Out of baking powder, baking soda or self-rising flour? Enter what your recipe calls for and pick what you have. Get exact replacement amounts in teaspoons and grams, plus how much other liquid to cut.
What does your recipe call for?
Unit
What do you have?
Baking soda
¼ tsp
≈ 1.5 g
Add to the dry ingredients
Cream of tartar
½ tsp
≈ 1.5 g
Add to the dry ingredients
Your swap
Instead of 1 tsp of baking powder (≈ 4 g), use the amounts above.
Liquid adjustment
No liquid adjustment needed.
Good to know
Sift both into the dry ingredients. This mix is single-acting: it starts fizzing as soon as it gets wet, so bake right away. Some sources use ⅝ tsp of cream of tartar; both work.
Baking powder, baking soda and self-rising flour are all chemical leaveners that make bakes rise with carbon dioxide, but they are not interchangeable one for one. Baking soda is a pure base and needs an acid to react. Baking powder is baking soda with the acid already built in (plus starch), so it is much weaker by volume. Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt mixed in. This calculator works out the swap and tells you how much liquid to adjust.
One teaspoon of baking powder contains only about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda; the rest is dry acid and starch. To replace 1 tsp of baking powder, use ¼ tsp of baking soda plus ½ tsp of cream of tartar (or ½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar, or ½ cup buttermilk or yogurt). To replace baking soda with baking powder, use 3 times as much: 1 tsp soda = 3 tsp (1 tbsp) powder. Self-rising flour is 1 cup (120 g) of all-purpose flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt.
For each amount of baking powder in the recipe, use the baking soda below plus one of the acids. Choose a single acid per row.
| Baking powder (tsp) | Baking soda (tsp) | + Cream of tartar (tsp) | or lemon juice / vinegar (tsp) | or buttermilk / yogurt (cups) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ tsp (2 g) | ⅛ | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ |
| 1 tsp (4 g) | ¼ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 1 ½ tsp (6 g) | ⅜ | ¾ | ¾ | ¾ |
| 2 tsp (8 g) | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 tsp (12 g) | ¾ | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 ½ |
| 4 tsp (16 g) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Teaspoons are level US teaspoons. Grams use King Arthur Baking's weights (baking powder 4 g per tsp). If you use buttermilk or yogurt, remove the same amount of other liquid from the recipe. Baking soda mixes are single-acting, so bake right away.
Baking powder is a much weaker leavener, so you need 3 times as much.
| Baking soda (tsp) | Baking powder (tsp) | Powder (g) |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ tsp (1.5 g) | ¾ | 3 |
| ½ tsp (3 g) | 1 ½ | 6 |
| 1 tsp (6 g) | 3 | 12 |
| 1 ½ tsp (9 g) | 4 ½ | 18 |
| 2 tsp (12 g) | 6 | 24 |
Also cut the recipe's acidic ingredients (buttermilk, yogurt, vinegar) by about half and replace them with milk, because baking powder brings its own acid.
Make your own self-rising flour from pantry staples.
| Self-rising flour | All-purpose flour | Baking powder (tsp) | Fine salt (tsp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup (120 g) | 1 cup | 1 ½ | ¼ |
| 1 ½ cups (180 g) | 1 ½ cups | 2 ¼ | ⅜ |
| 2 cups (240 g) | 2 cups | 3 | ½ |
| 3 cups (360 g) | 3 cups | 4 ½ | ¾ |
| 4 cups (480 g) | 4 cups | 6 | 1 |
Based on 1 cup (120 g) of all-purpose flour with 1½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt, the blend published by King Arthur Baking. Whisk well to distribute the leavener.
Each option below changes the flavor, texture or liquid in a different way.
Per 1 tsp: ¼ tsp soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar
Sift both into the dry ingredients. This mix is single-acting: it starts fizzing as soon as it gets wet, so bake right away. Some sources use ⅝ tsp of cream of tartar; both work.
Per 1 tsp: ¼ tsp soda + ½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar
Stir the acid into the wet ingredients and the soda into the dry ones. Use it only when the recipe has no other acid already reacting with soda. Some sources use up to 1 tsp of acid; ½ tsp is King Arthur's figure. Bake right away.
Per 1 tsp: ¼ tsp soda + ½ cup buttermilk
Count the buttermilk as part of the recipe's liquid, so remove the same amount of milk or water. It works best in pancakes, biscuits and quick breads where there is enough liquid to give up.
Per 1 tsp: ¼ tsp soda + ½ cup yogurt
Plain yogurt or sour cream acts like buttermilk. Remove the same amount of other liquid, and thin very thick yogurt with a splash of milk so the batter doesn't turn stiff.
Per 1 tsp: ¼ tsp soda + ¼ cup molasses
Molasses is only mildly acidic, so this suits gingerbread and other dark, spiced bakes (sources range from ¼ to ½ cup). It adds a strong flavor, color and sweetness. Expect a denser result.
1:1 by volume
Swaps 1:1 with double-acting powder, but it releases all of its gas as soon as it is wet. Mix quickly and get the batter into the oven right away.
About 1:1 by volume
Only for thin, dry, crisp cookies and crackers, where the ammonia gas can escape fully. Never use it in cakes or moist bakes. Grind it fine and follow the recipe's amount if it names one.
3 tsp powder per 1 tsp soda
Baking powder already brings its own acid. If the recipe has buttermilk, yogurt or vinegar, cut that by about half and replace it with milk. That much powder can leave a slightly bitter taste.
Per 1 cup (120 g): 1½ tsp powder + ¼ tsp salt
Whisk well so the powder spreads evenly. Use it 1:1 in place of self-rising flour and leave out any baking powder and salt the recipe adds. Lower-protein flour gives softer biscuits and cakes.
Why timing matters when you swap leaveners.
The standard supermarket baking powder. It releases a little gas when mixed with liquid and most of it when heated in the oven, so batter can wait a short time before baking.
Releases all of its gas as soon as it gets wet. Homemade baking powder (baking soda + cream of tartar) behaves this way, so mix quickly and bake immediately.
Ammonium bicarbonate, a traditional leavener for crisp cookies and crackers. It leaves no taste once fully baked out, but it only works in thin, dry bakes and smells strongly in the raw dough.
Follow these four steps to replace a leavener without wrecking the recipe.
Pick baking powder, baking soda or self-rising flour, then enter the amount in teaspoons, tablespoons, grams or cups.
Select baking soda with cream of tartar, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt or molasses, or another option such as single-acting powder.
Use the exact teaspoon or gram amounts shown. Level the spoons, and use a scale if you have one: baking soda is 6 g per teaspoon.
If you used buttermilk, yogurt or molasses, remove the same amount of other liquid. Mix the dry and wet ingredients quickly and bake right away.
Use ¼ teaspoon of baking soda plus ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar. If you have no cream of tartar, pair the ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with ½ teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar, or with ½ cup of buttermilk or plain yogurt and cut the other liquid by the same amount.
Use three times as much: 1 teaspoon of baking soda equals 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) of baking powder. Baking powder already contains acid, so cut acidic ingredients such as buttermilk by about half and replace them with milk. That much powder can taste slightly bitter.
For each cup (120 g) of all-purpose flour, whisk in 1½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of fine salt. Use it 1:1 in place of self-rising flour, and leave out any baking powder and salt the recipe also adds.
Single-acting powder releases all of its gas as soon as it gets wet, so the batter must go into the oven right away. Double-acting powder, sold in most supermarkets, releases some gas when mixed and the rest when heated. They swap 1:1 by volume, and homemade baking powder made from baking soda and cream of tartar is single-acting.
Only in thin, dry, crisp bakes such as crackers and cookies, where it swaps about 1:1 by volume. The ammonia gas must escape completely, so it does not work in cakes, breads or other moist, thick bakes, and the raw dough smells strongly of ammonia.