Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, more people have started cooking at home more frequently. The continuous lockdown measures imposed by various governments worldwide have forced us to stay at home and find a way to stay creative and productive throughout the day. Among many activity ideas, home cooking has become one of the favorite activities at home for many.

While cooking at home, especially when we cook for a whole family, we often go for easy, filling, and tasty recipes. In an Asian household, food recipes rich in spices usually remain the top option. One of the most popular spices used for a filling and tasty meal is black pepper.

Black pepper is an ever-present spice that can be found at any grocery store, no matter where you are. It is known for its sharp and warm flavor and distinctive aromatic properties, which originated from India and is abundant in many Asian countries.

As our home-cooking activity keeps increasing due to the endless work-from-home situation, running out of spices might be a common situation that you need to deal with, especially if you love experimenting with tasty and strong-flavored dishes. As one of the most common spices used in home-cooking activities, black pepper can be one of the many key ingredients that you run out of. Wondering what you can do whenever your stock of black pepper is running out? Below are the top three substitutes for black pepper that you may want to try at home!

1. Papaya Seeds

Papaya is a sweet tasting food that grows in a subtropic and tropical weather. This type of food is commonly found in the Southeast Asian and South American regions. According to Spiceography, papaya seeds are like a very spicy caper when you first remove first from the fruit; however, their flavor is almost identical to that of black pepper if dried and ground.

2. Coriander Seeds

Coriander is the dried seed or fruit of the Coriandrum sativum plant, which belongs to the parsley family. Its seeds are produced when the plant’s flowers’ growing conditions are too hot. Coriander seeds have a slightly similar flavor to that of black pepper, thus making it one of the great alternatives when you don’t have any black peppers around. They can be an excellent alternative in the whole or cracked form, especially in a rub for meat. The seeds will add texture and a citrusy flavor with a little hint of sweetness.

3. Cayenne Pepper

Another good alternative for black pepper is the cayenne pepper. It can be an effective substitute since it doesn’t have a strong flavor aside from the heat, but you need to be mindful of the amount of cayenne pepper that you use as it can cause you to have an overly spicy dish.

Other than these three options, you can opt for other types of spices that provide similar characteristics in flavor or texture to black pepper as a substitute, such as pink and white peppercorns, green peppercorns, or yellow mustard seeds. Feel free to explore spices options at your nearby grocery store to complement your home-cooking experience.