What Can You Use Instead of Coconut Oil?

If you are out of coconut oil, choose a substitute based on the recipe: butter that is solid at room temperature for cakes and cookies; high-smoke-point sunflower or canola oil for frying and wok dishes; and cocoa butter for raw vegan recipes.

What can you use instead of coconut oil in cakes and cookies?

Coconut oil is used in cakes because it stays solid at room temperature and helps incorporate air into the batter, making it rise. The closest substitute is unmelted butter, which can be swapped directly at a 1:1 ratio. For a vegan result, solid vegetable margarine provides a similar consistency. Liquid vegetable oils such as sunflower or olive oil stay liquid at room temperature and do not incorporate air into the batter in the same way, so the cake may turn out denser and rise less. The lightly sweet aroma of coconut cannot be fully replicated with butter. If the recipe depends on that flavor, adding a few drops of vanilla extract to the batter can partly make up for it.

What can you use for frying and wok dishes?

Coconut oil's high smoke point makes it suitable for frying and wok cooking. Sunflower, canola, or peanut oil has a similar quality and can be substituted directly at a 1:1 ratio. These oils taste much more neutral than coconut oil, so in Southeast Asian dishes such as pad thai or curry, you can add a few drops of sesame oil to help balance the aroma that is lost.

What can you use in vegan recipes and raw energy bites?

In energy bites, raw cakes, and vegan desserts, coconut oil acts as a binder and hardens as it cools. Cocoa butter performs almost the same function, but it is more expensive and harder to find. If cocoa butter is also unavailable, a thick nut butter such as hazelnut butter or almond butter can partly bind the mixture, but it will not become as firm when chilled as coconut oil. Whichever substitute you choose, the distinctive tropical aroma of coconut cannot be fully recreated. If that aroma is not essential to the recipe, the alternatives above work well functionally for texture and frying performance.

Do storage conditions change for alternative fats?

Coconut oil can keep at room temperature for months without spoiling, while alternatives such as butter and margarine should be stored in the refrigerator. If you forget to bring them to room temperature before use, adding them cold to cake batter can leave lumps. Liquid oils such as sunflower and canola oil stay fresh longest when stored in a cool, dark cupboard away from the stove. Oils left in direct sunlight turn rancid faster, so keeping the bottle in a closed cupboard instead of right beside the stove noticeably extends its shelf life and delays rancidity.