You can use table salt instead of kosher salt at a ratio of 1 tsp table salt per 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Salt swaps are not about the saltiness of the salt — all salt is sodium chloride — they are about the size and shape of the crystals, and that is where most people go wrong. Salts differ by crystal size, so swap by weight, not by volume — kosher salt is far lighter per cup than table salt. A teaspoon of fine table salt packs far more salt into the spoon than a teaspoon of big, hollow kosher flakes, so a cup-for-cup swap can easily double the salt or halve it. The ratio above is the sourced ratio for this pair, and the table below scales it to the amounts recipes actually call for.
This matters more than it sounds. Salt is the one ingredient in almost every recipe, and it is the one where a small measuring error is immediately obvious: too little and the dish tastes flat, too much and it is inedible. That is why this guide spends time on weighing. A kitchen scale removes the whole problem — the same weight of any salt is the same amount of salt, whatever the crystal size. If you cook with more than one kind of salt, a scale is the single best purchase you can make, and it costs less than a bag of good flaky salt.
The ratio, in a table
| Diamond Crystal kosher salt called for | Table salt |
|---|---|
| 3/4 tsp | 1/2 tsp |
| 1 1/2 tsp | 1 tsp |
| 1 1/2 tbsp | 1 tbsp |
| 6 tbsp (1/4 cup) | 1/4 cup |
If the recipe was written with Morton kosher salt rather than Diamond Crystal, the conversion is different: 1 1/4 tsp of Morton equals 1 tsp of table salt, so use 1 tsp of table salt for every 1 1/4 tsp of Morton called for. The numbers in the table are the ratio 1 tsp table salt per 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt scaled up and down. All amounts in this guide are approximate, and the ratio comes from CookScale's substitution data rather than from a single brand's packaging. If the recipe matters — a cake for a celebration, a batch you are selling, or anything where a small error shows — weigh the ingredients on a kitchen scale and taste as you go. If you are in doubt, undershoot: add two-thirds of the salt, taste, and add the rest. You can always add more salt at the end of cooking, but you cannot take it out, and an over-salted pot is a much bigger problem than an under-salted one.
Worked examples
Example 1: A baking recipe written for kosher salt
A cake recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Use 1 teaspoon of table salt instead, and the cake will be seasoned exactly the same — the same weight of salt, just finer crystals. Table salt is the better choice here anyway, because its fine crystals dissolve evenly in a batter, while kosher flakes can leave pockets of salt if they do not dissolve fully. Measure the table salt carefully: a heaped teaspoon will over-salt the cake.
Example 2: A soup that was written for kosher salt
A soup recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Use 2 teaspoons of table salt instead, and the soup will taste the same. Add it in stages — half at the start, half near the end — and taste before serving, because the soup concentrates as it reduces and the salt tastes stronger by the end. Table salt dissolves quickly in a soup, so there is no texture difference at all.
Example 3: A brine for a roast
A brine recipe calls for 6 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Use 1/4 cup of table salt instead, and the brine will have exactly the same salt concentration. This is the recipe where the swap matters most: a brine is a precise salt solution, and a cup-for-cup swap with kosher salt would leave the brine under-salted by half, which means the meat would not be properly seasoned. Weigh the salt if you can, and dissolve it fully in the water before the meat goes in.
What changes in the result
The flavour change is none at all once the salt has dissolved: both are sodium chloride, and dissolved in a soup, a brine or a dough they taste identical. What changes is the measuring. Table salt is denser than Diamond Crystal kosher salt, so you need less of it by volume — a teaspoon of table salt does the work of a teaspoon and a half of Diamond Crystal. The practical advantage is that table salt dissolves faster and more evenly, which makes it the better choice for baking and for smooth sauces, where a kosher flake can survive as a crunchy pocket. The handling is different too: table salt pours from a shaker, while kosher salt is pinched by hand.
Texture changes too, in ways that have nothing to do with saltiness. Fine salt dissolves quickly and disappears into a sauce or a dough; coarse flakes dissolve slowly and can leave crunchy pockets if they are added late. Flaky salt sprinkled on top of a finished dish stays crunchy and gives little bursts of salt — that is its whole appeal. Kosher salt is the cook's favourite for seasoning by hand because the big crystals are easy to pinch and scatter evenly, and you can see where it has landed. None of this changes the flavour of the salt itself, but it changes how the dish eats, and that is what the cook is really choosing.
When not to substitute
Do not swap salts cup-for-cup; Diamond Crystal kosher salt is about half the weight of table salt per cup. Do not swap cup for cup — a cup of table salt weighs about twice as much as a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, so a volume swap will over-salt the dish badly. And do not forget to check which brand of kosher salt the recipe meant: Morton is denser than Diamond Crystal, so the conversion is different, and using the wrong one will over- or under-salt the dish.
There are also jobs where one salt is simply the wrong tool. Do not use a coarse salt in a recipe where it has to dissolve quickly and completely — a smooth sauce, a meringue, a brine that needs to be exact — unless you give it time and stirring. Do not use a flavoured salt, like the celery salt in this guide's family, where the extra flavour would clash: it is a seasoning in its own right, not a neutral stand-in. And do not use an expensive finishing salt inside a dough or a stew, where its crunch and its delicate flavour disappear entirely. Save the good salt for the top of the dish, where you can taste it.
Practical guidance
Keep one salt as your everyday cooking salt and learn its measure by feel — most cooks use kosher salt for that, because it is easy to pinch and forgiving to scatter. Keep a small dish of flaky salt by the stove for finishing, and keep table salt for baking, where its fine crystals dissolve evenly and its exact measure matters. Label your containers, because kosher salt and table salt look similar in a jar and they are not interchangeable by the spoonful. When a recipe just says 'salt' with no kind given, it usually means table salt in older books and kosher salt in newer ones — if the result tastes under-salted, the recipe probably meant the finer salt, and if it tastes over-salted, it probably meant the coarser one. Taste as you cook, salt in stages rather than all at once, and remember that sauces and soups concentrate as they reduce, so the salt you add at the start tastes stronger by the end.
If a recipe does not say which brand of kosher salt it means, Diamond Crystal is the usual assumption in American recipes — but it is worth checking, because the two brands differ by a real amount. When you are converting a recipe to table salt, weigh the salt if you can: the same weight is the same amount of salt, whatever the crystal size, and a scale removes the whole problem.
Frequently asked questions
Why do recipes use kosher salt instead of table salt?
Because it is easier to handle: the big crystals are easy to pinch and scatter evenly, and you can see where they have landed. Kosher salt also has no iodine or anti-caking agents, which some cooks say gives a cleaner taste. For baking, though, table salt is often better, because its fine crystals dissolve evenly in a batter. The choice is about handling, not flavour.
How much table salt equals 1 tablespoon of kosher salt?
For Diamond Crystal, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt equals 2 teaspoons of table salt. For Morton, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt equals about 2 1/2 teaspoons of table salt. The difference is real, so check which brand the recipe meant — or weigh the salt, which removes the question entirely.
Can I just swap salts 1:1 by volume?
Only if the two salts have similar crystal sizes. Fine sea salt and table salt are close enough for most cooking, and the ratio for this pair is 1 tsp table salt per 1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. But kosher salt and flaky salt are much lighter per spoonful, so a 1:1 volume swap under-salts the dish — sometimes by half. The safe rule is to swap by weight: the same weight of any salt is the same amount of salt, whatever it looks like.
Why do recipes specify a brand of kosher salt?
Because the two big brands are different densities. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is light and hollow, Morton is denser and heavier, so a teaspoon of one is not a teaspoon of the other. A recipe written for Diamond Crystal needs about one and a half teaspoons per teaspoon of table salt, while Morton needs about one and a quarter. If a recipe does not say which brand, Diamond Crystal is the usual assumption in American recipes.
Does the kind of salt change the flavour?
Barely, once it is dissolved. All salt is sodium chloride, and dissolved in a soup or a dough the differences are tiny. What changes is texture — flakes stay crunchy on top of a dish — and the trace minerals in some sea salts, which can add a very faint bitterness or sweetness that most people cannot detect in a finished dish. Choose salt for its crystal size and how you use it, not for a flavour difference you probably cannot taste.