Here’s a common question in the kitchen. What’s the deal with salted and unsalted butter in baking? Does it really make a difference? Or is the recipe just being annoyingly picky? Ugh, baking.
Yes and yes I’m sorry.
Butter is our best friend in the kitchen, especially when it comes to pie crusts and cookies and cakes and cupcakes and poundcake and oh yeah, every other thing we have ever baked! Butter’s so common in our recipes that we often take this simple ingredient for granted. But the truth is that butter is just as fussy as the next baking ingredient. If your butter is too warm, forget about creaming it and your “fluffy cake” will end up dense, lifeless, and flat. Too cold and you’ll wind up with harsh chunks of butter in your otherwise pristine cake batter. Not only with regards to temperature, butter is a massive question mark when it comes to salt content. And that’s exactly what we’re going to discuss today.
It’s quite ironic that a recipe can call for both unsalted (sweet) butter and salt. Why not just use salted butter? 2 or 3 reasons, actually.
1. The amount of salt in salted butter varies between brands.
You know baking is all about science, but it’s all about control as well. When you use unsalted butter in a recipe, you can control the exact amount of salt in your baked good. When you use salted butter, you have no idea how much salt you’re using because it varies between each brand you see at the store. Chowhound tells us the exact amount of salt in popular brands and some are double the amount of others! It would take quite a lot of salted butter to really produce a huge taste difference in baked goods, but it’s still good to be able to fully control the amount of salt.
2. Unsalted butter is fresher.
Salt is a preservative and therefore, salted butter has a longer shelf life than unsalted butter. We’re talking 3-4 months of shelf time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that salted butter has been on the shelf longer; it simply has a longer shelf life. For the freshest butter, reach for the unsalted variety. (Or heck! Make your own!) However, some brands add “natural flavor” to unsalted butter, which extends its shelf life (not quite as long as salt). This is usually lactic acid, which also helps regulate its pH.
How to Substitute Salted Butter and Unsalted Butter
It’s best to use the type of butter called for in a recipe. But here’s a general rule: reduce or add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup (1/4 lb; 115g; 1 stick) 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. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of salted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, you will use 1 cup of unsalted butter and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. And if you come across a recipe that calls for unsalted butter and all you have is salted butter, simply decrease the salt in the recipe by the same ratio above—1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of butter. If you’re making a recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, you can use 1/2 cup of salted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Get it?
Further reading:
- My Best Baking Tips
- Baking Powder vs Baking Soda
- Dutch-process vs Natural Cocoa Powder
- 4 Basic Cookie Doughs to Master
- Why Room Temperature Ingredients Make a Difference
- 14 Best Baking Tools That Every Baker Needs
Is there a butter brand Sally prefers to use in her baking?
Hi Elizabeth, Sally typically uses Wegman’s store-brand butter, or else Challenge Butter or Land O’Lakes.
Hi! I want to make your chocolate buttercream recipe but I only have salted butter. The recipe calls for 1/8 tsp salt and 1 cup of butter. Even if I don’t add the 1/8 tsp it will still be more than 2x the amount called for. Will it taste okay?
Hi Ruthann, it may taste a little saltier – that’s up to you! Some bakers like a salty sweet combo.
Hi! Quick question I need to use two sticks of butter for a recipe but only have 1 unsalted left. Would it be okay to use 1 salted stick? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, absolutely. You can reduce the added salt as mentioned in the post.
Are all unsalted butters equal? Do you recommend any brands of butter.
Hi Sandy! No big preference. We usually use whatever is on sale.
I’m making a sweet potato casserole that calls for 1/2 melted butter. Do I use salted or unsalted butter? ♀️
Hi Jack, in general, we prefer using unsalted butter because then you can control the amount of added salt.
Wondering if it matters when salt is added, with dry or wet ingredients?
Hi Joan, salt is typically added with dry ingredients.
Hi, I want to ask how much of 3/4 teaspoon of salt should I decrease if my salted butter is 1/2 cup. Actually the butter that I need to use is unsalted but the only avaliable in the supermarket is salted butter, so I was wondering if you could please help me about this problem.
Hi Michaela, if I’m understanding your question properly, you’ll want to reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
Thank you so much for the information Sally this is very helpful.
Hi, I was wondering if you have a go-to brand for butter? I used to use Kirkland, but don’t live near a Costco anymore so need to switch it up. Thanks!
Hi Eliana, our team uses a variety of butters when baking, including Kirkland, but a few other favorites are Horizon, Land O Lakes, and Organic Valley.
I’m getting ready to make your red velvet cake. All I have is salted butter. Will that work?
Hi Kathleen, you can use the salted butter in our red velvet cake recipe. Simply reduce the added salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
I understand the difference between unsalted vs salted, so if the recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, I would reduce that to 1/4 tsp kosher salt. In other words, use the same type of salt in reduction (do not switch to table salt) correct? Or does the salted vs unsalted butter only apply to table salt and not kosher salt?
Hi Stella! The substitution guidelines above apply to table salt. Substitute twice as much kosher salt for table salt.
No one else has asked this: How much salt to add when using lightly salted butter when the recipe calls for salted butter?
I noticed typically about 2% difference in the amount of sodium per tablespoon between the lightly salted butter and salted butter and a difference of 5 gm per tablespoon between the two. How much salt would I add to make up the difference?
My cookies were just a bit under-salted using the lightly salted butter but I liked the butter I used and would like to use it again while adding more salt by hand to bring it up to salted butter level.
(Another way to word my question would be: how much salt to add per tablespoon in order to have an additional 5 mg more sodium per tablespoon?) Thanks very much for any advice!
Hi! I don’t think I’ve ever used a butter labeled “lightly salted” but now I am intrigued to find and try it. So I can’t say a definite amount for ALL baking, without testing with it first. But if you’d like to test it yourself (and this is where I would begin), if using that instead of unsalted, you can try reducing the added salt amount by 1/8 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of butter.
Thank you so much for this information! I only ever buy unsalted butter. I came across a recipe that calls for salted butter and you saved the day! Thank you!
This is so helpful. I’ve always wondered about salted vs unsalted. Thank you so much.
Hello Sally! I have one question… What is the difference between butter and sweet cream butter? I try to buy butter in bulk, but have realized that I can only buy sweet cream butter in bulk sizes. It comes both salted and unsalted. Does it make a difference in taste when it comes to your recipes?
Hi Amanda! Sweet cream butter should be the same as most butter sold in the US.
I’ve kinda wondered about this for as long as I can remember whenever I followed a recipe that called for unsalted butter and then salt (:-/), without ever actively looking for an answer, and today it suddenly dawned on me that I should probably google it (ha!), and your post came up!
Perfect – it tells me everything I ever wanted to know – thank you!! 🙂
What if all you have is salted butter and the recipe calls for unsalted butter and it also does NOT call for any salt? Thank you
Hi Stephanie, You should be able to still use it as long as you’re OK with a little bit of extra salty flavor!
You get the best price on butter if you buy two one pound boxes wrapped together. Both are the same so in order to get both I would buy 4 boxes of butter! I use salted because I don’t bake enough to use up that much better in a timely manner.
How about for a croissant recipe that calls for unsalted but all I have is salted. I plan to reduce the salt by the above amount but will I just waste my time and other ingredients on a product that won’t turn out? Will the salt kill the yeast? What do you think, the idea of getting to the grocery store to get the right butter seems an impossible task…but if I wait, maybe in a few days- but I want to start the croissants!
Hi Chelsea, Salt in very high concentrations can slow down the yeast. If you use our Homemade Croissant Recipe and use salted butter, you can reduce the added salt to 1 and 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi i have a question. You talked about the general rule of adding or reducing the amount of salt regarding if it is salted or unsalted butter. But may I know if the recipe doesn’t require salt but need 1 stick of salted butter, but all i have is unsalted butter, how much should i add/reduce for the measurement??
Please let me know, thank you
Hi Kenny, If you come across a recipe that calls for salted butter and all you have is unsalted butter, you will add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter. So if your recipe calls for a full cup of salted butter (or two sticks of salted butter) you will use unsalted butter and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
This was so helpful! I’m a beginner in the baking world and this was exactly what I needed to hear!
Can you do a post on European butters vs. those made in the USA? I know there is a difference in the butter fat content and the European is great for pie crusts and flaky pastries, but I thought using a European style butter (unsalted or salted) if a recipe doesn’t specifically call for it can negatively affect the successful results with cookies, cakes, etc. I’d greatly appreciate your insights and experience with this issue. Thank you
Hi Ann! In my experience, European style butters aren’t ideal for baking smaller items with short bake times such as cookies and cupcakes. Larger items like quick breads are usually fine, but these higher fat butters create excess spread in cookies and often yield greasier cupcakes. It, of course, depends on the brand and recipe you are using but that’s my general experience.
What about Irish butter from grass ass fed cows?
I always use unsalted butter for all of my recipes UNLESS it actually calls for salted butter. I’m usually well stocked with both types at home though. I SO appreciate someone who posts a recipe (like you) that states unsalted or salted butter! 🙂
I love learning about the science of baking!!! Thanks for sharing, keep the science coming!
I have always wondered about this. Great post 🙂
Yay, baking basics rock! I love that you include science (like pH) in these posts. I always enjoy learning about how ingredients play a part in the recipe. Thanks Sally! 🙂
Such an informative post, thank you! I love your Baking Basics series, each post has really helped me understand the chemistry behind baking.
Tomorrow I am making your red velvet cake recipe, can’t wait to try it! I have already made several of your recipes and each one has come out perfect!
What is the basic baking people are referring to? I new to your site
If a recipe doesn’t specify which type of butter to use, is one type better than the other to default to?
I always default to unsalted. And guesstimate the salt. It’s tricky.
Use whatever you have. If the recipe calls for unsalted butter and all you have is salted, use it and just leave out whatever amount of salt the recipe calls for.