5 Condiment Swaps That'll Upgrade Your Breakfast

More often than not, pairings of breakfast food with certain condiments are so ingrained that even the idea of swapping condiments to upgrade your breakfast sounds unnatural. There are certain staples that come to mind when I think of breakfast condiments, and I’ve come to rely on these classics so much that the thought of finding a substitute leaves me stumped. What could you use instead of butter on your toast, or maple syrup on your pancakes? There’s sugar in coffee, ketchup on eggs, Sriracha with everything–how are you supposed to find a replacement for those without losing out on flavor or texture?

Certain dishes seem incomplete without the accompanying condiment, and finding another sauce or syrup to replace the original seems like an unreasonably difficult challenge, but it doesn’t have to be hard. If anything, there’s great joy in store for those willing to experiment beyond prescribed pairings of condiments with breakfast foods. Maple syrup is so much more versatile than you could imagine, and you don’t have to rely on Sriracha as the only hot sauce you’ll ever use.

If anything, using a different condiment can enhance an otherwise simple breakfast, so if you’re convinced that swapping out Sriracha might be worth your time, here are five simple condiment substitutions to get you started.

Pure maple syrup is actually a surprisingly versatile condiment that makes lots of breakfast dishes, not just pancakes and waffles, more delicious. Instead of stirring a spoonful of sugar into your cup of coffee or bowl of oatmeal, try pouring in some maple syrup.

HP Sauce is a brown sauce that has a base of malt vinegar, mixed with tomatoes, dates, and tamarind, among other ingredients. Ketchup, meanwhile, has a tomato base with malt vinegar and other sweet ingredients mixed in. What I’m saying here is that HP Sauce makes a great ketchup substitute, especially on eggs or bacon sandwiches.

You can easily replace butter with coconut oil, even on a slice of toast. It’s a simple swap for those who are dairy-free, but the flavor won’t disappoint those who are all about the butter.

Guava paste is made by slowing cooking together guava and sugar, and though it’s similar to a traditional jam, it’s got a thicker consistency and is packed with a fruitier, almost floral, flavor. You can spread guava paste on a hunk of it on toast, or you can even try cooking it into pancakes and waffles.

You might be able to get the heat of Sriracha when you use a more traditional hot sauce, like Tabasco or Tapatio, but part of the appeal of Sriracha is the thickness, the way the sauce clings to food rather than drips off like a liquid. Gochujang, a fermented Korean condiment made with hot chillis, rice, soybeans, and salt, gives you the heat and a bit of the texture of Sriracha, plus some sweetness, making it an ideal substitution.