Butter to Oil Conversion
The standard substitution is 3 parts oil for every 4 parts butter — so 1 cup of butter becomes ¾ cup of oil, and 1 stick becomes 6 tablespoons. Enter any butter amount to get the oil equivalent.
The 3:4 ratio is by volume, not weight — see the grams table below for metric amounts. It's the ratio published by the North American Olive Oil Association and echoed by Bertolli and Bob's Red Mill; it works for any liquid oil, olive or neutral.
Butter to oil conversion chart
| Butter | Oil | Oil (mL) | Oil (g, olive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tsp | ¾ tsp | 3.7 mL | 3 g |
| 1 tbsp | 2¼ tsp | 11.1 mL | 10 g |
| 2 tbsp | 1½ tbsp | 22.2 mL | 20 g |
| ¼ cup (½ stick) | 3 tbsp | 44.4 mL | 41 g |
| ⅓ cup | ¼ cup | 59.1 mL | 54 g |
| ½ cup (1 stick) | ¼ cup + 2 tbsp | 88.7 mL | 81 g |
| ⅔ cup | ½ cup | 118.3 mL | 108 g |
| ¾ cup (1½ sticks) | ½ cup + 1 tbsp | 133.1 mL | 122 g |
| 1 cup (2 sticks) | ¾ cup | 177.4 mL | 162 g |
| 2 cups (4 sticks) | 1 ½ cups | 354.9 mL | 324 g |
Why only ¾ as much oil?
Butter is not pure fat: per USDA FoodData Central, it's about 81% fat and 16% water, with a little milk solids making up the rest. Oil is 100% fat. Using the full volume of oil would make the batter noticeably greasier, so the standard charts scale it down to ¾ — which almost exactly matches the fat you're replacing. The water butter loses isn't usually missed in moist batters; in drier doughs it can be (see the "when it works" list below).
Butter to oil in grams
Baking by weight? Two things stack: you use ¾ of the volume, and a cup of oil weighs slightly less than a cup of butter (216 g vs 227 g). Net factor: multiply the butter weight by ~0.71.
| Butter | Oil (g) | Oil (mL) | Oil (measured) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 g | 36 g | 39 mL | 2 tbsp + 1.93 tsp |
| 100 g | 71 g | 78 mL | ¼ cup + 1 tbsp + 0.86 tsp |
| 113.5 g (1 stick) | 81 g | 89 mL | ¼ cup + 2 tbsp |
| 150 g | 107 g | 117 mL | ¼ cup + 3 tbsp + 2.79 tsp |
| 200 g | 143 g | 156 mL | ½ cup + 2 tbsp + 1.72 tsp |
| 227 g (1 cup) | 162 g | 177 mL | ¾ cup |
| 250 g (1 block) | 178 g | 195 mL | ¾ cup + 1 tbsp + 0.65 tsp |
When the swap works — and when it doesn't
Swap freely: muffins, quick breads (banana, zucchini, pumpkin), pancakes and waffles, brownies and other melted-butter recipes, moist dense cakes, pizza dough and focaccia. Anywhere the recipe melts the butter anyway, oil behaves almost identically.
Think twice: recipes that cream butter and sugar — the creaming step traps the air that lifts the bake, and oil can't hold air. For those cakes, King Arthur Baking suggests replacing only 25–50% of the butter with oil and creaming the rest normally. Don't swap: cookies (all-oil cookies bake up greasy and flat), pie crust, croissants and puff pastry — flaky textures need cold solid fat.
The 3:4 rule vs the 1:1 melted-butter swap
You'll meet two honest conventions. The 3:4 chart ratio (this page) matches the fat content and is the safe default. When a recipe already calls for melted butter, many bakers simply pour in the same volume of oil — a 1:1 swap that matches the liquid and gives a slightly richer, moister result. Either produces a good bake in melted-butter recipes; pick one and note what you did.
Oil to butter — the reverse
Going the other way, multiply the oil by 4/3 and use melted butter:
| Oil | Butter | Butter (g) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 tbsp | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | 37.8 g |
| ¼ cup | ⅓ cup | 75.7 g |
| ½ cup | ⅔ cup | 151.3 g |
| ¾ cup | 1 cup (2 sticks) | 227 g |
| 1 cup | 1 ⅓ cups | 302.7 g |
Butter brings ~16% water with it, so an oil recipe made with butter bakes up slightly firmer and drier — many bakers swap melted butter 1:1 for oil and accept that trade for the flavor.
Need a different conversion?
Measuring the butter itself — sticks, cups, tablespoons, grams? Use the butter converter. Weighing it? 1 cup of butter is 227 g, and a cup of olive oil is 216 g (vegetable oil: 218 g). Halving the recipe while you're at it? The recipe halving chart keeps every measure on a real spoon, and tablespoons in a cup spells out every cup fraction in spoons.
Frequently asked questions
How much oil do I use instead of 1 cup of butter?
Use 3/4 cup of oil for 1 cup of butter. The standard substitution ratio is 3:4 — three parts oil for every four parts butter, by volume — because butter is only about 80% fat, while oil is all fat.
How much oil equals 1 stick of butter?
1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup, so use 6 tablespoons of oil (that's 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, about 89 mL or 81 g). For half a stick (1/4 cup butter), use 3 tablespoons of oil.
Is substituting oil for butter a 1:1 swap?
The standard published charts say no — use 3/4 as much oil. But when a recipe calls for melted butter (brownies, many quick breads), plenty of bakers swap oil 1:1 by volume and accept a slightly richer, moister result. Both conventions exist; the 3:4 ratio matches the fat content, the 1:1 swap matches the liquid volume.
Why do you use less oil than butter?
Because butter isn't pure fat. Per USDA data, butter is about 81% fat and 16% water (the rest is milk solids). Oil is 100% fat, so 3/4 cup of oil delivers roughly the same fat as a full cup of butter.
Can I use oil instead of butter in cake?
Only partly, for classic creamed cakes. Creaming butter and sugar traps the air that leavens the cake, and oil can't hold air — King Arthur Baking recommends replacing just 25% (up to 50%) of the butter with oil for a moister crumb while still creaming normally. Cakes mixed like quick breads (with melted fat) take a full swap well.
Can I use oil instead of butter in cookies?
It's not recommended. Cookies rely on solid fat for structure and spread control — in King Arthur Baking's cookie-chemistry testing, all-oil cookies came out tender but greasy and flat. Use butter, or a recipe written for oil.
Can I use oil instead of butter in brownies?
Yes — brownies are the best-case swap, because most recipes call for melted butter anyway and don't depend on creaming. Use 3/4 the amount of oil (or swap 1:1 for extra-moist brownies), and expect to lose a little buttery flavor.
100 grams of butter is how much oil?
About 71 g of oil, or 78 mL — almost exactly 1/3 cup. By weight the factor is ~0.71, not 0.75, because oil is also slightly lighter than butter per cup (216 vs 227 g).
Which oil should I use in place of butter?
A neutral oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower) keeps the flavor closest to the original. Olive oil works beautifully in chocolate, citrus and spice bakes and in anything savory — that's the swap the 3:4 chart was originally published for.
Can I substitute butter for oil — the other direction?
Yes: use 1/3 more butter than the oil called for (multiply by 4/3), melted and cooled slightly — so 1/2 cup oil becomes 2/3 cup butter. Butter brings water along, so the crumb will be a bit firmer and drier; for the moistest result many bakers just swap melted butter 1:1 for oil.
Does the 3:4 butter-to-oil ratio work by weight?
No — the ratio is by volume (cups and tablespoons). By weight, use about 71% of the butter's weight in oil (100 g butter ≈ 71 g oil), because a cup of oil also weighs slightly less than a cup of butter.
Can I use oil in pie crust or puff pastry?
No. Flaky pastry depends on cold solid fat forming layers that steam apart in the oven — a liquid oil just coats the flour and turns the crust mealy. Stick with butter (or another solid fat) for pie crusts, croissants and puff pastry.