Oils & Fats · 4 substitutes
Coconut Oil Substitutes
Tropical oil with a subtle coconut flavor, solid at room temperature.
- 4
- Substitutes
- 4.5/5
- Avg quality
- 2
- Top-rated (5★)
- 9
- Use contexts
Best swap
The closest stand-in for Coconut Oil is Vegan Butter, used at 1:1 ratio and rated 5/5 across 9 cooking contexts.
- 5/5
- Vegan Butter - top pick
- 4
- tested substitutes
- 4.5/5
- average quality across all swaps
- 5
- dietary options covered
Across the 135 ingredients we track, the typical ingredient has about 3.6 documented substitutes.
Common uses for Coconut Oil: baking, frying, dairy-free spreads, curries, granola. The best substitute usually depends on which of these functions, flavor, moisture, fat, binding, or leavening, you most need to preserve.
Every documented substitute for Coconut Oil
Ranked by quality score (1–5, where 5 is virtually identical). Check the ratio and context tags before swapping, not every substitution is 1:1.
Best dairy-free, coconut-free option. Works identically.
Higher smoke point. No coconut flavor. Great for cooking and baking.
Adds butter flavor. Good solid-fat substitute in baking and spreading.
Neutral flavor, similar solid fat behavior. Good for baking.
How the Coconut Oil substitutes score
Quality rating (1–5) for each documented stand-in
- Vegan Butter
Vegan Butter
5 /5
- Avocado Oil
Avocado Oil
5 /5
- Butter
Butter
4 /5
- Vegetable Shortening
Vegetable Shortening
4 /5
What this shows Vegan Butter leads at 5/5; bars fall off as the trade-offs in flavour or texture grow.
Where Coconut Oil ranks for swap options
Number of documented substitutes per ingredient, across the whole database
4 Bottom 48% higher than 48% of 135 ingredients we track
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more ingredients we track. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainSubstitute editorial database · July 2026
Quick comparison
| # | Substitute | Ratio | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegan Butter | 1:1 ratio | 5/5 |
| 2 | Avocado Oil | 1:1 ratio (use melted coconut oil measure) | 5/5 |
| 3 | Butter | 1:1 ratio | 4/5 |
| 4 | Vegetable Shortening | 1:1 ratio | 4/5 |
Choosing the right swap
Start with Vegan Butter, then adjust for what your recipe needs.
- Match the substitute’s context tag to your recipe, a swap that shines in baking can fall flat in a sauce.
- Respect the listed ratio. Many swaps are not 1:1, and over- or under-dosing is the most common reason a substitution disappoints.
- Working around a diet? 5 of these options carry dietary tags, filter by your need. Browse by diet
- Need the opposite lookup? Browse other Oils & Fats ingredients with overlapping swaps. More Oils & Fats
Quality scores reflect overall similarity to the original; expect small differences in texture or colour even with top-rated swaps.