Butter vs. Oil in Baking (2024)

FAQs

Is butter better than oil in baking? ›

There are no surprises here: butter tastes better than oil in baking recipes. However, in recipes with other bold flavors – such as chocolate, coffee, or citrus – butter can sometimes compete with the other flavors and this is normally when a recipe calls for oil instead.

Depending on the type of oil, it can add complex flavor and welcome moisture to your baked goods. A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.) You can use a 1:1 ratio when it comes to coconut oil.

In other words: If a baking recipe calls for a stick of butter (8 tablespoons), for example, use 6 tablespoons of olive oil.

Before substituting butter for oil, consider your cooking method. Butter has a lower heat tolerance than most oils. Butter contains milk solids in addition to fat, and those solids can burn at a high temperature.

Replacing the water from the butter with oil means there's more fat left in the cakes to ensure tenderness. It also coats the flour uniformly, which keeps the layers from being tough even if the batter is overbeaten.

The bottom line

Because olive oil comes from a plant, it has unique health benefits from nutrients like polyphenols — which aren't found in butter. These polyphenols help make olive oil a more nutritious choice. Using butter every so often — or even a small amount each day — isn't likely to harm your health.

Either way, it's helpful to know how the substitution will affect your bake before you begin. In the case of swapping oil for butter, you may get a more delicate and tender texture with oil. At the same time, some say that the swap sacrifices butter's unbeatable taste.

You can substitute butter for oil, but it may alter the flavor and level of moisture. To convert butter to oil, you'll want to use a 3:4 ratio instead — this means one equal part of oil equates to ¾ butter. Example: If a recipe calls for 2/3 cup of butter, use 1/2 cup of oil instead.

How much vegetable oil equals one 1 stick of butter? One stick of butter equals about 93.75 ml or 6 tablespoons of liquid vegetable oil. For one part of butter, we need 3/4 of an equal part oil.

Can I substitute butter for oil in brownies? ›

You can absolutely substitute butter for the vegetable oil. Use the same quantity specified in the directions (for example, if it calls for 1/3 cup of oil, use 5 1/3 tablespoons of butter). Melt it down, then let it cool a bit. You might not ever go back to oil!

You sure can. The good news is that butter, margarine, shortening and all types of oil can be used in place of the vegetable oil in SuperMoist package directions. There may be slight differences in texture and flavor, however all cakes will have good baking results.

Can I replace butter with oil? Yes.. and the ratio is 1:1.. so if it calls for 1 cup of oil, then you can use 1 cup of butter. This should work with most oils, olive, vegetable, canola and coconut, etc. So if the recipe says 3/4th cup of canola oil, you can just melt 3/4th cup of butter.

Chefs love to make savory dishes with butter, but at home, you may want to stick to oil when preparing your pan for sautéeing and cooking. Butter can easily brown and even burn if you're cooking at high heat, which may be the case when searing a piece of meat, sautéeing vegetables, or cooking down leafy greens.

Canola oil is, without doubt, one of the best types of oil for baking. It's preferred in many recipes since it has the most neutral flavor compared to other types of oil. It also tends to be lighter in flavour, so it will not negatively affect the baked product's flavor and texture.

Maybe you want to use olive oil in place of butter in a favorite recipe for health reasons, or maybe you're in a pinch, and olive oil is all you have on hand. While butter is well-suited for baking, there is no question that olive oil contains healthier fats and polyphenols that butter does not.

Many muffin recipes use cooking oil instead of butter. Oil, being a liquid, distributes easily in the quick-mix batter and is readily absorbed into the baked muffin, producing a light non-greasy texture. Vegetable oil is ideal because its mild flavour doesn't compete with the main flavour of the muffin.

Which is why I always substitute an equal amount of melted butter for vegetable oil, which is typically called for on the cake mix box. Melted butter serves the same purpose as oil, while also adding richness and depth to the cake.