9 Healthy Alternatives to Butter

This fatty fruit is a must in your recipes. “Avocado contains heart-healthy fat and nearly 20 vitamins and minerals,” says Poulson. Mashed avocado can be substituted for butter at a 1:1 ratio and is particularly good in recipes containing chocolate or cocoa. “Its creamy texture and mild flavor pairs well with the sweetness of chocolate,” Poulson says of avocado. “Plus, the dark color of chocolate hides green avocado well.” Avocado works equally well in cookies but can turn them a little green unless your cookies are a darker variety like double chocolate or gingerbread.

Avocados may be heart-healthy in more than one way — a recent study showed that when families increased their avocado intake to 14 avocados per week, adults tended to get 27 percent more total physical activity. This finding might be explained, the researchers wrote, by the fact that avocados contain beneficial chemicals that may help reduce pain, leading participants to feel better and move more.

Olive oil is a popular ingredient in salad dressings and stir-fries, but did you know you can bake with it, too? Along with heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, olive oil contains antioxidants that have heart-protective and anti-cancer properties, notes an article published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. “Generally, you can replace butter with oil in an even 1-to-1 ratio,” says Rasmussen.

Just know that olive oil tends to give baked goods a strong flavor, especially if you use extra virgin olive oil, the least processed and most flavorful variety. If you aren’t into the taste of olive oil, opt for the light variety to reduce its potency. (Light olive oil is lighter in flavor, not lower in fat or calories.) Canola oil is another neutral-tasting oil that is heart-healthy, according to Snodgrass, providing monounsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acids.

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If you want to use an oil that has a more neutral taste than olive oil but also delivers health benefits, Rasmussen recommends avocado oil, another source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Use avocado oil at a 1:1 ratio to replace all the butter in a recipe.

While more nutrition research has focused on avocados than on avocado oil, an article published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry showed that avocado oil may help protect cells against the harmful effects of the stress hormone cortisol — a benefit that may help improve cardiovascular health.

One benefit of replacing butter with yogurt — especially Greek yogurt — is that because it’s thick, you get the same creamy mouth feel as with a fat like butter, says Rasmussen. Start by replacing half the butter in a recipe with yogurt; the other half should be a fat like avocado oil. Greek yogurt can also give your recipes a protein boost, with 15 g of protein in ¾ cup, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The protein from fermented dairy foods like yogurt may be more easily used by the body than protein from nonfermented milk products, according to a recent research review.

Fat not only gives baked goods texture but also acts as a stabilizer, Rasmussen says. Using yogurt (or a fruit like applesauce or bananas) in place of butter or oil will decrease its shelf life, and it will go bad faster. All the more reason to eat it faster, right?

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Save this swap for sweet breads and muffins. “Applesauce lends a natural sweetness, as well as extra moisture,” says Poulson. Compared with butter, applesauce is far lower in calories and has no fat, and it also adds a few grams of fiber and some potassium. For 1 cup of butter, substitute ½ cup applesauce and ½ cup oil, she recommends. According to the USDA, 1 cup of butter has 1,630 calories and 184 g of fat, while ½ cup of applesauce and ½ cup of avocado oil combined have 1,049 calories and 109 g of fat.

Feel free to experiment with the ratio of applesauce to oil in your recipes. “If you don’t mind the taste and texture when using half applesauce, try swapping in a bit more next time,” says Poulson. Make sure to buy unsweetened applesauce, as traditional or sweetened versions contain unneeded sugar, which can increase calories and affect the taste of your baked goods.

Bananas are known for their potassium, with 1 cup of mashed bananas offering 734 milligrams (mg), or about 17 percent of the daily value of the mineral, according to the USDA. Among its functions, potassium helps with blood pressure regulation, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In baking, bananas offer a cross between the creaminess of avocados and the sweetness of applesauce. As with applesauce, use bananas to replace just half the fat in your recipe, with an overall 1:1 ratio, says Rasmussen. (For 1 cup of butter, you’d use ½ cup of mashed banana and ½ cup of butter or oil.) Bananas will give the finished product a fruity, banana-y taste, of course. “Let’s say I’m going to make apple spice muffins,” says Snodgrass. “I can use mashed bananas and give it a little more flavor,” with both apples and bananas providing fruitiness to the muffins.

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Nut butter, such as peanut, almond, or cashew, makes a superb stand-in for butter. It’s fairly solid at room temperature, giving baked goods a texture similar to what butter provides, says Rasmussen. “You’ll also add more fiber and protein into the recipe,” she notes. For example, almond butter offers about 3 g of protein and 2 g of fiber per tbsp, according to the USDA.

When you’re first trying out a recipe, swap half the butter for a nut butter of your choice. “If it goes well, I’ll push it and use more nut butter [the next time], but at that point you’ll notice a difference in flavor,” says Rasmussen. In some cases, a nutty taste may be a welcome addition.

Eating more nuts, including nut butters, is linked to a lower risk of developing atherosclerosis, or the buildup of a fatty substance called plaque in arteries, according to an article published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.

Silky pumpkin puree isn’t just appropriate for autumn. "One hundred percent pumpkin puree can be substituted for butter in a one-to-one ratio,” says Poulson. “It brings moisture, creaminess, and an earthy sweetness to baked goods.” By incorporating 1 cup of pumpkin, you’ll add 7 g of fiber to a recipe, plus vitamin A and potassium, according to the USDA. Poulson prefers it in chocolate cakes or brownies, carrot cake, and of course, fall-oriented desserts with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pumpkin is also a good source of carotenoids, a type of antioxidant that may reduce your risk for cancer and heart disease, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

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According to the USDA, 1 cup of white beans has 299 calories, 19 grams of protein, an impressive 13 g of fiber, and less than 1 g of fat. If you haven’t experimented with beans in baked goods, now might be the time. “It may sound strange, but pureed legumes can be used as a substitute for butter,” says Poulson.

Beans impart a cakey texture, so it’s best to reserve them for desserts like cakes, blondies, and brownies. You can choose which beans to use based on color — for example, black beans for brownies, white beans or chickpeas for blondies, and red beans for red velvet cupcakes. You can substitute 1:1 for butter, Poulson says, but that may be a little ambitious. “If you’re nervous to go 100 percent at first, use half beans and half butter, then next time increase as you feel comfortable,” she advises.

Butter Substitutes You May Want to Think Twice About

While not the healthiest choices, here are two additional butter alternatives and what to know about them.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil imparts a fruity, tropical taste that some people enjoy, but it’s high in saturated fat, meaning it’s not the most heart-healthy option, despite its reputation otherwise. According to the USDA, 1 tbsp of coconut oil contains nearly 10 g of saturated fat, which is more than butter and puts you close to the recommended limit.

Ghee

While not necessarily healthier than regular butter, ghee (clarified butter) has grown in popularity as an alternative, which makes intuitive sense because it offers a deep buttery taste and texture. Some people prefer it to regular butter because the milk solids are removed, which increases the smoke point and reduces the amount of lactose, according to a study published in Molecular Genetics and Metabolism Reports.

It’s not clear, though (pun intended), if removing milk solids makes ghee healthier than butter, according to Poulson. “Being a saturated fat, ghee should still be used sparingly, as you would regular butter,” she says. In fact, 1 tbsp of ghee contains 9 g of saturated fat, according to the USDA — more than regular butter.

Use These Healthier, Alternative Spreads Instead of Butter

Instead of spreading butter on your toast or bagel, you can up the nutrition in your meal by switching to these health-packed picks, says Rasmussen.

• Avocado Mash with your choice of seasonings and olive oil to enhance its creamy consistency, Rasmussen suggests.
• Nut Butter Peanut butter and almond butter are good picks but also consider unconventional options like cashew or pistachio butter. “I like to drizzle on a tiny bit of manuka honey or [add] sliced strawberries or bananas,” says Rasmussen.
• Ricotta Cheese Cow’s milk or almond milk ricotta topped with fruit slices or tomatoes give you both a sweet and savory option, Rasmussen notes. According to the USDA, ¼ cup of ricotta cheese has 169 mg of calcium, or 13 percent of your daily value.
• Greek or Icelandic Yogurt If you go with a plain variety, it’s as tangy as a cream cheese — and thick, too. You can customize the flavor by stirring in pumpkin puree and cinnamon, mashed bananas, or smashed berries.

If you decide to buy a commercial spread to use in place of butter on toast or muffins, Snodgrass recommends choosing a product that is low in saturated fat and free of trans fats or hydrogenated oils. She also suggests looking at the sodium (salt) content and total calories, especially for people who are trying to reduce their overall calorie intake.

A Final Word on Butter Alternatives in Recipes and Spreads

If you love baking, there’s no reason to hold back from making yummy treats in your kitchen. In some cases — when whipping up a favorite family recipe, for instance — you might want to stick with the tried-and-true butter that the recipe calls for. But at other times, you can reduce calories and fat, improve the nutrition profile, or build a recipe to suit your dietary needs by replacing butter with avocado, applesauce, yogurt, or even pureed beans.

While there are some guidelines for substitutions, don’t be afraid to experiment and tweak a recipe until your cake, brownie, or quick bread comes out perfectly. You can also bring butter substitutions into everyday meals and snacks to add nutrition, taste, and variety.

Additional reporting by Quinn Phillips.