Salted Butter (2024)

FAQs

What if all I have is salted butter? ›

Adjust Salt

Next, if you're swapping unsalted for salted butter, reduce the amount of salt listed in the recipe to adjust for the salt in the butter. Take ¼ teaspoon of salt away for every stick of butter used*. Do the opposite if you're swapping salted for unsalted butter.

Both salted butter and unsalted butter can be used interchangeably in any recipe, but if the recipe calls specifically for unsalted butter, it's probably because the recipe has been tested with it and is preferred for that particular recipe.

Many salted butters contain ¼ teaspoon per stick, but others can have up to double that amount. You can anticipate your salted butter's sodium to fall within this general ¼ to ½ teaspoon range, though it's usually safe to err on the lighter side and assume there's a quarter of salt teaspoon per stick.

If you only have salted butter, go ahead and use it .. just do NOT add the salt that the recipe calls for. It should be just fine when making cookies. Even just 50 years ago, recipes never specific salted/unsalted butter.

And if you come across a recipe that calls for unsalted butter and all you have is salted butter, simply decrease the salt in the recipe by the same ratio above—1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup of butter.

So, if you're using salted butter in place of unsalted, you'll want to use the same amount but subtract ¼ teaspoon of salt from the ingredients. To go from unsalted to salted, use the same amount of butter but add ¼ teaspoon of salt.

You can use salted or unsalted butter and opinions are divided on which is best.

Melted butter serves the same purpose as oil, while also adding richness and depth to the cake. Unsalted butter is the best choice, unless you have a salt tooth, like me, and prefer desserts with a little extra salt to balance out the sweetness. In that case, you can use salted butter.

If a recipe calls for unsalted butter and you only stocked up on salted, don't worry! Both varieties can be used as butter substitutes for each other. "It's good to familiarize yourself with how salty a particular butter is," Merhar suggests.

How to make 1 cup unsalted butter salted? ›

Some recipes call for salted butter but if you only have unsalted butter, don't worry, there's an incredibly easy way to get it to work for the recipe you're using. Use ¼ teaspoon of salt for 8 tablespoons of butter.

The small amount of salt in salted butter (it's about 1/4 teaspoon per stick, depending on the brand) is undetectable when cooked or baked in a recipe, we found.

While the standard estimate is that salted butter contains 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 4 ounces of butter (1 stick), salt levels actually range widely from brand to brand. The type of salt in salted butter varies widely, too—you can find brands made with sea salt, fleur de sel, and regular old table salt.

It is an equal swap—replace the unsalted butter called for with an equal amount of salted butter—but you must then adjust the amount of salt in the recipe. Reduce the salt called for in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon for every stick (1/2 cup) of butter used.

If you use salted butter instead of unsalted, your recipe will turn out saltier! So you will simply need to use less salt in the rest of the recipe to keep things balanced. For example, if a cake recipe calls for half a teaspoon salt and you use salted butter, perhaps use a quarter teaspoon of salt instead.

Unsalted butter will spoil at a faster rate than salted, so it's best to keep the latter at room temperature and leave the former in the fridge. Don't store butter at room temperature if your kitchen is over 70°F. While you can store butter on the counter, you shouldn't do so if your kitchen is warmer than 70°F.