I used to love butter — on toast, in a baked potato, in baked goods. You name it. But when I decided to give up eating animal-based products, that also meant switching away from butter. This was one of the last things I gave up too. Even when I had theoretically given up dairy, I couldn’t resist traditional baked goods.
Fortunately, there are now tons of alternative vegan butters to choose from in the plant-based butter aisle in the grocery store.
In years past, people ate margarine as an alternative to butter. Apparently, there could be animal products in margarine whereas the newer plant-based butters are 100% plant-based. Further, the margarines of yesteryear were filled with transfats, and the new plant-based butters are made from plant oils.
Why is this important? Studies show that it’s the actual saturated and transfat found in animal fats that are harmful. While too much oil from any source isn’t healthy, a plant-based, non-dairy butter is certainly better, all in moderation.
Many proponents of a whole foods plant-based diet eschew oils because they are processed and we tend to use too much of them anyway. But we all draw the line in the sand somewhere and switching to a plant-based diet and utilizing some oils (in moderation) is going to be necessary for some people, especially in the beginning.
I still enjoy a hearty grainy toast with some buttery spread on it from time to time and you might too. Plus, many other recipes that call for butter are still possible with the new plant-based butters.
We can eat plant-based and still enjoy the foods we’ve always enjoyed! Here are the plant-based butters that I enjoy in moderation:
The first plant-based butter that I tried was Earth Balance. They’ve been around for a while. Their product is pretty good, and it comes in soy free and organic options. You can purchase it in a tub and also in baking stick form which is handy depending on what I’m looking to use it for.
Earth Balance does use palm oil. I contacted the company to ask if the palm oil is ethically sourced and they said yes, though maybe it’s best to avoid palm oils altogether just to be safe. To learn more about why eating palm oil isn’t ok, check out this video.
And FYI, palm oil is in MANY processed foods, so please read your labels carefully.
More recently though, I learned of Miyoko’s Creamery. Miyoko Schinner (the founder) not only makes superior plant-based products (including butters and cheeses), she is also a champion for the plant-based and animal welfare movements.
My friend, Diane K, swears that she could only replicate her family baklava recipe when she started using Miyoko’s. (And I recently got to sample it, and man it’s good.)
I like it too and the packaging of their original plant-based butter is eco-friendly. They also offer a version in a tub that adds oat milk and gives it a creamier consistency. That is my husband’s favorite plant-based butter, and we no longer have animal-based butters in our home. (We even snuck it on my son’s bagel, and he couldn’t tell the difference.)
I have both brands in my house and use them for different things (they have different consistencies) though I use Miyoko’s more in order to support them because I love the company and what they stand for.
If you are new to eating plant-based, these are my two favorite options though there are others readily available in most markets. I have learned to use less and less of it since I eat more whole food plant-based, but it’s great knowing that we have some really good choices.