Out of Butter, one case
Can you substitute cream cheese for butter?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Full-fat block cream cheese
Per cup of butter
½ cup cream cheese + ½ cup butter
Partly. Cream cheese is only about one third fat, against butter's 80%, so in baking it can replace half the butter, measure for measure: ½ cup cream cheese plus ½ cup butter for each cup of butter. The bake comes out softer, cakier and slightly tangy. As a spread, or stirred into mashed potatoes or pasta, use the same amount as the butter. It cannot fry or saute.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- The tweak —
- Soften it to room temperature and beat it with the remaining butter and the sugar. With no butter at all, cover the other half with 6 tbsp oil per cup of butter in a batter, or with stick margarine in a creamed dough.
- Best for —
- soft cookies and bar cookies
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full butter card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup butter | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full-fat block cream cheesesoft cookies and bar cookies | ½ cup cream cheese + ½ cup butterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Cream cheese as a spread or stir-intoast, bagels and sandwiches | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Stick margarinecookies that should spread and crisp | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Vegetable oilbrownies, muffins and quick breads | ¾ cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Whipped, tub or low-fat cream cheese | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Full-fat block cream cheese
mild tang, less rich
The foil-wrapped brick. It is soft enough to beat with sugar, but it is about a third fat and more than half water, so it tenderizes less than butter and adds moisture. Replacing half the butter is the safe limit in a bake.
- Best for
- soft cookies and bar cookies, pound cake and quick breads, muffins and coffee cake
- Prep
- Soften it to room temperature and beat it with the remaining butter and the sugar. With no butter at all, cover the other half with 6 tbsp oil per cup of butter in a batter, or with stick margarine in a creamed dough.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Replacing all the butter in cookies or cake: they bake puffy, pale and cake-like and do not crisp. Pie crust and biscuits, which need a fat that stays in cold solid pieces.
Cream cheese as a spread or stir-in
tangy and creamy; the butter flavor is gone
Where butter is spread on something or melted into a finished dish, cream cheese can take its place in the same amount. It adds body and tang where butter adds richness.
- Best for
- toast, bagels and sandwiches, mashed potatoes, boxed mac and cheese and creamy pasta
- Prep
- Soften it first, and stir it into hot food off the heat until it melts in smoothly.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Anything fried, sauteed or toasted in a pan. Cream cheese is not a cooking fat: it melts, sticks and scorches. Use oil in the pan.
Stick margarine
cleaner and a little saltier, with less dairy flavor
If the recipe needs all of its fat, as cookies and pastry do, a firm stick margarine at about 80% fat is the closer swap for butter.
- Best for
- cookies that should spread and crisp, pie crust and biscuits, creamed cakes
- Prep
- Use the stick, not a tub spread. Cut the added salt by about ¼ tsp per stick if the recipe calls for unsalted butter.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Where it fails
- Shortbread and buttercream, where butter is the flavor.
Vegetable oil
plain; no dairy flavor
For recipes that melt the butter, and for anything cooked in a pan, oil does the job that cream cheese cannot.
- Best for
- brownies, muffins and quick breads, sauteing and frying
- Prep
- Use 6 tbsp oil per ½ cup butter in a batter and do not cut the other liquids.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Where it fails
- Creamed doughs and pastry, where the fat has to be solid.
Whipped, tub or low-fat cream cheese
milder and wetter than the block
Whipped cream cheese is full of air, tub spreads have added water and stabilizers, and low-fat versions have even less fat than the brick. None of them measure or bake like the block.
- Best for
- spreading on a bagel
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Any baking. A cup of whipped cream cheese holds far less than a cup of block, and the extra water in tub and low-fat versions makes a batter loose and the bake gummy.
Tips for substituting butter
5 tips- In baking, replace half the butter and no more: for a recipe with 1 cup butter, use ½ cup cream cheese (4 oz, half a brick) and ½ cup butter.
- An 8 oz brick of cream cheese is 1 cup. The wrapper is marked by the ounce, so cut it instead of packing a measuring cup.
- Have the cream cheese at room temperature before beating. Cold cream cheese leaves small white lumps that do not bake out.
- Cookies with cream cheese stay pale and soft. Chill the dough 30 minutes, and do not wait for brown edges before pulling the tray.
- For frosting with no butter, beat 8 oz cream cheese with powdered sugar to taste. It is softer than buttercream, will not hold sharp piping, and has to stay refrigerated.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use cream cheese instead of butter in cookies?
For half the butter. Use equal parts cream cheese and butter by measure. The cookies come out thicker, softer and paler, with a slight tang. With all cream cheese and no butter, they bake up like small cakes and never crisp.
Can I substitute cream cheese for butter in frosting?
Yes, with a softer result. Cream cheese beaten with powdered sugar makes a spreadable frosting without butter, but it will not hold piped shapes the way buttercream does and it must be kept cold. Use the block, not whipped or tub cream cheese.
Can I cook with cream cheese instead of butter?
Not in the pan. Cream cheese cannot saute or fry because it is mostly water and milk protein and it scorches. Cook in oil, then stir cream cheese into the finished sauce, mash or pasta in place of the butter the recipe adds at the end.
Is cream cheese a 1:1 swap for butter?
Only as a spread or stirred into a finished dish. In baking, butter is 80% fat and cream cheese about a third, so a full swap cuts the fat by more than half. Replace half the butter with the same amount of cream cheese and keep the rest as butter, margarine or oil.
Can I use cream cheese instead of butter in pie crust?
Not on its own. A flaky crust needs cold pieces of solid fat. Cream cheese doughs, such as the one used for rugelach, are made with both butter and cream cheese. With no butter, use shortening or lard for the crust.