Butter vs Vegetable Oil
Butter wins on seed oil PUFA: about 5% of its fat versus roughly 58% for Vegetable Oil, around 12x less per spoonful.
Per tablespoon that is an estimated 0.7g of PUFA against 7.9g. The shares are the ones our estimates use (how we estimate).
| Butter | Vegetable Oil | |
|---|---|---|
| PUFA share of fat | ~5% | ~58% |
| Est. PUFA per tablespoon | ~0.7g | ~7.9g |
| Type | dairy fat | seed oil blend |
| Seed oil? | no | yes |
Butter
Dairy fat, about 5% PUFA. The steakhouse standard for finishing, and what a few breakfast chains still use on the griddle.
Common as a finishing fat; rare as a fryer. See chains cooking in butter or olive oil.
Vegetable Oil
A label term, not a plant: in the US "vegetable oil" is usually soybean oil or a soybean blend, around 58% PUFA.
The generic label on fryers and ingredient lists everywhere. See the distributor oils page.
Restaurants that cook with butter
81 restaurant chains we track name butter in their cooking oil information.
Restaurants that cook with vegetable oil
452 restaurant chains we track name soybean oil in their cooking oil information.
Restaurants that do not name their oil almost always fry in a soybean blend sold as vegetable oil.
Frequently asked
Which has less PUFA, butter or vegetable oil?
Butter carries less polyunsaturated fat: an estimated 5% of its fat versus about 58% for vegetable oil, by the shares our estimates use.
How much PUFA is in a tablespoon of butter?
Roughly 0.7g of PUFA per tablespoon, since a tablespoon of oil carries about 14g of fat and butter runs about 5% PUFA.
Which is more stable for frying, butter or vegetable oil?
Butter is more stable: about 5% of its fat is polyunsaturated, against about 58% for vegetable oil, and polyunsaturated fat is the part that breaks down fastest under heat.
Is butter or vegetable oil a seed oil?
Butter is not a seed oil. Vegetable Oil is a seed oil.
More matchups
Or work out any amount with the PUFA calculator.