Butter is one of the most versatile ingredients that you can add to almost any dish and it wouldn’t seem out of place. Having rice? Add butter. Having fish? Throw some butter on it before cooking. Baking a cake? You’ll definitely need butter. Oh, and the icing for that cake? Buttercream will take your cake to the next level. While butter seems to be a universal ingredient used to elevate so many different dishes, it does come with a few character flaws.
Butter is naturally gluten-free and can be enjoyed by anyone following a gluten-free diet. While butter may be gluten-friendly, it is important to be aware of the potential negative impact that butter can have on our health if consumed in excess. Some healthier butter alternatives include Earth Balance Buttery Spread, Kite Hill Plant-Based Butter, and Smart Balance Dairy Free Butter.
In this article we’ll discuss a brief overview of butter, how it’s made, various types along with their nutritional profiles and gluten status, and will also review some butter alternatives. Let’s dig in!
Contents
What is Butter?
Butter is essentially a very concentrated, solid form of milk. It is a yellow-ish edible fat that is produced when cream from cows’ milk is churned until it becomes solid. The churning process agitates fat in the milk cream and this agitation allows the sticky fat, or fat globules, to stick together. The liquid milk left behind is what we know as buttermilk. Butter is very high in calories and fat, but is also relatively high in vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus.
What is the difference between butter and margarine?
In short, butter is made from cows’ milk cream and margarine is a highly processed food product made from vegetable oils. Margarine is designed to look and taste like butter, but with much less unhealthy saturated fat.
Is Butter Good for Me?
Butter is mainly composed of fat, which in turn, means that it is a high-calorie food. In just 1 tablespoon, butter provides approximately 100 calories. This is similar to the calories you would consume by eating 1 large apple.
The high fat content of butter comes primarily in the form of saturated fat. Saturated fat is a type of dietary fat that is considered to be ‘unhealthy’. Excess consumption of saturated fat can cause a build up of ‘bad’ cholesterol in your arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. To avoid poor heart health, it is recommended to limit intake of saturated fats and increase intake of unsaturated, or healthy, fats. These unsaturated fats come from dietary sources such as avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, fatty fish, and vegetable oils. Many margarine products are made using these plant-based oils and are therefore touted to be a more heart-healthy option when compared to regular butter.
Health Benefits
Butter does provide some beneficial nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus. Grass-fed butter may offer more nutritional benefit by way of its higher omega-3 fatty acid content, which means a healthier fat profile, and more vitamin K2, when compared to regular butter. Despite these positive attributes of butter and grass-fed butter, most butter is enjoyed in small amounts, so the total nutrient consumption from these products is miniscule.
Different Types of Butter
Land O Lakes Salted Butter
Salted butter is simply that, butter that contains added salt. The salt impacts the flavor of the butter, but is also added as a preservative to extend the butter’s shelf life.
Ingredients:
- Sweet Cream
- Salt
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 100
- Total Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
- Sodium: 90mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter
Unsalted butter is the opposite of salted butter. It contains no added salt. This type of butter is most often used for baking because it gives complete control of the overall flavor of the recipe or dish being prepared.
Ingredients:
- Sweet Cream
- Natural Flavoring
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 100
- Total Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Land O Lakes Light Butter
Light butter is a form of butter that uses less butterfat than the regular salted and unsalted versions. It typically contains fewer calories and half the fat and cholesterol of regular butter.
Ingredients:
- Water
- Butter (cream, salt)
- Canola Oil
- Buttermilk
- Contains less than 2% of Food Starch-Modified, Tapioca Maltodextrin, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness), Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum, beta-Carotene (color)
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 50
- Total Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Cholesterol: 10mg
- Sodium: 90mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Carrington Farms Clarified Butter (Ghee)
Clarified butter, also known as ghee, is produced by separating milk solids and water from butterfat. The butterfat that remains is what we know as clarified butter. Removing the milk solids increases the smoke point of the butterfat, meaning that it can be used for higher temperature cooking like sautéing.
Ingredients:
- Clarified Butter
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 130
- Total Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter
Cultured butter is made in the exact same way as regular butter plus one additional step. After pasteurization, the cream is allowed to ferment by adding specified bacterial cultures. Once the cream has fermented, it is churned into butter.
Ingredients:
- Sweet Cream (Milk)
- Culture
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 110
- Total Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Land O Lakes Salted Whipped Butter
When nitrogen gas or air is incorporated into butter, the result is whipped butter. As the name implies, this butter has a light, whipped consistency. The purpose of whipped butter is to have it spread easily even when it is straight out of refrigeration. This type of butter melts very quickly compared to regular butter and cannot be used as a substitute for butter when baking.
Ingredients:
- Pasteurized Sweet Cream
- Salt
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 50
- Total Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
- Sodium: 50mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Alternative Options to Butter
Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
This dairy-free option has the same creamy texture as butter and the flavor is so insanely similar to real butter, you wouldn’t know that it’s not butter. Earth Balance Buttery Spread has some saturated fat, there is only 3g per serving compared to 7g per serving in regular butter. This butter alternative is gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan.
Ingredients:
- Natural Oil Blend (Palm Fruit, Canola, and Olive Oils)
- Water
- Less than 2% of salt, sunflower lecithin, pea protein, natural flavor, lactic acid (non-dairy), and naturally extracted annatto (color).
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 100
- Total Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 120mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Kite Hill Plant-Based Butter
This butter alternative is our favorite! It is totally vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, and uses no palm oils, artificial preservatives, or flavors. They use cultured almond milk and oils like sunflower and coconut to create a plant-based buttery spread that is to die for.
Ingredients:
- High Oleic Sunflower Oil
- Cultured Almond Milk (Water, Almonds, Cultures)
- Coconut Oil
- Natural Flavors
- Cocoa Butter
- Cultured Dextrose
- Sea Salt
- Sunflower Lecithin
- Lactic Acid
- Beta Carotene (for color)
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 90
- Total Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 60mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Smart Balance Original Dairy Free Butter
Smart Balance brand has a wide variety of plant-based butter alternatives in addition to their original recipe. This original product is proudly gluten-free, dairy-free, does not use hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, and offers a decent amount of heart healthy omega-3 fats per serving. It is the lowest calorie and saturated fat option of the three butter alternatives listed in this article.
Ingredients:
- Vegetable Oil Blend (canola, palm, and olive oils)
- Water
- Contains less than 2% of salt, pea protein, natural and artificial flavors, sunflower lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, beta-carotene (color), vitamin D, monoglycerides of vegetable fatty acids (emulsifier), and potassium sorbate, lactic acid, calcium disodium EDTA (to preserve freshness)
Nutritional Information (per 1 tablespoon):
- Calories: 80
- Total Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 90mg
- Total Carbohydrates: 0g
- Total Sugars: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Main Takeaways
Butter is naturally gluten-free. It is always a good idea to read nutrition labels and ensure that each brand is, in fact, gluten-free. While butter is a delicious addition to almost any recipe, it should be enjoyed in moderation due to its high calorie and saturated fat content. Ingesting too much saturated fat over time can increase one’s risk for heart disease and stroke. Some margarine options that are dairy-free and/or plant-based offer great alternatives to butter as they contain lots of heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
Related Questions
Is butter paleo?
Because butter contains milk solids, it is generally not accepted as paleo-compliant. Ghee, or clarified butter, is considered paleo-friendly, however, because the milk solids have been removed.
Does butter need to be refrigerated?
Salted butter proves to be more stable if left out of the refrigerator for longer periods of time. The salt acts as a preservative, so typically the butter will be fine out of refrigeration for several days. For unsalted and whipped butter varieties, it is best to play it safe and only leave it out of refrigeration for a short time.
Is butter lactose free?
Butter has very low amounts of lactose. In just 1 tablespoon of butter, there are nearly undetectable levels of lactose.