Out of vegetable oil?

Vegetable Oil substitutes

A refined, flavourless liquid fat, usually pressed from soybeans or sold as a blend of seed oils, that is 100% fat and holds to about 400-450F (205-230C) in a pan.

Use this

Canola Oil

Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil

Straight swapLikely in your cupboardBest for any recipe at all, baking or frying, where you want no flavour of its own

Canola oil is a straight swap, cup for cup, and nobody will be able to tell: it is the same kind of refined, flavourless liquid fat. Sunflower, grapeseed and avocado oil are equally invisible. The swaps that change your dish are the ones with a flavour of their own, like extra virgin olive oil, or a different physical state, like butter or coconut oil.

At a glance

Every vegetable oil substitute on one screen. Tap a name for detail.

Vegetable Oil substitutes compared
#	Substitute	Instead of vegetable oil, use	Result
1	Canola Oil	1 cup per cup	Straight swap
2	Sunflower Oil	1 cup per cup	Straight swap
3	Light (Refined) Olive Oil	1 cup per cup	Needs a tweak
4	Avocado Oil	1 cup per cup	Straight swap
5	Grapeseed Oil	1 cup per cup	Straight swap
6	Peanut Oil	1 cup per cup	Needs a tweak
7	Melted Butter	1 ¼ cups per cup	Needs a tweak
8	Extra Virgin Olive Oil	1 cup per cup	You'll taste it
9	Melted Coconut Oil	1 cup per cup	You'll taste it
10	Unsweetened Applesauce	½ cup per cup	You'll taste it
11	Mashed Ripe Banana	½ cup per cup	You'll taste it
12	Water or Broth	See notes	In a pinch

Every vegetable oil substitute

Ranked, with the exact amount and what changes

1. Canola Oil
Straight swap
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Refined rapeseed oil: the same flavourless liquid fat with the same 400-450F (205-230C) working range, which is why much of what is sold as vegetable oil is partly or wholly this anyway.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
any recipe at all, baking or frying, where you want no flavour of its own, when you want the swap nobody at the table will detect
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Measure and use exactly as the recipe says.
This is the one genuinely invisible swap on the page. If you have canola oil, stop reading and use it.
2. Sunflower Oil
Straight swap
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Another refined seed oil with no flavour and a smoke point around 440F (225C) in its high-oleic form, which covers everything vegetable oil is used for.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
when canola is not in the cupboard but sunflower is, deep frying, where its high smoke point gives comfortable headroom
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Use as-is. Check the label says refined rather than cold-pressed.
Cold-pressed sunflower oil is a different product with a definite seedy flavour and a lower smoke point. The ordinary refined bottle is the one that swaps invisibly.
3. Light (Refined) Olive Oil
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Olive oil that has been refined, which strips out most of the olive flavour and raises the smoke point to about 465F (240C), making it the highest-heat option most kitchens already own.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
baking, when the only oil in the house is olive oil, shallow and deep frying at high temperatures, when you want a very faint fruitiness rather than none
Taste
faintly fruity
Texture
similar
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Use as-is, cup for cup.
Refined olive oil has the highest smoke point of the common household oils, which makes it a better frying oil than most people assume.
4. Avocado Oil
Straight swap
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
A refined fruit oil with the highest smoke point of the lot, roughly 500F (260C), and a mild buttery character that disappears in a bake.
What changes
Special tripveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
searing in a screaming hot pan, where anything else would smoke, when you want a neutral oil that will not break down over a long fry
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Use as-is. Refined, not cold-pressed, for high heat.
Its selling point is heat, not flavour. If nothing in your recipe goes above 400F, canola does the same job for a fraction of the price.
5. Grapeseed Oil
Straight swap
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
A clean, thin, flavourless oil with a smoke point around 420F (215C) and a lighter body than canola, which matters in a dressing and not at all in a cake.
What changes
Special tripveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
vinaigrettes and mayonnaise, where its thin body is an advantage, stir-frying and pan-searing up to about 400F
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Use as-is, cup for cup.
Its light body is the reason restaurant kitchens reach for it in dressings and homemade mayonnaise.
6. Peanut Oil
Needs a tweak
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Refined groundnut oil with a smoke point around 450F (230C) and enough body that it is the traditional choice for deep frying chicken and turkey.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
deep frying, where its stability over a long fry is the point, wok cooking at high heat
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Use as-is. Check the bottle says refined if you are frying.
The reason to choose it is that it holds up over repeated frying better than most seed oils do.
7. Melted Butter
Needs a tweak
Use 1 ¼ cups for every cup of vegetable oil
Only about 80% fat, so you need a quarter more of it, and it brings milk solids that brown and a dairy flavour the oil was not providing.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardvegetarian
Best for
brownies, muffins and quick breads you want to taste richer, when the oil has run out but there is butter in the fridge, shallow frying at moderate heat where you want a buttery flavour
Taste
rich, dairy
Texture
firmer when cold
Covers
Fat & richness
Browning & colour
Misses
Moisture & hydration — not covered
Prep. Melt, then let it stand 5 minutes so it is warm rather than hot.
The one real trade-off is fridge texture. Oil stays liquid at 40F while butter goes hard, which is exactly why oil cakes still taste soft on day three.
8. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
You'll taste it
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Unrefined olive juice as well as oil, so it carries a peppery, grassy, sometimes bitter flavour and a smoke point of about 375-405F (190-207C), lower than refined oils but higher than most home cooking needs.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
savoury cooking of any kind, where the olive flavour is welcome, dressings, marinades and anything raw, chocolate, citrus or olive oil cakes, where the flavour is the point
Taste
fruity, peppery
Texture
similar
Covers
Fat & richness
Moisture & hydration
Browning & colour
Prep. Taste a drop first, so you know how strong the oil you are about to bake with is.
The old claim that extra virgin olive oil cannot be cooked with is overstated. It handles ordinary sauteing and roasting fine; what it cannot do is deep frying, and it will not hide in a plain cake.
9. Melted Coconut Oil
You'll taste it
Use 1 cup for every cup of vegetable oil
A 100% fat that is liquid above 76F (24C) and solid below it, which means it measures like oil and behaves like a solid fat once the dish cools.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
vegan bakes where you want a firmer, crisper result, granola and anything you want to set crunchy as it cools, when it is the only oil in the cupboard
Taste
neutral if refined
Texture
firmer when cool
Covers
Fat & richness
Browning & colour
Misses
Moisture & hydration — not covered
Prep. Melt gently, cool to just warm, and add to room-temperature wet ingredients.
The 76F melting point is the catch that surprises people: the batter behaves like an oil batter and the finished cake behaves like a butter cake.
10. Unsweetened Applesauce
You'll taste it
Use ½ cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Water, sugar and pectin with no fat at all, which is why it can add wetness to a batter and cannot do the tenderising the oil was doing.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
halving the fat in a muffin, spice cake or quick bread, bakes where a damper, denser crumb is acceptable
Taste
faintly fruity
Texture
wetter, gummier
Covers
Moisture & hydration
Misses
Fat & richness — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Whisk it into the wet ingredients with the remaining oil.
The reason all-applesauce bakes disappoint is not moisture but tenderness: with no fat coating the flour, the gluten develops fully and the crumb goes tough.
11. Mashed Ripe Banana
You'll taste it
Use ½ cup for every cup of vegetable oil
Roughly as wet as applesauce, with a flavour there is no hiding, so it works where banana belongs and nowhere else.
What changes
veganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
banana bread, spice muffins and oat bakes where banana suits the flavour, using up overripe bananas while cutting some of the fat
Taste
banana, sweeter
Texture
dense, sticky
Covers
Moisture & hydration
Misses
Fat & richness — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Mash with a fork until no lumps remain, then whisk into the wet ingredients.
Banana browns the crumb as well as flavouring it, so a pale vanilla cake made this way will not look like the picture in the recipe.
12. Water or Broth
In a pinch
Not a fat at all, so it cannot brown anything and cannot tenderise a crumb, but it will stop onions catching in a dry pan.
What changes
Likely in your cupboardveganvegetariandairy-free
Best for
softening onions, garlic or greens when there is no fat in the house
Taste
flat, no browning
Texture
steamed, not fried
Covers
Moisture & hydration
Misses
Fat & richness — not covered
Browning & colour — not covered
Prep. Have the water or broth to hand and add a tablespoon whenever the pan looks dry.
Listed here because people search for it. It is a real technique for softening vegetables and nothing more.

Which one for your recipe?

Is the oil going into a batter, or into a hot pan?

Into a cake, muffin, brownie or quick bread batter.
Any refined neutral oil is a straight swap, cup for cup: canola, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, avocado, or light olive oil. Do not use extra virgin olive oil unless you want to taste it, and do not use melted coconut oil straight from a warm jar into a cold batter, because it will set into hard specks. There is more on this at cake and brownies.
Jump to Canola Oil, Sunflower Oil or Light (Refined) Olive Oil
Into a hot pan for frying, searing or deep frying.
The only number that matters is the smoke point. You need headroom above your target: 350-375F for deep frying, higher for a hard sear. Canola, sunflower, grapeseed, peanut and avocado oil all clear it; butter, at about 300F, does not. See frying.
Jump to Canola Oil, Peanut Oil or Avocado Oil
Into a dressing, a marinade or a mayonnaise.
Nothing is being heated, so you can use any oil you like the taste of, including extra virgin olive oil. Avoid coconut oil here: a vinaigrette made with it turns into a solid white block in the fridge.
You want to cut the fat in a bake rather than swap it.
Applesauce or mashed banana can replace half the oil in a muffin or quick bread, using 1/2 cup puree per cup of oil called for. Replacing all of it leaves nothing to coat the flour, and the bake turns tough and rubbery.
Jump to Unsweetened Applesauce or Mashed Ripe Banana
The recipe called for oil and all you have is butter.
Use 1 1/4 cups melted butter per cup of oil, because butter is only 80% fat. The bake will taste better and go firmer in the fridge. See butter.
Jump to Melted Butter

Vegetable oil is a flavourless liquid fat, so the question is only whether your replacement shares those two properties. If it is refined and neutral, it is a straight swap, cup for cup. If it has a flavour of its own, decide whether you want to taste it. If it is solid at room temperature or contains water, you need the corrections on this page.

Don’t substitute vegetable oil here

When to keep looking rather than swap

Deep frying, using extra virgin olive oil, butter or unrefined nut oil.
Extra virgin olive oil starts to break down around 375-405F (190-207C), butter's milk solids blacken at about 300F (150C), and unrefined oils smoke lower still. A smoking pan tastes acrid and fills the kitchen.
Instead: Use a refined oil with headroom above your target temperature: canola, sunflower, peanut, refined olive or avocado oil, all 400F (205C) and up.
Replacing all the oil in a bake with applesauce, banana puree or yogurt.
Oil's main job is coating the flour so the gluten stays short. Take out all the fat and the gluten develops fully, so the bake comes out tough and rubbery, and pale because there is no fat to help it brown.
Instead: Replace at most half the oil, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes.
Using toasted sesame oil, walnut oil, chilli oil or any other finishing oil as the main cooking oil.
These are seasonings, not cooking oils. A single tablespoon of toasted sesame oil will make an entire pan taste of sesame, and their flavours turn harsh and bitter over heat.
Instead: Cook in a neutral oil and add half a teaspoon of the flavoured oil at the very end, off the heat.
Making a vinaigrette or mayonnaise with coconut oil.
Coconut oil is solid below 76F (24C), so the dressing sets into a hard white block in the fridge and the mayonnaise splits when you try to stir it back.
Instead: Use a neutral liquid oil, or olive oil if you want the flavour. Grapeseed oil is the thinnest and easiest to emulsify.

What vegetable oil does in a recipe

Vegetable oil is doing two things and deliberately not doing a third. It is 100% liquid fat that coats flour so the crumb stays tender and still feels moist on day three, and in a pan it is the heat-carrying medium that browns food. What it is not doing is adding flavour, which is why almost any other refined neutral oil replaces it invisibly.

Tips for substituting vegetable oil

Canola oil is the swap to reach for: same flavourless refined fat, same heat range, cup for cup, and nothing else to change.
Sunflower, refined safflower, grapeseed and avocado oil are equally invisible in a bake. Any of them replaces vegetable oil measure for measure.
Olive oil works in baking if you buy the bottle labelled light, refined or pure. Extra virgin will make a plain vanilla cake taste of olives, which is fine in a chocolate or citrus cake and not in a birthday one.
For butter instead of oil, use 1 1/4 cups melted butter per cup of oil, because butter is only 80% fat. The cake will taste richer but will firm up in the fridge, where an oil cake stays soft.
For frying, the only number that matters is the smoke point. Deep frying happens at 350-375F, so use an oil rated 400F or higher: canola, sunflower, peanut, refined olive or avocado.
Melt coconut oil before you measure it, and bring the eggs and milk to room temperature first, or the oil will set into hard white specks in the bowl.
Applesauce or mashed banana can replace half the oil in a muffin or quick bread, at 1/2 cup puree per cup of oil. Replacing all of it makes the bake tough, because there is no fat left to coat the flour.
Never make a fridge-bound dressing with coconut oil. It sets into a solid white block below 76F (24C).
Toasted sesame oil, walnut oil and chilli oil are seasonings, not cooking oils. Cook in something neutral and add half a teaspoon of the flavoured oil off the heat at the end.
1 cup vegetable oil is about 218 g, and 1 tbsp about 14 g, if you would rather weigh than measure.
If oil in a pan ever catches fire, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Never throw water at it, and never move the pan.

Questions about vegetable oil substitutes

What is the best substitute for vegetable oil?

Canola oil, cup for cup. It is the same kind of refined, flavourless liquid fat with the same 400-450F (205-230C) working range, so it behaves identically in a batter and in a pan. Sunflower, refined safflower, grapeseed and avocado oil are all equally invisible swaps.

Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil?

Yes, cup for cup, but choose your grade. Light, refined or pure olive oil is nearly flavourless and has the highest smoke point of the common household oils at about 465F (240C), so it works in baking and frying alike. Extra virgin olive oil tastes peppery and grassy and starts to break down around 375-405F, which is fine for sauteing and roasting but wrong for deep frying and noticeable in a plain vanilla cake.

Can I use butter instead of vegetable oil, and how much?

Use 1 1/4 cups melted butter per 1 cup of oil, because butter is about 80% fat and oil is 100%. Let the butter cool to lukewarm before it meets the eggs. The bake will taste richer and brown more deeply, but it will firm up in the fridge, which is exactly why the recipe may have specified oil in the first place.

What oil should I use for frying?

Any refined oil with a smoke point comfortably above your target: canola and sunflower at 400-450F (205-230C), peanut at about 450F, refined olive at about 465F, avocado at about 500F. Deep frying is usually done at 350-375F, so all of them have headroom. Do not fry in butter, which blackens at about 300F, or in extra virgin olive oil or unrefined nut oils.

Can I use applesauce instead of oil?

For half the oil, using 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce plus 1/2 cup oil per cup called for, and only in muffins, quick breads and soft cakes. Applesauce is water, sugar and pectin with no fat, and fat is what coats the flour and keeps the crumb tender, so replacing all of it gives a tough, gummy, pale bake.

Can I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil?

Yes, cup for cup, but melt it and measure it liquid, and warm your cold ingredients first or it will set into hard white specks. Use refined coconut oil unless you want a coconut flavour. The catch is that it goes solid below 76F (24C), so the finished cake firms up like a butter cake and a dressing made with it turns into a white block in the fridge.

Is vegetable oil the same as canola oil?

Not identical, but interchangeable. What is sold as vegetable oil is usually soybean oil or a blend of seed oils, while canola oil is refined rapeseed oil. Both are refined to be flavourless, both are 100% fat, and both work from a cold batter up to 400-450F in a pan, so recipes treat them as the same thing.

Can I just leave the oil out or use water instead?

In a pan you can soften onions and greens with splashes of water or broth, and they will steam rather than brown. In a batter, no. The oil is what coats the flour and keeps the crumb tender, and water does the opposite, so an oil-free cake comes out tough, pale and rubbery. Halve the oil with fruit puree instead if you want to cut the fat.

Need a different ingredient?

Browse the full index, or the rest of this category.

Browse all substitutes More oils & fats

At a glance

Every vegetable oil substitute

1. Canola Oil

2. Sunflower Oil

3. Light (Refined) Olive Oil

4. Avocado Oil

5. Grapeseed Oil

6. Peanut Oil

7. Melted Butter

8. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

9. Melted Coconut Oil

10. Unsweetened Applesauce

11. Mashed Ripe Banana

12. Water or Broth