Vegetable Suet substitute

Best substitute

Frozen grated vegetable shortening (Crisco, Trex, white vegetable fat)

Use the same amount by weight as the vegetable suet you are replacing

Best for steamed puddings

Close match

The correct substitute, because it is fundamentally the same product in a different shape. Chill or freeze the block until it is very hard, grate it coarsely, then toss the shreds with a spoonful of the flour from the recipe so they do not clump back together, and keep the bowl cold while you work. Steamed puddings and dumplings come out with almost the same open, light, faintly spongy crumb. The small difference is that shortening melts at a lower temperature than Atora, so the crumb is a touch softer and slightly less airy, and pastry made with it is a little more fragile to handle.

Other vegetable suet substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Palm shortening
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Chemically the nearest match of all, because vegetable suet itself is usually hardened palm oil.
What changes
It is firmer at room temperature than Crisco-style shortening and has a higher melting point, which is exactly the property that makes suet work, so the crumb of a steamed pudding comes out closer to the Atora version than anything else on this list. Grate it from cold in the same way. It is flavourless. The catch is availability, since it tends to be a baking-supply or health-shop item rather than a supermarket one.
Best for
steamed puddings, suet crust, dumplings, mincemeat, vegan puddings
Sustainably certified palm shortening exists if that matters to you, and it performs identically.
3Frozen grated butter
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, and reduce the added liquid by 1 to 2 teaspoons per 100g
Very widely used and genuinely delicious, but be clear that it makes a different pudding.
What changes
Freeze the butter hard, grate it, toss the shreds in flour and mix quickly. Butter is fifteen to twenty percent water and melts at a much lower temperature than suet, so it starts releasing into the dough far sooner during steaming. The result is richer, more golden and noticeably shorter and denser, closer to a scone or a rich shortcrust than to the light, open, slightly chewy suet crumb. Reduce the water slightly to account for the water in the butter.
Best for
dumplings, sweet steamed puddings, jam roly-poly, mincemeat, savoury cobblers
Use unsalted butter and keep the recipe's salt, or use salted butter and cut the added salt. Grate it straight from the freezer or it turns to paste on the grater.
4Refined coconut oil, frozen and grated
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The best vegan option if you cannot get shortening.
What changes
Coconut oil is genuinely hard when cold and has a melting point around 24C or 76F, which is high enough to hold its shape during mixing and give you distinct pieces of fat in the dough. Refined coconut oil has no coconut flavor at all, while virgin coconut oil will make a mincemeat or a jam pudding taste distinctly tropical, which is charming in some recipes and wrong in a steak and kidney pudding. It melts fast in warm hands, so grate it straight from the freezer and move quickly.
Best for
vegan steamed puddings, vegan mincemeat, sweet dumplings, dairy-free suet crust
Refined rather than virgin unless you actively want the coconut note. Chill the mixing bowl too.
5Traditional beef suet or Atora beef suet
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Worth stating clearly for anyone who reached this page from the other direction: the original works perfectly, since vegetable suet was invented to imitate it.
What changes
Shredded packaged beef suet needs no preparation, and fresh suet from a butcher should be trimmed of membrane, chilled hard and grated. It gives the lightest, most classic crumb of all and adds a faint savoury richness that is traditional and very welcome in steak and kidney pudding and in old-style mincemeat. Obviously not vegetarian, and not halal or kosher unless sourced accordingly.
Best for
steak and kidney pudding, traditional mincemeat, savoury dumplings, Christmas pudding
Fresh beef suet needs using or freezing quickly. Packaged shredded suet keeps for months in the cupboard.
6No good substitute: liquid oil, or leaving the fat out
Taste and texture differ
This is the honest failure case, and it catches people out.
What changes
Suet is not simply fat for richness, it is fat in solid pieces with a high melting point, and that is structural. During the long steam the shreds hold their shape while the flour hydrates and sets, then melt late and leave behind small pockets that give the pudding its light, open, springy crumb. Replace the suet with oil and you get a heavy, greasy, close-textured dough that does not rise properly. Leave the fat out altogether and you get a tough flour-and-water paste. If all you have is oil, make a different pudding rather than this one.
Best for
knowing when a swap will not work
Reduced-fat or light shredded suet also gives a tighter, drier crumb than the full-fat version, so add a splash more liquid if you use it.

What is Vegetable Suet?

Vegetable Suet is hardened vegetable oil shredded into small dry pellets and dusted with flour so the pieces stay separate, sold in Britain mainly under the Atora brand, and its job is the same as beef suet's in a dumpling, steamed pudding or mincemeat: solid fat that stays solid while the dough is mixed, then melts during a long steam to leave a light, open crumb.

Cooking tips

Weigh, do not measure by cup. Vegetable suet is sold by weight in Britain and recipes are written in grams, and grated fat packs very unevenly into a cup, so a volume measure can easily be out by a third. A kitchen scale is the single biggest improvement you can make to suet baking.
Toss any grated fat in a spoonful of the recipe's flour before you mix it in. Atora shreds are already dusted with flour, which is the trick that stops them clumping, and doing the same to your grated shortening or butter reproduces it exactly.
Keep everything cold and mix as little as possible. Suet pastry works because separate pieces of solid fat survive into the oven or the steamer. Warm hands, a warm kitchen or overmixing smear the fat into the flour and you end up with a dense, greasy crust instead of a light one.
If you swap butter in for vegetable suet in mincemeat, refrigerate the jars and use them within a few weeks rather than storing them in the cupboard. Traditional mincemeat keeps at room temperature because the fat and sugar and alcohol are doing preservation work, and butter's water content changes that. If you are following a tested preserving recipe of any kind, do not alter the ingredients at all.
The reason the substitutes list is all about melting point rather than flavor is that vegetable suet has virtually no flavor. Its whole contribution is physical, so judge any swap by how hard it is when cold and how high it melts, not by how it tastes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the vegetable suet out?

No. In dumplings, suet pastry and steamed puddings the suet is structural, not a flavouring, and without it the dough is a tough flour-and-water paste that will not rise or lighten. You need a solid fat in pieces, and frozen grated vegetable shortening is the closest thing to hand. In mincemeat you can technically make a fat-free version, and plenty of modern recipes do, but it will be looser, less glossy and will need refrigerating.

What can I use instead of Atora in America?

Frozen grated vegetable shortening, meaning Crisco or a supermarket equivalent, used weight for weight. Freeze the block hard, grate it coarsely, toss the shreds in a spoonful of the recipe's flour, and treat it exactly as the recipe treats suet. It is the same category of product as Atora, which is why it works so much better here than butter. Palm shortening from a baking supplier is even closer if you can find it.

Is vegetable suet the same as shortening?

Nearly. Both are hardened vegetable oil with no water in them. The differences are the shape and the melting point: vegetable suet comes pre-shredded and flour-dusted so it stays as loose pellets, and it is formulated to melt at a slightly higher temperature so the pieces survive a long steaming. Grate frozen shortening and flour the shreds and you have closed most of the gap.

Can I use butter instead of vegetable suet?

Yes, and it tastes lovely, but it makes a different pudding. Butter melts far lower and is fifteen to twenty percent water, so it works into the dough sooner and the crumb comes out richer, denser and shorter, more like a scone than the light open texture suet gives. Freeze it and grate it, reduce the added liquid by a teaspoon or two per hundred grams, and expect a good pudding rather than a traditional one.

What is the best vegan substitute for vegetable suet?

Vegetable suet is already vegetarian and most brands are vegan, so check the packet first. If you cannot get it, frozen grated vegetable shortening is the top choice, and refined coconut oil grated from frozen is a good second because it is genuinely hard when cold. Avoid soft tub margarines and spreads entirely, since they contain too much water and will not hold as distinct pieces.

Related substitutes

More oils & fats substitutes

Vegetable Suet substitute

Other vegetable suet substitutes

2Palm shortening

3Frozen grated butter

4Refined coconut oil, frozen and grated

5Traditional beef suet or Atora beef suet

6No good substitute: liquid oil, or leaving the fat out