What is a Healthier Option for Shortening?

November 20, 2025 •

4 min read

While traditional shortening has long been a staple for achieving flaky pie crusts and tender cookies, many people are now concerned about its health implications. This has led to a widespread search for what is a healthier option for shortening that can deliver similar baking results without the associated health risks.

Quick Summary

This article explores several healthier alternatives to conventional shortening, such as butter, coconut oil, and other plant-based fats. It details the unique characteristics of each substitute, including flavor, texture, and nutritional value, to help you make informed decisions for your baking and cooking needs.

Key Points

Processed vs. Natural: Traditional shortening is a highly processed fat, whereas alternatives like butter and coconut oil are more natural, whole-food options.
Trans Fats are Out, but Processing Remains: Modern shortenings are trans fat-free, but they are still interesterified fats with uncertain long-term health effects.
Flavor vs. Neutrality: Butter adds a rich flavor, while shortening is neutral; coconut oil can be neutral (refined) or have a distinct taste (unrefined).
Texture Matters: Shortening creates tender, flaky, and tall baked goods. Butter-based goods are often crispier and flatter due to butter's water content and lower melting point.
Vegan and Non-Hydrogenated Options: Refined coconut oil and sustainably sourced, non-hydrogenated palm shortening are excellent vegan and healthier alternatives for mimicking shortening's function.
Other Healthy Swaps: For moist baked goods, unsweetened applesauce or mashed avocado can replace some fat, though they won't replicate the texture needed for flaky items.

Understanding Traditional Shortening and its Drawbacks

Shortening is a solid fat, typically made from processed vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated to remain solid at room temperature. Historically, this process created trans fats, which are linked to heart disease. While modern shortenings are trans fat-free due to reformulations, they are still highly processed and often interesterified. This process, while removing trans fats, creates new structured fats with potential, though less studied, health risks. Traditional vegetable shortening also offers no real nutritional benefits, consisting primarily of fat and a neutral flavor profile.

Why Bakers Use Shortening

Despite its health drawbacks, shortening has long been a favorite in baking for specific reasons:

Prevents gluten development: Shortening coats flour particles, preventing the formation of long gluten strands, which creates a tender and flaky texture in baked goods like pie crusts and biscuits.
High melting point: Its high melting point ensures that cookies and other treats hold their shape during baking, resulting in taller, less-spread-out products.
Neutral flavor: Shortening's bland taste means it won't interfere with the other flavors in a recipe, making it highly versatile.
Stability: It has a long shelf life and creates stable frostings that don't melt easily at room temperature.

Healthier Shortening Alternatives

For those seeking a healthier substitute, several whole-food and less-processed options exist. The best choice often depends on the specific recipe and desired outcome.

Butter

Butter is a popular, natural, and flavorful alternative to shortening. It is made from churned cream and contains butterfat, water, and milk solids. While higher in saturated fat than reformulated shortening, it provides a richer, more complex flavor. Recent scientific reviews have shown no conclusive link between saturated fat intake and heart disease, though moderation is still key.

Substitution Notes:

Ratio: Use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter for every 1 cup of shortening to account for butter's lower fat content (around 80% fat vs. shortening's 100%).
Texture: The water content in butter can create a slightly different texture, resulting in a crispier, flatter baked good than shortening.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a solid, plant-based fat at room temperature (below 76°F), making it an excellent vegan substitute for shortening. It is known for its lauric acid content and is a popular choice among health-conscious bakers.

Substitution Notes:

Ratio: Substitute coconut oil for shortening in a 1:1 ratio. For best results, use a refined coconut oil if you prefer a neutral flavor, as unrefined oil has a distinct coconut taste.
Texture: It performs similarly to shortening, yielding flaky pie crusts and tender baked goods.

Non-Hydrogenated Palm Shortening

Non-hydrogenated palm shortening is a newer, healthier, and often sustainably sourced alternative. It is made from palm oil without the hydrogenation process, meaning it is trans fat-free. It provides the same benefits as traditional shortening, including a neutral flavor and stability, without the processing drawbacks. When choosing, look for RSPO-certified products to ensure ethical sourcing.

Other Alternatives

Lard: For savory recipes, lard (pork fat) can be a healthier, unhydrogenated alternative that creates incredibly flaky crusts. Lard has less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter and contains no trans fat.
Applesauce: In some cake, muffin, or cookie recipes, unsweetened applesauce can replace half of the fat to add moisture and reduce calories. This is not suitable for recipes relying on solid fat for texture, like pie crust.
Avocado Puree: Much like applesauce, mashed avocado can replace some of the shortening in baked goods, adding healthy monounsaturated fats and moisture.

Comparison Table: Shortening vs. Healthier Alternatives


Feature	Traditional Shortening	Butter	Coconut Oil	Non-Hydrogenated Palm Shortening
Processing	Highly processed, interesterified fat	Minimally processed whole food	Minimally processed (refined or unrefined)	Non-hydrogenated, less processed
Fat Content	100% fat	~80% fat, ~20% water/solids	100% fat	100% fat
Flavor	Neutral	Rich, buttery	Refined: Neutral; Unrefined: Coconut	Neutral
Best For...	Flaky pie crusts, frostings, texture	Flavorful cookies, pastries, biscuits	Vegan baking, flaky pie crusts	Vegan baking, frostings, flaky crusts
Health	No nutritional value, processed fat	Contains some vitamins, saturated fat	Contains healthy MCTs, lauric acid	Trans-fat-free, plant-based

Conclusion: Choosing the Right Healthy Alternative

Choosing a healthier option for shortening depends on balancing health concerns with the recipe's desired outcome. While traditional shortening is now trans fat-free, its highly processed nature and lack of nutritional value make healthier, less-processed alternatives a better choice for overall wellness. For robust flavor, butter is an excellent option, though its water content can alter texture. For a neutral-flavored, plant-based alternative that mimics shortening's textural properties, refined coconut oil or sustainably sourced non-hydrogenated palm shortening are top contenders. For savory applications, lard provides a naturally flaky result. Ultimately, selecting a healthier fat like butter or coconut oil over highly processed shortening is a simple and effective step towards more wholesome and mindful baking. The right choice for your kitchen depends on your specific dietary needs, taste preferences, and the recipe itself.

Making Healthier Swaps

For those dedicated to healthier baking, consider experimenting with different solid fats. A mix of butter and coconut oil can sometimes offer a perfect balance of flavor and texture. For moisture-rich baked goods, replacing some or all of the fat with unsweetened applesauce or mashed avocado can significantly reduce fat and calories. Always remember that fats, even healthy ones, should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet. A high-quality fat, like extra-virgin olive oil, is a heart-healthy choice for cooking that doesn't require a solid fat. When baking, however, the choice of a solid fat profoundly impacts the final texture.

Experimenting with Alternatives

To determine the best substitute for your needs, consider a simple taste test. Bake two batches of the same cookie recipe—one with shortening and one with a healthier alternative like butter or coconut oil—and compare the results. You'll likely discover that the subtle differences in texture and flavor are well worth the nutritional trade-off. Using natural, minimally processed ingredients is a simple way to bake more healthily, and there are plenty of options that will still produce delicious results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, butter is generally considered a healthier option than traditional shortening because it is a minimally processed, whole-food ingredient. It contains some vitamins and doesn't undergo the heavy processing and interesterification that modern shortening does.

Yes, coconut oil can be used as a 1:1 substitute for shortening in many baking recipes, especially for pie crusts and cookies. Refined coconut oil is recommended for a neutral flavor, while unrefined will impart a coconut taste.

For a flaky pie crust, solid fats are best. Butter or refined coconut oil are excellent healthier substitutes. Some bakers also use lard, noting its superior flakiness and lack of trans fats.

Yes, substitutes can affect texture. For instance, butter's water content can make baked goods crispier and flatter than shortening, while coconut oil offers a very similar tender and flaky result.

While modern shortening is free of trans fats, it is still a highly processed food made with interesterified fats. It provides no nutritional value, making less-processed alternatives a better choice for those concerned with overall health.

Vegetable oil is liquid at room temperature and cannot be used as a direct substitute for solid shortening in recipes requiring solid fat for texture (like pie crusts). It can be used when the recipe calls for melted shortening.

For recipes like cakes and muffins, you can replace some or all of the fat with unsweetened applesauce or mashed avocado to lower the fat content and add moisture. This will, however, change the texture significantly.