Food - Drink
The Best Type Of Onion To Substitute For Cooked Shallots
By ANNA STAROPOLI
Shallots are a member of the allium family, just like onions and garlic, and work as a wonderful flavor enhancer in many foods and condiments. If you don’t have any shallots on hand, leeks or chives work decently to replace them, but the best shallot substitute is more humble and less exotic than either of these fancier alliums.
Plain old yellow onions have a neutral flavor that’s not too sweet nor too intense, making them ideal for replacing shallots. While they don’t quite work as a substitute for raw shallots, they have a lighter flavor and reduced intensity when cooked, which makes the perfect substitute in dishes that call for cooked shallots.
White and red onions have a more intense flavor that doesn't quite match the mellowness of shallots, while sweet onions are too sweet and not quite on par with shallots, either. One small yellow onion equates to roughly three shallots, so calculate the right measures for your recipe when using onions as a substitute.