Salted vs. Unsalted Butter: What to Use When

Not all types of butter are the same, and the most common varieties are salted and unsalted butter. The difference between them is simple (spoiler: it’s salt!), but it’s worth understanding how salt affects butter so you can become a better cook and baker. Keep reading for an explainer on all things salted vs. unsalted butter, including how and when to use each of them for the best results. 

What Is Salted Butter?

Salted butter is exactly what it sounds like: butter with salt added to it during the manufacturing process. The amount of salt in salted butter depends on the brand and style, but a rough estimate is ¼ teaspoon per stick (½ cup) of butter. High-quality salted butter should taste rich and creamy, with balanced saltiness. Because salt acts as a preservative, salted butter has a longer shelf life than unsalted butter. If you like keeping room-temperature butter on your counter to spread on toast, salted butter is a good choice for both longevity and flavor.

What Is Unsalted Butter?

Unsalted butter is simply butter without added salt. It has a pure, fresh flavor that highlights the quality of the butter. Bakers typically prefer unsalted butter for greater control over the flavor and texture of baked goods, like chocolate chip cookies or brownies. Unsalted butter is also ideal for savory recipes where you want greater control over the salt content, like this Buttery Shrimp With Marinated White Beans or butter-based sauces like hollandaise.

Salted Butter vs. Unsalted Butter

Although the only difference between salted and unsalted butter is the salt content, whether or not a specific butter contains salt has an impact on how the butter tastes and works in recipes. Unsalted butter allows you to have more control over the level of saltiness in a dish. The lack of salt can also help ensure that the baked good has a light, tender crumb, like in this Glazed Lemon Pound Cake.

Salted butter has a longer shelf life than unsalted butter due to the presence of salt, a natural preservative. This means that salted butter is a safer choice to store at room temperature for ultra-creamy, spreadable butter. Salt enhances the flavor of salted butter, which makes it extra delicious slathered on fresh, warm bread, muffins, scones, or toast.

Can You Use Salted Butter Instead of Unsalted Butter?

You can definitely use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, just make sure to adjust the salt accordingly. When using salted butter instead of unsalted butter, reduce the added salt by about ¼ teaspoon per stick (½ cup) of butter. 

For the reverse, if you’re using unsalted butter instead of salted, add about ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick (½ cup) of butter to the recipe. These measurements are a good reference if you want to be precise, and baking does benefit from precision, but feel free to play around with both salted and unsalted butter. At the end of the day, they’re very similar products and will yield similar results.