Have you ever wondered about the difference between salted vs unsalted butter? This post covers everything you need to know about these two ingredients, when to use each one, and how to substitute one for the other!

A box of unsalted butter sitting on top of a box of salted butter.

One of the most common questions I get is “why does this recipe use unsalted butter and have salt added to it?”.

I promise it’s not because I’m trying to be difficult or picky. There are actually a few reasons!

You’ve probably heard me say before that baking is a science. That means that every single ingredient that you use in a recipe serves a specific purpose, including butter!

So today I’m covering everything you need to know about salted vs unsalted butter – when you should use each one and how to substitute one for the other!

A box of unsalted butter and salted butter laying side by side.

What’s The Difference Between Salted and Unsalted Butter?

The only difference between them is salt. Surprise, right? Unsalted butter is made from cream while salted butter is made from cream with some salt added to it.

Salted butter is great for savory dishes where you’re not very concerned about the amount of salt. It’s also delicious spread across a piece of toast, blueberry muffins, or buttermilk biscuits.

Unsalted butter, on the other hand, is best for baking because it gives you more control over the flavor of your recipe.

An opened stick of unsalted butter sitting on top of the wrapper. A box of butter is sitting in the background.

Why You Should Use Unsalted Butter For Baking

The most important reason to use unsalted butter for baking:

  • It allows you to control the exact amount of salt in the recipe. The amount of salt in salted butter can vary widely between different brands. By using unsalted butter the flavor of the sweet cream is able to stand out and you have complete control over how much salt is in your baked goods.

A couple of other reasons that unsalted butter is better for baking:

  • Unsalted butter is typically fresher than salted butter. This one may come as a surprise to you, but it’s true! Salt acts as a preservative, which means that salted butter has a longer shelf life than unsalted butter. When you grab a box of unsalted butter at the grocery store, it’s more than likely going to be fresher because it’s restocked more often.
  • Salted butter has a higher water content, which can affect the final product of your baked goods. To be honest this one doesn’t bother me very much. I’ve used salted butter in some of my recipes and never found this to be an issue. However, if you’re baking something a little more intricate or finicky this is something to keep in mind.
Four sticks of unsalted and salted butter stacked on top of each other.

How To Substitute One For The Other

  • To substitute salted butter for unsalted butter: For each 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter reduce the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, you may replace it with 1/2 cup of salted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
  • To substitute unsalted butter for salted butter: For each 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter increase the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of salted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, you may replace it with 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Hopefully this helps answer any questions that you have about these two ingredients! If you love the science behind baking, be sure to check out all of my baking basics posts. My posts on the difference between baking soda and baking powder and natural vs. Dutch process cocoa powder are two great ones to start with!