Substitutions / unsalted butter
What to use instead of unsalted butter
Use coconut oil in equal amounts. Adds a faint coconut flavor in delicate recipes; works well for baking and sautéing but won't cream the same way for frosting.
Every option, best first
| Use instead | How much | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 1:1 | Adds a faint coconut flavor in delicate recipes; works well for baking and sautéing but won't cream the same way for frosting. |
| Salted butter | 1:1 | Reduce any added salt in the recipe by about ¼ tsp per ½ cup to compensate. |
| Vegetable shortening | 1:1 | Neutral flavor and similar fat content, but lacks butter's richness and produces a slightly different texture in baked goods. |
How much is a cup of unsalted butter?
Substituting by volume and weighing are different problems, and the second one has an exact answer. Weigh unsalted butter in grams →
A word on how to read these
A substitution is a trade, not an equivalence. The ratio gets the quantity right; the third column is the part worth reading, because it tells you what you are giving up. In a stew, most of these are invisible. In a cake — where flour, liquid, fat and leavening are in a fixed relationship — the same swap can change the crumb.
Why baking notices and stew doesn't →
Where these came from
These substitutions were written by Gather's own kitchen model — the same one the app uses when you tap an ingredient and ask what else would work — then checked and saved as a fixed list in July 2026. Nothing on this page is generated while you read it. They are a good starting point and not a substitute for tasting as you go.