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

FAQs

Substituting Unsalted Butter For Salted: How To Swap Them In Recipes? ›

Next, if you're swapping unsalted for salted butter, reduce the amount of salt listed in the recipe to adjust for the salt in the butter. Take ¼ teaspoon of salt away for every stick of butter used*. Do the opposite if you're swapping salted for 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.

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.

When you cook, unlike when you bake, you can taste as you go – and in fact many savory recipes instruct you to “add salt to taste.” Thus if a recipe calls for unsalted butter, but you add salted instead, you will be able to taste the dish's saltiness and then add as little, or as much, extra salt as you would like.

Most brands of salted butter contain between 600 and 900 mg of sodium, or about ¼ to ½ of a teaspoon of salt, per stick. Unsalted butter contains some sodium, said Sam Barton, Organic Valley senior food technologist.

The biggest difference in butter is the amount of salt. For baking purposes, the Test Kitchen recommends using unsalted butter so you can better control the amount of salt that goes into the recipe. Salted butter is best for serving at the table with bread or to flavor a dish, like mashed potatoes.

One stick of butter is 1/2 (half) cup. Two sticks of butter is 1 cup.

This translates to approximately 0.16-0.32 ounces (or 4.5-9 grams) of salt per pound (or 454 grams) of unsalted butter.

Land O Lakes salted butter (my go-to brand) has 90mg of sodium per tablespoon. That means it has 225mg of salt per tablespoon, or 1.8 grams per stick, 7.2 grams per pound. Table salt weighs 5.7 grams per teaspoon, so Land O Lakes salted butter contains 1.26 teaspoon of salt per pound of butter.

The presence of the salt gives the butter 10 to 18% more water content, and it extends the life of butter, allowing it to last for about 5 months versus the usual 3-month shelf life of unsalted butter. How much salt goes into salted butter varies by brand.

How to make salted butter out of unsalted 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.

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.

Use unsalted butter so you can add a small amount of salt (¼ teaspoon per stick of butter) to the sugar/liquid mixture. Salt tends to stabilize the mixture and keep it from foaming as much.

But here's a general rule: reduce or add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup (1/4 lb; 8 Tbsp; 113g) of butter. Explained: If you come across a recipe that calls for salted butter and all you have is unsalted butter, use unsalted butter and increase the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon for every 1/2 cup of butter.

Adjust Salt

Next, if you're swapping unsalted for salted butter, reduce the amount of salt listed in the recipe to adjust for the salt in the butter. Take ¼ teaspoon of salt away for every stick of butter used*.

It goes with out saying that butter is the key ingredient to this 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.

Make a Hot Water Bath

Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter). After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes.

For a 16 ounce jar of peanut butter, I like to add 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt for a “salted” peanut butter flavor. However, you can start with just 1/4 teaspoon of salt and see if that's enough for you. The nice thing about making your own is that YOU get to control the flavor.