What is the healthiest fat for pastry?

November 5, 2025 •

4 min read

Over 50% of the calories in many traditional pastries come from fat, highlighting the importance of your fat choice for health. For bakers focused on nutritional value, the key question becomes, what is the healthiest fat for pastry? The answer depends on balancing flavor, texture, and your dietary goals.

Quick Summary

This article explores the health and functional differences of common pastry fats, including butter, shortening, coconut oil, and olive oil, to help bakers make informed choices. It covers the nutritional impact of saturated versus unsaturated fats and provides a comparison of how each fat affects pastry flavor and texture.

Key Points

Texture vs. Health: Healthier liquid fats like olive oil produce a tender, crumbly pastry, not a flaky one like butter or shortening.
Coconut Oil is a Solid Vegan Option: Refined coconut oil provides a neutral-flavored solid fat for flaky, dairy-free pastries, though it is high in saturated fat.
Lard Offers Flakiness and Monounsaturated Fats: High-quality leaf lard provides a very flaky crust with a notable amount of monounsaturated fats, but it still contains saturated fat.
Avoid Trans Fats in Shortening: Modern shortening is fully hydrogenated and free of trans fats, but it is a processed fat and lacks flavor compared to butter.
Filo is a Low-Fat Solution: For the most health-conscious approach, opting for a naturally low-fat pastry like filo can drastically reduce saturated fat intake.
High-Quality is Key: For all fats, choosing high-quality, less processed options like grass-fed butter or cold-pressed olive oil can offer better nutritional value.

The Essential Role of Fat in Pastry

Fat is a fundamental ingredient in pastry, performing a critical function known as "shortening". It coats flour proteins, inhibiting the formation of long gluten strands, which would otherwise result in a tough, chewy crust. By creating air pockets during baking as water evaporates, solid fats contribute to the desirable flaky layers in many pastries, from pies to croissants. The type of fat used profoundly impacts the final product's texture, flavor, and nutritional profile, making the choice a key consideration for health-conscious bakers.

Solid Fats vs. Liquid Fats: A Nutritional Breakdown

When evaluating fats, it's crucial to understand the distinction between saturated and unsaturated varieties. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and have been historically linked to higher LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels when consumed in excess. In contrast, unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), typically liquid at room temperature, are generally considered heart-healthy and can help lower LDL cholesterol.

Solid Fats: This category includes butter, lard, shortening, and coconut oil. While they are prized for their ability to create flaky, tender pastries, most are higher in saturated fat. Lard contains a notable amount of monounsaturated fat, similar to olive oil, but is still high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Modern shortening and some margarines use fully hydrogenated oils to eliminate trans fats, a major health concern from older versions. Coconut oil is predominantly saturated fat but is a popular vegan choice.
Liquid Fats (Oils): Oils like extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, and sunflower oil are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats. Their liquid state means they create a different texture in pastry—less flaky and more tender or crumbly, often called "mealy". This makes them better suited for certain applications, like savory tarts or rustic pie crusts.

Coconut Oil: A Versatile Vegan Solid Fat

For vegan or dairy-free baking, refined coconut oil is a compelling choice. It provides the solid fat necessary for a flaky texture and a rich mouthfeel, similar to butter. Refined coconut oil has a neutral flavor, ensuring it doesn't impart a tropical taste to your baked goods. Since it has a lower melting point than butter, it's easier to work into the flour, but it's important to keep ingredients chilled to prevent it from becoming too soft. While still a saturated fat, coconut oil is often seen as a healthier plant-based solid fat option than highly processed alternatives.

Olive Oil: A Heart-Healthy Liquid Alternative

For a more health-conscious liquid fat, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an excellent choice due to its high monounsaturated fat content and powerful antioxidants. It creates a tender, moist, and wonderfully crumbly crust rather than a flaky one. Using a mild, light-flavored EVOO will prevent the oil's robust taste from overpowering your pastry. This fat is particularly well-suited for savory pies, tarts, and certain rustic, sweet pastries where a buttery, flaky texture isn't the primary goal.

The Verdict: What is the Healthiest Fat for Pastry?

The truth is that no single fat is universally "the healthiest fat for pastry." The best choice depends on a balance between nutritional health and the desired culinary outcome. If your priority is heart health and reducing saturated fat, a liquid unsaturated fat like olive oil is the best choice, though you must accept a different pastry texture. If you need a solid fat for flakiness, opting for less processed options like grass-fed butter or coconut oil is preferable to shortenings containing trans fats. A great compromise can be a combination of fats or using naturally low-fat filo pastry.

Tips for Healthier Pastry Baking

Reduce the overall fat: Many recipes can have the total fat content slightly reduced without compromising quality, or you can opt for pastry on only one side of a dish, like a top-crust pie.
Use liquid spreads: When a flaky texture isn't paramount, an unsaturated vegetable oil-based spread is a healthier swap for butter or stick margarine.
Go for filo: If you want the lowest-fat pastry option, filo dough is an excellent choice for a crispy, crunchy crust with significantly less fat than shortcrust or puff pastry.
Experiment with oil: For cakes and crumbly crusts, try substituting some of the solid fat with a neutral-flavored, heart-healthy liquid oil like canola or olive oil.
Consider quality: For animal-based fats like butter or lard, choosing products from responsibly raised animals can result in better nutrient profiles.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the healthiest fat for pastry depends on the type of pastry you are making and your specific dietary priorities. For the flakiest, richest pastries, solid fats like butter and coconut oil are traditional choices, but they come with a higher saturated fat content. For the most heart-healthy option, liquid oils like olive oil are best, but they produce a mealy, tender crust. The best approach is to experiment with alternatives, use high-quality ingredients, and consider adjusting your technique to create delicious, satisfying pastries that align with a balanced diet.

Comparing Common Pastry Fats


Fat Type	Health Profile	Texture Impact	Flavor Profile	Best For
Butter	High in saturated fat and cholesterol.	Rich, buttery flavor; yields flaky layers when cold.	Rich, creamy, distinct buttery flavor.	Pies, croissants, laminated doughs.
Refined Coconut Oil	High in saturated fat, but dairy-free.	Very flaky, tender texture; low melting point.	Neutral, no coconut flavor.	Vegan pies, tarts, sweet pastries.
Lard	High in monounsaturated fats (similar to olive oil), but also saturated fat and cholesterol.	Exceptionally flaky and tender texture.	Neutral, non-porky flavor (especially leaf lard).	Pie crusts, savory pastries, biscuits.
Vegetable Shortening	Processed, can be high in saturated fat; older types had trans fats.	Very flaky and tender; holds shape well.	Neutral flavor.	Decorative crusts, pie crusts.
Olive Oil	High in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.	Mealy, tender, and crumbly, not flaky.	Fruity, savory flavor.	Savory tarts, rustic pies, quick breads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Both butter and coconut oil are high in saturated fat. Healthier liquid oils like olive oil and canola are lower in saturated fat, but they produce a different, non-flaky texture in pastry. If you need a solid fat for flakiness, refined coconut oil is a popular dairy-free and vegan alternative to butter.

No, olive oil will not produce a flaky pastry. Its liquid nature creates a tender, mealy, and crumbly crust. For a flaky texture, a solid fat like butter or coconut oil is required. Olive oil is best for rustic, pressed crusts, or savory tarts.

Shortening is a solid fat, typically made from hydrogenated vegetable oil. Older versions contained unhealthy trans fats, but modern shortening is fully hydrogenated to eliminate them. While it creates very flaky pastry, it is a highly processed fat and is not considered a top-tier healthy choice compared to less-processed options like butter or olive oil.

For savory pastries, you have several options. High-quality leaf lard or butter can produce an excellent, flaky crust. For a heart-healthier alternative, consider using a light-flavored extra virgin olive oil, which will create a delicious, tender and crumbly crust.

To make a healthier pie crust, you can: use an unsaturated vegetable oil-based spread instead of butter; use olive oil for a rustic, pressed crust; or use filo dough, which is much lower in fat than traditional pastry. You can also reduce the amount of fat called for in many recipes.

For the flakiest crust, fats with a high melting point and no water content, like shortening or lard, are most effective. Butter also creates flaky layers due to its water content turning to steam, but it is more sensitive to temperature.

Lard has a higher proportion of monounsaturated fats than butter, making it a heart-healthier choice in some respects. However, both are animal fats and high in saturated fat. Choosing high-quality, responsibly sourced animal fats is important for both.