Butter vs. vegan buttery spread
We used ESHA research and the USDA Economic Research Service to obtain nutritional data. These figures reflect popular brands for 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter and 1 Tbsp of vegan buttery spread.
Calories
Butter: 100Vegan buttery spread: 100
If you’re hoping to save major calories by ditching your butter habit, tough luck: buttery spread has just as many.
Fat
Butter: 11 gVegan buttery spread: 11 g
This one’s a draw—both spreads are equally as fatty.
Saturated Fat
Butter: 35%Vegan buttery spread: 15%
Butter is much higher in saturated fat than its vegan counterpart. You need to pay attention to this number if you’re watching your cholesterol levels.
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)
Butter: 3 g Vegan buttery spread: 5 g MUFAs are a healthy type of fat that may help lower your cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease, so this is one kind of fat you definitely want to add to your diet. It’s found in things like olive oil, almonds, cashews, avocados, and nut butters.
Cholesterol
Butter: 10% Vegan buttery spread: 0% But this on your popcorn and melt it: buttery spread has no cholesterol!
Calcium
Butter: 3 g Vegan buttery spread: 0 g Since it’s made from cream, it makes sense that butter contains a bit of bone-protecting calcium.
Sodium
Butter: 2 mg Vegan buttery spread: 100 mg The sodium content in unsalted butter is negligible. No so in the vegan spread.
Vitamin A
Butter: 7%Vegan buttery spread: 0
Here’s a shock: Butter delivers 7 percent of your daily vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that helps our bolster the immune system, and helps our heart, lungs, and kidneys, function properly.
Vitamin K
Butter: 1.2%Vegan buttery spread: 0%
Sure, butter has a bit of vitamin K, it’s not enough to write home about. There are far better sources of the fat-soluble nutrient including collards, spinach, kale, and broccoli. Vitamin K helps our blood clot and may help adults maintain strong bones.
Vitamin E
Butter: 2.2%Vegan buttery spread: 10%
Vegan buttery spread is higher in vitamin E than butter. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps protect cells harmful compounds found in smoke, air pollution, and ultraviolet light.
Vitamin D
Butter: 2.3%Vegan buttery spread: 0%
While butter isn’t exactly brimming with vitamin D, it does have a bit of the nutrient, which is more than vegan buttery spread can claim. Vitamin D may ward off cancer and depression, and can even slow weight gain.
So which is healthier: butter or vegan buttery spread?
🏆 The winner: butter 🏆
Butter beats out its highly processed counterpart. It won us over on nutrition facts alone, but the truly convincing part is the fine print. There’s only one ingredient in butter—cream—but in a popular vegan buttery spread, we counted no fewer than eight. To avoid all that, we’ll happily take butter’s extra saturated fat.
The bottom line
If you’re buying butter, go organic and grass-fed. Grass-fed butter is packed with more vitamin K and D. Plus, some studies say grass-fed animals produce a healthier omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, which can ward off inflammation and may help keep heart disease and other chronic health problems at bay. Many people swear it tastes better, too. If you’re buying a vegan spread, avoid brands with hydrogenated oils and trans fats, which have been shown to be detrimental to heart health.
