Can I use vegan butter block instead of unsalted butter?

1 cup unsalted butter = 1 cup unsalted vegan butter block. Block-style vegan butters are formulated to butter's fat and water percentages, so they cream, laminate and melt on a similar schedule. Browning is weaker without milk solids, so crusts stay paler and you lose the nutty note of butter cooked in the pan. Some blocks melt at a lower temperature and cause extra spread in cookies.

Can I use neutral oil instead of unsalted butter?

1 cup unsalted butter = 7/8 cup neutral oil (1 cup minus 2 tbsp). Butter is only about 80-85% fat while oil is 100%, so slightly less oil delivers the same amount of fat to the batter. Muffins and quick breads come out moister and stay soft longer. Cookies spread more and lose their crisp edges, and the buttery flavour goes entirely.

Can I use ghee instead of unsalted butter?

1 cup unsalted butter = 7/8 cup ghee (1 cup minus 2 tbsp). Ghee is butter with the water and milk solids removed, so it is pure butterfat — slightly less of it supplies the same fat. Excellent for sautéing and frying, where the higher smoke point is an advantage. In baking it browns less and gives a nuttier, more toasted flavour, and pastry made with it is shorter and less flaky.

Ingredients · Fats & oils

Substitutions

What can I use instead of unsalted butter?

Q: Can I use shortening instead of unsalted butter?

1 cup unsalted butter = 1 cup shortening. Shortening is close to 100% fat with no water, so it matches butter's volume but gives more fat and no steam. Cookies spread far less and stay taller and cakier, pastry comes out more tender but less flaky, and everything tastes flatter — shortening contributes no flavour and coats the palate slightly waxily.

Churned cream, roughly 80-85% milkfat with the rest water and milk solids, and no added salt. The default fat in most baking recipes.

What it does in a recipe: Solid fat for creaming and lamination, plus water for steam lift, milk solids for browning, and a flavour nothing else quite matches. Pick the swap that covers that job — the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.

Also called: Butter, Sweet cream butter, Sweet butter

5substitutes

1close matches

Fats & oilscategory

Quick answer

Salted butter

1 cup salted butter for 1 cup unsalted butter — then cut the recipe's added salt by 1/2 tsp

All substitutes, best first

5 ways to replace unsalted butter

Salted butter

Closest match

1 cup salted butter for 1 cup unsalted butter — then cut the recipe's added salt by 1/2 tsp

The two are the same fat; salted butter simply carries roughly half a teaspoon of salt per cup, which you take back out elsewhere.

MethodIf the recipe contains less than 1/2 tsp of salt in total, leave it out entirely and accept a slightly saltier result rather than trying to go negative.

Trade-offSalt levels vary by brand, so precise work like caramel or shortbread can taste a little off. Everything else will be fine.

BakingCookingSaucesFryingVegetarianGluten-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-freeAlcohol-free

Vegan butter block

Reliable

1 cup unsalted butter = 1 cup unsalted vegan butter block

Block-style vegan butters are formulated to butter's fat and water percentages, so they cream, laminate and melt on a similar schedule.

MethodUse the firm block, not the tub spread — tub products carry far more water and will slacken a dough. Chill it as hard as you would butter for pastry.

Trade-offBrowning is weaker without milk solids, so crusts stay paler and you lose the nutty note of butter cooked in the pan. Some blocks melt at a lower temperature and cause extra spread in cookies.

BakingCookingSaucesVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeAlcohol-free

Allergen checkVegan butter blocks are commonly built on soy, coconut, cashew or shea, and manufacturers reformulate without notice. Read the ingredients on the pack you actually hold, and for a severe allergy check the specific product with the manufacturer rather than relying on the category.

Shortening

Reliable

1 cup unsalted butter = 1 cup shortening

Shortening is close to 100% fat with no water, so it matches butter's volume but gives more fat and no steam.

MethodIf you want to compensate for the missing water in a cake, add 2 tbsp of milk or water per cup of shortening used.

Trade-offCookies spread far less and stay taller and cakier, pastry comes out more tender but less flaky, and everything tastes flatter — shortening contributes no flavour and coats the palate slightly waxily.

BakingFryingVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeAlcohol-free

Neutral oil

Reliable

1 cup unsalted butter = 7/8 cup neutral oil (1 cup minus 2 tbsp)

Butter is only about 80-85% fat while oil is 100%, so slightly less oil delivers the same amount of fat to the batter.

MethodOnly use this where butter is melted or the method is a stir-together batter. A recipe that creams butter with sugar depends on a solid fat holding air, and oil cannot do that.

Trade-offMuffins and quick breads come out moister and stay soft longer. Cookies spread more and lose their crisp edges, and the buttery flavour goes entirely.

BakingVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeAlcohol-free

Ghee

Reliable

1 cup unsalted butter = 7/8 cup ghee (1 cup minus 2 tbsp)

Ghee is butter with the water and milk solids removed, so it is pure butterfat — slightly less of it supplies the same fat.

Trade-offExcellent for sautéing and frying, where the higher smoke point is an advantage. In baking it browns less and gives a nuttier, more toasted flavour, and pastry made with it is shorter and less flaky.

CookingFryingBakingVegetarianGluten-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-freeAlcohol-free

Worth knowing

European-style butters run to 82-86% fat against about 80% for standard American butter. That extra fat makes croissants and puff pastry noticeably better, and it is one of the few places where the brand genuinely changes the outcome.

At a glance

Unsalted butter in summary

Category	Fats & oils
Job in a recipe	Solid fat for creaming and lamination, plus water for steam lift, milk solids for browning, and a flavour nothing else quite matches
Suits	Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Egg-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Alcohol-free
Swaps available for	Alcohol-free Dairy-free Egg-free Gluten-free Nut-free Soy-free Vegan Vegetarian
Number of substitutes	5

More fats & oils

Avocado oil4 substitutes Clarified butter4 substitutes Coconut oil4 substitutes Cooking spray4 substitutes Duck fat4 substitutes Extra-virgin olive oil4 substitutes

Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter — confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.