How to Substitute Canola Oil for Margarine

You can replace margarine with canola oil in many recipes.

Oils -- such as canola oil -- and solid fats -- such as margarine -- work very differently in recipes. Oils can leave many baked goods greasy and heavy rather than light or flaky. Ideally, you should substitute oils for oils and solid fats for solid fats. Butter, lard and shortening are better substitutes for margarine than canola oil. If necessary, however, you may substitute canola oil for margarine in many recipes. The Cook's Thesaurus recommends adding more eggs and sugar to the recipe to compensate for the oil. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring cup

Instructions

1. Multiply the amount of margarine in your recipe by 75 percent. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine, you would multiply that by 75 percent for a total of 3/4 cup. If your recipe calls for 4 cups of margarine, multiply that by 75 percent for a total of 3 cups.

2. Measure out an amount of canola oil equal to the number you determined. For example, if you calculated that 75 percent of the margarine in the recipe is 3/4 cup, measure out 3/4 cup of canola oil.

3. Add the canola oil to the recipe at the same time as you would have added the margarine. Cook the recipe as normal, optionally adding more eggs and sugar to the recipe.

Tips & Warnings

• You cannot substitute canola oil for margarine in every case. Canola oil would not work well as a spread on toast or on a baked potato, for example.

References

• The Cook's Thesaurus: Fats
• Baking911: The Pantry: Fats

Resources

• Read this Article in UK English
• What's Cooking America: Types of Cooking Fats and Oils