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

FAQs

How to substitute unsalted butter for salted butter in a recipe? ›

The same holds true if substituting unsalted butter for salted: for every 1/2 cup of salted butter, you can substitute 1/2 cup of unsalted and add an additional 1/4 teaspoon to the amount of salt for which the recipe calls.

Both salted butter and unsalted butter can be used interchangeably in any recipe, but if the recipe calls specifically for unsalted butter, it's probably because the recipe has been tested with it and is preferred for that particular recipe.

1/16 teaspoon of salt for 2 tablespoons of butter. ⅛ teaspoon of salt for 4 tablespoons of butter. ½ teaspoon of salt for 1 cup (16 tablespoons) of butter.

The flavor of different brands of butter will vary somewhat, but a good rule of thumb is to start with the addition of ¼ teaspoon of salt per ½ cup of butter — that's a standard stick of butter in the United States.

UNSALTED BUTTER has less salt and lower water content. In baking, butter with a low water content is preferred, since excess water can interfere with how the gluten develops. You may notice a positive difference in baked goods that use unsalted butter, specifically in taste and texture.

It all comes down to what you're cooking. If you're sauteing vegetables, toasting bread, basting pork chops, scrambling eggs, or making a sauce, chances are you can use salted butter and that added sodium will also add some flavor enhancement to whatever you're making.

Melted butter serves the same purpose as oil, while also adding richness and depth to the cake. Unsalted butter is the best choice, unless you have a salt tooth, like me, and prefer desserts with a little extra salt to balance out the sweetness. In that case, you can use salted butter.

However, the proportion of butter to other ingredients is fairly low in rich fruit cakes, so it matters less here. We would therefore suggest using whichever butter you have in your fridge and if you use unsalted butter then you may like to add a pinch or two of salt to the cake batter when you make the cake.

According to The Pioneer Woman's digital food director, Erin Merhar, "Most baking recipes require a small amount of salt to balance and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients (ie. sugar, cocoa, etc.) Using salted butter cuts out the need for the additional ingredient!"

Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted for 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.

Properly stored butter can be frozen for up to four months if frozen prior to the USE BY date on the package. Butter may begin to lose its fresh butter taste and pick up flavors and odors from the freezer if stored for longer than four months. Once the butter is removed from the freezer, use it within 30 days.

However, sometimes a recipe calls for salted butter, but all you have is unsalted 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.

If you use salted butter, different brands may be more or less salty. If you use unsalted butter, you can measure the salt in the same amount every time you bake. Salted butter won't ruin a batch of cookies, but it is a good idea to cut back on any additional salt in the recipe.

One stick of butter is 1/2 (half) cup. Two sticks of butter is 1 cup. Four sticks is one pound, and you'll see a lot of pound cake recipes call for four sticks, or a whole box of butter.

Dry days require more water, and humid days require less. The dough seems to feed off the humidity in the air. Also, I use salted butter so I do not add salt to my recipe for pie crust. If you use unsalted butter, a pinch of salt would be good, half a teaspoon or so.

Many salted butters contain ¼ teaspoon per stick, but others can have up to double that amount. You can anticipate your salted butter's sodium to fall within this general ¼ to ½ teaspoon range, though it's usually safe to err on the lighter side and assume there's a quarter of salt teaspoon per stick.