Butter to Oil Conversion
Enter the amount of butter your recipe calls for and read the matching amount of vegetable oil. The converter swaps by weight at three quarters, then adjusts for oil being lighter than butter by volume.
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Created by the Reeliy Editorial Team. Last updated: Oct 19, 2026
Swapping butter for oil
Butter is not pure fat: it is roughly 80% butterfat with the rest mostly water and a little milk solids. Vegetable oil is 100% fat. Replacing butter one-for-one therefore puts more fat into the bake than the recipe intended, which tends to make it greasy or heavy.
The usual remedy is to use three quarters as much oil as butter by weight. The converter does exactly that, and then converts the weight back into the unit you want using the density of each: butter at 0.959 g/ml and vegetable oil at 0.918 g/ml.
How to use the converter
- Enter the butter amount and choose its unit in the first row (grams, ounces, pounds, sticks, milliliters, spoons or cups).
- Choose the unit you want the oil in, in the second row. The answer shows at once, rounded to three decimals.
oil weight = butter weight × 0.75
oil volume = butter volume × 0.75 × 0.959 ÷ 0.918 ≈ butter volume × 0.783So one cup of butter becomes a little under four fifths of a cup of oil.
A stick of butter is treated as 4 ounces (about 113 g), the standard American size, which is also 8 tablespoons or half a cup.
Worked examples
- 1 stick of butter: 4 oz × 0.75 = 3 oz of oil, which is 85.048 g, 92.645 ml or about 6.265 US tablespoons.
- 100 g of butter: 100 × 0.75 = 75 g of oil, or 81.699 ml.
- 2 US cups of butter: 376.078 ml of oil, about 1.567 cups.
- 1 pound of butter: 16 oz × 0.75 = 12 oz of oil, or 1.544 cups.
Butter to oil chart
| Butter amount | Oil in US tablespoons | Oil in US cups | Oil in ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 0.783 | 0.048 | 11.585 |
| 2 tablespoons | 1.567 | 0.097 | 23.171 |
| 1/4 cup | 3.179 | 0.196 | 47.01 |
| 1/3 cup | 4.239 | 0.261 | 62.68 |
| 1/2 cup (1 stick) | 6.358 | 0.392 | 94.02 |
| 2/3 cup | 8.478 | 0.522 | 125.359 |
| 3/4 cup | 9.538 | 0.588 | 141.029 |
| 1 cup | 12.717 | 0.783 | 188.039 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 19.075 | 1.175 | 282.059 |
| 2 cups | 25.433 | 1.567 | 376.078 |
When the swap works, and when it does not
Oil stands in well for butter in recipes that are mixed rather than creamed: muffins, quick breads, brownies, many cakes and pancakes. The crumb is often moister, though a little less rich in flavor.
- Poor candidates: shortbread, flaky pastry, laminated doughs and cookies that rely on creaming butter with sugar, because oil cannot hold air or stay solid when cold.
- Choose a neutral oil such as canola, sunflower or vegetable oil when you do not want to taste it. Olive oil works in savory bakes and some chocolate or citrus cakes.
- Salted butter: a salted recipe may need a small pinch of extra salt when you switch to oil.
To go the other way, use the oil to butter converter, and for butter measured in sticks, cups or grams see the butter converter.
Frequently asked questions
How much oil replaces a cup of butter?
About 0.783 cup, which is a little over three quarters of a cup (roughly ¾ cup plus 1½ teaspoons). By weight it is three quarters of the butter's weight.
How much oil replaces a stick of butter?
A stick is 4 oz (113 g) of butter, so use 3 oz (85.048 g) of oil, about 6.265 US tablespoons.
Can I replace butter with oil one for one?
You can, but the bake will usually come out greasier, because butter is only about 80% fat while oil is 100% fat. Using three quarters as much oil keeps the fat level closer to the original.
Which oil is best instead of butter?
A neutral oil such as canola, sunflower or vegetable oil lets other flavors come through. Olive oil adds a noticeable flavor that suits some savory and chocolate recipes.
References
Cite this converter and page
If you use this page in your work, you can cite it as:
Reeliy Editorial Team. (2026). Butter to Oil Conversion. Reeliy. https://reeliy.com/converters/butter-to-oil-converter“Butter to Oil Conversion.” Reeliy, 2026, https://reeliy.com/converters/butter-to-oil-converter.