Best Tasting Butter Substitutes – Buying Guide [2023]

What are the best tasting butter substitutes? Butter isn’t a substitute for other foods, but several ingredients could be compared to its delicious flavor and silky texture. The best alternatives are coconut oil, shortening applesauce, and nut butter. Greek yogurt avocados, olive oils, and more!

Substituting butter can be a big order that can be considered to be a crime. But having a list of the best tasting substitutes could be useful particularly when you open the refrigerator door and see an empty butter container or you’re lactose-intolerant.

Explore the various dairy-free substitutes for butter, ways to utilize these substitutes, the differences they have from traditional butter, and much more!

Why Should You Substitute Butter?

Butter was the foundation of baking for ages. Since we first discovered that the process of churning cream creates butter, we have been using this wonderful dairy byproduct for a myriad of reasons!

However, there’s an issue with butter: it’s high in dairy products, which means lactose.

However, there are numerous solutions to this. For instance, bakers could substitute butter using a variety of ingredients to achieve the same results.

Naturally, the taste may be different, and the final product could be different in some ways however, at the end of the day, people might not even realize it’s missing It is true that this is feasible!

This is due to the fact that it is much simpler to come up with using a substitute for butter in baking than for instance, cooking with butter.

If you’re not an avid butter lover and frequently use it and are not a fan, you may not be able to tell the difference between you using its alternatives.

Also, if you’re worried about using dairy alternatives to replace butter, don’t be concerned. We’ll show you the ways to use not just dairy-free alternatives but also vegan alternatives to replace the traditional butter!

11 Best Substitutes For Butter

Here are our top recommendations for dairy-free butter alternatives.

1. Shortening

Use: Use 1 tablespoon of shortening per 1 tablespoon of butter.

Product Recommendation: Nutiva Organic Shortening

Shortening is the best alternative for those looking for an alternative to dairy-free butter.

Produced from vegetable oils and fats Shortening can prove its value in a range of uses.

It doesn’t matter if it’s baking tasks or just cooking this ingredient is the ideal substitute to give an approximate taste of butter, and the same texture.

The distinction between butter and shortening can be so insignificant that it’s up to the expertise of a baker who has been in the business for years to differentiate the difference between them.

There are a variety of brands to choose from! Always read on the reverse of the package for allergen and ingredient information prior to making the switch to shortening.

2. Coconut Oil

Use: 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (not melting) for every 1 tbsp butter (not melting).

Product Recommendation: Vivanaturals Organic Coconut Oil

Incredibly rich in fats and delicious coconut oil could be the most effective substitute for butter, particularly when it comes to recipes that call for coconut shavings or baking goods with coconut flavor.

Get rid of butter and opt for coconut oil. It can provide a superior overall flavor as well as the same crispy texture as butter.

Be sure to make use of this ingredient in moderation, particularly in recipes that don’t require coconut flavor.

Yes, in small quantities you could be able to use it quite easily, however, should you cook using coconut oil, it may be difficult to discern its distinctive taste from the final product.

3. Lard

Use: Use 1 tablespoon of non-melted lard for each 1 tbsp butter.

Product Recommendation: Epic Lard

Do you realize that prior to the 1900s, lard was the most common “shortening” for several baking and cooking uses?

This is due to the fact that the lard itself is 100% fat. While it might have been cut out in favour of better alternatives, there’s nothing wrong with using small amounts of it, particularly when baking.

Lard is among the most delicious custard tarts. It is able to mimic the attributes of butter, specifically in terms of flakiness.

Naturally, it isn’t a secret that you should only utilize this ingredient in small amounts however if you’re ever in need of butter and do not have any food restrictions, we strongly recommend you to try this alternative at least one time.

4. Cooking Oil

Use: Use 1 tablespoon of cooking oil for each 1 tbsp of butter that has been melted.

Product Recommendation: BetterBody Avacado Oil

Sometimes, simplicity is better.

If you’re in an emergency and have to bake a muffin, cake or other baking product, then it is possible to substitute cooking oil for butter.

Cooking oil is possibly the most widely available alternative to butter. It will give you the same crispness you get cooking with it, too.

Although there are numerous types of cooking oils available to pick from, we suggest opting for more healthy oils such as avocado oil and olive oil to get a full flavor!

5. Cooking Spray

Use: Apply enough spray to cover surfaces.

Product Recommendation: Original PAM Cooking Spray

Do you not have enough butter to fill the baking pan? The best option to overcome this is to use cooking spray.

PAM is a great choice to accomplish this and is a very convenient method of putting an insulation layer on top of your kitchen utensils.

A quick spray will suffice to cover the baking pan, but you may use more sprays depending on the need.

Although cooking spray isn’t suitable for cooking or baking purposes however, you can use it to spray surfaces when necessary and to save butter!

7. Nut Butter

Use: Utilize 1 or 1/2 tbsp nuts for every 1 tablespoon of butter.

Product Recommendation: 365 Whole Foods Almond Butter

Nut butter is a great alternative that is vegan and dairy-free to butter. Although the nut “butter” does not have any solids of milk in it however, it has the same benefits of butter!

It’s referred to as “butter” partly because of the amount of fat and protein it is. It is made from a variety of dry fruits.

We suggest almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter coconut butter, and even macadamia butter.

Be aware, however, that you might have to make use of less nut butter when replacing regular butter, particularly when the nut butter contains more fat.

You can look up the nutritional profile of the kind of nut butter you wish to make and alter the ratio according to that. With some guesswork it is possible to determine the right ratio for you.

8. Applesauce

Use: Make use of 1/2 teaspoon of applesauce for 1 tbsp butter.

Product Recommendation:365 Whole Foods Applesauce

Applesauce is a great alternative for vegans and those who are dairy-free substituting butter in muffins cookies, cakes and many more.

It has the same sweetness and texture of butter. It could be a healthier alternative, especially when you’re trying to cut down on your intake of fat.

But, you might need be careful when using this ingredient because it could affect the taste as well as the texture finished product. But , trust us when we say that applesauce muffins come out delicious and soft!

9. Pumpkin Puree

Use: Use 1 tablespoon of puree per 1 tbsp butter.

Product Recommendation: Farmer’s Market Pumpkin Puree

Like applesauce, pumpkin puree could use as a plant-based alternative to butter.

Pumpkin puree has almost the same texture and texture as butter however it will make the final product taste slightly different.

The pumpkin puree also has lots of sugar, therefore you must modify the quantity of sugar you use in your recipe as well.

If you’re thinking of making the pumpkin-based dish and have no butter, then the stars have aligned for you!

10. Mashed Bananas

Use: Use 1 tablespoon of mashed bananas per 1 tbsp butter.

It’s nutritious and creamy. It’s an ideal alternative to butter. Mashed bananas are great to make a variety of baking products and also earn points for baking with bananas also!

Mix in the mashed bananas in small amounts until you achieve the perfect consistency of your cake mix.

The sugars contained in bananas can assist in caramelizing and give a crisp, crispy exterior and will also give your food an incredibly soft and moist texture!

Others Questions Asked

Dairy-free butter substitutes are simple to locate and you can make use of many different ingredients to reap the identical health benefits and texture qualities like butter!

If you’ve learned how to make use of the substitutes Here are some of the related concerns:

Mixing different alternatives to butter?

Yes. If you’re looking to play with different flavors, then you can use the 50:50 ratio between the two ingredients or portions equally split of three ingredients to replace butter.

For instance, you could combine vegetable shortening with coconut butter to make an coconut-based recipe!

Does the use of butter substitutes alter the shelf-life of food items?

No. There isn’t a significant difference in shelf life of food items when making use of butter substitutes.

We suggest storing food in the proper storage conditions so that you get the maximum benefit from its shelf time. Always examine food products made of any ingredient to ensure the safety and quality prior to eating it.

Could sunflower butter serve to substitute for butter that is regular?

Yes. Sunflower butter is a great substitute for butter in certain recipes. However, remember that many “seed butter” have an strong flavor that could easily take over the ingredients of your recipe.

Use these stronger-tasting alternatives in moderation and only when it is absolutely necessary.