Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog on July 3, 2026
We have all been there. A recipe that needs to be completed, a food craving or just a wild hair to bake and there is no oil in the house. What do you do? I usually panic first, search the back of the pantry and then of course head to the trust internet to find replacements for oil in recipes. Today we take a look at some solid choices and how you can use them in your favorite recipes when oil isn’t available or you are trying to avoid using oils.
There is a lot of conflicting noise on the effects of oil. Many nutritionists point to data that says that olive oil is actually good for you, but these studies are often flawed because they compare various types of fat against each other rather than simply oil vs no oil. Notice how the FDA words their recommendation (emphasis mine):
“Supportive but not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that daily consumption of about 1½ tablespoons (20 grams) of oils containing high levels of oleic acid, when replaced for fats and oils higher in saturated fat, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. To achieve this possible benefit, oleic acid-containing oils should not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.”
In other words, if you replace your daily butter with olive oil instead, you MAY get some benefits! Well, duh! Just because something is better than butter doesn’t mean it is good for you!
Ultimately, oil has NUMEROUS health issues, such as: increasing inflammation, increasing risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing risk of type-2 diabetes, raising cholesterol and triglycerides, and being the most calorie dense “food” on the planet (240 calories in 2 tablespoons!).
On the biology front, Michael Moss in his incredible book Salt, Sugar, Fat, explains how the processed food industry uses those three nutrients to control our tastebuds and create irresistible, addictive foods.
We were designed to crave fatty foods, and since oil is pure 100% fat by definition, oil is one of the most effective tools that food scientist can use to make things taste great and get us hooked.
What’s incredible about the combination of salt, sugar, and fat is that scientists can omit one and then boost the others to compensate. So, in our current low-carb craze, they can drop the carbs/sugar and simply increase the fat and salt to keep addictiveness at a maximum.
Think of the most addictive unhealthy foods and they have large amounts of Salt, Sugar, and Fat (think orange chicken fried in oil and coated in a salty & sugary sauce). Or, they omit one and have even higher amounts of the other two (think potato chips with no sugar but ridiculous fat and salt).
In other words: oils are a powerful tool in the food scientist’s toolbox that can be used to achieve a variety of goals – in addition to also making the food taste great. It’s a win-win for them, but a loss for our health.
Oil is used in baked goods for three primary reasons: flavor, moisture, and texture. Let me quickly explain each of these functions…
Flavor: We just explored this. Adding oil to baked goods increases the fat content, which makes people happy.
Moisture: Compare a cake with oil to one without oil and the oily cake will be luxurious and soft; the one without will taste like stale bread.
Texture: This is especially important with saturated fat (coconut oil, butter) which has a special property: it is solid at room temperature but melts when heated. This enables saturated fat to do magical things in baked goods. Example: Mix cold butter into puff pastry dough and the pastry cooks before the tiny bits of butter can melt, leaving little pockets of air. The crust becomes light and flaky.
Melted, unsalted butter is the perfect substitute for oil, and can even add a richer flavor to baked recipes. Swap in butter for oil in a 1:1 ratio, melting butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. Vegan butter or ghee can also work in this instance. Try subbing melted butter into any baked recipe, like your favorite birthday cake.
Avocado is full of natural fats that can replicate oil and add a creaminess to your baked goods. The swap is simple and can be used in recipes from scratch or from a box. Use a 1:1 ratio for swapping oil with smashed avocado (fresh is best, not frozen or packaged, which may be watery when defrosted or have stabilizers). Note that the fruit’s color can affect the recipe, so only use avocado in something dark-hued, like brownies or chocolate cake, or a recipe where the exterior appearance doesn’t matter, such as a frosted treat. You could also enhance or hide the baked avocado color with food coloring.
Adding applesauce to baked goods instead of oil is a common hack to try, and brings a little more nutrition and moistness into a cake. Pick natural applesauce, which won’t change the flavor of your baked goods too much, and try this hack with bold-flavored baked goods, like Cinnamon-Spiced Pumpkin Muffins. The swap can be done in a 1:1 ratio, and is easily executed with a boxed mix or a more intricate recipe.
Whole-fat Greek yogurt is a great swap for oil in baked goods. It’s creamy and rich, and adds a nice texture to pound cakes, cookies, muffins, plus a bit of extra protein. Due to its thickness, you’ll want to add a bit more yogurt to the recipe than the amount of oil called for. Start with a 1:1.25 ratio. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of oil, use 1 ¼ cup of yogurt for baking. If your batter seems dry, slowly stir in a bit more yogurt.
If you have shortening in the pantry, it can be subbed in for oil in an equal ratio. Heat the shortening over low heat in a small saucepan until it becomes liquid. Transfer to a bowl, allow it to cool slightly, and then add it to your recipe as you would oil. This works well for sturdier baked goods like Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies, brownies, breads, or cakes.
Before you dump the liquified bacon grease from your bacon pan, bake with it! Strain out any solids with a small mesh sieve or disposable coffee filter, and then sub the bacon grease in for cooking oil, using half the amount of bacon grease as the recipe calls for oil, a 1:.5 ratio. Bacon grease does retain a bacon-y flavor, so only use this in a recipe where you may want some savory and salty notes—in pancakes, savory scones, or a breakfast bake, this could be a welcome addition.
Rich, creamy, and a source of natural oils within themselves, nut butters can be a flavorful substitute for oil in many recipes. Use an equal amount of nut butter to replace the oil in any recipe, measuring by volume. If the nut butter feels too hard to measure, microwave it in 10-second increments to slightly soften it. Opt for a natural, unsweetened, smooth nut butter to not alter the chemistry or consistency of the batter too much. This hack would work nicely in baked goods that would go well with nut butter, brownies with some added peanut butter, fruit bars with cashew butter, or a citrus cake with almond butter.
Many people forget the ingredients of mayonnaise because it’s such a popular sandwich spread: it’s essentially just eggs and oil (and a bit of vinegar). Since it’s already made of ingredients generally used in baked goods, mayonnaise can make an excellent substitute for oil. It might even make your cakes and brownies even more moist and rich because of the egg content. Just do a 1:1 swap for whatever oil the recipe calls for, and you’ll be golden.
Like applesauce, mashed banana works beautifully as a substitute in sweet baked goods. Make sure that the bananas you’re using are slightly older and starting to brown; green bananas don’t mash well and will bring a more bitter taste to your baking. Mashed bananas will keep your baked goods nice and moist, and as a bonus, you’ll get a potassium boost! It’s important to thoroughly mash the banana(s) or you’ll end up with lumps of fruit. You can substitute mashed bananas in a 1:1 ratio for oil in baking.
During the autumn, you see tons of baked goods that use pumpkin as their main flavor. But you can also use pumpkin as a substitute for oil in a pinch. Squash and sweet potato purees also work just as well. For measurements, pumpkin follows the same guidelines as tofu—1/3 cup of pumpkin for every 1/2 cup oil. Just keep in mind that your baked goods may end up with a slightly different color—and possibly a pumpkin-y flavor—if you use this option.
Both of these dairy products can do double duty as their own baking ingredient as well as a substitute for oil. They do have a tang to them, so keep that in mind when you’re considering a swap. You’ll want to use the full-fat version of both in order to keep the moistness in your baked goods that you would get from oil. With sour cream, you can do a 1:1 substitution for oil; with buttermilk, use 3/4 cup buttermilk mixed with 1/4 cup butter or margarine for every one cup of oil.
The options are pretty endless when it comes to replacing oils in our day to day lives. For more food safety and nutrition information please keep an eye on Make Food Safe.