All About Vegan Margarine (2024)

FAQs

How healthy is vegan margarine? ›

While both vegan butter and margarine are better alternatives to dairy butter, they are high in Omega-6 fatty acids. Even though including Omega-3 and Omega-6 in our diet is healthy, increased consumption of them may cause chronic inflammation. Therefore, moderate consumption is recommended to avoid such problems.

Plant butter and margarine seem very similar to each other, but the key difference is that margarine may still contain slight traces of dairy products. On the other hand, plant butter is completely free of any animal products.

Vegan margarine is made from a relatively simple recipe, combining water and plant-based oil, such as soybean or corn, along with salt. However, it is not uncommon to find animal products on margarine ingredients lists. Make sure to look out for whey, lactose, buttermilk, and casein (all dairy products).

Conclusion. Vegan butter is a healthy and sustainable alternative to traditional butter made from dairy ingredients. It offers many health benefits, including cholesterol-free and lower calories and saturated fat.

Avoid hydrogenated margarines. The second kind of margarine is made from non-hydrogenated oils. This is our best choice because these oils are heart healthy oils, for example: canola oil or soybean oil. These oils actually help to lower our LDL and raise our HDL.

Look for these brands and varieties of vegan margarine: Earth Balance. Blue Bonnet Light Margarine. Smart Balance Light.

Substitute Oil for Margarine

It's easy to swap in coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil for margarine. In most recipes, oil is substituted for margarine at a 3:4 ratio.

Are Country Crock^® products okay for vegan diets? Country Crock® Plant Butter is suitable for vegan diets. Upfield defines “vegan” as food products that are made with no animal-derived ingredients.

The ingredients list for Parkay stick margarine includes whey, which is derived from milk, so it is not strictly vegan. The label for Parkay “Squeeze” Original 60% Vegetable Oil Spread does notlist any animal-based ingredients, so I guess it qualifies as vegan— repulsive, but vegan.

Many vegans refer to Oreos as “accidentally vegan,” meaning they don't contain animal products — but they weren't created to be a specifically vegan treat. Oreos do not contain milk, eggs, or any other animal-derived products, so they are technically vegan in that sense.

What is the healthiest butter to eat? ›

Grass-fed butter offers some health benefits to counteract the health risks it poses. It appears to have lower levels of saturated fats and more unsaturated fats than standard butter. This is because grass-fed butter is made from the milk of cows that are allowed to graze instead of being fed high-grain diets.

Plant-based butter is high in monounsaturated fats because they are prepared with plant-based oils instead of dairy. According to the American Heart Association, these fats are considered healthy fats that can help lower bad cholesterol and provide the body with essential minerals and antioxidants.

The bottom line. Plant-based butter can be a good butter alternative for people who want to limit their dairy consumption or lower their cholesterol. If heart health is a concern, read the nutrition labels carefully to make sure that your plant-based butter contains less saturated fat than regular butter.

The fact is, just because something is “real” does not necessarily make it good for you. The “real” ingredients that “I Can't Believe It's Not Butter” is touting are oils and salt. The ingredient list of “I Can't Believe It's Not Butter” reveals unhealthy ingredients like tropical oils and salt.

"However, we need to step back and decide if there's something even better." Nut and seed butters, such as almond or sunflower, are naturally rich in heart-healthy fats and also contain fiber and protein, which are not found in butter substitutes. You can also try mashed avocado, hummus, or extra virgin olive oil.

Healthy Diet

Even though butter is a better choice over margarine, people who are overweight or obese are often advised not to consume butter. For such people, margarine with low or no trans fat is sometimes considered to be the best option, since it may prevent increases in blood cholesterol level and heart disease.