Butter substitutes
Butter substitutes — 8 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called unsalted butter, salted butter, sweet cream butter, stick butter, dairy butter
Use Stick margarine
1 cup for every 1 cup butter
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 ¾ cup oil per cup of butter and do not cut the liquid.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Soften to about 65-67F before creaming; use it straight from the fridge for pastry.
- Best for —
- creamed cakes and cookies when there is no butter in the house
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the butter doing?
Pick your caseWhat is the recipe doing with the butter right now?
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.
Notes on stick margarine, vegan butter block or shortening
1 cup per cup
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.
Notes on shortening or coconut oil (refined, solid)
1 cup + 2 tbsp liquid
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 ¾ cup oil per cup of butter and leave the rest of the liquid alone.
Notes on vegetable oil
¾ cup per cup
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.
Notes on ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil
¾ cup per cup
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.
Butter is doing four jobs at once: it is fat that coats flour and keeps the crumb tender, it is 16-18% water that turns to steam in the oven, because it is solid at room temperature it can hold air when you beat it with sugar, and its milk solids are what brown.
Fat & richnessprimary
Coats flour so gluten strands stay short, which is what makes shortbread crumbly instead of chewy.
Moisture & hydrationsecondary
Its 16-18% water becomes steam in the oven, which is what pushes apart the layers of a laminated pastry.
Aerationprimary
Solid butter beaten with sugar traps air in thousands of tiny pockets, and that air is most of the lift in a creamed cake. A liquid fat cannot hold it, at any ratio.
Browning & colorsecondary
Milk solids brown and give the toasted flavour and gold edge, and they also scorch in a hot pan at about 300F (150C), well below any oil's smoke point.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup butter| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup butter | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stick margarinecreamed cakes and cookies when there is no butter in the house | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Vegan butter blockdairy-free baking that still has to rise from creamed air | 1 cup, chilledTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Shorteningpie crust and biscuits that have to come out flaky | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Vegetable oilbrownies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes | ¾ cup neutral oilYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Ghee (clarified butter)frying and searing when you still want a buttery flavour | ¾ cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Coconut oil (refined, solid)dairy-free pastry, kept cold, where you want real flakes | 1 cup, scooped solid from the jarYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Greek yogurtcutting the fat in a muffin or quick bread by half | ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt plus ½ cup butterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 8 | Unsweetened applesaucehalving the fat in a muffin, spice cake or quick bread | ½ cup plus ½ cup butterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Tub spread or light margarine | not a swap — do not substitute by volume; buy a stick or block insteadNot for this | Not for this |
Stick margarine
cleaner and a little saltier
Stick margarine is built to roughly the same 80% fat and 16% water as butter, so it creams, it bakes, it fries and it spreads with no arithmetic at all.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Aeration
- Misses
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup stick margarine (the firm foil-wrapped block, about 80% fat) for 1 cup butter
- Best for
- creamed cakes and cookies when there is no butter in the house, when the recipe needs a solid fat and you were about to reach for oil, spreading on toast and sandwiches
- Taste
- cleaner and a little saltier; the dairy note that makes shortbread taste of butter is gone
- Texture
- very close, and a creamed cake comes out with the same crumb
- Look
- edges brown slightly paler because there are fewer milk solids to brown
- Prep
- Soften to about 65-67F before creaming; use it straight from the fridge for pastry.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Use the firm stick or block, never tub spread. Tub and light spreads run 35-60% fat and the rest is water, so they thin the batter and will not cream.
- If your margarine is salted and the recipe says unsalted butter, cut the recipe's added salt by about ¼ tsp per stick (½ cup) you replace.
- Soften it to about 65-67F before creaming, the same as you would butter.
The only thing to check is the packaging. Stick margarine is 80% fat like butter, tub spread is watered down. Many margarines also contain whey or milk solids, so read the label if you need this to be dairy-free.
Fine anywhere butter is being used as a fat. Not worth it where butter is the flavour, such as shortbread or buttercream.
Vegan butter block
close, with a faint oily or coconut background that varies by brand
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Aeration
- Misses
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup vegan butter block, chilled for 1 cup butter
- Then
- chill it 20 minutes before creaming, because vegan butters soften faster than dairy butter
- 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
- Texture
- very close in cake, slightly softer in cookies
- Look
- cookies spread a little more and stay paler at the edge
- Prep
- Chill 20 minutes, then cream; for pastry, cube it and freeze 10 minutes first.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free, vegetarian
- Buy the block, not the tub. The tub versions are softer and wetter and will slump.
- Chill the block for 20 minutes before creaming; a warm one gives a greasy dough that spreads.
- Most vegan butters are salted, so if the recipe says unsalted, cut the added salt by about ¼ tsp per ½ cup used.
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.
Shortening
noticeably blank; all the dairy flavour is gone and nothing replaces it
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).
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aeration
- Misses
- Moisture & hydration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup shortening for 1 cup butter
- Then
- add 2 tbsp water or milk to replace the water the butter would have brought
- 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
- Texture
- flakier in pastry, taller and softer in cookies
- Look
- cookies stay domed instead of spreading thin, and come out pale because there are no milk solids to brown
- Prep
- Cold and cubed for pastry, room temperature for creaming.
- Suits
- dairy-free, vegan
- Add 2 tbsp water or milk per cup, because shortening is 100% fat and butter is only 80%. Skip this and the dough is dry and the crust tough.
- Going the other way, replacing shortening with butter, use 1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter per cup of shortening.
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.
Best as half the fat rather than all of it: half butter and half shortening gets you the flavour and the structure together.
Vegetable oil
flatter, with none of the dairy or browned-butter note
The right swap when the recipe melts the butter and the wrong swap when the recipe creams it. Three quarters of a cup, because oil is 100% fat and butter only 80%.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Moisture & hydration
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- ¾ cup neutral oil (canola, sunflower or a vegetable blend) for 1 cup butter
- 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
- Texture
- moister and slightly greasier, and chewier in cookies
- Look
- cookies spread more and come out flatter with paler edges; cake crumb looks denser and less golden
- Prep
- Pour ¾ cup and stir it into the wet ingredients where the recipe would have added melted butter.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Do NOT also reduce the recipe's liquid. Going from 1 cup butter to ¾ cup oil has already removed about 2 ½ tbsp of water, and cutting more gives a dry, tight crumb.
- If the butter was salted, add about ¼ tsp salt per stick you replaced.
- For a cake, try half and half: 6 tbsp oil plus ½ cup butter per cup. You keep some dairy flavour and gain the softer crumb.
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.
Only in recipes that melt the butter. Never in anything creamed, and never in pastry.
Ghee (clarified butter)
nuttier and more concentrated than 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).
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Moisture & hydration — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Amount
- ¾ cup ghee for 1 cup butter
- Then
- add 2 tbsp water or milk if the recipe is a batter rather than a pan
- 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 and more concentrated than butter, and it stays buttery through high heat
- Texture
- richer in the mouth, and a shortcrust made with it is sandy rather than flaky
- Look
- food browns deeper and more evenly than it would in butter, with no black flecks in the pan
- Prep
- Warm it to liquid before measuring so ¾ cup really is ¾ cup.
- Suits
- gluten-free
- Contains
- dairy
- Use ¾ cup per cup of butter, because the water is already gone.
- For a batter, add 2 tbsp water or milk per cup to make up that missing water.
- It is grainy and semi-solid, so it will not cream with sugar. Keep it out of creamed cakes.
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.
A pan and a brush, not a mixer. Never in a recipe whose lift comes from creaming.
Coconut oil (refined, solid)
neutral if refined, clearly coconut if virgin
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Moisture & hydration — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup refined coconut oil, scooped solid from the jar for 1 cup butter
- Then
- add 2 tbsp water or milk, because coconut oil is 100% fat
- 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
- Texture
- crisper and more brittle; cookies snap rather than bend
- Look
- the bake looks paler, and anything chilled sets noticeably harder than the butter version would
- Prep
- Scoop it solid and packed for pastry; melt and measure it liquid only if the recipe melts the butter.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Contains
- coconut
- Buy refined coconut oil if you do not want a coconut taste. Virgin or unrefined coconut oil tastes clearly of coconut and smokes at about 350F (175C).
- Add 2 tbsp water or milk per cup to make up for butter's water.
- Chill both the oil and the dough. Above 76F it is liquid, and liquid fat cannot make flakes.
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.
Poor at creaming, because it goes from hard to liquid across a few degrees. Use it where the fat must be cold and solid, not where it must be whipped.
Greek yogurt
tangier and less rich, in the direction of a sour cream cake
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.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Acid
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt plus ½ cup butter for 1 cup butter
- Then
- stir it into the wet ingredients; do not try to cream it with sugar
- 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
- Texture
- moister but denser and slightly springy from the extra protein
- Look
- the crumb is tighter, the top browns less, and the muffin domes less than the butter version
- Prep
- Bring it to room temperature first so it does not seize the melted butter into lumps.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Replace at most half the butter: ½ cup yogurt plus ½ cup butter per cup called for.
- Use plain, unsweetened, full-fat yogurt. Non-fat versions make the crumb rubbery.
- Its acid reacts with baking soda, so if the recipe contains soda, get the batter into the oven within 15 minutes.
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.
At most half the butter, and only in muffins, quick breads and cakes. Never in cookies, pastry or anything creamed.
Unsweetened applesauce
faintly fruity and less rich
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.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce plus ½ cup butter for 1 cup butter
- 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
- Texture
- wetter and gummier, closer to a steamed pudding than a cake
- Look
- the top is paler and flatter and the crumb looks damp and close rather than open
- Prep
- Whisk it into the wet ingredients along with the remaining melted butter.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Replace at most half the butter: ½ cup applesauce plus ½ cup butter per cup.
- Use unsweetened. If yours is sweetened, cut the recipe's sugar by 2 tbsp per ½ cup used.
- Bake about 5 minutes longer and test with a skewer; the extra water slows the centre down.
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.
Half the fat at most, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Never in cookies, shortbread or pastry.
Tub spread or light margarine
watery and slightly salty
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.
- Covers
- Moisture & hydration
- Misses
- Fat & richness — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- Do not substitute by volume; buy a stick or block insteadper 1 cup butter
- Best for
- spreading on toast, which is the job they are actually made for
- Texture
- loose batter, then a tough rubbery crumb once cool
- Look
- cookies spread into one thin sheet with pale blistered edges; cake sinks in the middle
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- If it is genuinely all you have and the recipe is a soft batter, use it only as the melted fat and expect a wet result. Keep it out of pastry, cookies and anything creamed.
Check the tub for a fat percentage. Under about 75% and it will not behave like butter in any bake, however carefully you measure.
Listed here only because people try it. It is a table spread, not a baking fat.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- Shortbread, butter cookies, buttercream, beurre blanc, or butter on bread.Halve the recipe and use the butter you have, or make something else today.
- Deep frying in butter.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.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.Replace at most half the butter, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Never in cookies, shortbread or pastry.
Safety
1 note- Allergen
Butter and ghee are dairy. Stick margarine often contains whey or milk solids, so read the label. Vegan butter block, shortening, refined coconut oil and neutral oils are dairy-free.
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The creamed mixture looks soupy or separated after you added oil.Oil cannot hold air, so there is nothing for the sugar crystals to whip into.Stop creaming, stir it together as a one-bowl batter and accept a denser cake. Beating on will only knock out what little air is in there.
- The cookies spread into one flat sheet.The fat was too soft or too liquid going into the oven, so the dough slumped before the structure set.Chill the remaining dough 30 minutes and bake one test cookie. For the rest, use a solid fat straight from the fridge and space them further apart.
- The cake is tough and rubbery rather than tender.Too much of the fat was replaced with a watery puree or yogurt, so there was not enough fat to keep the gluten strands short.A baked cake cannot be recovered. Next time keep at least half the fat as a real fat and cap the puree at half.
- The butter went brown and speckled black in the pan before the food was cooked.Milk solids scorching at about 300F (150C).Wipe the pan out, start again in ghee or a neutral oil, and add butter only at the end for flavour.
Measure it
9 measures- 1 cup butter2 sticks = 8 oz = 227 g
- 1 stick butter½ cup = 8 tbsp = 4 oz = 113 g
- Butter compositionabout 80% fat, 16-18% water, 1-2% milk solidsOil, shortening, lard and coconut oil are all 100% fat. Every correction on this page comes out of that one difference.
- Butter to oil1 cup butter = ¾ cup oilAnd in reverse, 1 cup oil = 1 ¼ cups butter.
- Butter to a solid 100% fat1 cup butter = 1 cup shortening, lard or coconut oil + 2 tbsp liquidGoing the other way, 1 cup of any of those = 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter.
- Salted vs unsaltedabout ¼ tsp salt per stickUsing salted where the recipe says unsalted: cut the recipe's added salt by about ¼ tsp per stick.
- Melting pointbutter 90-95F (32-35C); shortening about 117F (47C); coconut oil 76F (24C)The higher the melting point, the longer the dough holds its shape in the oven, which is why shortening cookies stay tall.
- Smoke pointbutter about 300F (150C); ghee about 450F (230C)The milk solids are what burn, so removing them raises the ceiling by about 150F.
- Fat state for the jobcold and cubed for flakes; 65-67F for creaming; melted for browniesThe wrong state of the right fat fails worse than the right state of the wrong fat.
Questions
8 questionsWhat 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 ¼ 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 ¾ 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 ¾ cup oil per 1 cup butter, and do not reduce the other liquids. Butter is only about 80% fat, so ¾ cup of oil already supplies the same fat, and the swap has already taken out roughly 2 ½ 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 ½ cup unsweetened applesauce or plain full-fat Greek yogurt plus ½ 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.
Tips for substituting butter
10 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 ¾ cup oil per cup of butter and do not reduce the other liquids. The ¾ has already removed about 2 ½ 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 ¼ tsp per stick.
- 1 cup butter = 2 sticks = 8 oz = 227 g, and 1 stick = ½ cup = 8 tbsp = 113 g.
Scale it
Scale a swap to your recipe, or convert cups to grams.