Fats

Best dairy-free substitutes for butter

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No. 01

neutral oil

Butter (~80% fat): ~3/4 cup oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g/227 g). ~100% fat solids (shortening, ghee, lard, duck fat, tallow): ~1:1 by weight. Clean in melted-butter bakes (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) and butter cakes lifted by baking powder. Sauteing 1:1 (oils ~400-450 F vs butter ~350 F). Out of scope: laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out cookies, brown-butter.

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

No. 02

canola oil

Butter (~80% fat): ~3/4 cup oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g/227 g). ~100% fat solids (shortening, ghee, lard, duck fat, tallow): ~1:1 by weight. Clean in melted-butter bakes (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) and butter cakes lifted by baking powder. Sauteing 1:1 (oils ~400-450 F vs butter ~350 F). Out of scope: laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out cookies, brown-butter.

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

No. 03

vegetable oil

Butter (~80% fat): ~3/4 cup oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g/227 g). ~100% fat solids (shortening, ghee, lard, duck fat, tallow): ~1:1 by weight. Clean in melted-butter bakes (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) and butter cakes lifted by baking powder. Sauteing 1:1 (oils ~400-450 F vs butter ~350 F). Out of scope: laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out cookies, brown-butter.

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

Why these picks

Swaps that remove dairy while preserving the source ingredient's main job. The ranking favors substitutes for butter that preserve fat, tenderness, browning, with verified adjustment notes.

Dairy-free swaps often change protein, fat, and browning, so check texture before scaling up.

Context-ranked swaps

01

neutral oil

3 : 4 oil per butter; 1 : 1 oil per ~100% fat solid

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

Read full notes+

Why this works

Butter is ~80% fat / ~16-18% water with ~1-2% milk solids; neutral oils are ~100% liquid fat. Swapping 3/4 cup oil per cup butter approximately matches butter's fat by volume — but ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow) have no water to displace, so the swap to oil is closer to 1:1 by weight from those sources. Either way the milk solids and (for butter) ~16-18% water that drive creamed lift, lamination layers, and browning are gone. Recipes that already start from melted butter (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) absorb the swap with little change beyond a slightly denser, moister crumb and longer shelf life, and standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder still work with the same caveats. Recipes that depend on a solid fat - laminated doughs, creamed pound cake or yellow butter cake, cut-out cookies, shortbread, brown-butter formulas - cannot be rebuilt with oil and need a different target. For sauteing and pan-frying the swap is essentially 1:1 and oil's higher smoke point is an advantage.

Flavor
Neutral oils are flavorless — butter cakes/cookies want vanilla, citrus zest, brown sugar, or buttery extract for richness. EVOO adds peppery/grassy notes for olive-oil cake, focaccia, and savory bakes but clashes with vanilla/white cakes. Refined coconut oil adds mild coconut to vegan/tropical formulas. Sesame oil is too aromatic for sweet baking. Brown-butter recipes lose their flavor.
Texture
Cakes are more tender, moister, and longer-keeping with a tighter crumb than the creamed-butter version. Cookies spread more, brown less, and read flatter and chewier; cut-out cookies and shortbread spread out of shape. Pie crust, biscuits, scones, and laminated doughs cannot form flaky layers without solid fat. Quick breads, muffins, brownies, and oil-based cakes bake almost identically.

Where it fails

Very high in laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out and rolled cookies, and brown-butter recipes — pick a different target (shortening, stick vegan butter at >=80% fat, or melted/solid coconut oil in cookies). Medium in standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder (denser, moister). Low in melted-butter formulas — brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes, pancakes, waffles — and in sauteing or pan-frying.

  • From butter, use about 3/4 cup neutral oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g per 227 g / 2 sticks) to match butter's ~80% fat content per King Arthur; or stay 1:1 by volume and reduce another wet ingredient by 2-3 tablespoons per cup of butter to account for the missing ~16-18% water. From ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow), use roughly 1:1 by weight — there is no water to displace, so the volume of fat carries over directly.
  • Do not try to cream oil with sugar; whisk the oil into the wet ingredients (sugar, eggs, dairy or non-dairy liquid) until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Expect a thinner, more pourable batter than a creamed-butter batter.

Source: King Arthur Baking: Fat substitutes in gluten-free baking

02

canola oil

3 : 4 oil per butter; 1 : 1 oil per ~100% fat solid

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

Read full notes+

Why this works

Butter is ~80% fat / ~16-18% water with ~1-2% milk solids; neutral oils are ~100% liquid fat. Swapping 3/4 cup oil per cup butter approximately matches butter's fat by volume — but ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow) have no water to displace, so the swap to oil is closer to 1:1 by weight from those sources. Either way the milk solids and (for butter) ~16-18% water that drive creamed lift, lamination layers, and browning are gone. Recipes that already start from melted butter (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) absorb the swap with little change beyond a slightly denser, moister crumb and longer shelf life, and standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder still work with the same caveats. Recipes that depend on a solid fat - laminated doughs, creamed pound cake or yellow butter cake, cut-out cookies, shortbread, brown-butter formulas - cannot be rebuilt with oil and need a different target. For sauteing and pan-frying the swap is essentially 1:1 and oil's higher smoke point is an advantage.

Flavor
Neutral oils are flavorless — butter cakes/cookies want vanilla, citrus zest, brown sugar, or buttery extract for richness. EVOO adds peppery/grassy notes for olive-oil cake, focaccia, and savory bakes but clashes with vanilla/white cakes. Refined coconut oil adds mild coconut to vegan/tropical formulas. Sesame oil is too aromatic for sweet baking. Brown-butter recipes lose their flavor.
Texture
Cakes are more tender, moister, and longer-keeping with a tighter crumb than the creamed-butter version. Cookies spread more, brown less, and read flatter and chewier; cut-out cookies and shortbread spread out of shape. Pie crust, biscuits, scones, and laminated doughs cannot form flaky layers without solid fat. Quick breads, muffins, brownies, and oil-based cakes bake almost identically.

Where it fails

Very high in laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out and rolled cookies, and brown-butter recipes — pick a different target (shortening, stick vegan butter at >=80% fat, or melted/solid coconut oil in cookies). Medium in standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder (denser, moister). Low in melted-butter formulas — brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes, pancakes, waffles — and in sauteing or pan-frying.

  • From butter, use about 3/4 cup neutral oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g per 227 g / 2 sticks) to match butter's ~80% fat content per King Arthur; or stay 1:1 by volume and reduce another wet ingredient by 2-3 tablespoons per cup of butter to account for the missing ~16-18% water. From ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow), use roughly 1:1 by weight — there is no water to displace, so the volume of fat carries over directly.
  • Do not try to cream oil with sugar; whisk the oil into the wet ingredients (sugar, eggs, dairy or non-dairy liquid) until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Expect a thinner, more pourable batter than a creamed-butter batter.

Source: King Arthur Baking: Fat substitutes in gluten-free baking

03

vegetable oil

3 : 4 oil per butter; 1 : 1 oil per ~100% fat solid

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

Read full notes+

Why this works

Butter is ~80% fat / ~16-18% water with ~1-2% milk solids; neutral oils are ~100% liquid fat. Swapping 3/4 cup oil per cup butter approximately matches butter's fat by volume — but ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow) have no water to displace, so the swap to oil is closer to 1:1 by weight from those sources. Either way the milk solids and (for butter) ~16-18% water that drive creamed lift, lamination layers, and browning are gone. Recipes that already start from melted butter (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) absorb the swap with little change beyond a slightly denser, moister crumb and longer shelf life, and standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder still work with the same caveats. Recipes that depend on a solid fat - laminated doughs, creamed pound cake or yellow butter cake, cut-out cookies, shortbread, brown-butter formulas - cannot be rebuilt with oil and need a different target. For sauteing and pan-frying the swap is essentially 1:1 and oil's higher smoke point is an advantage.

Flavor
Neutral oils are flavorless — butter cakes/cookies want vanilla, citrus zest, brown sugar, or buttery extract for richness. EVOO adds peppery/grassy notes for olive-oil cake, focaccia, and savory bakes but clashes with vanilla/white cakes. Refined coconut oil adds mild coconut to vegan/tropical formulas. Sesame oil is too aromatic for sweet baking. Brown-butter recipes lose their flavor.
Texture
Cakes are more tender, moister, and longer-keeping with a tighter crumb than the creamed-butter version. Cookies spread more, brown less, and read flatter and chewier; cut-out cookies and shortbread spread out of shape. Pie crust, biscuits, scones, and laminated doughs cannot form flaky layers without solid fat. Quick breads, muffins, brownies, and oil-based cakes bake almost identically.

Where it fails

Very high in laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out and rolled cookies, and brown-butter recipes — pick a different target (shortening, stick vegan butter at >=80% fat, or melted/solid coconut oil in cookies). Medium in standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder (denser, moister). Low in melted-butter formulas — brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes, pancakes, waffles — and in sauteing or pan-frying.

  • From butter, use about 3/4 cup neutral oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g per 227 g / 2 sticks) to match butter's ~80% fat content per King Arthur; or stay 1:1 by volume and reduce another wet ingredient by 2-3 tablespoons per cup of butter to account for the missing ~16-18% water. From ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow), use roughly 1:1 by weight — there is no water to displace, so the volume of fat carries over directly.
  • Do not try to cream oil with sugar; whisk the oil into the wet ingredients (sugar, eggs, dairy or non-dairy liquid) until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Expect a thinner, more pourable batter than a creamed-butter batter.

Source: King Arthur Baking: Fat substitutes in gluten-free baking

04

sunflower oil

3 : 4 oil per butter; 1 : 1 oil per ~100% fat solid

Oil replaces butter cleanly in melted-butter recipes and high-heat cooking but cannot cream, laminate, or brown.

Read full notes+

Why this works

Butter is ~80% fat / ~16-18% water with ~1-2% milk solids; neutral oils are ~100% liquid fat. Swapping 3/4 cup oil per cup butter approximately matches butter's fat by volume — but ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow) have no water to displace, so the swap to oil is closer to 1:1 by weight from those sources. Either way the milk solids and (for butter) ~16-18% water that drive creamed lift, lamination layers, and browning are gone. Recipes that already start from melted butter (brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes) absorb the swap with little change beyond a slightly denser, moister crumb and longer shelf life, and standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder still work with the same caveats. Recipes that depend on a solid fat - laminated doughs, creamed pound cake or yellow butter cake, cut-out cookies, shortbread, brown-butter formulas - cannot be rebuilt with oil and need a different target. For sauteing and pan-frying the swap is essentially 1:1 and oil's higher smoke point is an advantage.

Flavor
Neutral oils are flavorless — butter cakes/cookies want vanilla, citrus zest, brown sugar, or buttery extract for richness. EVOO adds peppery/grassy notes for olive-oil cake, focaccia, and savory bakes but clashes with vanilla/white cakes. Refined coconut oil adds mild coconut to vegan/tropical formulas. Sesame oil is too aromatic for sweet baking. Brown-butter recipes lose their flavor.
Texture
Cakes are more tender, moister, and longer-keeping with a tighter crumb than the creamed-butter version. Cookies spread more, brown less, and read flatter and chewier; cut-out cookies and shortbread spread out of shape. Pie crust, biscuits, scones, and laminated doughs cannot form flaky layers without solid fat. Quick breads, muffins, brownies, and oil-based cakes bake almost identically.

Where it fails

Very high in laminated doughs, creamed butter cakes, cut-out and rolled cookies, and brown-butter recipes — pick a different target (shortening, stick vegan butter at >=80% fat, or melted/solid coconut oil in cookies). Medium in standard butter cakes that lift on baking powder (denser, moister). Low in melted-butter formulas — brownies, muffins, quick breads, oil-friendly cakes, pancakes, waffles — and in sauteing or pan-frying.

  • From butter, use about 3/4 cup neutral oil per 1 cup butter (~165 g per 227 g / 2 sticks) to match butter's ~80% fat content per King Arthur; or stay 1:1 by volume and reduce another wet ingredient by 2-3 tablespoons per cup of butter to account for the missing ~16-18% water. From ~100% fat solid fats (shortening, ghee, clarified butter, lard, duck fat, beef tallow), use roughly 1:1 by weight — there is no water to displace, so the volume of fat carries over directly.
  • Do not try to cream oil with sugar; whisk the oil into the wet ingredients (sugar, eggs, dairy or non-dairy liquid) until smooth, then fold in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Expect a thinner, more pourable batter than a creamed-butter batter.

Source: King Arthur Baking: Fat substitutes in gluten-free baking

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