Worcestershire sauce recipes can be intimidating. An authentically homemade Worcestershire sauce recipe requires a rather long fermentation process, and most of us aren’t that patient. It requires anchovies. Do you eat anchovies? (Maybe you do. They’re nutritious little buggers.) It requires far more attention than I’d like to give something as simple as a condiment.
And store bought Worcestershire sauce? Have you read those labels lately? Until recently, it was practically impossible to find one at your supermarket that didn’t contain high fructose corn syrup. Can you spell d-i-s-a-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t? Seeing a traditionally fermented, flavorful condiment reduced to such levels of mass-produced mediocrity is enough to make me cringe.
Maybe even shed a tear.
Enter my homemade Worcestershire Sauce recipe. You don’t have to do any long ferments or cooking. You don’t need any wild or unusual ingredients. It’s not “authentic,” but it’s a fantastic substitute for Worcestershire Sauce when you don’t want the HFCS.
I’ve seen a few of the homemade Worcestershire sauce substitute recipes out there, and almost all of them are missing the single most important ingredient in a good Worcestershire sauce — anchovies. I understand their desire to be “simple.” Hey, even I want a simple Worcestershire sauce recipe!
But, how hard is it to stir in some anchovy paste? Or, in the case of my own version of an easy homemade Worcestershire sauce recipe, some Thai fish sauce (which is fermented from anchovies)?
I also know that a real Worcestershire sauce would contain tamarind paste, but (unlike Thai fish sauce, which is usually stocked right next to soy sauce) that’s an odd ingredient that most grocery stores don’t carry. A decent substitute for the distinctive sweet & sour tamarind is a combination of black strap molasses and lime, so that’s what I went with here.
Hope you enjoy!
Worcestershire Sauce Recipe: Easy Homemade Substitute
(makes 3/4 cup)
The Players
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (where to find raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (where to find Thai fish sauce)
- 2 tablespoons honey (where to find raw honey)
- 1 tablespoon molasses (where to find REAL black strap molasses)
- juice of one lime
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic
- 1/4 tsp of chili powder
(where to find organic, bulk spices)
The How-To
Mix all ingredients together in a blender, or shake thoroughly in a dressing bottle!
That’s it. See what I mean about this being an EASY homemade Worcestershire sauce recipe?
Again: It’s not 100% “authentic.” I know it’s missing tamarind. I know it’s not a probiotic-filled craft ferment. But this substitute for worcestershire sauce works well in a pinch, and it’s made entirely with ingredients I routinely keep in my pantry.
(photo by FotoosVanRobin)
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I cannot wait to try this!! I LOVE worchestershire sauce and miss it terribly!! THanks so much!!
You are welcome. I’ve been meaning to post this for more than a year now! I need to be more organized than I am.
This is awesome! Thanks for posting!
Yum! How long does it keep in the fridge? I don’t use a ton of W-sauce but it is so important to have on hand–I am just wondering how much to make at a time.
I’ve never had it go bad, and I’ve had mine in the fridge for at least a month before…
Great! My question exactly!
Same with me, one month and just gets better. First used it in pork chops with spicy peaches from Gus Saunders Boston Kitchen Cookbook. Tonite over fettuccine, hot butter, raw fresh oysters, your w’sauce, capers, cracked grains of paradise pepper. I’m thinking the right grated cheese will compliment the vinegar next time. Thanx.
Hot stuff! I’ll give this recipe a shot. On the topic of naturally-fermented fish sauce might I also recommend Red Boat Fish Sauce.
Have you tried to doing an overnight ferment? Just wondering how that would be compared to traditional long fermentation process. Thanks for the post, been thinking about how to make W.Sauce without the junk. 🙂
I’ve never tried to ferment it because I usually whip this together right when I need it for a recipe.
It seems like you could stir in a tsp. of living whey or a little bit of a veggie starter culture and let it sit out for a quick ferment. It’d probably be slightly more sour and less sweet, but it’ll be full of probiotics!
May I pin this on my pinterest? I’m so excited about homemade worcestershire. I’ve looked up recipes before but they seemed way too complicated. This is perfect.
Of course you can pin it to Pinterest. You can pin anything there!
If you don’t follow me yet, I’m on Pinterest here.
I just wanted permission due to the news lately regarding the fuzziness of the legality of pinterest policies as it relates to copyright. 🙂 Thanks for granting!
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Pinterest_and_legal_issues_Read_this_before_you_pi_11048.aspx
Oh, well in that case, you would have to ask the original photographer, whose photo credit is listed in the photo credit portion of this post.
Personally, I don’t care how Pinterest’s terms of use is worded. The images shared on Pinterest are low-res, web-quality images that can’t be used for hardly anything artistic at all. They’re slightly larger than thumbnail, but still nowhere near print quality.
Futhermore, if you to hold the liability for that pinned photo rather than Pinterest, it would mean that the person who owns the photo’s copyright had the time, energy, and TONS of money it would take to take legal action against you. How likely is that?
As a person who publishes copyrighted content, all I ever do if someone reproduces my blog (or something similar) is send them a DMCA take down notice. Then they take it down, and no actual criminal or legal involvement is necessary. All this to say, if someone *really* didn’t want their photos to be pinned, they wouldn’t sue you first and ask questions of you later. They’d contact you and ask you to remove the pin. You would, and you’d apologize. Then, that would be that. There’s really no need to worry about liability.
Those are great points!
Actually, if the images are copy righted then the owner can send you a bill for the use. http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/cease-and-desist-letter-received-from-getty-images-5053.html General blog owners generally are so happy to have the traffic driven to their blog that they don’t care about it being “pinned” and possibly having the image reused with out permission. But you need to be careful not to pin copyrighted images that are sold.
Thank you for this! I haven’t used Worcestershire sauce in years for the very reason you said in the post. I will use this recipe. Thanks, again!
We have a good source for tamarind paste- do you have a suggestion how much we might substitute for the molasses and lime? Thanks!
I’d start with 1 tsp and taste it, possibly working up to 1 tbsp.
and what about anchovy paste instead of the fish sauce? I’ve had that in my pantry for a while and nothing to use it in –
I’d try a tablespoon or less of anchovy paste, as it’s more concentrated than fish sauce.
Leslie, I’ve used anchovy paste in many recipes that call for salt and found the hint of the fish oil pleasant every time. Not too much to start then squeeze out more as you find what appeals best. Anchovy paste goes well with tomatoes, Italian chicken dishes, and when deglazing a skillet with red wine. Enjoy…
so much easier than the one I use! There are spices in it it took me 6 months to find locally! But husband is allergic to fish so I guess I am stuck with the hard one!
Try replacing the Thai fish sauce with umeboshi paste, found in health food stores or food coops. Will have to determine amounts by trial and error. Two brands appear to be free of additives: Emperor’s Kitchen and Eden Foods. (Are we allowed to put in brand names?) You should be able to tweak the easy recipe to omit the fish rather than use a more complicated recipe with loads of expensive and hard to find ingredients. Good Luck!
Thanks so much! I used to use Worcestershire sauce all. the. time. Then they added HFCS! yuk! I’m allergic to corn.
I’ll still look for Tamarind sauce/paste b/c my family loves Pad Thai (or whichever Thai noodle dish uses it). You’d think it wouldn’t be so hard to find in Los Angeles, with all the Asians, but I haven’t found it recently.
When I lived in California I only found tamarind paste in Indian and Middle Eastern stores, not Asian. You may want to try there.
Try latino stores as well. Tamarind paste is made from tamarind pods for the Mexican beverage Tamarindo. You might also find the dry tamarind pods and make the paste from the pods yourself.
I live in a small East Coast city, but found tamarind paste in an Indian grocery rather than an Asian one.
I’ve seen tamarind paste where you buy Mexican spices at the grocery store. I’m sure you could find it at a Mexican market if you can’t find it at the regular grocery stores.
Yes, I was about to say try a Hispanic grocery store. I live in Texas and it is easy to find.
Totally gonna try this one. Thanks so much for sharing.
How long can you store it?
nevermind, just saw the same question above.
I’ve never had mine go bad, and I’ve stored it in the fridge for at least a month before using it all up.
I will try this recipe, but can you tell me the way I would use tamarind paste, as that is much easier for me to obtain that black strap molasses. I would not even know where to obtain black strap molasses, probably online.
Thanks!
Please see my response to Breezy, above.
This is awesome! Well done!!!
I am so excited to find this. Thank you. Thank you. My son is allergic to soy and corn. I haven’t been able to find commercially prepared Worcestershire Sauce that doesn’t contain one or the other.
Hi, just making this recipe right now but not sure if u mean minced garlic, or garlic powder?
Thank you! Super excited to find this recipe. I gave up on Worcestershire Sauce about a year ago because I couldn’t find a clean version anywhere. This is awesome 🙂
Thank You! Finally a recipe… That will help prevent MSG poisoning which
store bought Worcheshire Sauce contains… and as dangerous as high fructose corn syrup! Can’t wait to try the recipe. 😉
Hi, Kristen! I wanted to let you know that I’m sending my readers your way for this fabulous Worcestershire sauce recipe. I use it in my wonderfully juicy and tender Grilled Skirt Steak w/Balsamic-Apricot Marinade recipe which I just posted today. Thanks for your terrific and EASY recipe! Blessings, Kelly
If I need to go out and try to find “Thai fish sauce” (something the average cook usually doesn’t have in their cupboard) to make a Worchesterhire Sauce substitute in a pinch, I might as well just pick up some Worcestershire Sauce to begin with.
Well, this isn’t meant to be a substitute in a pinch, but a healthy homemade version that isn’t full of highly refined ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.
I’ve never had trouble finding fish sauce in the Asian section (usually the same aisle as the Mexican section) of most big grocery stores. As for this being an easy substitute, the point of substituting is to avoid all the crap ingredients without having to wait days/weeks for an authentic fermented version. I’m adding blackstrap molasses and tamarind to my grocery list. Thank you, Kristen!
Awesome, did’nt have molasses, so used brown suger. Tastes like slightly sweet Worcester.
Thanks
Brown sugar would be sweeter! Glad you liked it.
Great recipe! I can’t wait to try it since I’ve avoided commercial Worcestershire Sauce for years because of questionable ingredients. I’d like to learn your source for real blackstrap molasses, but checked the link and couldn’t find it. Would you provide that information?
Many thanks,
Hi there, love your site! Thank you, God bless you for being a channel for wisdom and amazing truths to flow thru!
I wanted to comment about the tamarind paste, it is sure to be available in most any Indian store (India Indian 🙂 and every town is sure to have at least one Indian store in it (okay, not every but almost). Hope this helps someone who wants actual tamarind paste– and hopefully it is all natural, now that I haven’t checked so please do.
hi DC.. i get my tamarind in a block, from the local asian grocery. it is called wet tamarind, and is from vietnam. it says seedless on the front, but in fact it is NOT! it must be soaked in hot water for a minute or two, then strained through a strainer. easy to work with, and the only ingredient is tamarind. i use about 1 part tamarind to 2 parts water – you can experiment
I live in the Atlanta area and we have lots of Asian farmers markets. I have easy access to tamarind paste and I want to use in the Worcestershire sauce instead of limes.
So, how much tamarind paste should I use instead of the limes?
Okay, I’m tired of waiting so I will try to go ahead and make it using tamarind instead of lime juice. I’ll go ahead and squeeze the lime juice to use that as a measure of tartness for the tamarind.
I want to use tamarind in order to get it the closest to the real thing as possible.
She addressed a very similar question earlier in the comments section, so I would start there and modify as needed.
Yes, thanks. I was able to get tamarind concentrate at a local Asian store. About 1 tblspn works well.
Wow – just made this to spruce up my ho-hum beef pot roast, and I’m pleasantly surprised by how good this is! I was worried it’d be too sweet with all the honey, but the lime juice works well to counteract that. Mine doesn’t look as dark or thick as the picture (probably because I only had regular molasses), but I’d definitely make this again!
my husband brought home a bottle & due to [toxic] ingredients, i had to throw it away, so wasteful, but better for my family.
thanks for sharing your wisdom with us!
I’M SO HAPPY THIS DOESN’T HAVE SOY!! Thank you! This seriously opens up so many other options for sauces/condiments that I can make without icky stuff or foods I can’t eat- makes my day! 🙂
I have also used balsamic vinegar with great success 🙂
My daughter can’t have nightshades, so I tried replacing the chili powder with freshly grated horseradish and it worked wonderfully. Thank you for this recipe!
This looks delicious! I just wanted to share that the Worcestershire Sauce I buy (Lea & Perrins) does not have HFCS. It does have the ominous ‘Natural Flavorings,’ but everything else in the list is clear and pronounceable! Distilled White Vinegar, Molasses (maybe not authentic blackstrap molasses), water, sugar (not sucanat), onions, anchovies, salt, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, and chili pepper extract. I get it at HEB, and it claims to be ‘The Original’, ‘All Natural’, and ‘Truly Authentic’.
My friend just sent me a link to this page and I was going to say the same thing. The Lea and Perrins doesn’t have HFCS or really anything weird. It’s also a whole lot thinner than the sauce in this picture. This looks more like a steak sauce. Worcestershire sauce is almost the same consistency as water.
I just made this today using the lea and Perins also as a guide. This version is not as thick and since I used tamarind, it tastes very good. I am going to let it age but in the meantime will add some to deviled eggs I am preparing as I type (the eggs are steaming). HEB also has tamarind as does La Fiesta supermarket. My homemade tastes great, but I did cook it a bit.
This is so very good, I did swap with anchovies and added a little extra molasses. It’s thin but has a clean fresh wonderful taste.
This is fantastic! I just told my wife that if you were gay and I wasn’t married, I’d marry you. Lmao! The recipe is dead on. Thank you so much!
I do believe that’s the first time I’ve ever received THAT particular compliment. Thank you for the flattery and kind words!
This is also perfect for those of us who refuse to eat gmo foods and restrict themselves to an all organic diet.
I just needed W sauce for a recipe and didn’t have the fish sauce, molasses or lime. I subbed brown sugar, used regular vinegar, and added a prune (because I had one and thought the sweetness and dark color might add) and pureed it all in the blender. It was fine and great for what I needed, and close enough for my needs! So, even with out “all” of the stuff about, this recipe saved the day for me! Thanks!
Is that fresh garlic or garlic powder?
I minced garlic, love the aroma. Didn’t have onion powder so minced red onion and like the texture.
Anybody have a shelf/ refer lie on this. I scanned the comments but didn’t see anything. Thanks in advance and I’m sorry If I missed it.
Re the SCD worcestershire sauce recipe: I haven’t read all the comments, but I wonder if anyone has pointed out that molasses is illegal on the SCD diet.
thank you!!!! i have wanted a worchestershire recipe for ages. hate that store bought stuff, but wanted the flavors. this is going in my arsenal right NOW!
Thank you so much ~ do you think I could double recipe and keep in fridge? For how long? What about canning this?
I think it would can well. I’ve never had it go bad, and I’ve kept it as long as a month.
one question – if tamarind sauce is available, how much would you add?
I would love to try this, but sadly i am allergic to fish so i actually need a recipe without the anchovies
I made this, and right off the bat, it was SO GOOD. I decided to follow one of the suggestions in the comments and I added 1 tsp live whey (I had some leftover from my cream cheese and kefir cheese making) and let it sit on the counter for a few days.
I brought it over to my mother-in-law’s today so that she could use it in a dish that she is making (but we can’t have gluten, so we needed an alternative). She had to call me to tell me that she was practically drinking out of the bottle because it was SO GOOD. She said it’s better than Lea and Perrins (and she is EXTREMELY picky about her Worcestershire sauce and won’t buy anything BUT Lea and Perrins). So that says A LOT!
THANK-YOU for making this recipe!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and I also wanted to mention (in case anyone was wondering) that the Canadian and the UK version of Lea & Perrins has barley malt (gluten) in it. That is the original recipe. So that’s why I was glad you made this recipe!!!
I learned so much from your review of purchased Worcestershire sauce. I too have a great substitute posted on my blog http://www.mealsalone.com. It does contain tamarind and anchovies. I think it is really close to authentic. I did use regular soy-sauce back when I posted it (I wasn’t paleo) so using a homemade substitute for that will be necessary.
I just checked out your website, Beth, and it contains some fantastic recipes and tips. I would have told you so on your website but you have to register to do so. I am not willing to do that and I suspect that is why you have very few comments on your blog. What a shame! It is a great blog. Good luck to you…it sounds like you have been through so much and still come out smiling!
Hi, is there a substitute for the thai fish sauce.. I want to make the sauce completely natural without any artificial preservatives as I’m allergic to most preservatives and I know that thai fish sauce have preservatives inside. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
I live and work in Belize, have celiac and the only worchestershire sauce we can get in country contains GLUTEN…. So, in order to protect my tummy and the tummies of my guests, I banned the L&P sauce from the kitchen. Searching for a substitute, I found your recipe on Pinterest.
This is a great and very close alternative without the additives.
I used molasses I made from organic cane juice, (we grown cane by the acre) shrimp paste (fermented thai version) and fish sauce, roasted garlic and sautéed onion…. (I can’t get onion and garlic powders here) … the flavor was amazing and I can safely keep this version in my kitchen!
Thanks!!!!
RE
What about leaving out the Thai fish sauce? 🙂 Just curious, because not sure how I would like that part.
I’ve tried alternative Worcestershire sauces before… nothing beats L&P.
Needed this recipe. Have all the ingredients and will make tomorrow.
Gonna have to try it!!
I tried this and it’s quite good!! Thanks for deciphering it!
Screna Prigge
Luka Symons
This is fantastic my daughter amd i are intolerant to onion and garlic so i omitted them and it tastes great!
Im making her boston baked beans and now it will be pefect!
Xoxoxo
Made this tonight! Thank you for the post!. I used 1 T of tamarind instead of lime and molassas. Tasted great! I used it in my broiled flounder recipe….so good!
I’m late coming to the party since this substitute has been around since 2012, but I just made it and it is a great substitute. Didn’t have any tamarind but gave it a dash of True Lime to ramp up the tart taste. Certainly will use this in the future because I don’t use W-sauce much but I have all the the ingredients in my pantry for this substitute.
Thank you! I was in the middle of a recipe and discovered that I was out of Worcestershire sauce. Searched for a substitute, and found your recipe – I had every one of your ingredients on hand! I just made 1/4 recipe – it came out great and I didn’t have to run out to the store.
I have anchovy fillets, how can I use those instead of the fish sauce?
Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce contains “natural flavorings.” The FDA allows MSG, a neurotoxin, to go by many hidden names, as long as they are not 100% MSG. Most “natural flavorings” are chemical flavorings created in a lab and are merely a less concentrated form of MSG.
Make this homemade sauce instead and walk away from laboratory-based food simulation.
thank you 🙂 just what i needed. it was a little too vinegary at first , although possibly because I substituted a different vinegar and oyster sauce for the fish sauce since it was all i had on hand. — with a little beef bouillon it was just right though.
Made this recipe to make BBQ sauce with. I didn’t have the correct vinegar so I used half as much white vinegar and replaced the rest with undiluted cranberry juice. Turned out great! I think that I like it better this way.
Michael Konop
thanks! this is a condiment i’ve been thinking about recently that i’d like to come up w/ a healthy version =)
thanks! this is a condiment i’ve been thinking about recently that i’d like to come up w/ a healthy version =)
Lea & Perrins is HFCS free.
What is HFCS?
Kipp
Kate Kellie, HFCS is high fructose corn syrup.
Been looking for Worchestershire sauce here (in Santiago, Chile) for a year without success. Gonna try your substitute tonight, with 20 guests. Hope it works!
How long will this store in the refrigerator, before it goes south?
Hi there
Thanks for the great recipe!
What happens if I actually have anchovy paste and tamarind sauce and no molasses? what are the amounts? Thanks!!
I forgot to check my ingredients list again and realized I was out of Worchestershire sauce. Despite that, I had all the ingredients for this substitute recipe (seriously, where DID this unopened bottle of Thai fish sauce in my pantry come from??) This is fantastic! Thanks!!
Isn’t the HFCS in worchestershire sauce a whole lot like the saccharin in my iced tea (NOT giving me cancer because I’m not eating a pound of it raw, every day, for ten years?) I mean, the recipe makes 3/4 cup. How much corn syrup can you put in it ? Ok, maybe diabetics have to worry about every milligram, but anyone on a ‘normal’ diet doesn’t (in this volume).
Of course everyone has to decide. I had used aspartame sweetener for- probably ten years. Sugar was too fattening, Equal to expensive, honey also. Stevia gives me reflux, so…. saccharin it is
HFCS is the least of my worries in a teaspoon of worchestershire in my stew.
I don’t like HFCS as it causes me to gain weight. I know it’s a small amount, but I wish they’d just make it with sugar. Food companies will do anything for a buck it seems.
Thank you, I’m gonna give it a try and make some venison jerky
If you live in UK they still sell the original recipe of it in the shops, also I live in the city of Worcester and use to live not far from the factory some mornings its stank the area out lol
If you were to use anchovy paste instead of the Thai fish sauce would you use the same amount.
I made it but used tamarind. I also cooked it for about a minute. I also added a bit of cardomon. It tastes yummy and will most likely taste even better with age.
Life savor thanks! I have so many recipes that call for this and I never make them bc if the HFCS! Your amazing thanks for figuring this out
It is interesting to me that you list thai Kitchen fish sauce — owned and made by McCormick. No where can I find the list of specific ingredients in it, and I’m sure, given who it is made by, that there is a reason for that.
I love your recipes, but would like to be able to print them.
I am NOT a “Political correct” type. When I see something un-Australian, I CALL it un-Australian !
NO PMU HOT SAUCE ?? If that’s NOT un-Australian, I dunno what is ! A MEAT PIE is probably now a kabib. And BOY do they STINK !!
Next to go will probably be tomato sauce.
I will definitely be trying out the home recipe