Top 10 😍 Best Substitute for Gelatin Powder

Sweets like mousse, panna cotta, and jellies rely on gelatin for their unique texture. It is made from the collagen of the animals. If you are vegan or vegetarian and looking for a vegan or vegetarian gelatin substitute for your dessert recipe, we have a huge list of gelatin substitutes for you. Now, you can make your recipe without adding non-vegetarian gelatin.

What is Gelatin?

Gelatin is a protein obtained from an animal’s boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. It is usually obtained from cows and pigs. It is used in many cosmetics products such as face masks and shampoos. Gelatin is used as a thickening agent in sweet dishes/recipes candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, and yogurts on photographic film.

Nutrient Profile of Gelatin:

A half-cup serving of gelatin contains:

• Calories: 35
• Protein: 1 gram
• Fat: 0 grams
• Carbohydrates: 8 grams
• Fiber: 0 grams
• Sugar: 8 grams

Health Benefits of Gelatin:

• Gelatin helps to hydrate skin.
• It lowers the blood sugar level.
• The protein in gelatin helps to protect the intestine wall.

What can I Substitute for Gelatin Powder?

Using a substitute instead of the main ingredient doesn’t ruin your recipe/dish, but it gives the almost same texture as well as flavor. If you are stuck in the cooking process due to not having the gelatin, you can use the best suitable substitute for gelatin in your recipe/dish. We have listed our best substitute for gelatin down here.

1. Agar Agar:

Agar-agar is one of the most popular vegan substitutes. It is derived from red sea algae. Agar-agar doesn’t have any color, taste, or smell and is useful for thickening or firming up the wobbly dessert. It comes in two forms, powdered and fiber/flakes. It is a perfect gelatin alternative that you can use in a recipe. When substituting gelatin, you should take an equal amount of powdered agar-agar. On the other hand, you should take 1 tablespoon of agar-agar fiber/flakes in place of 1 teaspoon of gelatin.

2. Tapioca Starch:

Tapioca starch is basically a carbohydrate derived from tapioca root. It’s another vegan gelatin substitute having 95% of carbohydrates with no protein or fiber. Due to its smoothness, stickiness, and consistency, it is considered a good gelatin powder substitute in Eurasian-style cuisines. You can use it in soups, stews, stir-fries, sauces, and drinks.

The texture of tapioca starch is slightly different from gelatin. It has a light yellow color and is more inclined to thickening and binding solutions as compared to gelatin which solidifies the product while remaining translucent.

3. Pectin:

Pectin is derived from fruits and vegetables. It is often used to preserve, jellies and jam as a binding and gelling agent. It is available in both dry and liquid forms. Pectin includes clear, easily soluble in water, and capable of producing effective solidification. Gelatin tastes like syrup and can only gel and solidify in the presence of acids and sugars.

If you use pectin as a gelatin replacement, you will notice that pectin firms up a little harder. Generally, it requires sugar to firm up, so we can say it works really well with desserts.

4. Corn Starch:

Corn starch is a dried fine powder that is derived from dried corn kernels. Sometimes, chefs use cornmeal to replace gelatin in various cooking methods to bind and thicken the solution. As you know that corn starch and tapioca flour are not transparent as gelatin, so they may not be suitable for making jellies and transparent foods.

5. Kudzu:

Kudzu is popular for its ability to thicken food. Kudzu is native to China, Japan, and Korea. It is available in small white chunks that look like small pebbles of chalk. It dissolves instantly in water and is activated when water is brought to a simmer and cooked until dissolved. Traditionally, it is used to make Japanese sweets but also used to make warm pudding or even mochi.

6. Carrageenan:

Carrageenan is a popular product for commercial use to set and stabilize food. It is made from Irish Moss, a type of dried-out seaweed. Carrageenan is the best gelatin replacement for Mousse. It works well with soy milk, ice cream, cheese, bread, and several fast foods also. You may need to add more Carrageenan to your recipe because the texture is softer than Carrageenan.

7. Guar Gum:

If you don’t have the above options, you can try guar gum which is one of the several gums derived from guar seeds. Primarily guar gum is found in India, Pakistan, the United States, Australia, China, and Africa. Guar gum is a galactomannan polysaccharide compound that thickens and stabilizes food. The ability to absorb water makes it a great binding and thickening agent in soups and sauces.

8. Vegan Jelly:

Vegan Jelly is not a single component but a category of products to be vegetarian gelatin substitutes. Each product might contain vegetable gum, carrageenan, and tapioca dextrin depending on its brand. If you wish to add extra flavor to the dish, you can add more food flavoring agents such as taro’s taste.

9. Xanthan Gum:

Xanthan Gum is a common food additive to provide texture to gluten-free baked goods. Gelatin is a gelling agent whereas xanthan is a thickening agent. This product is chemically derived in a lab. It is always available in powdered form. It is a soluble fiber derived in a lab. Xanthan gum doesn’t have any long-lasting negative effects making it legal in the USA.

10. Instant Clear Gel:

Instant clear gel is not similar to vegan gels. It is referred to as “instant clear gel” or simply “clearjel”. This clear gel is an excellent gelatin substitute in many recipes made from modified food starch, many times a modified corn starch. The best part is its instant thickening formula that requires no cooking and can be used as a thickening agent in flour also.

FAQ:

Now, you know the best Gelatin Substitute. You can choose according to what you have in the kitchen or you can also purchase from Amazon. Please! comment down below your questions, and let us know how much informative is this article for you. 🙂