Few foods have sparked as much debate as butter and its health attributes.
Since the 1960s, the American Heart Association has been recommending limiting foods high in saturated fats, found in butter. Fast forward to 2024, and we know a lot more about butter, saturated fat and heart disease.
So, should you eat butter? And if you're resistant to parting with it, what's the healthiest butter out there? Here’s what the best available research says.
Is butter bad for you?
Butter from cow’s milk has 7 grams of saturated fat, which is a considerable amount. The American Heart Association suggests limiting saturated fat to no more than 6% of your calories, which equates to 13 grams of saturated fat if you’re on a 2,000 calorie diet.
These recommendations are based on the idea that saturated fats have been linked to increased cholesterol levels and a higher risk for heart disease.
But more recently, scientists are questioning if saturated fat is as harmful as once thought and whether the saturated fat in butter has the same effect on your cholesterol and heart disease risk as the saturated fats in other foods, such as red meat, chocolate, yogurt, cheese and more. Newer research suggests that on its own, saturated fat may not raise the risk of heart disease or dying from heart disease. So, it’s a complicated topic!
Yet the news for butter remains somewhat bleak. When a 2018 study compared the effects of olive oil, butter and coconut oil (also high in saturated fat) on cholesterol levels and other heart disease markers among healthy adults, the results showed that butter significantly raised LDL "bad" cholesterol levels compared to coconut oil and olive oil.
A case could be made that butter may be more neutral from a health perspective than once thought, but it doesn’t provide the same disease-lowering risk as poly and monounsaturated fats.
On top of that, we don’t eat foods or nutrients in isolation. There’s no such thing as having a plate full of saturated fat or butter without a carrier — maybe toast or a potato or baked goods. So, when you eat less butter (or another saturated fat), what do you eat more of, and how does that play out health-wise? Luckily, science provides some clues.
A 2015 study that tracked more than 120,000 adults for 24 to 30 years found that people who replaced 5% of their calories from saturated fats with whole grains or unsaturated fats had a lower risk of heart disease.
So, is butter bad for you? It depends on what you eat instead. We can definitely say that nuts, seeds, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, and fish fats are healthier than butter.
Which butter is the healthiest?
There are times when it makes sense to cook with butter, or you may prefer spreading butter on your toast to dipping it in extra-virgin olive oil. For those times when nothing but butter will do, here are the two healthiest options.
Grass-fed butter
This type of butter comes from cows that graze on grass, leading to higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), according to research. This fat profile is healthier for your heart than traditional butter, so I’d consider it the healthiest butter.
Grass-fed butter is also creamier and softer, making it easy to spread over toast.
Organic butter
If you’re concerned about potential pesticide and hormone exposure, organic butter may be a better option. Plus, a 2017 study from the Netherlands found that, like grass-fed butter, organic butter also had higher levels of omega-3 fats and CLA than conventional butter.
Tips for buying the healthiest butter
You typically have a choice between conventional butter, grass-fed, and organic, and each version is available in salted and unsalted versions. Look for butter with minimal ingredients — primarily cream and possibly salt. Avoid butters with added preservatives or artificial ingredients.
Most cooks prefer salted butter for general cooking purposes and unsalted butter for baking.
Whipped butter has air whipped into it, which can help make it more spreadable. That also means it has 45% less fat per serving than regular butter.
Spreadable butter is sometimes mixed with a seed oil, such as canola oil. This can lower the saturated fat from 7 grams to 4 grams per tablespoon, which can be helpful if you’re trying to manage your saturated fat intake.
Choose a vegan butter if you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative to butter. You can find options made with numerous types of oils, such as coconut, sunflower and olive oil. You may also see versions with cashew milk. When selecting a vegan butter, try to choose one with ingredients you’d find in a home or restaurant kitchen and limit those with a long list of emulsifiers and other ingredients.
Are margarine and ghee healthier than butter?
Margarine was initially developed as a healthier alternative to butter with less saturated fat. However, margarines were higher in trans fats, which are even more detrimental to heart health than the saturated fats in butter. Trans fats have been banned in the United States since 2015, and manufacturers haven’t been able to use the partially hydrogenated oils that create trans fats since 2018. Therefore, you won’t find these types of margarine in your supermarket anymore.
Ghee, a form of clarified butter integral in Indian cuisine, removes milk solids, leaving pure butterfat. Due to this, ghee has a different fat makeup than butter. It contains short chain fatty acids, CLAs, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. While research on ghee itself is limited, studies on these compounds suggest they may have certain health benefits, such as promoting brain and immune health.
Are spreads like Country Crock better for you than butter?
Butter-like spreads are typically made from a blend of vegetable oils, and some may have dairy-based ingredients. While they have less saturated fat than butter, these spreads are classified as ultraprocessed foods. They may contain emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Given the numerous risks associated with heavily processed foods, I think your best bet is to limit their use or choose versions with the fewest additives.
Healthiest butter substitutes
All foods can fit within a healthy, balanced, plant-forward diet, but the healthiest diets limit butter and instead promote healthier sources of fat to use in cooking and baking and spread over toast. Here are some of my favorite options.
Olive oil
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and polyphenol antioxidants. It’s the primary fat source in the Mediterranean diet and is associated with numerous health benefits. You can use it in cooking, baking and dipping bread.
Mashed avocado
Mash up some avocado, and use as a spread for bread or a fat replacement when baking. It’s rich in monounsaturated fats and fiber and contains several other vitamins and minerals. Avocados may also increase hormones that suppress hunger, research shows.
Nut and seed butters
Add flavor, fiber, protein, and beneficial nutrients to your toast with nut and seed butters, like healthy peanut butter. I also love drizzling them over pancakes and waffles instead of traditional butter. Additionally, they can be used to replace the fat in baked goods, though they’ll impart a nutty flavor, which appeals to some taste buds. One benefit of using nut and seed butter as a butter replacement in baked goods is it may allow you to lower the added sugar in the recipe.
Greek yogurt or Icelandic skyr
Greek yogurt or skyr, a culture dairy product from Iceland, can replace butter in baking recipes, providing protein and gut-friendly probiotics. You can also spread them over toast instead of butter. I like to use Siggi’s Icelandic skyr as a toast topper since it’s strained to make a thicker, creamier yogurt, so it works really well as a spread. You can use any flavor you like since they’re all lower in added sugars than most flavored yogurts.
Should you eat butter?
Butter may not be as unhealthy as we once thought, but that doesn’t make it a health food. You’re better off replacing butter with a healthier alternative, but if your overall diet is predominantly based on whole, plant foods and you’re in good health, it’s OK to have some butter now and then.