Out of Olive oil, one case
Can you substitute butter for olive oil?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Melted butter
1 ¼ cups for every cup of olive oil
Yes, for cooking over medium heat and for baking. Use 1 ¼ cups melted butter for each cup of olive oil, because butter is only about 80% fat. For a tablespoon or two in a pan, the same amount of butter is close enough. Butter burns at a lower temperature than olive oil and sets firm when cold, so it does not suit high heat, vinaigrette or anything served chilled.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- The tweak —
- Melt it gently and measure it melted. Keep the pan at medium heat or below, and if the butter is salted, cut the recipe's salt by about ¼ tsp per stick.
- Best for —
- sauteing onions, mushrooms, eggs or fish over medium heat
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full olive oil card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup olive oil | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melted buttersauteing onions, mushrooms, eggs or fish over medium heat | 1 ¼ cupsYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Ghee (clarified butter)searing and pan-frying | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Canola oilhigh-heat cooking | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Avocado oilvinaigrettes and marinades | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Butter, in dressings and cold dishes | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Melted butter
dairy-rich in place of fruity and peppery
Butter is about 80% fat, with the rest water and milk solids, so it takes a quarter more to supply the same fat. The milk solids brown and then burn well before olive oil would smoke.
- Best for
- sauteing onions, mushrooms, eggs or fish over medium heat, cakes, muffins and brownies that call for olive oil, tossing with hot pasta or cooked vegetables
- Prep
- Melt it gently and measure it melted. Keep the pan at medium heat or below, and if the butter is salted, cut the recipe's salt by about ¼ tsp per stick.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- High-heat searing, roasting at 425°F and above, deep frying, vinaigrette, marinades, and anything served cold, where butter sets solid.
Per ¼ cup olive oil, use 5 tbsp butter. Per ½ cup, use 10 tbsp, which is 1 stick plus 2 tbsp.
Ghee (clarified butter)
nutty and buttery
Ghee is butter with the water and milk solids removed. It is close to pure fat, so it swaps cup for cup, and it takes high heat that would burn butter.
- Best for
- searing and pan-frying, roasting vegetables and potatoes, when you want a buttery taste at high heat
- Prep
- Warm it until liquid, then measure.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Dressings and cold dishes, because it firms up as it cools.
Canola oil
neutral; the olive flavor is gone
If the dish needs a liquid oil and the butter flavor is not what you want, a neutral oil is the simpler swap. It behaves like olive oil in a pan and in a batter.
- Best for
- high-heat cooking, marinades, baking where the fat should stay liquid
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Where it fails
- Raw uses where the olive oil was the flavor: dipping bread, finishing soup, pesto.
Avocado oil
mild and slightly buttery
Refined avocado oil stays liquid when cold and handles high heat, which covers the two things butter cannot do.
- Best for
- vinaigrettes and marinades, searing and roasting, mayonnaise and dips
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Where it fails
- It does not taste of olive, so a dish built on olive oil still tastes plainer.
Butter, in dressings and cold dishes
waxy when cold
Butter is solid at refrigerator temperature and soft-solid at room temperature. It cannot stay pourable the way olive oil does.
- Best for
- nothing here
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Vinaigrette, pasta salad, hummus, pesto, marinades kept in the fridge and oil for dipping bread: the butter sets into firm flecks or a solid layer.
Tips for substituting olive oil
5 tips- Amounts: 1 ¼ cups melted butter per cup of olive oil; 5 tbsp per ¼ cup; 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per tablespoon. For a tablespoon or two in a skillet, an equal amount is fine.
- Keep the burner at medium. When the foam subsides and the butter smells nutty, it is about to brown; add the food then.
- For roasting at 425°F or searing a steak, use ghee, or use a neutral oil and stir in a spoonful of butter at the end for flavor.
- In baking, a cake made with melted butter in place of olive oil is firmer once it cools and dries out sooner. Eat it within a day or two, or warm slices briefly.
- With salted butter, cut the recipe's salt by about ¼ tsp per stick used, and taste before adding more.
Questions
5 questionsHow much butter do I use for ¼ cup of olive oil?
Use 5 tablespoons of butter, melted. That is ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon. The extra makes up for the water in butter, which is only about 80% fat.
Can I use butter in place of olive oil for sauteing?
Yes, over medium heat. Butter suits onions, mushrooms, eggs and fish. Its milk solids burn at a lower temperature than olive oil smokes, so for hard searing use ghee or a neutral oil.
Can I use butter in place of olive oil in baking?
Yes. Use 1 ¼ cups melted butter per cup of olive oil and let it cool slightly before mixing it with eggs. The cake or brownies taste buttery and are a little firmer when cool than the oil version.
Can I use butter in place of olive oil in pasta?
Yes, when the pasta is served hot. Toss it with butter and a splash of pasta water. It is a different dish from one made with olive oil and garlic, and it sets and turns cloudy if served cold as pasta salad.
Is butter dairy-free or vegan like olive oil?
No. Butter and ghee are dairy. If the dish has to stay vegan or dairy-free, use canola, avocado or another plant oil cup for cup.