Substituting Unsalted Butter For Salted: How To Swap Them In Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to swap unsalted butter for salted butter? ›

So here's a simple rule of thumb to use so you can make the recipe with unsalted butter. Just remember, for every half cup (1 stick or ¼ lb) of salted butter required, you can add ¼ teaspoon of salt to Challenge Unsalted Butter. Regular butter contains some salt, and most recipes take this into account.

If you're baking and swapping in salted butter, the excess water from salted butter may make more of an impact. This is because extra water can have an effect on how gluten reacts and forms within dough. Consider slightly lessening any additional water the recipe may call for.

Unsalted butter gives you complete control of the overall flavor of your recipe. This is especially important in certain baked goods where the pure, sweet cream flavor of butter is key (butter cookies or pound cakes). As it pertains to cooking, unsalted butter lets the real, natural flavor of your foods come through.

Substitutes for Unsalted Butter

If you find your fridge empty in the butter department or can't tolerate dairy, you can swap it completely with these butter replacements. For 1 cup unsalted butter, substitute 1 cup shortening, ⅞ cup (that's 14 Tbsp. or ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp.) vegetable oil, or ⅞ cup lard.

Most brands of salted butter contain between 600 and 900 mg of sodium, or about ¼ to ½ of a teaspoon of salt, per stick. Unsalted butter contains some sodium, said Sam Barton, Organic Valley senior food technologist.

Land O Lakes salted butter (my go-to brand) has 90mg of sodium per tablespoon. That means it has 225mg of salt per tablespoon, or 1.8 grams per stick, 7.2 grams per pound. Table salt weighs 5.7 grams per teaspoon, so Land O Lakes salted butter contains 1.26 teaspoon of salt per pound of butter.

You may notice a positive difference in baked goods that use unsalted butter, specifically in taste and texture. This is especially true when it comes to recipes like butter cookies, brownies, and pound cakes, just to name a few. An exact amount of butter and salt is key to the success of these recipes.

Both chefs agreed that when it comes to cooking and baking, salted butter is not the way to go because you can't control the amount of salt that will go in the recipe. But, salted butter is a great option to use after the cooking and baking process—like slathering on cornbread or blueberry muffins.

Should I use salted or unsalted butter for mac and cheese? – You should use unsalted butter for mac and cheese so that you can completely control the amount of salt the dish has.

Yes! Country Crock^® is great for cooking and baking. Certain Country Crock^® products can be swapped 1:1 for butter in cooking and baking recipes: Country Crock^® Baking Sticks and Country Crock^® Plant Butter sticks and tubs.

Can I use olive oil instead of unsalted butter? ›

Usually, olive oil is best used as a substitute for butter in baking recipes that call specifically for liquid butter. In these cases, olive oil should be substituted for butter in a 3:4 ratio by volume. So if the recipe calls for one cup of butter, then you would use ¾ cup of olive oil.

It goes with out saying that butter is the key ingredient to this frosting. You can use salted or unsalted butter and opinions are divided on which is best. Many recipes for this icing suggest unsalted. However a little salt brings out the flavour so they then often add salt.

Unsalted butter is fine at room temperature, but salted butter is better. In fact, salted butter can sit out on the countertop for a longer period of time without spoiling, since salt is a natural preservative, Bell explains. That means the salt protects against bacterial growth.

Make a Hot Water Bath

Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter). After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes.

One full stick of butter equals 1/2 cup, or 8 tablespoons. Our half sticks equal 1/4 cup of butter, or 4 tablespoons. They can be used interchangeably in recipes.