Soybean oil substitutes

The closest match on every axis: equally neutral, similar thin body, similar smoke point in the 200 to 230C range, similar price. Cakes, batters, dressings, stir-fries and deep frying all behave identically, and in a blind taste there is nothing to separate them. Canola is very slightly less stable over repeated deep-frying sessions, so a fryer full of it will need changing a little sooner, but for any single recipe this is a straight one-for-one swap.

Best for

baking, deep frying, sauteing, dressings, mayonnaise, any general use

Rapeseed oil sold in the UK and Europe is the same crop and works the same way. Cold-pressed rapeseed is a different, grassier product and does have flavour.

Worth putting near the top because the answer is often already in your cupboard. Vegetable oil is a category rather than a single oil, and in North America the bottle usually contains soybean oil, sometimes blended with canola. So swapping one for the other is frequently swapping a product for itself. Absolutely no adjustment needed anywhere, in any recipe.

Best for

everything soybean oil is used for

If you are avoiding soy, read the label rather than trusting the word vegetable, because that bottle is very likely soy.

Both are clean, pale, neutral oils that behave like soybean oil in every application, and both are the default vegetable oil in large parts of Europe and the Middle East. High-oleic versions are more heat-stable than soybean oil and are the better pick if you plan to reuse frying oil. Regular versions are marginally more prone to going off, so buy a size you will finish. In baking the difference is undetectable.

Best for

frying, baking, roasting, dressings, soy-free cooking

These are the natural choice if you are replacing soybean oil for allergy reasons, since neither is a common allergen.

A solid swap with a slightly bigger personality. Corn oil is a touch heavier in the mouth than soybean oil and has a faint sweetness that is invisible in fried food and just detectable in a plain cake or a bare vinaigrette. Its smoke point is high, around 230C, and it is stable in a deep fryer, so it is a good pick for doughnuts, fried chicken and popcorn. In cornbread it is arguably an upgrade.

Best for

deep frying, cornbread, popcorn, fried fish, baking

The faint sweetness only matters in something delicate. If you are making a very plain vanilla cake, canola is the safer choice.

A good swap that most people do not think of, because light olive oil has been refined to strip out the colour and the bitterness, leaving a mild oil with a high smoke point. In a cake or muffin it contributes only the faintest fruitiness, and in shallow frying and roasting it is excellent. Use light or the plain-labelled pure olive oil rather than extra virgin, because extra virgin is peppery and bitter enough to change the taste of a sponge and turns harsh at frying heat.

Best for

baking, roasting, shallow frying, sauteing, mayonnaise

Light olive oil refers to flavour and colour, not calories. It has the same fat and energy as any other oil.

Not a like-for-like swap but often a delicious one in muffins, quick breads and brownies. Butter is fifteen to twenty percent water, so measure a little extra to keep the fat content right, and expect three changes: the bake tastes richer and faintly nutty, the crust browns more because of the milk sugars, and the crumb is a shade firmer and less moist on day two, since oil keeps cakes soft longer than butter does. Do not use butter for frying at high heat, because the milk solids burn.

Best for

muffins, quick breads, brownies, cookies, cakes

Cool the melted butter slightly before mixing into a batter with eggs, or you will start cooking them.