Out of Vegetable Oil? Easily Sub These Pantry Staples
Not all heroes wear capes. These vegetable oil substitutes from your pantry can come to the rescue and save you from a trip to the grocery store!
Perhaps you’ve bought and prepped ingredients for a recipe, only to find out there’s barely a trickle left in the bottle of vegetable oil. There’s no reason to abandon ship. A little rooting around the pantry or fridge can unearth a reliable stunt double for vegetable oil—and produce equally (if not, more) delicious results in your dish.
Before we explore the different kinds of swaps, it’s helpful to know what vegetable oil is. Bottles labeled “vegetable oil” almost always consist of soybean oil, sometimes with corn oil blended in. This versatile oil can be used in both sweet and savory applications, including muffins, wraps, and mayonnaise. Vegetable oil is often called for in recipes that employ high-heat cooking methods because it has a high smoke point (meaning it can reach a high temperature in the pan before burning and turning your food bitter.) This neutral oil is also relatively inexpensive compared to some others so you can use it in abundance for deep-frying without draining the bank account.
What should I use as a vegetable oil substitute?
First, to find a good vegetable oil substitute, identify your method of cooking. Are you stir-frying, baking desserts or using the vegetable oil uncooked for salad dressings? If you are deep frying or shallow frying, you’ll need to use a high smoke point oil that won’t degrade at high temperatures and potentially start a fire. Once you’ve figured out how you’re cooking your food, refer to our handy guide for dependable swaps.
Second, consider the flavor of your substitute. Vegetable oil is a neutral oil, whereas something like extra-virgin olive oil has a distinct flavor. But more flavor is better, isn’t it? Not always. You might not welcome, say, the nuttiness of sesame oil in mild foods, like light and fluffy pancakes.
Lastly, think about how the substitute will affect the texture of your dish. Fats such as butter and coconut oil are solid at room temp so they can leave undesirable lumps in a vinaigrette. Our detailed guide will help you choose when to reach for solid vs. liquid fats.
Vegetable oil substitutes for high-heat cooking
Whether you’re deep-frying chicken or crisping crab cakes in a pan, you’ll need a fat like vegetable oil that can stand up to these high cooking temperatures without smoking. Vegetable oil can be heated to 400° to 450° so the best substitutes for these cooking methods will have similarly high smoke points. Use any of the following neutral oils in a 1:1 substitution for vegetable oil:
Safflower oil - Made from the seeds of the safflower plant, this cooking oil has one of the highest smoke points, making it ideal for any cooking method, especially deep-frying.
Smoke point: 510°
Peanut oil - Considered one of the best healthy cooking oils, this monounsaturated oil is often used for deep-frying French fries and stir-frying Chinese and other Asian dishes.
Smoke point: 450°
Canola oil - Made from crushed canola seeds, this mild oil is low in saturated fats. It works well for stir-frying and searing foods, like salmon fillets.
Smoke point: 400°
Grapeseed oil - Pressed from grape seeds (a byproduct of winemaking), this skin-boosting oil can be swapped in for vegetable oil when searing and stir-frying.
Smoke point: 390°
Vegetable oil substitutes for baking
If you need a vegetable oil substitute for baking, you can probably spy something suitable in your fridge or pantry to make the switch. Vegetable oil is the secret to a beautiful, even crumb in cake recipes, helping them stay moist longer than those made with butter. So keep in mind that filling in another ingredient may affect the texture of your baked goods. However, if you’re in a pinch, it’s certainly worth trying one of these replacements in muffins, quick breads, and cookie recipes.
Unsalted butter - Melted butter can work as a 1:1 swap for vegetable oil and will add that round, rich flavor we often associate with baked goods, especially in cookies, like these maple butter pecan cookies.
Coconut oil - Melted coconut oil can also replace vegetable oil in baking. The unrefined version will impart some tropical flavor, which can enhance certain baked goods—glazed carrot cake, anyone? If you prefer a less assertive flavor, opt for refined coconut oil, which is more neutral.
Mayonnaise - If you simply think of mayonnaise as a combo of oil, egg, and vinegar—all ingredients that keep baked goods tender—it makes perfect sense to incorporate it in baking. Use mayo as a 1:1 stand-in for vegetable oil in dessert recipes, like this rich dark chocolate chiffon cake.
Sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk - These dairy products are often mixed into baked goods to yield a more tender crumb, lending a pleasant tang along the way. Use sour cream or yogurt as a 1:1 swap for vegetable; buttermilk in 3 parts to 1 part melted butter or coconut oil.
Applesauce - Plain unsweetened applesauce will add moisture as well as with some natural sweetness to baked goods. It doesn’t have the fat content of oil so it won’t be a perfect 1:1 proxy but if you’re willing to experiment a little, you can start by subbing in half the amount of oil with applesauce then making up the rest with melted butter or coconut oil.
Mashed bananas - A staple in banana bread, mashed bananas will add moisture—and if very ripe, some caramel notes—to baked goods. You will still need some fat to go with this fruit so try using half mashed bananas and half melted butter or coconut oil as an alt for the vegetable oil.
Vegetable oil substitutes for salad dressing
You don’t need to heat the oil when making most salad dressings so that opens up plenty of options for substitutes that have lower smoke points. Almost any type of cooking or finishing oil will work in a dressing but if that oil has an assertive flavor, such as a grassy olive oil or toasty walnut oil, it’s best to cut it with a neutral oil. The following list includes our favorite vegetable oil substitutes for salad dressing.
Olive oil - You most likely have a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil in your kitchen. While you could use it as a 1:1 swap for vegetable oil, the robust flavor could overwhelm a dressing, such as a Japanese carrot ginger dressing—not to mention would be pricy to use in large quantities. We recommend combining EVOO with a neutral oil in a 1:2 ratio (extra-virgin olive oil to neutral oil). If you happen to have light olive oil, this milder oil can act as a 1:1 sub for vegetable oil in salad dressings.
Avocado oil - Unrefined avocado oil has a buttery, grassy flavor that can elevate a creamy dressing, such as an herb and Parmesan vinaigrette. The refined version of the oil is more neutral in flavor and is better suited for baking and high-heat cooking.
Nut or seed oil - If you’d welcome some nutty, toasty flavor in your salad dressing, an oil pressed from roasted nuts or seeds can make a tasty vegetable oil surrogate. Try almond oil, walnut oil, or pumpkin seed oil in a vinaigrette for green beans or pecan oil in a honey mustard dressing.
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