Yes — you can substitute butter with oil in most baking recipes. But the ratio is not 1:1, the texture changes, and some recipes work much better with the swap than others. Here's everything you need to know before you try.
Use 75% of the butter weight in oil (e.g., 100 g butter → 75 g oil). Use a neutral oil like sunflower or vegetable oil for most cakes. The result will be moister and denser than with butter, without the buttery flavour. Works best in carrot cake, banana bread, muffins, and chocolate cake.
Replace 100 g / 7 tbsp of butter with 75 g / 5 tbsp of oil (¾ the amount by weight). For cup measurements: 1 cup butter → ¾ cup oil.
This ratio works for most cakes, muffins, quick breads, and loaf cakes. It accounts for the water content in butter (about 17%) that liquid oil lacks — using too much oil makes bakes greasy.
Butter is not pure fat. A standard European butter is approximately:
Oil is 100% fat. If you replace 100 g of butter with 100 g of oil, you're adding ~25% more pure fat than the recipe intends. The result is greasy, heavy, and sometimes won't set properly. Using 75 g of oil closely matches the fat content of 100 g of butter.
The water in butter also contributes to steam in the oven, which helps with rise. When you remove it, you may want to add 1–2 teaspoons of water or milk per 100 g of butter replaced, especially for lighter cakes. For dense, moist bakes like banana bread, this is rarely necessary.
Oil is liquid at room temperature. It distributes through the batter differently than solid butter and creates a moister, more tender crumb that stays soft for days. Butter-based cakes often become drier after 24 hours; oil-based cakes resist this because the fat stays liquid even when cooled.
The trade-off: you lose the light, airy crumb that comes from creaming butter and sugar together (which traps air). Oil batters are mixed, not creamed — so the texture is denser and more uniform.
Butter adds flavour — that distinct richness and slight sweetness from the milk solids. Neutral oils (sunflower, vegetable, canola) add none of this. The cake will taste less rich and more of its other flavourings (vanilla, chocolate, spices). Whether that's a problem depends on the recipe.
For chocolate cake and heavily spiced bakes, the flavour difference is barely noticeable. For a plain Madeira cake or shortbread, the difference is significant.
| Oil type | Flavour | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sunflower oil | Neutral, very mild | Any cake, muffin, quick bread. The default choice. |
| Vegetable oil | Neutral | Same as sunflower — interchangeable in most recipes. |
| Canola / rapeseed oil | Very mild, slightly nutty | Works in most sweet bakes. Good for savoury too. |
| Light olive oil | Mild, slightly fruity | Mediterranean cakes, savoury muffins, focaccia. |
| Extra-virgin olive oil | Strong, grassy, peppery | Olive oil cake, chocolate cake, savoury bakes only. |
| Coconut oil (melted) | Mild sweetness, subtle coconut | Tropical cakes, banana bread, granola. Sets firm when cold. |
| Avocado oil | Very mild, buttery | Good general substitute — closest to neutral with slight richness. |
These bakes actually benefit from the swap — they're often better with oil:
Don't swap butter for oil in these — the results will be noticeably inferior:
Describe your recipe, what you changed, and what happened — Recipe Doctor will identify whether the substitution caused the problem or if something else is to blame.
Get a free diagnosis →Use 75% of the butter's weight in oil. So 100 g butter becomes 75 g oil, or 1 cup of butter becomes ¾ cup of oil. This accounts for the water content in butter (~17%) that oil lacks. A 1:1 swap makes bakes slightly too greasy and heavy.
Yes, noticeably. Butter creates a tender, sometimes crumbly texture. Oil creates a moister, denser texture that stays soft for longer. You also lose the airy lift from creaming butter and sugar together — oil batters are mixed simply, not creamed. The result is less "fluffy" but often more moist.
Yes, but choose the right type. Light (refined) olive oil is mild enough for most cakes and muffins. Extra-virgin olive oil has a strong, grassy flavour that works beautifully in olive oil cake, chocolate cake, and savoury bakes — but can be overpowering in delicate vanilla or fruit cakes.
Oil works best in carrot cake, banana bread, chocolate cake, muffins, quick breads, and zucchini bread. It works less well in shortbread, croissants, pie crust, and classic sponge cakes that rely on creamed butter for lift and texture.
Yes, but the result will be noticeably different — cookies made with oil spread more and are chewier and denser rather than tender-crisp. The ratio is still ¾ oil to 1 part butter by weight. If the recipe relies on creaming butter and sugar for lift, the oil cookies will be flatter. Chilling the dough for 30–60 minutes before baking helps control spreading.
Yes. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, so oil-based cakes remain moist and tender even when cooled or stored. Butter solidifies when cold, making butter-based cakes drier and denser when refrigerated. This is why most commercial muffins and carrot cakes use oil — they stay moist for days longer.
Yes — the reverse swap works too. Use approximately 4/3 the amount of butter for the oil called for (25% more butter). Melt the butter first and let it cool before using as you would oil. The bake will be slightly less moist, richer in flavour, and may bake slightly slower. Avoid for high-fat oil recipes like certain chocolate cakes where the butter won't fully compensate for oil's moisture distribution.
Almost certainly a 1:1 swap instead of the ¾ ratio. Oil is 100% fat; butter is only ~80% fat. Using the same volume/weight of oil as butter specified gives you 25% more fat than the recipe intended. Other causes: oil temperature was too high when mixed with eggs (causing them to scramble or separate), or the recipe genuinely isn't suited to oil substitution (very lean batters, shortbread-style recipes).