The best sunflower oil substitutes for baking

If there is no butter in my recipes, it usually contains sunflower oil. A while ago there was a short supply of sunflower oil and I received countless questions on what to use to replace the sunflower oil. In the meantime the stock is back on track but I figured it would still be a good idea to let you know what you could replace it with if you wanted to. Today I’m going to tell you exactly what sunflower oil is, what it’s used for in baking (which is important to know if you want to replace it) and then the most important thing: how to replace sunflower oil and what are the best sunflower oil substitutes.

What is sunflower oil?

Sunflower oil is a vegetable oil made from sunflower seeds. These sunflower seeds contain a lot of fat, which is why oil can be pressed from them. Sunflower oil is one of the most widely used cooking oils in the world and is used in a huge range of foods. Just think of fries, margarine or the snack bar, where the fries are usually fried in sunflower oil.

Sunflower oil is popular because it has a high smoke point, meaning it can be heated to high temperatures, is relatively cheap and has a neutral taste. It also stays liquid, unlike coconut oil, for example, which hardens and becomes solid below 24°C/75˚F.

What do you use sunflower oil for in sweet dishes?

I use sunflower oil most often in my muffin and cake recipes. Some examples are my basic muffin recipe and all its variations, but I also use sunflower oil in whole wheat muffins, savory muffins, waffles or yogurt cake. I also usually use sunflower oil for deep frying, for example when I am baking doughnuts, oliebollen or bitterballen.

I also use sunflower oil for bread recipes, as I use it to grease the bowl before the dough goes into the first or second rise. So I understand why you regularly ask me how to replace sunflower oil! This varies from recipe to recipe, so below I will explain for each type of sunflower oil substitute what you can use it for.

How to replace sunflower oil

There are many different types of oil, so there are plenty to choose from that will work well in my recipes. What you should bear in mind is that not all types of oil are suitable for heating. This has to do with the ‘smoke point’ of the oil. If the oil is heated above the smoke point, harmful substances are released during cooking. Because of the higher smoke point of sunflower oil this is a favorite for many things.

Replacing sunflower oil in cakes and muffins

In recipes such as cakes, cupcakes, muffins, waffles or other sweet baked goods where sunflower oil is incorporated into the batter, it is very important that the taste of the oil is neutral. It is almost impossible to make anything taste as neutral as sunflower oil, but the best substitutes are peanut oil and rapeseed oil.

You could also use butter or coconut oil to replace sunflower oil in recipes for cakes and muffins. However, this is not my preference. The recipes where I specifically use sunflower oil are for that reason. Sunflower oil makes a nice, creamy cake, whereas butter and coconut oil firm up once they cool down after baking, making the cake or muffins firmer. So it can be done, but bear in mind that your cake or muffins will be less soft and creamy (especially if you use coconut oil).

Replacing sunflower oil in bread recipes

For sweet breads or rolls, I would opt for peanut or rapeseed oil to grease the pan. The more neutral taste of the oil will not affect the taste of the bread, making it ideal to use.

For savory breads, the type of oil you use makes less of a difference, and you can use a mild olive oil as well as peanut or rapeseed oil. This is always the case with focaccia, but another example where olive oil would not be out of place is this recipe for tomato and cream cheese sandwiches. Choose a mild olive oil, however, as it can be heated to a high temperature. Do not use extra virgin olive oil as the flavor is too overpowering and it has a low smoke point.

NOTE: Peanut oil is derived from peanuts and cannot be used if you have a peanut allergy.

Replacing sunflower oil in frying

To replace sunflower oil for deep frying, I would definitely choose peanut oil. This oil is also suitable for high temperatures and is therefore perfect for frying. Some say it’s even tastier in certain recipes, such as oliebollen, so that’s a good thing.

Replacing sunflower oil in granola

You can also use different types of oil: peanut oil, rapeseed oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil also makes the granola stick together a little better.

Avocado oil

You may have noticed that avocado oil is missing from the list above. That’s because I don’t have any experience with it myself. From what I have heard you would be able to replace sunflower oil with avocado oil. The downside is that avocado oil is quite expensive making it less than a desirable option for replacing sunflower oil.

Do you have any experience with avocado oil? If so, please let me know in a comment below this article so that other readers can benefit.