainly two notable differences. Both of them are very much look alike as they belong to the same family.
Physical difference:
Both Grow 3 to 5 feet high. You can identify them with their violate, thistle-like flowers. Although the artichokes flower is more extensive, round-shaped, and tidy, on other hand, the cardoon has less orderly growth.
Edible parts:
The edible portion of artichokes is their petal and fleshy heart. You can only eat the leaves and soft flower stocks of cardoon.
- Whats are the celery substitute in staffing?
Celery seed or celery salt is an excellent substitute for celery in staffing. one teaspoon of celery salt equals 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of grounded celery seed. Both are the easiest to find. You can consider fennel stock as well.
About The Author
