Sambal Oelek substitutes
Out of sambal oelek? Here are the best substitutes — what to reach for, why it works, and how much to use. Chili garlic sauce is the top pick.
- 01Chili garlic saucebest pick
Essentially sambal with garlic added — nearly identical texture and heat.
1:1
- 02Sriracha
Same chile base, but sweeter and smoother; use a little less.
use ~3/4
- 03Red pepper flakes + vinegar
Sambal is little more than crushed chiles, vinegar, and salt.
1 tbsp sambal = 1 tsp flakes + 1 tsp vinegar
- 04Harissa
Similar coarse chile paste with added cumin and caraway.
1:1
Cooking with sambal oelek?
Paste your recipe into Mise — we'll find every ingredient as a real product you can buy, and swap the ones you can't, like sambal oelek, for the closest match in stock.
Turn a recipe into a basket →How we choose these
These are tested kitchen substitutes, chosen for matching flavor, texture, and role — with ratios so the swap actually works. Taste as you go; substitutes shift intensity, not just flavor.
Flavor data: Epicure (Radzikowski & Chen, 2026), arXiv:2605.22391, CC-BY-4.0.
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