Olive Oil vs Butter: Cooking, Baking and Nutrition Compared

Olive oil and butter are the two fats most home cooks reach for, and in many recipes you can use either. They are not the same thing, though: butter contains water and milk solids, while olive oil is pure fat. That difference explains how each one behaves in a hot pan and in a cake. Below we compare them using USDA data and practical cooking guidance. This is a kitchen comparison, not dietary advice.

What each one is made of

Butter is made from cream. In the US, butter must contain at least 80% milkfat, and USDA grades butter on its flavour, body, colour and salt. The rest is mostly water, with a little protein and milk sugar. Olive oil is the oil pressed from olives and is essentially 100% fat, with no water.

Per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central)	Butter, salted	Olive oil
Energy	717 kcal	884 kcal
Total fat	81.1 g	100 g
Water	16.2 g	0 g
Protein	0.85 g	0 g
Saturated fat	51.4 g	13.8 g
Monounsaturated fat	21.0 g	73.0 g
Polyunsaturated fat	3.0 g	10.5 g
Cholesterol	215 mg	0 mg
Sodium	643 mg (unsalted butter: 11 mg)	2 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	684 µg	0 µg
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	2.3 mg	14.4 mg

Per tablespoon the numbers look closer than per 100 g, because a tablespoon of butter is partly water. Using USDA portion weights, a tablespoon of butter (about 14.2 g) has roughly 102 calories and 11.5 g of fat, and a tablespoon of olive oil (13.5 g) has about 119 calories and 13.5 g of fat. Our olive oil nutrition facts page has the full breakdown per teaspoon and tablespoon.

In the pan: heat, browning and flavour

The milk solids in butter are what make it brown, and then burn. That is useful for brown butter and golden pan sauces, but it means whole butter can scorch over steady medium-high heat, which is why many cooks add a splash of oil to the pan with it or use clarified butter for frying.

Olive oil has no milk solids. The North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) puts the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil at typically 350–410°F (177–210°C) and refined olive oil at 390–470°F (199–243°C), and notes that average stovetop cooking happens at around 350°F (177°C). Read more in our olive oil smoke point guide.

Job	Olive oil	Butter
Sautéing and pan frying	Very good; heat the oil until it shimmers	Good over moderate heat; can scorch
Roasting vegetables	Very good, as in briam or lemon potatoes	Good, browns well; better at moderate temperatures
Dressings and dips	Liquid at room temperature; the classic choice	Solid when cold; not used
Finishing a dish	A drizzle of extra virgin oil adds fruit and pepper	A knob melts into sauces and vegetables
Laminated pastry, shortbread, buttercream	Not suitable	Needed: these rely on solid fat

Baking with olive oil instead of butter

Olive oil works best in place of melted butter: in quick breads, muffins, brownies, many cakes and some cookies. It is less successful where a recipe creams solid butter with sugar to trap air, or depends on solid fat for flakiness, as in pie crust, puff pastry and shortbread. Because butter is about 16% water and olive oil is all fat, you need less oil. The NAOOA conversion chart uses roughly three parts olive oil for four parts butter:

Butter	Olive oil
1 teaspoon	¾ teaspoon
1 tablespoon	2¼ teaspoons
¼ cup (½ stick)	3 tablespoons
½ cup (1 stick)	¼ cup + 2 tablespoons
1 cup (2 sticks)	¾ cup
100 g	78 ml
250 g	about 195 ml

Choose the oil for the flavour you want. A light-tasting or regular olive oil is almost neutral; a fruity extra virgin oil gives cakes a distinctive flavour, as in our olive oil cake. Going the other way, to use melted butter where a recipe calls for olive oil, reverse the ratio: about 1⅓ times as much butter by volume.

Olive oil substitutes

If a recipe calls for olive oil and you have none, another liquid oil is the easiest swap. The NAOOA says olive oil and vegetable oil can replace each other 1:1; the difference is flavour. See olive oil vs vegetable oil for how they compare. Melted butter works in baking and sautéing, but not in a dressing or a dip that is served cold, where it will set.

Butter and olive oil in Greek cooking

Most savoury Greek home cooking is built on olive oil: salads and dressings, vegetable dishes such as fasolakia, bean soups and roasts. Butter appears more in baking and in certain sweets, for example kourabiedes, while melomakarona and many Lenten sweets are made with olive oil. For everyday cooking, a good bottle of Greek extra virgin olive oil, such as our Rapti Koroneiki olive oil, covers almost everything.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central: Butter, salted (FDC ID 173410)
• USDA FoodData Central: Butter, without salt (FDC ID 173430)
• USDA FoodData Central: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC ID 171413)
• USDA Agricultural Marketing Service: Butter grades and standards
• North American Olive Oil Association: Olive oil smoke point
• North American Olive Oil Association: Butter to olive oil conversion chart
• North American Olive Oil Association: Can I substitute olive oil for vegetable oil?

Olive oil vs butter: frequently asked questions