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Butter, Oil or Applesauce? Which is the Cheapest for Baking?
We should all be baking the cakes, biscuits and slices we eat, even us Cheapskaters, but the ingredients for baking are getting expensive.
No problem! Just know your substitutes for expensive ingredients and use them.
On of the most expensive baking ingredients is butter. It makes everything taste so good, but at $12.80/kilo for the cheapest up to $18.88/kilo for the most expensive I could find at my local Coles, an inexpensive substitute needed to be found.
You can substitute margarine for butter in most recipes.
You can substitute coconut oil for butter in most recipes.
You can substitute oil for butter in most baking recipes.
You can substitute applesauce for butter in most baking recipes.
All three are cheaper per kilo than butter, and all three are readily available at your supermarket; if you have apple trees or you can access cheap apples, you can even MOO applesauce and save more money.
So which is cheaper? Well, I did some calculations, based on a recipe requiring 1 cup of butter (it was an American recipe). I converted the 1 cup of butter to grams for ease of conversion and to better suit Australian recipes.
These are the weights I worked with:
1 cup butter = 227g
1 cup vegetable oil = 192g
1 cup coconut oil = 209g
1 cup applesauce = 244g
I also searched for the cheapest version of each ingredient for this comparison, at Coles.
No problem! Just know your substitutes for expensive ingredients and use them.
On of the most expensive baking ingredients is butter. It makes everything taste so good, but at $12.80/kilo for the cheapest up to $18.88/kilo for the most expensive I could find at my local Coles, an inexpensive substitute needed to be found.
You can substitute margarine for butter in most recipes.
You can substitute coconut oil for butter in most recipes.
You can substitute oil for butter in most baking recipes.
You can substitute applesauce for butter in most baking recipes.
All three are cheaper per kilo than butter, and all three are readily available at your supermarket; if you have apple trees or you can access cheap apples, you can even MOO applesauce and save more money.
So which is cheaper? Well, I did some calculations, based on a recipe requiring 1 cup of butter (it was an American recipe). I converted the 1 cup of butter to grams for ease of conversion and to better suit Australian recipes.
These are the weights I worked with:
1 cup butter = 227g
1 cup vegetable oil = 192g
1 cup coconut oil = 209g
1 cup applesauce = 244g
I also searched for the cheapest version of each ingredient for this comparison, at Coles.
Ingredient |
Weight per Cub |
Cost per Kilo |
Cost per Cup |
Butter |
227g |
$12.80 |
$2.90 |
Coconut Oil |
205g |
$11.00 |
$2.32 |
Applesauce |
244g |
$5.30 |
$1.27 |
Vegetable Oil* |
192g |
$4.70 |
$1.17 |
Margarine |
225g |
$3.00 |
.67 cents |
*This was the cheapest generic blended vegetable oil. I wouldn't ever buy and use this oil, but added it for the comparison as it was the cheapest oil at the time. If I buy a vegetable based oil, it is usually sunflower oil. Olive oil is my oil of choice for cooking, including frying with the addition of a little butter. I don't use olive oil in baking as it can add a heavy taste to the baked goods.
My butter substitute of choice is applesauce. We have an apple tree that produces lots of apples, but they're not suitable for eating fresh. They do make great applesauce though and I'm happy to add it to the pantry shelf at the end of each summer. At less than half the cost of butter it just makes sense to use applesauce in baking.
Applesauce is an excellent substitute for butter in baking. It can't be tasted; instead, it keeps the baked goods moist without being greasy.
Coconut oil is another great substitute. Some people say they can taste it, I can't. It keeps baked goods moist, but depending on the ratio of dry ingredients to the coconut oil it can sometimes feel slightly, very slightly, greasy. This is fine in brownies or muffins, not so good in a chocolate cake. Choose when you use it for the best results.
Vegetable oil works well and gives a very nice, moist baked good. Depending on the oil you choose there may be a slight after-taste. Choose a light vegetable oil, like a sunflower oil if you can afford it, for the best results.
So there you have it - cost comparisons and an idea of how the finished baked goods turn out.
There's no need to stop baking because butter is so expensive; choose the alternative you have on hand or can afford in your grocery budget and keep on baking!
My butter substitute of choice is applesauce. We have an apple tree that produces lots of apples, but they're not suitable for eating fresh. They do make great applesauce though and I'm happy to add it to the pantry shelf at the end of each summer. At less than half the cost of butter it just makes sense to use applesauce in baking.
Applesauce is an excellent substitute for butter in baking. It can't be tasted; instead, it keeps the baked goods moist without being greasy.
Coconut oil is another great substitute. Some people say they can taste it, I can't. It keeps baked goods moist, but depending on the ratio of dry ingredients to the coconut oil it can sometimes feel slightly, very slightly, greasy. This is fine in brownies or muffins, not so good in a chocolate cake. Choose when you use it for the best results.
Vegetable oil works well and gives a very nice, moist baked good. Depending on the oil you choose there may be a slight after-taste. Choose a light vegetable oil, like a sunflower oil if you can afford it, for the best results.
So there you have it - cost comparisons and an idea of how the finished baked goods turn out.
There's no need to stop baking because butter is so expensive; choose the alternative you have on hand or can afford in your grocery budget and keep on baking!