Out of Butter, one case
Can you substitute Greek yogurt for butter?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Plain full-fat Greek yogurt
½ cup yogurt + ½ cup butter for every cup of butter
For half the butter, in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Use ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt plus ½ cup butter for each cup of butter the recipe calls for. Yogurt adds moisture and tang but almost no fat, so a full swap bakes dense and rubbery. It does not work in cookies, scones or pie crust, and it cannot be creamed with sugar.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- The tweak —
- Bring the yogurt to room temperature and stir it into the wet ingredients. Do not try to cream it with sugar. If the recipe has baking soda, get the batter into the oven within 15 minutes.
- Best for —
- muffins and quick breads
One casethe full butter card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup butter | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain full-fat Greek yogurtmuffins and quick breads | ½ cup yogurt + ½ cup butterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Greek yogurt plus oilmuffins, banana bread and other quick breads | ½ cup yogurt + 6 tbsp oilYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Vegetable oilbrownies, muffins and quick breads | ¾ cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Stick margarinescones and biscuits | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Non-fat or flavored Greek yogurt | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Plain full-fat Greek yogurt
tangier and less rich, in the direction of a sour cream cake
Strained yogurt is mostly water and protein with a little fat. It replaces half the butter, measure for measure, and keeps the crumb moist. The butter that stays does the tenderizing.
- Best for
- muffins and quick breads, coffee cake and snack cakes, batters that contain baking soda
- Prep
- Bring the yogurt to room temperature and stir it into the wet ingredients. Do not try to cream it with sugar. If the recipe has baking soda, get the batter into the oven within 15 minutes.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Replacing all the butter. The protein sets like a soft custard, and the crumb comes out dense and springy. Cookies, pastry, scones and anything creamed.
Greek yogurt plus oil
tangy, with no butter flavor
With no butter in the house, let yogurt cover half and oil cover the other half. Six tablespoons of oil carries the fat of ½ cup butter.
- Best for
- muffins, banana bread and other quick breads, recipes that melt the butter
- Prep
- For a recipe with ½ cup butter, use ¼ cup yogurt plus 3 tbsp oil. Whisk both into the wet ingredients.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Recipes that cream softened butter with sugar, where neither yogurt nor oil can hold the air.
Vegetable oil
plain; no dairy flavor
If the aim is to replace the butter and not to cut fat, oil is the fuller swap in any recipe that melts the butter.
- Best for
- brownies, muffins and quick breads, pancakes and waffles
- Prep
- Use 6 tbsp oil per ½ cup butter. Do not reduce the other liquids.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Where it fails
- Creamed cakes, cookies and pastry.
Stick margarine
cleaner and a little saltier, with less dairy flavor
For scones, cookies, pie crust and creamed cakes, the fat has to be solid. A firm stick margarine does what yogurt cannot.
- Best for
- scones and biscuits, cookies, cakes that cream butter and sugar
- Prep
- Use the stick, not a tub spread. Keep it cold for scones and pastry; soften it for creaming.
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Where it fails
- Shortbread and buttercream, where butter is the flavor.
Non-fat or flavored Greek yogurt
sharp and thin when non-fat; sweet when flavored
Non-fat yogurt has no fat at all to offer in place of butter, and flavored yogurt adds sugar and fruit the recipe did not plan for.
- Best for
- eating with a spoon
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Baking in place of butter. Non-fat yogurt makes the crumb rubbery even at half, and sweetened yogurt throws off the sugar.
Tips for substituting butter
5 tips- Replace at most half the butter. For ½ cup (1 stick) of butter, use ¼ cup yogurt and ¼ cup butter; for 1 cup, use ½ cup of each.
- Use plain, unsweetened, full-fat Greek yogurt. Regular unstrained yogurt is thinner and makes the batter looser.
- Let the yogurt come to room temperature. Cold yogurt makes melted butter seize into lumps.
- Yogurt is acidic and reacts with baking soda as soon as they meet. Mix and bake without letting the batter sit more than 15 minutes.
- Expect a tighter crumb, a paler top and less of a dome. Test with a skewer; the color will not tell you when it is done.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use Greek yogurt instead of butter in scones?
Not for the butter. Scones get their flaky, tender crumb from cold pieces of solid fat cut into the flour, and yogurt is not a fat. Use cold stick margarine or shortening for the butter. Yogurt can replace the milk or cream in the dough instead.
How much Greek yogurt replaces ½ cup of butter?
Use ¼ cup yogurt and keep ¼ cup butter. With no butter at all, use ¼ cup yogurt plus 3 tablespoons of oil. Replacing the whole ½ cup with yogurt leaves the recipe with almost no fat.
Can I replace all the butter with Greek yogurt?
It is not a good idea in a bake. Fat is what keeps the crumb tender, and yogurt brings water and protein in its place. An all-yogurt cake or muffin comes out dense, springy and pale. Half is the working limit.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of butter in cookies?
No. Cookies need the fat to spread, crisp and brown, and yogurt adds water, which makes them puff and turn cakey. Use stick margarine or shortening.
Can I use Greek yogurt in place of butter on potatoes or in mashed potatoes?
Yes. There it is a topping or a stir-in, not a baking fat. Start with the same amount as the butter and add to taste, off the heat so it does not split. The result is tangy, closer to sour cream than to butter.