Dairy & Eggs
Best Butter Substitutes
Out of Butter? Here are 2 real substitutes, ranked and ratio-backed.
1. Margarine
Ratio: 1:1
Close in texture and function for most baking, but lacks butter's dairy flavor and browns differently since the fat and water content vary by brand.
Best for: baking, cooking
2. Coconut oil (melted, for baking)
Ratio: 1:1
Solidifies at cool temperatures similarly to butter, but adds a mild coconut flavor and lacks butter's milk solids, which affects browning and flavor in baked goods.
Best for: baking (dairy-free)
Butter does more in a recipe than just add fat — it also contributes moisture (from its roughly 20% water and milk-solid content), flavor, and, in laminated or creamed baking, real structural function through how it traps air or forms layers, which is why a substitute chosen without understanding butter's specific role in a given recipe can change more than just the finished flavor.
Margarine is the closest functional substitute precisely because it's formulated to a similar fat-and-water ratio, making it the most reliable 1:1 swap for most baking, while coconut oil (solid at cool temperatures, similar to butter) works well in dairy-free baking but adds its own distinct coconut flavor and lacks butter's milk solids, which affects both browning and taste.
For a recipe relying specifically on butter's browning (browned butter, or a pan sauce finished with a butter mount), no substitute genuinely replicates the result, since that browning comes directly from butter's milk solids caramelizing — a property margarine, coconut oil, and other fat substitutes generally don't share to the same degree.
Shortening is worth a separate mention alongside margarine and coconut oil, particularly for pastry and pie crust, where its 100% fat content (no water at all) produces a flakier, more tender crumb than butter's water content allows — a genuine advantage for that specific application, even though shortening brings no flavor of its own the way butter does.
Plant-based butter alternatives sold specifically as a 1:1 butter substitute (rather than plain margarine or coconut oil) have gotten meaningfully better at mimicking both butter's solid-at-cool-temperature behavior and a rounder, less oily flavor than older margarine formulations managed, making them a reasonable first substitute to reach for in dairy-free baking before falling back to plain coconut oil.
Need to convert Butter first? See its conversion page.
Frequently asked questions
Can margarine replace butter in any recipe?
In most baking and cooking, yes by volume, since both share a similar fat-and-water ratio — the main loss is butter's dairy flavor and its distinctive browning behavior, which margarine doesn't replicate as reliably.
Does coconut oil taste like coconut when substituted for butter?
Refined coconut oil has a more neutral flavor with less coconut taste than unrefined (virgin) coconut oil, so choosing refined coconut oil minimizes how much coconut flavor comes through in a recipe where that flavor isn't wanted.
Why can't a substitute fully replace butter in a recipe relying on browned butter?
Browned butter's nutty flavor comes specifically from butter's milk solids caramelizing under heat — a property tied directly to butter's dairy composition, which margarine and most oils, lacking that same milk-solid content, don't replicate.
Is there a dairy-free butter substitute that browns similarly to real butter?
Some newer plant-based butter alternatives are formulated to include browning agents or a similar solid-fat structure and can approximate real butter's behavior reasonably well, though results vary meaningfully by brand and aren't guaranteed identical.
Does using oil instead of butter change a baked good's texture?
Yes — oil is 100% fat with no water content, unlike butter's roughly 80% fat, so a straight oil swap typically produces a moister, denser texture, lacking the slight lift and structure butter's water content and creaming ability contribute.