Out of Butter, one case

Butter substitute for banana bread

5 options, ranked, with the exact amount

Use thisBest of 5 options

Use Vegetable oil

¾ cup for every cup of butter

In banana bread, replace the butter with ¾ as much neutral oil: 6 tablespoons of oil for ½ cup (1 stick) of butter. Do not cut any other liquid. The loaf comes out moister and stays soft longer, with less of the buttery, browned flavor. Applesauce or Greek yogurt can stand in for half the butter, not all of it.

Verdict —: Tweak it
The tweak —: Use 6 tbsp oil per ½ cup butter and whisk it into the mashed banana, sugar and egg. Leave the other liquids alone.
Best for —: recipes that melt the butter
Pantry —: Likely in your cupboard

One casethe full butter card

Every option, one card

Ranked

Butter substitutes compared
#	Substitute	Instead of 1 cup butter	Verdict
1	Vegetable oilrecipes that melt the butter	¾ cupTweak it	Tweak it
2	Coconut oil (melted)dairy-free banana bread	1 cup + 2 tbsp waterTweak it	Tweak it
3	Stick margarinerecipes that cream softened butter with sugar	1 cupTweak it	Tweak it
4	Greek yogurtcutting the fat in the loaf by half	½ cup yogurt + 6 tbsp oilYou'll taste it	You'll taste it
5	Unsweetened applesaucehalving the fat	½ cup applesauce + 6 tbsp oilYou'll taste it	You'll taste it

What changesWhat changes, option by option5 options

Vegetable oil

plainer; the banana comes forward and the butter note is gone

Canola, sunflower or a vegetable blend. Oil is 100% fat and butter is about 80%, so three quarters of the amount carries the same fat. Many banana bread recipes are written with oil in the first place.

Best for: recipes that melt the butter, a loaf you want still soft on day three, dairy-free banana bread
Prep: Use 6 tbsp oil per ½ cup butter and whisk it into the mashed banana, sugar and egg. Leave the other liquids alone.
Suits: vegan, dairy-free
Where it fails: A recipe that leans on browned butter for its flavor. The loaf also browns a little paler, because oil has no milk solids.

If the butter was salted, add about ¼ tsp salt per stick you replaced.

Coconut oil (melted)

neutral if refined, clearly coconut if virgin

Melted coconut oil stirs in the way melted butter does and sets firm again as the loaf cools, so slices cut cleanly. Refined coconut oil is neutral; virgin tastes of coconut.

Best for: dairy-free banana bread, a loaf that slices cleanly, banana bread with coconut or chocolate chips
Prep: Measure it melted, the same amount as the butter, and add 2 tbsp water or milk per cup (1 tbsp per ½ cup). Have the eggs and banana at room temperature so the oil does not harden into flecks.
Suits: vegan, dairy-free
Contains: coconut
Where it fails: Cold eggs or milk straight from the fridge: the oil seizes into small hard lumps in the batter.

Stick margarine

cleaner and a little saltier, with less dairy flavor

The firm foil-wrapped stick is about 80% fat, the same as butter, so it creams with sugar and melts the same way. This is the swap for a recipe that beats softened butter and sugar together.

Best for: recipes that cream softened butter with sugar, keeping the recipe exactly as written
Prep: Use the stick, not a tub spread. If it is salted and the recipe says unsalted butter, cut the added salt by about ¼ tsp per stick.
Suits: vegetarian
Where it fails: Tub and light spreads, which are 35 to 60% fat and the rest mostly water. They make a wet, heavy loaf.

Greek yogurt

tangier and less rich

Plain full-fat Greek yogurt can replace half the butter, cup for cup. It adds moisture and a slight tang but almost no fat, so the other half still has to be a fat: oil, or butter if you have some.

Best for: cutting the fat in the loaf by half, a tangier, denser loaf
Prep: For a recipe with ½ cup butter, use ¼ cup yogurt plus 3 tbsp oil. Bring the yogurt to room temperature, stir it into the wet ingredients, and get the pan into the oven within 15 minutes.
Suits: vegetarian
Contains: dairy
Where it fails: Replacing all the butter. With no fat to coat the flour the loaf bakes dense and rubbery. Non-fat yogurt does the same even at half.

Unsweetened applesauce

faintly fruity and less rich

Applesauce is water, sugar and pectin with no fat. It keeps the loaf moist and can replace half the butter, cup for cup. The other half should stay fat: oil, or butter if you have some.

Best for: halving the fat, when you are short on both butter and oil
Prep: For a recipe with ½ cup butter, use ¼ cup applesauce plus 3 tbsp oil. Bake about 5 minutes longer and test the center with a skewer.
Suits: vegan, dairy-free
Where it fails: Replacing all the butter. Banana already makes the batter wet, and an all-applesauce loaf turns gummy and pale with a damp line through the middle.

If the applesauce is sweetened, cut the sugar by about 1 tbsp per ½ cup of applesauce.

How it behaves in this recipe

In this recipeButter

Banana bread is a quick bread: baking soda does the lifting and the mashed banana brings most of the moisture. The butter is there for tenderness and flavor. That is why a liquid fat works here even though it fails in a creamed butter cake.

Tips for substituting butter

5 tips

A standard loaf uses ½ cup (1 stick) of butter. That is 6 tbsp oil; for 1/3 cup butter use ¼ cup oil.
Do not reduce the milk, buttermilk or banana when you switch to oil. Going from butter to ¾ as much oil has already taken out the water the butter carried.
With oil there is nothing to cream. Whisk the oil, sugar, egg and mashed banana together, then fold in the dry ingredients until no flour shows and stop.
Oil loaves brown paler. Judge doneness with a skewer in the center, not by the color of the crust.
Missing the butter flavor: add ½ tsp extra vanilla or a pinch more salt. Neither replaces it, but the loaf tastes less flat.

Questions

5 questions

Can I use applesauce instead of butter in banana bread?

For half the butter, yes: ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce plus 3 tablespoons of oil in place of ½ cup butter. Replacing all of it leaves the loaf with no fat, and it bakes gummy and pale. Bake about 5 minutes longer and test with a skewer.

How much oil replaces a stick of butter in banana bread?

6 tablespoons, which is ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons. The rule is ¾ as much oil as butter, because oil is all fat and butter is about 80% fat. For 1/3 cup butter use ¼ cup oil.

My recipe creams the butter with sugar. Can I still use oil?

You can, with a small cost. Banana bread gets most of its rise from baking soda, not from air beaten into the butter, so the loaf still rises. It comes out a little denser and flatter on top. If you have stick margarine, use that cup for cup and cream it as the recipe says.

Can I leave the butter out and add an extra banana?

Not for all of it. Banana brings moisture and sugar but no fat, so a loaf with no fat at all bakes tough and rubbery. Treat extra mashed banana like applesauce: let it cover at most half the butter and use oil for the rest.

Does olive oil work in banana bread?

Yes, at the same ¾ amount. A light or mild olive oil is hard to detect. A peppery extra-virgin oil shows through the banana, which some people like with walnuts or dark chocolate.