Need a good substitute for coconut oil? The suggestions we have in this article could be the exact fit. Coconut oil is a versatile cooking ingredient that finds uses in baking, regular cooking, frying, and more. In many regions and cuisines, coconut oil goes beyond cooking, to include cosmetic and even medicinal uses.
In the west, however, the use of coconut oil is more restrained. It’s a useful ingredient for conventional baking and for many vegan baking recipes or for those with specific diet preferences.
For the purpose of this article, I’ll deal with the suitable substitute options with a perspective of their use in western cuisines and palate. As such, this will also affect the choice of substitutes and the recipes to consider for this substitution.
Conventionally, the top coconut oil substitutes are butter, vegan butter, conventional cooking oils (almond oil, vegetable oils etc.), ghee, vegetable shortening (crisco), and applesauce.
Substitute options like olive oil, applesauce, and more are often recommended, but they have notable limitations for such substitutions.
Let’s discuss it all with a deeper dive into these options and substitution for coconut oil.
Table of Contents
Best Substitute For Coconut Oil – A Detailed Discussion
1. Butter
Especially for baking, butter is a wonderful substitute for coconut oil. In many recipes, you could actually consider (unsalted) butter as the original ingredient, where a substitution was made to include coconut oil instead. Keep in mind, this assertion is not always true, but it is mostly true, especially for modern vegan and dairy-free recipes.
Of course there are differences to consider. Coconut oil is pretty much entirely fat, while butter also contains small amounts of milk solids and water. This can cause a slight change in texture, though it’s generally not troublesome.
Those who find the change in texture troubling can try reducing the recipe’s water content slightly to accommodate for the presence of moisture in butter. Try reducing the water content by one-tenth (1/10) to make things work.
A small change in flavors should be expected with this substitution. Butter brings its own subtle flavor to a recipe. Meanwhile, coconut oil, especially virgin coconut oil can have a slight touch of coconut flavor.
Apart from these differences, there are similarities at work here as well. Butter and coconut oil are both solid (or soft solids) at room temperature. This can produce good and predictable results for substitution, especially in cases where the baked goods need to rest after they’re done in the oven.
When used in baking, expect butter to produce a somewhat lighter and more airy result when compared to the denser and heavier recipes with coconut oil.
Conventionally, butter can substitute for coconut oil in a 1:1 (equal) ratio for baking. Butter should not be used as a substitute for coconut oil where frying and deep frying are involved.
2. Vegan Butter Or Margarine
As the name implies, vegan butter is a dairy-free, vegan-diet friendly alternative to butter. While specific properties can vary depending on the brand, most modern vegan butter options can closely emulate conventional butter in flavor as well as cooking and baking characteristics.
As such, it is possible to replace coconut oil with vegan butter in most baking recipes. Using equal amounts for substitution by weight works, and the results should be very similar as to those with recipes involving conventional butter.
Margarine is another option, which shows a remarkable similarity with butter. However, margarine is dairy-free and has some texture differences when used for baking, especially in comparison to butter. While margarine can be used as an alternative to coconut oil for baking recipes, it usually results in a much softer texture.
3. Oils And Vegetable Oils
A simple conventional wisdom says that it is possible to substitute fats with other fats in many recipes. As such, using other oils substitute for coconut oils can be possible for most recipes. In most cases, this theory works quite splendidly, whether for frying or baking.
The only special case to consider here are the small number of recipes that use solidifying coconut oil as a way to provide texture and structure to the food. Some granola bar recipes or no-bake muffin recipes fall into this category. Since most cooking oils don’t solidify at normal room temperature, such recipes will not work.
To be clear, this applies only to a small number of recipes. In fact, since coconut oil melts at 74°F (roughly 24°C), such recipes wouldn’t work for people living in warmer climates.
For the vast number of recipes, using other oils should work just fine. Generally speaking, this substitution is an equal (1:1) ratio by weight.
Here are a few oils to consider:
- Almond Oil: For many baking recipes, especially vegan or dairy-free recipes, almond oil can be a useful coconut oil replacement. It brings a slight nutty almond flavor to foods that can go especially well for some recipes like almond cookies. It’s quite light and healthy, so that brings another feather to its cap.
However, almond oil is usually not a top choice for such a substitution considering that it can be significantly more expensive than coconut oil or other viable substitute oils. Also, it has a low smoke point at 400°F, which limits its use to low-heat and medium-heat cooking. - Canola Oil: Flavor neutral, inexpensive, and amongst the most popular options for cooking oil, canola oil can also work as a decent coconut oil substitute. It works quite well for frying and baking needs and is easily available, making it a rather enticing choice for a substitute.
- Groundnut Oil: Made from peanuts, groundnut oil can be a suitable substitute for coconut oil in recipes that involve frying or baking. It brings a slight flavor, which should be accounted for when used in recipes.
- Other oils: Many other cooking oils like avocado oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, and more.
I think it’s important to add here that olive oil is missing from this list of recommendations. While there is a subset of baking recipes that use olive oil, its strong flavor, color, and low smoke point don’t paint it as a viable coconut oil substitute. In my view, the recipe would take an entirely different direction here, so I don’t advocate using it as a substitute for coconut oil.
4. Ghee
Ghee is very popular in Indian cuisine. It can work as a decent coconut oil substitute for most baking and frying recipes. Ghee brings a subtle yet distinct nutty flavor that is different from coconut oil. The ghee flavor is rich, yet mild, bringing a nice touch to the overall recipe.
Put simply, ghee is a type of clarified butter. When making ghee, plain butter is heated over low-to-medium flame, until the milk solids separate from the fat and the moisture evaporates.
As such, ghee is entirely composed of fats, much like conventional cooking oils/fats. As characteristics go, ghee is closer to oils rather than butter in terms of culinary use.
Interestingly, ghee is a soft solid (or grainy semi-solid) at room temperature, giving it a slight similarity with coconut oil in terms of physical properties.
Though many stores in the west now put ghee on the shelves, it can be rare in some locales. However, it’s pretty much always available at Indian stores.
As with most options on this list, you can ghee as a coconut oil substitute in a 1:1 ratio.
5. Vegetable Shortening (Crisco)
Vegetable shortening has become pretty much synonymous with the brand Crisco, which is why the heading is worded this way. However, any vegetable shortening can work as an acceptable coconut oil substitute.
Though vegetable shortening no longer has the consumer popularity and confidence it once commanded, it’s still a useful cooking ingredient and shines in several recipes.
And yes, it can work as a coconut oil substitute as well, including the uses in baking recipes. Shortening is a solid at room temperature, rich in fats, and its physical characteristics are usually quite similar to coconut oil.
6. Applesauce
Here’s a coconut oil substitute that can work, but needs some expertise and careful handling for perfect execution. Applesauce is generally used as a replacement for fats (oils and butter) in several baking recipes. And it can work surprisingly well, even though there is a huge difference in characteristics of applesauce and cooking oils (including coconut oil).
Applesauce contains a lot of moisture and a relatively low amount of fats, which puts it in a rather different category from oils that contain a lot of fats and no moisture. As such, workarounds become important when choosing this substitution option.
When using applesauce as a coconut oil alternative, expect a change in texture. The baked products will be noticeably more moist and less flavorful. As we know, humans and several animals love fats in their foods and find them more palatable than foods with less fat. It’s a big reason why low-fat food is less appealing.
According to a research at Purdue University, fat should be considered the sixth sense of taste, called oleogustus. There have been other scientific papers on this topic, like this one that notes the effect of fats on taste and flavor perception.
Anyways, without going further into the specifics of the scientific bases, I think it suffices to say that the lack of fats will make the baked goods seem less flavorful. Yet, for those who would prefer to reduce their fat intake, using applesauce seems like a pretty decent option.
As for the actual substitution, while it is possible to replace the entire amount of coconut oil in a recipe with applesauce, many workarounds come into play as a way to reduce the fat content, while also trying to manage the texture and flavor of the baked goods.
As an example, if a recipe calls for one cup of coconut oil, it might be possible to switch that with ½ cup coconut oil and ½ cup applesauce, or perhaps ¼ cup applesauce with the remaining quantity being oil.
Once you’re more confident of the change and would like to forge ahead, replacing the entire quantity of coconut oil with applesauce should be convenient. Plus, working with other aspects of the recipe to reduce the moisture content should be workable with this experience.
Of course, all this assumes the use of simple, unsweetened applesauce that doesn’t contain any additional preservatives or other ingredients.
Picking The Best Coconut Oil Substitutes – The Highlights
Having gone through this detailed discussion, it’s possible to say that there are many useful, easy to acquire products that can work as a useful substitute for coconut oil. Many of these substitutes can easily take on the role of coconut oil, without jeopardising the taste and texture of the recipe.
On the other hand, there are substitution ideas like applesauce, which can do away with the oil content of a recipe entirely, though with a possible tradeoff on texture and flavor perception.
Yet, with so many options available, it’s worthwhile to experiment a bit and see what works best for your taste buds and diet preferences.