What Can I Use Instead of Mustard Seeds? (Best Substitutes)

The best substitute for mustard seeds is simply a different colour of mustard seed. Black, brown, and yellow seeds all share the same core flavour and only differ in heat, so you can swap one for another and just adjust the amount. If you have no seeds at all, ground mustard powder works in most cooked dishes, and for Indian tempering, cumin seeds are a handy alternative.

Here's how each option works and how much to use.

Quick answer: The best mustard seed substitutes

Swap one colour of mustard Seed for another

If your recipe calls for a mustard seed you don't have, the easiest fix is to use whichever colour you do have. They come from closely related plants and taste mostly the same, the difference is heat.

• Black mustard seeds are the strongest and most pungent. They're the ones most Indian recipes use.
• Brown mustard seeds are medium, a little milder than black.
• Yellow (white) mustard seeds are the mildest.

Because the heat varies, adjust the amount when you swap:

• Replacing black or brown seeds with yellow? Use a bit more, around 1.5 teaspoons of yellow for every 1 teaspoon of black, since yellow is milder.
• Replacing yellow seeds with black or brown? Use a little less, and taste as you go, so you don't overpower the dish.

Used this way, another mustard seed is the closest substitute you'll get, because it essentially is the same spice.

Ground mustard (mustard powder)

Ground mustard is just mustard seeds milled into powder, so it carries the same flavour and heat. It's a good substitute when the recipe doesn't rely on the whole seeds for texture, such as sauces, dressings, marinades, and rubs.

Use about ½ teaspoon of ground mustard for every 1 teaspoon of whole seeds, and add it during cooking rather than tempering it in hot oil the way you would whole seeds. The one thing it won't give you is the little pop of texture whole seeds provide, so it's less suited to dishes where that matters, like pickles or a tempered dal.

Cumin seeds (best for Indian tempering)

If you're cooking an Indian dish where the mustard seeds are spluttered in hot oil at the start (the tempering, or tarka), cumin seeds are a practical swap. The flavour is different, warm and earthy rather than sharp and pungent, but they're used in exactly the same way and suit the same dishes, so the dish still works.

Use them at a 1:1 ratio, added to the hot oil until fragrant. In many South Indian dishes mustard and cumin are used together anyway, so leaning on the cumin alone is a natural adjustment.

Caraway seeds

Caraway seeds have a similar warm, slightly peppery flavour and work as a 1:1 substitute, particularly in pickling, breads, and savoury bakes. They're less common in Indian cooking but handy for European-style recipes.

What about black mustard seeds specifically?

Black mustard seeds are the ones Indian cooking leans on, and they can be the hardest to find in a regular supermarket. If a recipe calls for black and you can't get them, brown mustard seeds are the closest match (use 1:1), and yellow will do at a slightly higher quantity for a milder result.

If you cook Indian food regularly, they're worth keeping in the cupboard rather than substituting each time. We stock black mustard seeds sourced from India and shipped Australia-wide. If you'd like to know more about them first, see our guide on what mustard seeds are and how to use them.

The bottom line

For the closest match, swap in another colour of mustard seed and adjust for heat. Use ground mustard for sauces and dressings, or cumin seeds when you're tempering an Indian dish. And if mustard seeds are a spice you use often, it's easier to keep a jar on hand than to substitute every time.

While you're stocking the pantry, our guide on what to use instead of fenugreek is worth a read too, since mustard seeds are one of the best fenugreek substitutes, and the two spices often turn up in the same recipes.