Could you imagine your cooking and baking without butter? Definitely, it’s a mind-boggling question because butter makes recipes flavorful, creamy, nutritious, and delicious. The same goes for graham cracker crust. Butter gives leavening property to the crust, holds it together and finish it delicately. However, is there any substitute for butter in graham cracker crust?
Or is there any ingredient having similar properties, like butter? Well, the answer is yes. There are a lot more alternatives for butter available that you can use to make an incredibly delicious graham cracker crust.
Go through the following butter replacements to make sure you end with a perfect, soft, and creamy graham cracker crust. So, let’s take the first step to make a sweet treat.
Substitute For Butter in Graham Cracker Crust
The absence of butter batches in the refrigerator compels us to search for possible butter alternatives for making graham cracker crust. However, some people look for butter substitutions because of their specific diet restrictions.
Similarly, vegan guys also want to prepare graham cracker crust without butter. Keeping all these situations in mind, we’ve compiled a collection of all the possible alternatives for butter.
Remember, all these worthy candidates give the closest texture, flavor, and softness to the crust but cannot replace butter entirely. So, you must follow your diet and taste preferences before giving a chance to any ingredient.
1. Olive Oil
Olive oil is more versatile in both terms of flavor and culinary uses than any other ingredient in the kitchen. Using olive oil instead of butter is a great chance of switching your recipe flavor towards a more appealing and tempting side.
For substituting butter in a graham cracker crust, go for mild versions of olive oil. This is because the rich and stronger herbal flavor of olive oil may distract the original recipe taste.
2. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a perfect competing ingredient in graham cracker crust when comes in front of butter. Its neutral flavor doesn’t add extra coconutty flavor notes to the crust.
Its 1:1 ratio makes graham cracker crust light, healthy, and dairy-free. So, it’s a worthy ingredient, both preferentially and practically for your iconic graham cracker crust.
3. Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil and butter are commonly used as substitutes for each other in a number of baking and cooking recipes. In addition, a bottle of vegetable oil is all-time available on the pantry that makes it a handy alternative for butter.
Although vegetable oil is lower in nutrition than butter, still it’s a deserving candidate offering you a great luscious sweet treat ahead.
Use ¾ cup of vegetable oil instead of one cup of butter in graham cracker crust.
4. Melted Vegan Butter
If you are looking for non-dairy butter replacement, vegan butter might be your first choice. Usually, it’s made from a mixture of water and different oils such as avocado oil, coconut oil, and olive oil.
Vegan butter is just a plant-based version of dairy butter and thus works the same way in making your graham cracker crust creamy and rich.
Use 1:1 ratio of melted vegan butter and enjoy this creative ingredient swapping.
5. Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is another light and healthy butter substitution and is famous for its smooth, milder, and nutty flavor. As avocado oil also has binding properties so it prevents graham cracker crust from crumbling.
Due to its easy availability and mild flavor profile, avocado oil is also a good vegetable oil substitute in baking and cooking recipes.
6. Flaxseed Oil
Another mild yet nutrient-rich substitute is flaxseed oil. You may find it in various baking recipes where it gives a nice brownish color and smooth texture to food dishes in place of butter.
So, make flaxseed oil your key ingredient if don’t have immediate access to butter for preparing graham cracker crust.
Other Butter Substitute for Graham Cracker Crust
There are also some unusual yet reliable replacements for butter that are usable if available to you. For instance, canola oil, margarine, and peanut butter are some worthy options to try if any ingredient isn’t on your side.
Now, you can make graham cracker crust without butter easily as there’s a lot more alternatives out there.
1. Canola Oil
Being a neutral version of vegetable oil, canola oil is also a worth considering alternative. It doesn’t add unwanted taste notes to the recipe and works silently.
So, give a trial to canola oil instead of butter in graham cracker crust to get a light, finely bound, and smooth crust.
2. Margarine
How can margarine remain behind when we are talking about butter replacements? When you are looking for an ingredient similar to butter in terms of texture, flavor, and creaminess, margarine is your first bet.
Above all, it’s a non-dairy substitution and easily available.
3. Peanut Butter
Peanut butter can surprise you when you give it a chance instead of butter. Its smooth, creamy, nutty, and a slight sweet flavor pair well with pie filling. This way, it becomes a good substitution for butter when nothing seems suitable.
In conclusion, one can also make graham cracker crust without butter because there’s a lot more substitutes that are always on hand. So, don’t restrict your recipe to some specific ingredients and always try something different, something special, umami and flavorful.
