7 Best Substitutes for Orange Marmalade

What if you have decided to bake or cook a savory dish and suddenly you find that you are missing the orange marmalade? Should you make a mad dash to the supermarket or can you substitute something else?

What is the best substitute for orange marmalade?

The best substitutes for orange marmalade are orange marmalade, concentrated orange juice, orange juice, and lemon marmalade. You can also use orange zest, orange extract, and orange bitters. Which one works best will vary by recipe.

Read on to learn why these foods work well as orange juice substitutes and what each is best to use for.

What is orange marmalade used for?

Orange marmalade, the quintessential citrus preserve, is more versatile than you might imagine.

If you are not too fond of jams and preserves in general, you may be surprised to learn that orange marmalade is on the ingredient list of many dishes, whether sweet or savoury.

Here is a list of some uses for orange marmalade:

• You can make a tart with orange marmalade.
• You can use it as a topping for ice creams, waffles, pancakes and buns.
• The orange marmalade completes any cheese board very well.
• Orange marmalade goes well with roasted and grilled chicken and pork.
• You can make salad dressings with orange marmalade.
• You can marinate chicken, pork, salmon and even shrimp in a well-balanced orange marmalade marinade.
• Orange marmalade can also be used to make sweet and spicy sauces for meat and poultry, such as orange chicken.

As you can see, orange marmalade has so many uses that it is definitely worth having a jar at home.

But what if you’re not good at making marmalade and don’t buy commercially made orange marmalade, thinking you’ll never need it?

For those who use jam very rarely, it is normal to find a half-empty jar with dried jam in the back of the pantry.

It can be daunting when you’re getting ready to cook something and are surprised by the lack of an ingredient.

In these cases, you have to find alternatives that will do the job.

7 Best Substitutes for Orange Marmalade

If you don’t have orange marmalade on hand but the recipe calls for it, there are other options you can turn to.

Although the products that you can use instead of orange marmalade do not always have the same consistency, they do provide different citrus notes.

Orange marmalade is sweet, sour and bitter at the same time. Therefore, when choosing a substitute for it, it is important to take into account all these aspects of flavor.

Choose an orange marmalade substitute based on the culinary task you need it for.

For example, if your particular recipe calls for the sweetness of orange marmalade, choose one of the alternatives with a relatively high sugar content or sweetness level.

If the bitterness of the jam is what you need to give a good balance to your dish, choose an option that enhances those flavor notes of this citrus.

Here are seven orange marmalade substitutes to choose from that you may already have on hand.

1. Orange marmalade/jelly

There is a big difference between orange marmalade and orange preserve. To make orange marmalade, the rind of the oranges is not removed. This adds more aroma and bitterness.

Orange marmalade, on the other hand, is made with the pulp and juice of the citrus.

Despite these differences, you can substitute orange marmalade for orange marmalade in both sweet and savory dishes. It is an especially good substitute for sweet foods, even as a topping on ice cream, waffles, or pancakes.

However, orange marmalade can also be a good substitute in certain savory dishes, such as orange chicken, in combination with other ingredients to counteract its sweetness.

Orange jelly also works well as a glaze for meat.

2. Concentrated orange juice

If you’re not a big jam fan and don’t want to buy a whole jar to use just a few tablespoons in a savory dish, buying concentrated orange juice is a good option.

Concentrated orange juice, as its name suggests, has an intense orange flavor. It lacks the sweetness of the jam. However, you can fix this with a splash of sugar.

You can use concentrated orange juice instead of orange marmalade in sauces and marinades.

This substitution will not work for pastry recipes.

3. Orange juice

Orange juice is perhaps one of the most widely available orange marmalade substitutes and you probably always have it in your fridge.

If your orange juice is unsweetened, you may need to add a bit of sugar to bring the flavor closer to that of orange marmalade. But if the juice is sweet, you can skip this step.

Like orange concentrate, orange juice will work as a substitute for orange marmalade in sauces. It can also work for salad dressings and marinades.

4. Lemon jam

Lemon marmalade and any other citrus marmalade can work in place of orange marmalade. Although the overall flavor will certainly be different, the sour and bitter notes will create an effect similar to that of orange marmalade.

You can use lemon marmalade interchangeably instead of orange marmalade, as long as the intense lemon flavor does not take away from the dish and goes well with the rest of the ingredients.

5. Dried or fresh orange zest

These simple but tasty pieces of orange peel can save the day in many situations, even when baking with a recipe that calls for orange marmalade.

Although the zest lacks the sweetness of marmalade and is obviously different from it in texture, it has the power to transfer a rich orange aroma to your baked goods.

To balance the sweetness, you can add a little more sugar along with the zest.

If you don’t have dried orange zest on hand, you can use fresh zest instead. It will work fine too. When you grate the orange peel and use it in place of the orange marmalade, be sure to avoid the white parts.

Otherwise, your baked goods or desserts will turn out to be too bitter.

6. Orange extract

You can use orange extract as a substitute for orange marmalade in cases where you need the flavor of orange in the dish.

Since the orange flavor in the extracts is very concentrated, you have to use a very small amount. One teaspoon of this extract is enough to give the dish the necessary taste and aroma of oranges.

You can use the orange extract for all your baking needs, as well as in the preparation of desserts. Orange extract also works perfectly in sauces and marinades.

7. Orange bitters or orange liqueur

If you’re not much into cocktails, you may not have any bitters or orange liqueur at home. But if you have it, you can use it as a substitute for orange marmalade for certain culinary needs.

Orange bitters, being a flavoring for alcohol-based cocktails, can be widely used in confectionery.

Related questions:

How is homemade jam made?

Even if you’re someone who always uses store-bought orange marmalade, you can make your own in an hour or two.

Some orange marmalade recipes have a cook time of more than two hours and call for soaking the oranges in syrup overnight.

But when you are going to make a dish that requires orange marmalade and you don’t have any at home, opting for a quick jam recipe can be a wise move.

Especially if you don’t want to substitute the jam for something of a different texture and intensity of flavor or notes, a quick DIY jam can be the best alternative to its store-bought counterpart.

If your jar of commercially produced orange marmalade is empty and you happen to have a few oranges at home, then you should try making your own marmalade, if you’re not short on time.

The process of making homemade jam is simple and there is very little room for error.

Here’s how to make homemade jam:

1. Wash the oranges and cut them into thin slices.
2. Put the oranges in a saucepan and add a quarter cup of water for each orange.
3. Add a quarter cup of sugar for each orange. You can also add a small amount of vanilla bean paste or extract to enhance the flavor.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 40 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the jam to cool when it reaches the desired consistency.

And that’s it. If you don’t think any of the above substitutes are good enough to use in place of orange marmalade, you can always make the closest substitute yourself.

The only downside to this option is that it takes time.

Can you substitute the orange marmalade for apricot preserves?

Orange marmalade has a very intense orange flavor that is certainly different from the flavor of apricot preserves. Using apricot preserves instead of orange marmalade will not give satisfactory results. 

But if apricot preserves are all you have in the house and you’re in desperate need of orange marmalade, here’s what you can do.

Add some orange zest to apricot preserves for some orange bitterness and aroma. Coupled with the sweetness of the apricot preserves, you can get a flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of orange marmalade.