Coconut oil substitutes
Coconut oil substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called refined coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, unrefined coconut oil, expeller-pressed coconut oil, coconut fat, copra oil
Use Butter
1 cup + 2 tbsp for every 1 cup coconut oil
It depends whether the recipe needs the coconut oil to go hard. If it does - a no-bake bar, freezer fudge, a chocolate shell, granola clusters - you need another solid fat, and butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup is the usual answer. If the recipe just melts it into a batter or a pan, any neutral oil works cup for cup.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Melt and cool it slightly for batters; cube and chill it for pastry.
- Best for —
- no-bake bars and slices that have to set firm and taste rich
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the coconut oil doing?
Pick your caseDoes the finished dish need this fat to be hard, or was the coconut oil only melted and mixed in?
This is the case where the choice really matters. Only a fat that is solid at fridge and room temperature will work: butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup, cocoa butter for a proper snap, or vegetable or palm shortening. A liquid oil will leave you with a soft, oozing mixture that never sets. See for melting chocolate.
Notes on butter, cocoa butter or vegetable shortening
1 cup + 2 tbsp per cup
Once it is melted and beaten into a batter, coconut oil is behaving as an oil, so any neutral oil replaces it cup for cup and nothing else changes. See for baking.
Notes on neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
1 cup per cup
You need a fat you can keep cold and solid. Vegetable shortening is the easiest to work with because it stays plastic over a wide temperature range, and butter is the best-tasting if dairy is allowed. Oil cannot make flakes.
Notes on vegetable shortening or butter
1 cup per cup
Here it is only a cooking fat. Refined coconut oil holds to about 400F (205C) and virgin only to about 350F (175C), so most neutral oils actually give you more headroom, not less.
Swapping the fat removes the coconut taste. Use a neutral fat plus 2-3 tbsp desiccated coconut or ¼ tsp coconut extract per cup of fat, or 2 tbsp coconut cream stirred into the wet ingredients, and you will get most of it back.
Notes on neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
1 cup per cup
Ask whether the finished dish needs this fat to be hard. Coconut oil melts at 76F (24C), which is why recipes use it to make things set: a bar you can slice, a shell that snaps. If that is what it is doing, only another solid fat will work. If it was only ever melted into a batter or a pan, any neutral oil replaces it cup for cup.
Coconut oil is 100% fat with one unusual property: it melts at 76F (24C), which is right in the middle of room temperature. That is why it is the fat in recipes that must be liquid to mix and hard to eat, like a no-bake bar or a chocolate shell that snaps. Virgin coconut oil also brings a real coconut flavour; refined coconut oil brings none.
Fat & richnessprimary
A 100% fat with no water, so it coats flour and keeps a crumb tender, and it carries heat in a pan to about 400F (205C) when refined.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
Virgin or unrefined coconut oil carries a sweet coconut smell and taste that survives baking, which is either why the recipe chose it or the reason you want it out. Refined coconut oil has almost none of it.
Setting & gellingprimary
It goes from liquid to firm solid at 76F (24C), which is what makes a no-bake bar sliceable, a freezer fudge hold its shape and a chocolate shell crack when you tap it. No liquid oil can do this at any ratio.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup coconut oil| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup coconut oil | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butterno-bake bars and slices that have to set firm and taste rich | 1 cup + 2 tbsp butterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Vegetable shorteningvegan pastry and biscuits worked in a warm kitchen, where coconut oil would turn to liquid | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Vegan butter blockvegan baking where you want the result to taste buttery rather than coconutty | 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan butter blockTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Palm shorteningdairy-free and coconut-free baking, for anyone avoiding both | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Cocoa butterchocolate coatings and shells that must crack when you bite them | 1 cup, chopped and melted gentlyTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Neutral oil (canola or vegetable)cakes, muffins, brownies and breads that call for melted coconut oil | 1 cup, measured liquidYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Olive oilsavoury cooking: curries, stir-fries, roasted vegetables | 1 cup, light or refined for baking and extra virgin for savoury foodYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Butter
dairy-rich instead of sweetly coconut
A solid fat that is firm from the fridge and soft at room temperature, so it can do coconut oil's setting job, but it is only about 80% fat with 16-18% water, so it needs the extra 2 tbsp.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter for 1 cup coconut oil
- Then
- melt it if the recipe used melted coconut oil, or keep it cold and cubed if the recipe used it solid
- Best for
- no-bake bars and slices that have to set firm and taste rich, any bake where dairy is allowed and coconut flavour is not wanted, vegan recipes turned back into non-vegan ones
- Taste
- dairy-rich instead of sweetly coconut; usually an improvement unless the recipe was meant to taste tropical
- Texture
- softer at room temperature, so a chilled slice goes sticky faster than the coconut oil version
- Look
- bakes brown deeper and more golden, and a set slice looks creamy pale yellow rather than white
- Prep
- Melt and cool it slightly for batters; cube and chill it for pastry.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian, gluten-free
- Contains
- dairy
- Add 2 tbsp extra butter per cup of coconut oil, because butter is 80% fat and coconut oil is 100%.
- Butter is softer at room temperature than coconut oil is at the same temperature, so a butter-set slice needs to stay in the fridge until you serve it.
- Never add butter to melted chocolate that has to set hard: its water can make the chocolate seize into a grainy paste.
The most common swap and the right one most of the time. Its only real weakness against coconut oil is that it does not go as hard, and that it cannot go anywhere near melted chocolate.
Do not use it in a chocolate coating or a magic shell, where its water will seize the chocolate.
Vegetable shortening
completely neutral, which leaves sweet no-bake recipes tasting one-dimensional
Also 100% fat and also solid, and it stays workable over a much wider temperature range because it melts at about 117F (47C) rather than 76F, which makes it easier to handle in a warm kitchen.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup vegetable shortening for 1 cup coconut oil
- Best for
- vegan pastry and biscuits worked in a warm kitchen, where coconut oil would turn to liquid, no-bake slices that have to survive a picnic table, when you want the setting without the coconut taste
- Texture
- firmer and less brittle than coconut oil at fridge temperature, and noticeably waxier on the palate
- Look
- a set slice looks matte white rather than glossy, and it does not develop coconut oil's clean sharp break
- Prep
- Scoop and level it from the tub; no melting needed unless the recipe used melted oil.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Cup for cup, no correction: both are 100% fat with no water.
- It has no flavour at all, so in a sweet recipe add ¼ tsp vanilla or a pinch more salt per cup so the result is not blank.
This is the swap to reach for in July, when coconut oil is liquid on the shelf and any recipe that needs a solid fat has become impossible.
It coats the tongue more than coconut oil does, so it is better in baked and layered recipes than in something you eat by the spoon.
Vegan butter block
buttery
A plant-based block built to about 79-80% fat, so it needs the same 2 tbsp correction as butter while staying dairy-free, and it gives back a buttery flavour that shortening cannot.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan butter block for 1 cup coconut oil
- Then
- chill it before working it into flour, since it softens faster than coconut oil does
- Best for
- vegan baking where you want the result to taste buttery rather than coconutty, dairy-free frostings and fillings that have to hold their shape, when a vegan pastry needs both cold solidity and flavour
- Taste
- buttery, sometimes with a faint coconut note of its own since many brands contain coconut oil
- Texture
- close to butter: softer at room temperature than coconut oil, firmer than oil
- Look
- bakes brown more than the coconut oil version and look more golden
- Prep
- Chill 20 minutes, then cube, cream or melt as the recipe requires.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Add 2 tbsp per cup, because it is about 80% fat.
- Buy the foil-wrapped block rather than the tub spread, which is too soft and too wet.
- Most are salted, so cut the recipe's added salt by about ¼ tsp per ½ cup used.
Read the label if you are avoiding coconut for allergy reasons, because a lot of vegan butters are built on coconut oil.
It contains water, so keep it out of melted chocolate and out of a deep fryer.
Palm shortening
neutral, with a faint creamy background
A 100% fat from palm fruit that is solid at room temperature over a wider range than coconut oil, and neutral in taste, which is why it turns up in dairy-free and paleo baking.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup palm shortening for 1 cup coconut oil
- Best for
- dairy-free and coconut-free baking, for anyone avoiding both, no-bake slices in a warm room, vegan buttercream that has to hold a piped edge
- Texture
- smooth and stable, with less of shortening's waxy coating and less of coconut oil's brittle snap
- Look
- sets matte and creamy white; a chilled slice looks softer-edged than a coconut oil one
- Prep
- Stir the tub, then scoop and level.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup: both are 100% fat.
- Stir the tub before measuring, since palm shortening separates as it stands and the top can be softer than the bottom.
Its practical value is for people who need to avoid coconut and dairy at the same time, which rules out most of the rest of this list.
Cocoa butter
faintly of white chocolate, and in a chocolate recipe it disappears entirely
The pure fat from cocoa beans, 100% fat and hard at room temperature because it melts at around 93-100F (34-38C), which is what makes chocolate snap and then melt on the tongue.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Setting & gelling
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup cocoa butter, chopped and melted gently for 1 cup coconut oil
- Then
- melt it over barely simmering water, not on direct heat, because it scorches easily
- Best for
- chocolate coatings and shells that must crack when you bite them, no-bake slices you want firm at room temperature, not just in the fridge, raw and set desserts where a clean break matters
- Texture
- harder and cleaner-breaking than coconut oil, and it melts on the tongue rather than in your fingers
- Look
- a coating sets glossy and cracks in sharp shards instead of denting
- Prep
- Chop, then melt in a bowl over barely simmering water and use warm.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free
- Cup for cup on fat, but expect a much harder set: cocoa butter is firm at room temperature where coconut oil is soft.
- Melt it slowly over barely simmering water. Direct heat scorches it and it turns grainy.
- It is more expensive than any other option here, so save it for the recipes where the snap is the point.
If the reason you used coconut oil was to make a chocolate shell set hard, this is a better ingredient for the job, not just a substitute for it.
Not for pan frying or for a soft-textured bake, where it will make things brittle.
Neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
completely neutral, so the coconut note vanishes
The same 100% fat but liquid at every kitchen temperature, so it is an exact swap in a batter and a complete failure in anything that has to set.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil, measured liquid for 1 cup coconut oil
- Best for
- cakes, muffins, brownies and breads that call for melted coconut oil, frying and sauteing, where it has more heat headroom than coconut oil does, when you want the coconut flavour gone entirely
- Texture
- in a bake, identical or slightly softer; in anything chilled, soft and oozing instead of sliceable
- Look
- a no-bake slice made with oil sags at the cut edge and leaks a shine of fat onto the plate rather than holding a clean face
- Prep
- Pour and use; there is nothing to melt.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup where the recipe melted the coconut oil anyway. Measure the coconut oil's replacement liquid, not solid.
- Never use it in a no-bake bar, a freezer fudge, a chocolate shell or granola clusters. There is nothing to go hard, so the mixture stays soft and greasy.
- If the coconut flavour mattered, add ¼ tsp coconut extract or 2-3 tbsp desiccated coconut per cup of fat.
This is the swap most people make and the one that ruins the most recipes, because both fats measure the same and only one of them goes hard.
Only where the coconut oil was going to be melted and mixed. Never where the dish has to firm up.
Olive oil
fruity and peppery instead of sweetly tropical
A liquid fat with a flavour of its own, so it swaps the coconut note for a fruity, peppery one rather than removing flavour altogether.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Setting & gelling — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup olive oil, light or refined for baking and extra virgin for savoury food for 1 cup coconut oil
- Best for
- savoury cooking: curries, stir-fries, roasted vegetables, savoury flatbreads and focaccia, when you want a flavour in the dish, just not a coconut one
- Taste
- fruity and peppery instead of sweetly tropical, which suits savoury food and fights sweet food
- Texture
- stays liquid, so nothing chilled will set
- Look
- batters and sauces take on a green-gold cast rather than staying white
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup. Choose light or refined olive oil for baking and extra virgin for savoury food.
- Keep the pan below about 375F (190C) with extra virgin, which is a lower ceiling than refined coconut oil's 400F.
- Do not use it in a sweet no-bake recipe: it stays liquid, and the olive flavour clashes with chocolate and dates.
In a coconut curry this is a reasonable trade, since the coconut milk is carrying most of the flavour anyway. In a raw slice it is the wrong ingredient twice over.
Savoury cooking and savoury baking only, and never where the dish must set.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- No-bake bars, freezer fudge, raw slices, granola clusters, or a chocolate shell, using any liquid oil.Use butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup, vegetable or palm shortening cup for cup, or cocoa butter cup for cup for a genuine snap.
- Adding butter, margarine or vegan butter to melted chocolate for a coating or magic shell.Use cocoa butter, or plain shortening, both of which are water-free. If you have already seized the chocolate, see the rescue note below.
- Deep frying in virgin or unrefined coconut oil, or replacing coconut oil with butter for frying.Use refined coconut oil (about 400F / 205C) or any refined neutral oil (400-450F / 205-230C).
- Vegan pastry or scones in a kitchen above about 76F, whatever fat you use.Chill the fat, the flour and the water, work quickly, and rest the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling. If the kitchen is genuinely hot, use shortening rather than coconut oil, since it stays solid to about 117F (47C).
Safety
1 note- Allergen
Coconut is a common allergen in its own right, and it hides in the substitutes: most vegan butter blocks are built on coconut oil, so read the label if you are avoiding it. Butter and ghee are dairy, and palm shortening or plain vegetable shortening are the options that are free of both coconut and dairy.
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The no-bake bars never set and are still soft after hours in the fridge.The fat used in place of the coconut oil stays liquid at fridge temperature.Move the tray to the freezer and cut and serve the bars straight from there; they will hold for a few minutes on a plate. To fix the batch properly, gently rewarm the mixture, stir in ¼ cup melted cocoa butter or shortening per 8-inch pan, and chill again.
- The melted chocolate turned thick and grainy when you stirred the fat in.Water in the butter, margarine or vegan butter seized the chocolate.It will not go back to a coating, but you can rescue it as a sauce: stir in warm cream or milk a tablespoon at a time until it is smooth again. For a shell, start over with cocoa butter or plain shortening.
- The batter has hard white specks in it.Melted coconut oil or another melted solid fat hit cold eggs or milk and set on contact.Set the bowl over a pan of warm water and whisk for a minute until the specks melt back in. Next time bring the cold ingredients to room temperature first.
- The vegan pastry is greasy and there are no flakes.The fat was above 76F, so it was liquid and coated the flour instead of staying in solid pieces.Chill the dough hard for 45 minutes and roll it between two sheets of paper. For the next batch, use shortening and freeze the cubes for 10 minutes first.
Measure it
8 measures- 1 cup coconut oilabout 218 g (1 tbsp is about 13.6 g)
- Melting point76F (24C)The single most important number on this page. Above it, coconut oil is an oil. Below it, it is a solid fat.
- Coconut oil composition100% fat, no waterButter, margarine and vegan butter are about 80% fat, which is where the extra 2 tbsp per cup comes from.
- Coconut oil to butter1 cup coconut oil = 1 cup + 2 tbsp butterIn reverse, 1 cup butter = 1 cup coconut oil + 2 tbsp water or milk.
- Solid to solidcoconut oil, shortening, palm shortening, lard and cocoa butter all swap cup for cupAll are 100% fat, so only flavour and melting point change.
- Measuringmelt it and measure liquid if the recipe says melted; scoop it packed and level if the recipe says solidSolid coconut oil traps air, so a scooped cup and a melted cup are not the same amount of fat.
- Smoke pointrefined coconut oil about 400F (205C); virgin coconut oil about 350F (175C)Refined is the one to fry in, and it also has almost no coconut flavour.
- Other melting pointscocoa butter 93-100F (34-38C); shortening about 117F (47C); butter 90-95F (32-35C)Cocoa butter is why chocolate snaps at room temperature and a coconut oil shell does not.
Questions
8 questionsWhat is the best substitute for coconut oil?
It depends on whether the fat has to go hard. For no-bake bars, freezer fudge or a chocolate shell, use butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup, or vegetable shortening or cocoa butter cup for cup, because those are the only ones that set. For a cake, muffin or pan of vegetables, where the coconut oil was simply melted, any neutral oil works cup for cup.
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil, and how much?
Yes. Use 1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter per cup of coconut oil, because butter is about 80% fat while coconut oil is 100%. It will set a chilled dessert, though less firmly, and it will taste dairy-rich rather than tropical. The one place butter must not go is into melted chocolate for a coating, where its water will make the chocolate seize.
Can I use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil?
Cup for cup, and invisibly, as long as the recipe melted the coconut oil anyway. In anything that has to firm up - a no-bake slice, freezer fudge, granola clusters, a magic shell - it will fail, because coconut oil is solid below 76F (24C) and vegetable oil never is. That difference, not the ratio, is what decides whether the swap works.
What is the difference between refined and virgin coconut oil?
Virgin or unrefined coconut oil is pressed from fresh coconut and keeps a clear coconut smell and taste that survives baking, and it starts to break down at about 350F (175C). Refined coconut oil has been processed until it is nearly flavourless and holds to about 400F (205C). Both melt at the same 76F (24C) and behave identically in structure, so choose by flavour and by how hot the pan will get.
What can I use instead of coconut oil in a no-bake recipe?
Only another fat that is solid in the fridge. Cocoa butter cup for cup gives the cleanest snap; vegetable or palm shortening cup for cup gives a firm, stable set that survives a warm room; butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup sets softer but tastes best. Any liquid oil, including olive or canola, will leave the mixture soft and greasy no matter how long you chill it.
Is there a coconut-free and dairy-free substitute for coconut oil?
Palm shortening or plain vegetable shortening, cup for cup. Both are 100% fat, solid at room temperature and free of coconut and dairy. Be careful with vegan butter blocks, because most of them are built on coconut oil, which makes them useless if coconut is the thing you are avoiding.
How do I keep the coconut flavour if I change the fat?
Add it back separately. Per cup of fat, use ¼ tsp coconut extract, or 2-3 tbsp desiccated or shredded coconut, or 2 tbsp coconut cream stirred into the wet ingredients. That way you can pick the fat for what the recipe needs structurally and treat the coconut flavour as a seasoning.
Why did my melted coconut oil turn into hard white specks in the batter?
It hit cold ingredients. Coconut oil solidifies at 76F (24C), so pouring it onto fridge-cold eggs, milk or yogurt sets it instantly into flecks that will not blend back in. Set the bowl over a pan of warm water and whisk for a minute to fix it, and bring the cold ingredients to room temperature first next time.
Tips for substituting coconut oil
10 tips- Coconut oil melts at 76F (24C), which is the whole reason it behaves oddly. Above that it is an oil; below it, it is a solid fat, and half the swaps on this page depend on which side of it you are on.
- If the recipe needs the fat to go hard - no-bake bars, freezer fudge, chocolate shell, granola clusters - use butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup, shortening cup for cup, or cocoa butter cup for cup for a real snap. A liquid oil will never set.
- If the recipe just melts the coconut oil into a batter, any neutral oil is a cup-for-cup swap and nothing else changes.
- Butter is only about 80% fat while coconut oil is 100%, which is where the extra 2 tbsp per cup comes from. The same correction covers margarine and vegan butter.
- Never add butter, margarine or vegan butter to melted chocolate for a coating: their water content makes chocolate seize into a grainy paste. Use cocoa butter or plain shortening.
- Refined coconut oil is neutral and holds to about 400F (205C). Virgin or unrefined coconut oil tastes clearly of coconut and only reaches about 350F (175C), so it is the wrong one for frying.
- Melt it and measure it liquid when the recipe says melted, and scoop it packed and level when the recipe says solid. A scooped cup of the soft solid traps air and is not the same amount of fat.
- To keep the coconut flavour after swapping the fat, add ¼ tsp coconut extract or 2-3 tbsp desiccated coconut per cup of fat, or stir in 2 tbsp coconut cream.
- Melted coconut oil hitting cold eggs or milk will seize into hard white specks. Bring the cold ingredients to room temperature first.
- 1 cup coconut oil is about 218 g, and 1 tbsp about 13.6 g, which is worth knowing because scooping the solid form is inaccurate.