9 Celery Seed Substitutes

When it comes to the best celery seed substitute, my money’s on dried celery flakes. Whether you’re cooking a curry or a casserole, making a salad dressing or a soup, dried celery flakes make for an ideal alternative to celery seeds.

A big ingredient in Cajun cooking, dried celery flakes are basically dehydrated pieces of chopped up celery. They bring a much more intense flavor than fresh celery, making them ideal as a flavor enhancer, especially in dishes that are cooked over a long period of time.

Add two teaspoons of dried celery flakes per teaspoon of celery seed.

As celery salt actually contains ground celery seed, it’s a great celery seed substitute. It’s affordable and easy to find – most good supermarkets and grocery stores will stock it and you can easily order it online.

One thing to keep in mind if you are going to use celery salt as a substitute for celery seed – you’ll have to adjust the salt content of your recipe. Obviously, celery salt contains a lot of salt and, as it contains a diluted amount of celery seed, you’re going to have to add quite a bit to get that celery seed flavor.

So, be very careful not to overdo the salt. For soups, casseroles, curries or stews, add two teaspoons of celery salt to every teaspoon of celery seed and reduce the salt content throughout the recipe.

When it comes to capturing that unique flavor and aroma of celery seeds, fresh celery leaves and stalks come pretty close. The flavor of the fresh stuff isn’t quite as punchy as celery seeds, so you’ll have to at least double the dose to try and capture that celery seed essence.

Finally chop the leaves and stalks of one large piece of celery for a teaspoon of celery seed, then add it to curries, sauces, salad dressings and pretty much any recipe that would call for celery seeds.

Another fantastically fragrant, deliciously earthy spice that works wonders in curries and pickle recipes, coriander seed is one of the best seed for seed swaps on the list. That slight sweet and citric taste and aroma that comes with coriander seed makes it an ideal alternative.

Swap coriander seeds for celery seeds at a 1:1 ratio. You could also try combining with celery salt for an extra special substitute for celery seeds. So, use half a teaspoon of coriander seed and half a teaspoon of celery salt per teaspoon of celery seed.

A popular spice in Indian cooking, as well as throughout Europe and North America, caraway seed brings an earthy, peppery, zesty flavor and aroma, with notes of aniseed. If you’ve ever eaten rye bread, chances are you’ve tasted caraway.

Caraway is a great substitute for celery seeds when it comes to adding character to soups, salad dressings, sausages, meat rubs, curries and just about any recipe that calls for an earthy spice. Keep in mind that, unlike celery, caraway has a mild anise flavor – kind of like licorice – which might not sit well with certain dishes.

Swap caraway seed for celery seeds at a 1:1 ratio.

With a similar flavor profile as caraway, albeit a little milder, dill seed makes a good substitute for celery seeds. The mild peppery, earthy flavor, with hints of lemon mean it’ll work well in curries and stews, particularly those that are fish based.

Where dill seed works best is in pickle recipes. So, if you’re making homemade pickles and the recipe calls for celery seeds, this would be an excellent substitute.

Like caraway, dill seed does have notes of aniseed, which makes it quite distinct from celery seed. So, be aware that a slight aniseed flavor might cut through the other flavors in your recipe.

When using dill seed as a substitute for celery seed, swap at a 1:1 ratio.

Although it has a relatively mild aroma, nigella seed brings plenty of flavor. A mild bitterness is complemented by a complex combination of flavors that include notes of toasted onion and a herbal quality that tastes a little like oregano.

Perfect for the likes of sauces, stews, soups and salad dressings, nigella seed can be substituted for celery seed at a 1:1 ratio.

The herbal, earthy, slightly bitter flavor of fenugreek seed makes it a good alternative to celery seeds. A very popular ingredient in Indian cooking, where it’s used to flavor curries and chutneys, fenugreek seeds lose their bitterness when cooked. This means they’re better as a substitute for celery seed in cooked dishes, rather than in salad dressings, for example.

Substitute fenugreek seeds for celery seeds at a 1:1 ratio.

Sometimes called panch phoron, panch puran is a popular Indian spice mix, panch puran is a blend of fenugreek, mustard, nigella, fennel and cumin. It brings a delicious earthy, nutty flavor and a mild heat.

Panch puran will do a good job of replicating the mild earthy bitter notes of celery seed, but will bring a whole new level of flavor too. This could be a good or a bad thing, depending on the other ingredients in your recipe.

So, while it’s not great for every scenario, panch puran could be an ideal substitute for celery seed – particularly in a curry or a spiced pickle recipe. Swap at a 1:1 ratio.