Lard substitutes
Lard substitutes — 8 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called pork lard, rendered pork fat, leaf lard, manteca, pork fat, back fat
Use Vegetable shortening
1 cup for every 1 cup lard
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.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Chill and cube it for pastry, room temperature for whipping into masa.
- Best for —
- pastry and biscuits, when you want the flake without the pork
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the lard doing?
Pick your caseIs the lard here for the flakiness, for the flavour, or just as frying fat?
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 for pie crust and for biscuits.
Notes on vegetable shortening or butter
1 cup per cup
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 for tortillas, for tamales and for refried beans.
Notes on bacon drippings, beef tallow or coconut oil (refined, solid)
1 cup per cup
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 for frying.
Notes on beef tallow or neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
1 cup per cup
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.
Lard is 100% fat with no water, and its fat crystals are large and coarse, which is why it makes flakier pastry than any other common fat: those crystals sit in the dough as sheets and push the layers apart in the oven. In Mexican cooking it is also a flavour, and a savoury one.
Fat & richnessprimary
Coats flour and stays in solid sheets until the oven melts it, which is what turns one layer of dough into visible leaves of pastry.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
Ordinary rendered lard carries a faint savoury pork note, which is what makes a lard tortilla or a pot of refried beans taste the way it is supposed to. Leaf lard, rendered from the fat around the kidneys, is much milder and close to neutral.
Aerationsecondary
Beaten on its own it whips light and holds air, which is the step that makes tamale masa fluffy instead of dense.
Browning & colorsecondary
It holds to about 370F (188C) without breaking down, so it browns and crisps fried chicken, doughnuts and carnitas rather than steaming them.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup lard| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup lard | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegetable shorteningpastry and biscuits, when you want the flake without the pork | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Buttersweet pastry where you want a dairy flavour instead of a savoury one | 1 cup + 2 tbsp butterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Bacon drippingsrefried beans, greens and cornbread, where you want more pork flavour rather than less | 1 cup strained bacon drippingsTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Beef tallowdeep frying, since it holds to about 400F (205C) | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Vegan butter blockvegan tamales and vegan tortillas | 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan butter blockTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Duck fatroast potatoes and confit, where crisp savoury fat is the whole point | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 7 | Neutral oil (canola or vegetable)frying, where it has more headroom than lard at 400-450F (205-230C) | 1 cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 8 | Coconut oil (refined, solid)vegan tortillas and vegan pastry in a cool kitchen | 1 cup, scooped solid and packedYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Vegetable shortening
flatter and completely neutral
The closest structural match on this page: also 100% fat, also solid, also flavourless, and it actually holds its shape a little longer because it melts at about 117F (47C) against lard's roughly 95F.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aeration
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup vegetable shortening for 1 cup lard
- Best for
- pastry and biscuits, when you want the flake without the pork, any vegetarian version of a lard recipe, whipping into tamale masa, which needs a solid fat that holds air
- Taste
- flatter and completely neutral; refried beans and tortillas taste noticeably plainer
- Texture
- very close, and cookies and crusts hold their shape slightly better
- Look
- pastry layers are a little tighter and less puffed than lard's, and everything browns slightly paler
- Prep
- Chill and cube it for pastry, room temperature for whipping into masa.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Cup for cup, with no correction: both are 100% fat with no water.
- In a savoury recipe that leaned on the lard for flavour, such as refried beans or tamales, add about ¼ tsp extra salt per cup of fat and consider a pinch of smoked paprika or a bay leaf to give the dish some backbone.
If you are switching because you avoid pork, this is the swap to make. Sold as vegetable shortening, all-vegetable shortening or Crisco.
It cannot do the savoury half of lard's job. In carnitas or a pot of beans it is a fat, not a flavour.
Butter
clearly dairy, and much richer; in a savoury dish it reads as a different recipe
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aeration
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter for 1 cup lard
- Then
- chill the dough 30 minutes, because butter melts sooner than lard does
- 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
- Texture
- tender and short rather than flaky in leaves; the layers are finer
- Look
- everything browns deeper and more golden than the lard version, and pastry puffs less
- Prep
- Cube it and freeze 10 minutes before cutting into flour.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Add 2 tbsp extra butter per cup of lard, because butter is 80% fat and lard is 100%.
- Chill the dough 30 minutes before rolling. Butter is soft by 90-95F while lard holds a little longer.
- For frying, do not swap in butter at all: its milk solids burn at about 300F (150C), far below lard's 370F.
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.
Never for deep frying. In pastry, half butter and half shortening gets you closer to lard's flake than butter alone.
Bacon drippings
smoky and salty as well as porky, which is more flavour than lard, not less
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Browning & color
- Amount
- 1 cup strained bacon drippings for 1 cup lard
- Then
- strain it warm through a fine sieve so no burnt specks go into the dish
- 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
- Texture
- essentially identical to lard, since it is the same fat
- Look
- a slightly deeper golden colour on pastry and fried food
- Prep
- Melt, strain through a fine sieve or coffee filter, then chill until solid before using in pastry.
- Suits
- dairy-free, gluten-free
- Contains
- pork
- Cup for cup on fat, but cut the recipe's salt by about ¼ tsp per ¼ cup of drippings, because cured bacon fat is salty.
- Strain it while it is still liquid; burnt bits will taste acrid once baked.
- Keep it out of anything sweet. In a fruit pie or a sugar cookie, the smoke is unmistakable.
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.
Savoury only, and taste as you go: it is easy to overshoot the salt.
Beef tallow
beefy and clean rather than porky
Rendered beef fat, also 100% fat and solid, and firmer than lard because it melts higher, at roughly 113-118F (45-48C).
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Aeration
- Browning & color
- Amount
- 1 cup beef tallow for 1 cup lard
- 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 and clean rather than porky; excellent in savoury food, wrong in a sweet pie
- Texture
- crisper crusts and crisper fried surfaces, with a firmer mouthfeel
- Look
- fried food comes out a shade darker with a harder, glassier crust
- Prep
- Let it sit 10 minutes at room temperature before cutting it into flour.
- Suits
- dairy-free, gluten-free
- Contains
- beef
- Cup for cup: both are 100% fat.
- Warm it slightly before working it into a dough. Straight from the fridge it is harder than lard and will tear the pastry rather than smear into sheets.
- It sets firm as it cools, so serve tallow-fried food hot. Cold, it can feel waxy on the palate.
The obvious choice if you avoid pork but not meat. Sold as tallow, beef tallow or dripping.
Savoury cooking and frying. Not for sweet pastry, and not for anything eaten cold.
Vegan butter block
buttery and mildly sweet where the lard was savoury
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aeration
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp vegan butter block for 1 cup lard
- Then
- chill it 20 minutes before working it into flour or masa
- 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
- Texture
- close to a butter dough: tender, with finer layers than lard gives
- Look
- browns more than shortening, so tortillas and pastry come out more golden
- Prep
- Chill 20 minutes, then cube or whip as the recipe needs.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Add 2 tbsp per cup, because it is about 80% fat and lard is 100%.
- Buy the foil-wrapped block, not the tub spread, which is too soft and too wet.
- It is salted, so cut the recipe's added salt by about ¼ tsp per ½ cup used.
For tamale masa specifically, this whips better than coconut oil does, which is what keeps the masa light.
Not for deep frying, since it contains water and will spatter.
Duck fat
richer and more savoury than lard, with a clear poultry note
Rendered poultry fat, 100% fat but distinctly soft and almost spreadable at room temperature, with a rich savoury flavour of its own.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aeration — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup duck fat for 1 cup lard
- Then
- chill it hard before using it in pastry, because it is much softer than lard at room temperature
- 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
- Texture
- shorter and more tender than flaky in pastry; superb crisping on roasted vegetables
- Look
- roast potatoes come out darker and glossier than they would in lard
- Prep
- Freeze 15 minutes before cutting into flour; use it warm and liquid for roasting.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- dairy-free, gluten-free
- Contains
- poultry
- Cup for cup on fat, no correction needed.
- Chill it to fridge-hard before cutting it into flour, and work fast. Soft fat smears instead of staying in sheets.
- It is less firm than lard, so a dough made with it needs 20 minutes in the fridge before rolling.
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.
Not for flaky pastry, where it is too soft to hold layers, and not for sweet baking.
Neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
completely neutral, so any dish that relied on the pork flavour tastes flat
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup neutral oil for 1 cup lard
- 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
- Texture
- in pastry, sandy and dense with no layers; in masa, heavy and pasty
- Look
- a crust made with oil bakes solid and pale rather than puffing into leaves
- Prep
- Nothing to do: pour and use.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Cup for cup on fat. The amount is not the problem.
- Do not use it in pastry, biscuits or tamale masa. Liquid fat coats the flour evenly instead of staying in sheets, and it cannot be whipped to hold air.
- In refried beans, compensate with about ¼ tsp more salt per cup of fat plus a bay leaf or a little cumin, or the pot will taste thin.
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.
For frying and sauteing only. Never for pie crust, biscuits, empanada dough or tamale masa.
Coconut oil (refined, solid)
neutral if refined, clearly coconut if virgin
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.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Aeration — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup refined coconut oil, scooped solid and packed for 1 cup lard
- Then
- keep it and the dough below 76F (24C), or it will turn to oil in your hands
- 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, clearly coconut if virgin; either way the savoury note is gone
- Texture
- brittle and short rather than flaky, and noticeably harder straight from the fridge
- Look
- tortillas and pastry come out paler, and chilled doughs look and feel firmer than the lard version
- Prep
- Scoop it solid and packed; do not melt it first for pastry.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- coconut
- Cup for cup on fat, since both are 100% fat.
- Buy refined coconut oil, not virgin, unless you want the dish to taste of coconut. Virgin coconut oil also smokes at about 350F (175C), below lard's 370F.
- Chill the fat, the flour and the water, and work quickly. Above 76F there is nothing solid left to make layers.
In tamale masa it whips less well than shortening or a vegan butter block, so the masa comes out denser.
Only useful below about 76F. In a warm kitchen treat it as oil, with all of oil's limitations.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- Pie crust, biscuits or empanada dough, with oil as the only fat you have.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.Use beef tallow (about 400F / 205C) or a refined neutral oil (400-450F / 205-230C).
- Tamale masa, using oil.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.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.
Safety
2 notes- Allergen
Lard is pork and bacon drippings are pork, so neither suits anyone avoiding pork on religious or dietary grounds. Beef tallow is beef, duck fat is poultry, butter is dairy, and coconut oil is a coconut product. Vegetable shortening is the substitution that clears all of those at once.
- Diet
Some shelf-stable supermarket lard is hydrogenated so that it keeps at room temperature. If that matters to you, read the ingredient list, or buy refrigerated rendered lard or leaf lard from a butcher.
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The pie crust you made with oil instead of lard came out hard, dense and pale.Liquid fat coated the flour evenly, so there were no solid sheets of fat to become layers.A baked crust cannot be re-flaked. Next time use shortening or butter, cube it, freeze it 10 minutes, and stop mixing while pea-sized lumps of fat are still visible.
- The tamales came out dense and heavy instead of light.The fat was liquid, or the solid fat was not whipped long enough before the masa went in.For the next batch, whip the shortening or vegan butter block on its own for 3-5 minutes until it is visibly pale and fluffy, then beat in the masa a third at a time.
- The refried beans taste flat and watery after switching to oil.The pork flavour was doing more of the work than the fat was.Add ¼ tsp salt per cup of fat used, a bay leaf, and a pinch of cumin, then simmer 10 minutes more to reduce and concentrate. Mashing more of the beans also thickens and deepens the pot.
- The dough tore and cracked when you rolled it after swapping in tallow.Tallow melts higher than lard, so straight from the fridge it is harder and less pliable.Let the dough sit at room temperature 10-15 minutes, then roll. Patch cracks by pressing them together rather than adding water.
Measure it
8 measures- 1 cup lardabout 205 g (1 tbsp is about 12.8 g)
- Lard composition100% fat, no water, no milk solidsWhich is why butter and margarine need an extra 2 tbsp per cup while shortening, tallow and coconut oil do not.
- Lard to butter1 cup lard = 1 cup + 2 tbsp butterThe same correction works in reverse: 1 cup butter = 1 cup lard + 2 tbsp water or milk.
- Lard, shortening and tallowall cup for cup with each otherAll three are 100% fat and solid, so only flavour and melting point change.
- Smoke pointlard about 370F (188C); beef tallow about 400F (205C); refined neutral oil 400-450F (205-230C); butter about 300F (150C)For frying, this is the only number that matters.
- Melting pointlard softens from about 95F (35C); shortening about 117F (47C); tallow about 113-118F (45-48C); coconut oil 76F (24C)Lard is softer at room temperature than shortening, which is why lard doughs are worked cold and quickly.
- Leaf lard vs ordinary lardleaf lard is rendered from the fat around the kidneys and is mild; ordinary rendered back fat has a faint savoury pork noteUse leaf lard for sweet pastry and ordinary lard where a savoury note is welcome.
- Saturated fatlard about 39 g per 100 g; butter about 51 g per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central)Stated for reference only. This page does not offer a verdict on which fat is better for you.
Questions
8 questionsWhat 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 ¼ 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.
Tips for substituting lard
10 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 ¼ 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.