Lard substitute

Best substitute

Vegetable Shortening

Use 1 cup for every cup of lard

Best for pastry and biscuits, when you want the flake without the pork

Needs a tweakLikely in your cupboard

For pastry and anything that has to be flaky, use vegetable shortening cup for cup: it is the only common fat that is also 100% fat and solid. For tortillas, tamales and refried beans, where the pork flavour is half the point, bacon drippings or beef tallow get you closer than any vegetable fat will.

Other lard substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Butter
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup + 2 tbsp for every cup of lard
Only about 80% fat with 16-18% water, so it needs the extra 2 tbsp, and its milk solids brown in a way lard's do not because lard has none.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardvegetarian
Best for
sweet pastry where you want a dairy flavour instead of a savoury one, biscuits and scones you want deeply golden on top, when the lard was only there because the recipe is old
Taste
rich, dairy
Texture
tender, less flaky
Covers
Fat & richness
Aeration
Browning & colour
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Prep. Cube it and freeze 10 minutes before cutting into flour.
Lard's flakiness comes from large fat crystals that butter does not have, so an all-butter crust is tender and delicious but will not shatter in layers the way a lard crust does.
3Bacon Drippings
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of lard
Rendered pork fat that has been in a pan with salt and smoke, which makes it lard with the volume turned up rather than a different ingredient.
What changes
dairy-freegluten-free
Best for
refried beans, greens and cornbread, where you want more pork flavour rather than less, savoury pastry and hot-water crust, frying eggs, potatoes and anything you would happily eat with bacon
Taste
smoky, salty, porky
Texture
similar
Covers
Fat & richness
Aroma & flavour identity
Browning & colour
Prep. Melt, strain through a fine sieve or coffee filter, then chill until solid before using in pastry.
If you have a jar in the fridge, this is the cheapest and closest swap for savoury lard recipes. It is still pork, so it is not a route for anyone avoiding pork.
4Beef Tallow
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of lard
Rendered beef fat, also 100% fat and solid, and firmer than lard because it melts higher, at roughly 113-118F (45-48C).
What changes
dairy-freegluten-free
Best for
deep frying, since it holds to about 400F (205C), savoury pastry and hot-water crust pies, roast potatoes and anything you want genuinely crisp
Taste
beefy, clean
Texture
crisper, firmer
Covers
Fat & richness
Aroma & flavour identity
Aeration
Browning & colour
Prep. Let it sit 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting it into flour.
The obvious choice if you avoid pork but not meat. Sold as tallow, beef tallow or dripping.
5Vegan Butter Block
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup + 2 tbsp for every cup of lard
A plant-based block built to about 79-80% fat, so it needs the same 2 tbsp correction as butter and it whips well enough for tamale masa.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
vegan tamales and vegan tortillas, vegan pastry that still needs a fat you can keep cold, when you want some richness back after removing the pork
Taste
buttery, mild
Texture
tender, fine layers
Covers
Fat & richness
Aeration
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Prep. Chill 20 minutes, then cube or whip as the recipe needs.
For tamale masa specifically, this whips better than coconut oil does, which is what keeps the masa light.
6Duck Fat
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of lard
Rendered poultry fat, 100% fat but distinctly soft and almost spreadable at room temperature, with a rich savoury flavour of its own.
What changes
Special tripdairy-freegluten-free
Best for
roast potatoes and confit, where crisp savoury fat is the whole point, frying and sauteing in place of lard, enriching a savoury dough where you want a luxurious flavour
Taste
rich, savoury
Texture
short, very crisp when fried
Covers
Fat & richness
Aroma & flavour identity
Browning & colour
Misses
Aeration — not covered
Prep. Freeze 15 minutes before cutting into flour; use it warm and liquid for roasting.
It costs several times what lard does, so save it for the dishes where you will actually taste it rather than using it as a general baking fat.
7Neutral Oil (canola or vegetable)
You'll taste it
Use 1 cup for every cup of lard
The same 100% fat as lard, so the amount is right, but liquid, which makes it the wrong physical state for pastry, biscuits and tamale masa.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
frying, where it has more headroom than lard at 400-450F (205-230C), sauteing and softening vegetables, refried beans, if you accept a much plainer pot
Taste
neutral
Texture
sandy in pastry
Covers
Fat & richness
Browning & colour
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Prep. Nothing to do: pour and use.
This is the swap that most often disappoints, and never because of the ratio. It is the state of the fat, liquid rather than solid, that fails.
8Coconut Oil (refined, solid)
You'll taste it
Use 1 cup for every cup of lard
A 100% fat that is solid in a cool kitchen and liquid at 76F (24C), so it can stand in for lard's solidity only if you keep everything cold.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
vegan tortillas and vegan pastry in a cool kitchen, when you need a solid fat, avoid pork and have no shortening, recipes you want to set firm once chilled
Taste
neutral if refined
Texture
brittle, short
Covers
Fat & richness
Misses
Aroma & flavour identity — not covered
Aeration — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Scoop it solid and packed; do not melt it first for pastry.
In tamale masa it whips less well than shortening or a vegan butter block, so the masa comes out denser.

Check your case

Is the lard here for the flakiness, for the flavour, or just as frying fat?

Pie crust, biscuits, empanadas or any pastry you want in visible layers.
You need another 100% fat solid. Vegetable shortening is the closest match cup for cup; butter tastes better but is only 80% fat so needs 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup. Half butter and half shortening is the crust most bakers end up preferring. There is more on this at pie crust and biscuits.
Jump to Vegetable Shortening or Butter
Tortillas, tamale masa, empanada dough or refried beans, where the lard is a flavour as much as a fat.
A neutral vegetable fat will work mechanically and the dish will taste noticeably plainer. Bacon drippings or beef tallow keep the savoury note; refined coconut oil or a vegan butter block are the vegetarian route, and worth seasoning a little more heavily to compensate. See tortillas, tamales and refried beans.
Jump to Bacon Drippings, Beef Tallow or Coconut Oil (refined, solid)
Frying: chicken, doughnuts, carnitas, chips.
Any fat with enough headroom above your target temperature works. Beef tallow (about 400F / 205C) and refined neutral oils (400-450F / 205-230C) both have more room than lard's 370F. More at frying.
Jump to Beef Tallow or Neutral Oil (canola or vegetable)
Sauteing, greasing a tin, or enriching a bread dough.
Here the lard is only a fat and almost anything will do, including plain oil. This is the one set of uses where you do not need to think about melting points at all.

Decide first whether the lard is doing the flakiness, the flavour, or just carrying heat. For flakiness you need another 100% fat solid, which means shortening cup for cup or butter plus 2 tbsp. For flavour, only another animal fat gets close. For frying, any fat with headroom above your target temperature will do.

Don’t substitute lard here

When to keep looking rather than swap

Pie crust, biscuits or empanada dough, with oil as the only fat you have.
Lard's flakiness is large solid fat crystals sitting in sheets between layers of dough until the oven melts them. Liquid fat coats every flour particle instead, so there are no sheets and no layers.
Instead. Use vegetable shortening cup for cup, or butter at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup. If you have neither, make a crumble or a soda bread today, both of which are fine with oil.
Deep frying, with butter or margarine as the swap.
Both are 16-20% water, which spatters violently in hot fat, and butter's milk solids blacken at about 300F (150C), well below lard's 370F working range.
Instead. Use beef tallow (about 400F / 205C) or a refined neutral oil (400-450F / 205-230C).
Tamale masa, using oil.
Masa is made light by whipping a solid fat until it is fluffy and then beating it into the dough. Oil cannot hold air, so the tamales steam dense and heavy.
Instead. Whip vegetable shortening or a vegan butter block instead, for 3-5 minutes until it looks pale and fluffy, then beat in the masa harina.
Carnitas, confit or anything slow-cooked submerged in the fat, where the pork flavour is the dish.
In these recipes the lard is the cooking medium and the seasoning at the same time. A neutral vegetable fat gives you the texture with none of the taste.
Instead. Use bacon drippings or duck fat if you eat animal fat. If you do not, cook the meat differently rather than pretending the swap is equivalent, and season more heavily.

What is Lard?

Lard is rendered pork fat, sold as a soft white solid that is 100% fat with no water, and it holds to about 370F (188C) in a pan.

Cooking tips

Vegetable shortening is the closest cup-for-cup swap, because like lard it is 100% fat, solid and flavourless. Butter is only 80% fat, so use 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup of lard.
Lard makes flakier pastry than butter because its fat crystals are larger and stay in sheets. Half butter and half shortening is the usual compromise: flavour from one, flake from the other.
For tortillas, tamales and refried beans, the pork flavour is half the recipe. Bacon drippings or beef tallow keep it; a neutral vegetable fat does not, so add about 1/4 tsp more salt per cup of fat and a bay leaf or a pinch of cumin.
Tamale masa gets its lightness from whipping the solid fat for 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy before the masa goes in. Oil cannot hold air, so it makes the tamales dense.
For frying, lard holds to about 370F (188C). Beef tallow reaches about 400F and refined neutral oils 400-450F, so both give you more headroom. Butter, at about 300F, does not.
Leaf lard, rendered from the fat around the kidneys, is mild and nearly neutral and is the one to use for sweet pastry. Ordinary rendered lard carries a faint savoury note.
Keep lard and any lard substitute cold for pastry. Lard softens from about 95F, sooner than shortening at 117F, so lard doughs are worked quickly.
1 cup lard is about 205 g, and 1 tbsp about 12.8 g, which is useful because lard is soft enough to be awkward to measure by volume.
Lard is also sold and searched for as manteca, rendered pork fat or leaf lard, and all of those behave the same way in a recipe.
Some shelf-stable supermarket lard is hydrogenated so it keeps in the cupboard; refrigerated or butcher-rendered lard is not. Read the label if you care which you are buying.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for lard?

It depends on the job. For pastry and anything that must be flaky, vegetable shortening cup for cup, because it is the other common 100% fat solid. For tortillas, tamales or refried beans, where the pork flavour carries the dish, bacon drippings or beef tallow get you far closer. For frying, beef tallow or a refined neutral oil, both of which have more heat headroom than lard's 370F (188C).

Can I substitute butter for lard in pie crust?

Yes, but use 1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter per cup of lard, because butter is only about 80% fat while lard is 100%. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling. The crust will taste richer and brown more deeply, but it will be tender rather than flaky in leaves, because lard's larger fat crystals are what make those layers. Half butter and half shortening is the crust most bakers prefer.

What is the difference between lard and shortening?

Both are 100% fat and solid at room temperature, and they swap cup for cup. Lard is rendered pork fat with a faint savoury note, larger fat crystals and a smoke point of about 370F (188C). Shortening is vegetable fat, completely flavourless, and melts higher at about 117F (47C), so it holds its shape a little longer in the oven. Lard makes flakier pastry; shortening keeps cookies taller and is vegetarian.

What can I use instead of lard in tortillas or tamales?

Vegetable shortening is the standard vegetarian swap, cup for cup, and it whips into masa well, which matters because whipped solid fat is what makes tamales light. Refined coconut oil also works if you keep it below 76F (24C). Whichever you choose, the pork flavour goes with the lard, so add about 1/4 tsp more salt per cup of fat and season the filling more assertively.

Can I use oil instead of lard?

For frying and sauteing, yes, cup for cup, and a refined neutral oil actually has more heat headroom. For pie crust, biscuits, empanada dough or tamale masa, no. The problem is not the amount, since both are 100% fat, but the state: liquid fat coats the flour evenly so it cannot form layers, and it cannot be whipped to hold air.

Is lard healthier than butter?

We do not give that verdict. For reference, USDA FoodData Central lists lard at about 39 g saturated fat per 100 g and butter at about 51 g, and lard contains no milk solids or lactose. Which of them suits your diet is a question for you and, if it matters medically, your doctor or dietitian.

Is lard the same as manteca or leaf lard?

Manteca is simply the Spanish word for lard and behaves identically. Leaf lard is a specific grade, rendered from the soft fat around the kidneys, and it is milder and closer to neutral than ordinary rendered back fat, which is why bakers prefer it for sweet pastry. All of them are 100% fat and swap cup for cup with each other.

What is a vegan substitute for lard?

Vegetable shortening cup for cup for pastry and masa, or a vegan butter block at 1 cup plus 2 tbsp per cup if you want some buttery flavour and better whipping for tamales. Refined coconut oil works cup for cup as long as the kitchen and the dough stay below 76F (24C). None of them supplies the savoury note, so season more heavily in beans, tortillas and fillings.

Related substitutes

More oils & fats substitutes

Lard substitute

Other lard substitutes

2Butter

3Bacon Drippings

4Beef Tallow

5Vegan Butter Block

6Duck Fat

7Neutral Oil (canola or vegetable)

8Coconut Oil (refined, solid)