Every year, I try to learn more about nutrition and update my own diet to apply what I have discovered. Oil has been one of the big areas of improvement in my own cooking. Five years ago, my approach to oil was like, “I know oil isn’t very healthy, but a little in moderation is okay.” and a lot of my recipes from back in the day have ingredients such as a tablespoon of vegetable oil or even 1/4 cup of coconut oil (!) in some baked goods and desserts.
Today, my thinking and understanding of the research has evolved to the point where I basically avoid all oils, nearly all the time in my own cooking. In fact, other than an old jar of coconut oil that I rarely use, I don’t even have oil in my kitchen.
I find my previous uses of oil to be unacceptable. I may even go back to a few of my more popular old recipes and “remaster” them to be made without oil. But in the meantime, I felt like it was my responsibility to write this article that shows you how to take a recipe with oil (including mine) and rebuild it by substituting the right oil-free ingredients that get you as close to the original as possible.
This is a challenge because (as we will see) the uses of oil are numerous and pervasive, so let’s start with a little background to understand why oil is a problem and why it’s used so frequently. Then, we’ll dig into specific techniques and hacks that can help you replace oil in virtually any recipe.
Best Vegetable Oil Substitute for Baked Goods You can swap the vegetable oil for an equal measure of safflower or canola oil with zero difference in flavor. But baked items don’t require fats with a high smoke point, so feel free to try a more flavorful oil like olive or coconut.
The Problems with Oil
First, why? What is the problem with oil? Why do I now consider it to be unsafe and unhealthy even in moderation? What caused me to change?
There is a lot of conflicting noise on the effects of oil. Many nutritionists point to data that says that olive oil is actually good for you, but these studies are often flawed because they compare various types of fat against each other rather than simply oil vs no oil. Notice how the FDA words their recommendation (emphasis mine):
Supportive but not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that daily consumption of about 1½ tablespoons (20 grams) of oils containing high levels of oleic acid, when replaced for fats and oils higher in saturated fat, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. To achieve this possible benefit, oleic acid-containing oils should not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.
In other words, if you replace your daily butter with olive oil instead, you MAY get some benefits! Well, duh! Just because something is better than butter doesn’t mean it is good for you!
Ultimately, oil has NUMEROUS health issues, such as: increasing inflammation, increasing risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing risk of type-2 diabetes, raising cholesterol and triglycerides, and being the most calorie dense “food” on the planet (240 calories in 2 tablespoons!).
Going deep enough to back up those claims is beyond the scope of this article, but if you’d like to do that, the following resources will give you a more rigorous scientific look at the subject:
Why Oil is Everywhere (Biology and Chemistry)
Oil is everywhere. It’s hard to find any packaged food, restaurant meal, or even at-home recipe that doesn’t contain oil. Why? It comes down to both biology and chemistry…
On the biology front, Michael Moss in his incredible book Salt, Sugar, Fat, explains how the processed food industry uses those three nutrients to control our tastebuds and create irresistible, addictive foods.
We were designed to crave fatty foods, and since oil is pure 100% fat by definition, oil is one of the most effective tools that food scientist can use to make things taste great and get us hooked.
What’s incredible about the combination of salt, sugar, and fat is that scientists can omit one and then boost the others to compensate. So, in our current low-carb craze, they can drop the carbs/sugar and simply increase the fat and salt to keep addictiveness at a maximum.
Think of the most addictive unhealthy foods and they have large amounts of Salt, Sugar, and Fat (think orange chicken fried in oil and coated in a salty & sugary sauce). Or, they omit one and have even higher amounts of the other two (think potato chips with no sugar but ridiculous fat and salt).
The other reason oil is everywhere is about chemistry. As we will see repeatedly in the rest of this article, oil is a magical ingredient. There’s no other edible liquid you can heat to 400º to instantly cook food and also create a beautiful crispy texture… Oils can help processed food stay moist and shelf-stable for years… Saturated oils in particular can create some pretty unique textures that aren’t otherwise possible.
In other words: oils are a powerful tool in the food scientist’s toolbox that can be used to achieve a variety of goals – in addition to also making the food taste great. It’s a win-win for them, but a loss for our health.
Put the biology + chemistry together and it’s obvious how you end up with the ingredients in a Hostess cupcake. It has 250mg of sodium, 19g of added sugar, and FOUR different kinds of oil/fat (palm oil, hydrogenated tallow, cottonseed oil, and sunflower oil) which are engineered to provide the fat we crave, but also the texture/stability needed from processed food.
It’s important to understand all of this because knowledge is the first step towards replacing oils in our cooking. Only by understanding what the oil is actually doing can we begin to create an oil-free substitution, right?
Let’s put this information into practice now. We can break it down into the two primary ways you’ll encounter oil in recipes: oils added to baked goods, and oils used to actually cook / fry food:
Cookie Recipe Without Butter | Vegetable Oil Cookies | Akudo’s Kitchen
FAQ
What can I substitute for vegetable oil in cookies?
What happens if you use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in cookies?
Can I use water instead of oil for cookies?
How do I choose a vegetable oil for a no butter cookie?
When selecting a vegetable oil for this no butter cookie recipe, please read the label on the vegetable oil container if you are trying to reduce saturated fat. Be aware that some vegetable oils (such as coconut oil and palm oil) may contain more saturated fat than other vegetable oils.
Is olive oil suitable for baking?
Yes. Heated oil remains stable and does not produce toxic substances and is even more suitable for cooking and frying compared to other refined vegetable oils.
Can you use vegetable oil instead of butter in chocolate chip cookies?
Vegetable oil is a good substitute for butter. Moreover, for health reasons, some people want to reduce the saturated fat in their diet. Replacing butter with some types of vegetable oil can reduce the amount of saturated fat in homemade cookies. Can you freeze chocolate chip cookies made with oil?
What can I substitute for vegetable oil in baking?
How to substitute: You can use Greek yogurt as a 1:1 substitute for vegetable oil in most baking recipes. Just note that it will add a lot of tang to the finished product, especially in recipes that require a lot of oil. Bananas are a great low-fat substitution for oil in baking. Here’s what you need to know.