Butter substitute

Best substitute

Stick Margarine

Use 1 cup for every cup of butter

Best for creamed cakes and cookies when there is no butter in the house

Needs a tweakLikely in your cupboard

It depends on what the butter is doing. If the recipe creams softened butter with sugar, you need another solid fat, and stick margarine is the closest one, cup for cup. If the recipe melts the butter, use 3/4 cup oil per cup of butter and do not cut the liquid.

Other butter substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Vegan Butter Block
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of butter
The foil-wrapped vegan blocks are formulated at about 79-80% fat specifically to behave like butter, so they are the one dairy-free option that still creams properly.
What changes
vegandairy-freevegetarian
Best for
dairy-free baking that still has to rise from creamed air, dairy-free frosting that has to hold a piped shape, when a vegan pastry needs a fat you can keep cold
Taste
close, faintly oily
Texture
similar
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Aeration
Misses
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Chill 20 minutes, then cream; for pastry, cube it and freeze 10 minutes first.
This is the swap for when the rise comes from creaming and the result still has to be dairy-free. Nothing else on this list does both jobs.
3Shortening
Needs a tweak
1 cup + 2 tbsp liquid
Solid at room temperature and 100% fat, so it creams well and holds its shape in the oven far longer than butter, because it melts at about 117F (47C) against butter's 90-95F (32-35C).
What changes
dairy-freevegan
Best for
pie crust and biscuits that have to come out flaky, cookies that must stay tall instead of spreading thin, frosting that has to hold up in a warm room
Taste
blank, no dairy
Texture
flakier, taller
Covers
Fat & richness
Aeration
Misses
Moisture & hydration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Cold and cubed for pastry, room temperature for creaming.
Shortening melts about 25F higher than butter. That single fact is why shortening cookies stay tall while butter cookies spread: the dough holds its shape until the oven has set it.
4Vegetable Oil
You'll taste it
Use ¾ cup for every cup of butter
The right swap when the recipe melts the butter and the wrong swap when the recipe creams it.
What changes
Three quarters of a cup, because oil is 100% fat and butter only 80%.
Likely in your cupboardvegandairy-free
Best for
brownies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes, any recipe whose first instruction is melt the butter, cakes you want to still be soft on day three
Taste
flatter, less rich
Texture
moister, greasier
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Misses
Aeration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Pour 3/4 cup and stir it into the wet ingredients where the recipe would have added melted butter.
This is the swap most people reach for and the one most often done in the wrong recipe. The ratio is not the hard part; whether the recipe creams the butter is.
5Ghee (Clarified Butter)
You'll taste it
Use ¾ cup for every cup of butter
Butter with the water and milk solids removed, so it is close to 100% fat and holds to about 450F (230C) instead of scorching at 300F (150C).
What changes
gluten-free
Best for
frying and searing when you still want a buttery flavour, brushing on flatbread, rice or roasted vegetables, melted-butter recipes where you want to keep the dairy taste
Taste
nuttier, concentrated
Texture
richer, sandier in pastry
Covers
Fat & richness
Browning & colour
Misses
Moisture & hydration — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Prep. Warm it to liquid before measuring so 3/4 cup really is 3/4 cup.
If your butter keeps burning in the pan, the milk solids are the reason and ghee is the fix. It is still dairy, so it is not an option for a milk allergy.
6Coconut Oil (refined, solid)
You'll taste it
1 cup + 2 tbsp liquid
Solid below 76F (24C) and liquid above it, a much narrower window than butter has, so it is either hard or pouring with very little in between.
What changes
vegandairy-free
Best for
dairy-free pastry, kept cold, where you want real flakes, no-bake bars and freezer desserts that have to set firm, when you want the fat to go hard in the fridge
Taste
neutral if refined
Texture
crisper, more brittle
Covers
Fat & richness
Misses
Moisture & hydration — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Scoop it solid and packed for pastry; melt and measure it liquid only if the recipe melts the butter.
The 76F melting point is the whole story. In a cool kitchen it behaves like shortening, in a warm one it behaves like oil, and the same recipe can go both ways in one week.
7Greek Yogurt
You'll taste it
Use ½ cup for every cup of butter
Mostly water and protein with a little fat, so it adds moisture and a tang but cannot do the tenderising or the air that butter does.
What changes
vegetarian
Best for
cutting the fat in a muffin or quick bread by half, when you want a tangier crumb, as in a coffee cake, batters that already contain baking soda, which the yogurt's acid will help fire
Taste
tangier, less rich
Texture
denser, springy
Covers
Moisture & hydration
Acid
Misses
Fat & richness — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Bring it to room temperature first so it does not seize the melted butter into lumps.
The protein is the catch. It sets in the oven like a very soft custard, which is why an all-yogurt cake comes out rubbery rather than tender.
8Unsweetened Applesauce
You'll taste it
Use ½ cup for every cup of butter
Fruit puree, which is water, sugar and pectin with no fat at all, so it can add moisture and nothing else the butter was doing.
What changes
vegandairy-free
Best for
halving the fat in a muffin, spice cake or quick bread, when there is no fat in the house at all and the recipe is a soft batter, bakes where a slightly fruity, denser crumb is acceptable
Taste
faintly fruity
Texture
wetter, gummier
Covers
Moisture & hydration
Misses
Fat & richness — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Whisk it into the wet ingredients along with the remaining melted butter.
There is no fat here to coat the flour, so a cake made entirely with applesauce turns tough and rubbery. Half is the honest ceiling.

Don’t use these

Tub Spread or Light Margarine
Not for this
Soft tub spreads and anything labelled light or reduced-fat run 35-60% fat with the rest mostly water, so a cup carries roughly half the fat a cup of butter does.

Check your case

What is the recipe doing with the butter right now?

You are beating softened butter with sugar until it looks pale and fluffy (most cakes, most drop cookies).
You need a fat that is SOLID at room temperature. Oil cannot hold air, so it is the wrong tool here no matter what ratio you use. Reach for stick margarine, a vegan butter block, or shortening plus 2 tbsp of liquid per cup.
Jump to Stick Margarine, Vegan Butter Block or Shortening
You are cutting cold cubes of butter into flour for pie crust, biscuits or scones.
The flakes come from solid pieces of fat staying whole until the oven melts them and their water flashes to steam. Only a fat you can keep cold works: shortening, lard, or refined coconut oil straight from the fridge. Oil coats the flour evenly instead, which gives a sandy, crumbly crust with no layers.
Jump to Shortening or Coconut Oil (refined, solid)
The recipe says melted butter (brownies, muffins, quick breads, most pancakes, most cornbread).
This is the one case where plain oil is a genuinely good swap, and it often stays moister for longer because oil does not go firm in the fridge. Use 3/4 cup oil per cup of butter and leave the rest of the liquid alone.
Jump to Vegetable Oil
You are frying, searing or browning something in a pan.
Butter's milk solids scorch at about 300F (150C). Ghee is clarified butter with the water and milk solids removed, so it still tastes buttery and holds to about 450F (230C). A neutral oil works too, and you can stir in a knob of butter at the end for flavour.
Jump to Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Vegetable Oil
The butter is the flavour you will actually taste: shortbread, buttercream, butter sauce, butter on toast.
Nothing tastes like butter. Every substitute on this page is defined by the dairy note it does not have. Halve the recipe and use the butter you do have, or make something else today.

Do not start from what tastes most like butter. Start from what the recipe is asking the butter to do, which is one of the five cases above. Get that right and the amount is arithmetic; get it wrong and no ratio will save the dish.

Don’t substitute butter here

When to keep looking rather than swap

Shortbread, butter cookies, buttercream, beurre blanc, or butter on bread.
The butter is the flavour of the dish, not a structural ingredient you can trade out. Every substitute on this page is defined by the dairy note it does not have.
Instead. Halve the recipe and use the butter you have, or make something else today.
Deep frying in butter.
Butter's milk solids scorch at about 300F (150C) and turn bitter and black, far below frying temperature.
Instead. Use a refined neutral oil with a smoke point above 400F (205C). For butter flavour, stir a little butter through the cooked food off the heat.
Replacing all the butter in a creamed cake or cookie with oil.
The rise in a creamed recipe is air beaten into solid fat. Oil cannot hold air, so the batter stays soupy and the bake comes out flat and greasy.
Instead. Use a solid fat: stick margarine or vegan butter block cup for cup, or shortening plus 2 tbsp liquid per cup.
Replacing all the fat with applesauce, mashed banana or yogurt.
With no fat coating the flour there is nothing keeping the crumb tender and nothing to brown, so it bakes tough and pale.
Instead. Replace at most half the butter, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Never in cookies, shortbread or pastry.

Substitution calculator

Scale a swap to your recipe, or convert cups to grams

What is Butter?

Butter is a solid dairy fat churned from cream, about 80% fat, 16-18% water and 1-2% milk solids, sold in 4 oz sticks and used for baking, frying and spreading.

Cooking tips

First work out whether the recipe creams the butter, keeps it cold, or melts it. That decides the swap; the ratio is the easy part.
If the recipe creams softened butter with sugar, you need a solid fat: stick margarine or a vegan butter block cup for cup, or 1 cup shortening plus 2 tbsp liquid per cup of butter.
If the recipe melts the butter, use 3/4 cup oil per cup of butter and do not reduce the other liquids. The 3/4 has already removed about 2 1/2 tbsp of water.
For pie crust and biscuits the flakes come from cold solid pieces of fat, so shortening, lard or refined coconut oil from the fridge all work and oil does not.
Half butter and half shortening in a crust gives you the butter flavour and the shortening's flakiness at once. Partial swaps beat all-or-nothing almost every time.
Butter is 80% fat and 16-18% water. Shortening, lard, coconut oil and every liquid oil are 100% fat, which is where the 2 tbsp liquid correction comes from.
Applesauce, mashed banana and Greek yogurt can replace half the butter in a muffin or quick bread, never all of it and never in cookies or pastry.
Butter burns in a pan at about 300F (150C) because of its milk solids. Use ghee, which holds to about 450F (230C), or fry in oil and finish with butter off the heat.
If you swap salted butter for unsalted, cut the recipe's added salt by about 1/4 tsp per stick.
1 cup butter = 2 sticks = 8 oz = 227 g, and 1 stick = 1/2 cup = 8 tbsp = 113 g.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best all-purpose butter substitute?

Stick margarine, cup for cup. It is made to roughly butter's 80% fat and 16% water, so it is the only common swap that creams for cakes, stays cold for pastry, melts for brownies and spreads on toast. Use the firm foil-wrapped block rather than tub spread, and cut the recipe's added salt by about 1/4 tsp per stick if yours is salted.

Can I substitute oil for butter in all recipes?

No. Oil is a good swap only where the recipe melts the butter, such as brownies, muffins and quick breads: use 3/4 cup oil per cup of butter. Where the recipe creams softened butter with sugar, the rise comes from air beaten into solid fat and oil cannot hold air, so the cake comes out flat and greasy. In pastry, oil coats the flour evenly instead of staying in cold pieces, so you get a sandy crust with no flakes.

How much oil do I use instead of a cup of butter, and should I reduce the liquid?

Use 3/4 cup oil per 1 cup butter, and do not reduce the other liquids. Butter is only about 80% fat, so 3/4 cup of oil already supplies the same fat, and the swap has already taken out roughly 2 1/2 tbsp of water. Cutting more liquid on top of that is why oil cakes sometimes come out dry.

What is the difference between butter and margarine in baking?

Stick margarine is made from vegetable oils and water to roughly butter's 80% fat, so it behaves almost the same in a mixer and an oven. What you will notice is flavour, because there is no dairy note, and colour, because there are fewer milk solids to brown. The distinction that matters is stick versus tub: tub and light spreads are 35-60% fat and will not cream, will not make pastry and give a wet batter.

How do I replace butter with shortening or coconut oil?

Both are 100% fat while butter is 80%, so use 1 cup of either per cup of butter and add 2 tbsp water or milk to replace the water the butter would have brought. Shortening melts at about 117F (47C), so cookies stay tall and crusts come out flaky. Refined coconut oil melts at 76F (24C), so keep it and the dough cold, and choose refined rather than virgin unless you want a coconut flavour.

Can I use applesauce or Greek yogurt instead of butter?

For half the butter, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Use 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or plain full-fat Greek yogurt plus 1/2 cup butter per cup called for. Neither contains meaningful fat, and fat is what coats the flour and keeps the crumb tender, so replacing all of it gives a tough, rubbery, pale bake.

What is a dairy-free butter substitute for baking?

A vegan butter block is the closest, cup for cup, and it is the only dairy-free option that still creams properly for a cake that rises from beaten air. Shortening and refined coconut oil are also dairy-free: use 1 cup plus 2 tbsp liquid per cup of butter. Check margarine labels, because many contain whey or milk solids.

Why does my butter keep burning in the pan?

Butter's milk solids scorch at around 300F (150C), well below frying temperature. Use ghee, which is butter with the water and milk solids removed and holds to about 450F (230C), or cook in a neutral oil and stir a little butter through at the end for the flavour.

Related substitutes

More dairy substitutes

Butter substitute

Other butter substitutes

2Vegan Butter Block

3Shortening

4Vegetable Oil

5Ghee (Clarified Butter)

6Coconut Oil (refined, solid)

7Greek Yogurt

8Unsweetened Applesauce

Tub Spread or Light Margarine