Best Plant-Based Butter UK 2026: A Buyer's Guide

We make a plant-based butter ourselves (included below). This guide compares brands on publicly available facts - ingredients, oil content, palm oil status, price and availability (not on taste). We’ve laid out the data so you can decide for yourself…

TL;DR. If you’re someone who’s looking for the best value in their plant-based butter, Flora’s Plant B+tter Spreadable is an excellent choice that’s usually priced at around £3 (depending on the retailer).

Lurpak Plant Based is the most readily available option in the supermarket, but it can be slightly more expensive than Flora’s offerings.

For a product that stands apart from any other plant-based butter on the market, forget complicated oil blends and opt for Star Shea’s Vegan Butter. It’s the only option made from a single organic ingredient - shea, too!

Finally, if you want your plant-based butter to be free from palm oil and great for baking, Naturli’s Organic Vegan Unsalted Butter Alternative ticks both of those boxes.

And so, over the last few years, more and more people have made the switch to plant-based butter rather than traditional dairy butter.

Now, there’s a huge range to choose from, too - including creamy spreads, butter blocks and speciality butter for baking.

We’ll explore some of the best plant-based butters available right now (as well as the four mentioned above!), what makes it stand out, and how natural ingredients like shea butter can help create smooth, nourishing textures you’ll love to cook with (and taste)!

What is plant-based butter?

More generally speaking, plant-based butter is a dairy-free, often lactose-free spread made from a blend of plant oils, water, salt and emulsifiers, designed to mimic the taste, texture and cooking performance of dairy butter.

Of course, there are exceptions to this, such as some plant-based butters, for example, shea butter, which are made with 100% natural ingredients.

While traditional butter is made from churned cream, plant-based alternatives rely on carefully balanced oil and water emulsions to create the same creamy consistency - which, is sometimes difficult to mimic exactly right.

Most plant-based butters use a combination of fats and oils to achieve the right texture and flavour profile of dairy butter.

Common ingredients (and ones you might’ve heard of too) often include palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil and even avocado oil.

Shea butter, alternatively, helps create a velvety consistency that works well in spreads and baking applications.

In shops and online, you might see plant-based butters and margarines grouped in the same aisles or sections, but the two aren’t the same.

Margarine is higher in water than plant-based butters, and it’s also mainly designed as a spread rather than something designed to sauté vegetables or add to stews.

Plant-based butters, on the other hand, are formulated with a higher fat content better to replicate the cooking and baking performance of dairy butter - so it’s key not to get the two mixed up.

How we compare brands

Although this is a buyer’s guide and not a taste test, it’s important to look at a range of plant-based butters on the market - as well as what actually makes up said plant-based butters.

• Oil percentage: Any plant-based butter should ideally have a high oil content of around 79% to yield similar results to dairy butter.
• Palm oil status: You also must consider whether products contain palm oil and, where applicable, have certifications to avoid using it.
• Ingredient transparency: Ideally, your plant-based butter should have a clear ingredient list on it, with as few additives and emulsifiers as possible.
• Nutrition profile: Plant-based butters are usually made from water and oil. But, if you look deeper into the nutrition profile of the butter, you’ll find a total fat of around 10-11g, 0g of carbohydrates, 0g of cholesterol and anywhere from around 9 to 120mg of sodium.
• UK availability: Plant-based butters are widely stocked in UK supermarkets, as well as online.
• Price per 100g: Value for money is also super important.
• Format: Is your plant-based butter sold in a block? Is it spreadable? Is it in a tub?
• Allergens: It’s also important to make note of the allergens in each one of the plant-based butters - particularly if you or someone in your family is lactose intolerant or dairy-free.

It almost goes without saying that the best place to find details on specific plant-based butters is to look at the brand website or the back of the pack.

Our data is drawn from manufacturer packaging, brand websites, UK retailer listings and published lifecycle assessments where available.

Plant-based butter comparison

Name	Base oils	Oil percentage	Palm oil-free	Format	Salted	UK retailer	Price per 100g	Allergens
Flora Professional Unsalted	Rapeseed, Sunflower	79% fat	Yes	Block	Unsalted	Yes	Around £0.98	None
Flora Plant B+tter Spreadable	Rapeseed, Sunflower, Coconut	79% Vegetable fat	Yes	Spread	Salted	Yes	Around £0.75	None
Lurpak Plant Based	Rapeseed, Coconut, Shea	75% fat	Yes	Spread	Salted	Yes	Around £1.19	Tree nuts, oats
Mergulo Plant-Based Butter	Cashew nuts, Coconut	65% fat	Yes	Block	Unsalted	Yes	Around £1.65	Nuts
Naturli Organic Vegan Unsalted Butter Alternative	Shea butter, Coconut, Rapeseed	80% fat	Yes	Block	Unsalted	Yes	Around £1.05	Nuts
Star Shea’s Vegan Butter	Shea	100% fat	Yes	Block	Unsalted	Yes	Around £0.89	Tree nuts
Sunfly Sunflower Seed Butter	Sunflower kernels	Unknown	Yes	Spread	Salted	Yes	Around £3.30	None
Vitalite Dairy Free Spreadable Alternative	Vegetable, Rapeseed, Sustainable Palm	54% Vegetable fat	No but uses 100% segregated palm oil	Spread	Salted	Yes	Around £0.70	None

The plant-based butter brands compared

Now that we’ve briefly covered the best-selling plant-based butters, let’s dive into four brands deeper.

We’ll compare four popular options using the same criteria, including fat content, ingredients, format and everyday use.

Flora Professional Unsalted

A popular option for home bakers and those wanting to pick up plant-based butter at their local supermarket.

At a glance:

• Blend of rapeseed and sunflower oils
• Around 79% fat
• Palm oil-free
• Block
• No allergens

What’s in it: Flora Professional Unsalted uses vegetable oils like sunflower and rapeseed in varying proportions, as well as coconut fat and emulsifiers, to create a dairy-free alternative that mimics dairy butter. It can also be substituted in any recipe 1:1, meaning that it’s not complicated to use in cooking or baking either.

Suitability: Thanks to its 79% fat content, it’s one of the closest matches to dairy butter. Even though it’s in a block format, the Floral Unsalted can be used for spreading, buttercream and pastry too.

Where to buy: Most UK supermarkets.

Notable claim: Flora partners with Quantis to calculate the climate impact of the butter it produces. It notes that Flora’s blended 31% fat has a 45% lower climate impact compared to the same amount of dairy cream. A win-win, right?

Lurpak Plant Based

A household butter name that has developed a plant-based alternative to its cult dairy butter.

At a glance:

• Blend of rapeseed, coconut and shea oils
• Around 75% fat
• Palm oil-free
• Spread
• Allergens include tree nuts and oats

What’s in it: Lurpak Plant Based contains rapeseed oil with coconut and shea fats to create a smooth, creamy finish. It claims to offer all the great taste and quality you’d expect from a Lurpak product, but in a plant-based option.

Suitability: Because it’s sold as a spread rather than a firm block, it might not be every baker’s first choice for intricate pastry work, but it will perform well in basic recipes.

Where to buy: Most UK supermarkets.

Notable claim: One of the few mainstream plant-based butters to include shea butter as part of its fat blend.

Star Shea’s Vegan Butter

A unique, organic, 100% shea option.

At a glance:

• Shea butter
• Around 100% fat
• Palm oil-free
• Block
• Allergens include tree nuts

What’s in it: Most plant-based butters rely on a blend of several oils, whereas Star Shea’s Vegan Butter is only made from shea butter. This creates both a distinctive texture and a unique taste (some describe it as subtly ‘earthy’ or 'nutty').

Suitability: Shea butter is particularly good in recipes that require high heat stability - such as pastries or baked goods. It also tastes great in curries, stews and soups. You can find all of our recipes right here.

Where to buy: Available through Vegan Butter Market.

Notable claim: Out of the four plant-based butters, it’s the only one that contains just shea. On top of this, Star Shea supports women’s cooperatives in the production of its shea butter.

Mergulo Plant-Based Butter

A dairy alternative that focuses on the use of simple ingredients and cashew nuts.

At a glance:

• Blend of coconut oil and ground cashews
• Around 65% fat
• Palm oil-free
• Block
• Allergens include nuts

What’s in it: Mergulo’s plant-based butter offering is made from a blend of ground cashews and silky smooth coconut oil to produce a texture that rivals dairy butter. Its recipe is relatively uncomplicated compared to some of the others on this list.

Suitability: A good option for spreading, cooking and light baking.

Where to buy: Most UK supermarkets.

Notable claim: Mergulo’s Plant-Based Butter uses 100% plastic free, sustainable packaging.

Plant-based butter vs dairy butter: Nutrition compared

Plant-based butters are just as calorie-dense as dairy butter, but plant-based butters generally contain ‘healthier’ types of fat.

Dairy butter is made from cream and typically contains around 80-82% milk fat, much of which is saturated fat, alongside small amounts of water and milk solids.

On the other hand, plant-based alternatives such as Flora, Lurpak or Star Shea are also high in fat, but its fat content comes from plant-based sources like shea, rapeseed and coconut.

Depending on each one of its individual nutritional makeups, these fats may contain higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids, which are often considered a more heart-friendly option - and all of this goes without saying that butter should be consumed as part of a balanced diet.

Here’s a comparison table to help make sense of the two.

Per 100g	Dairy butter	Plant-based butter (typical)	Range across brands
Calories	Around 700 kcal	Around 700 kcal	Around 580-900 kcal
Total fat	81g	70-80g	65-100g
Saturated fat	Around 51g	Usually lower, but it varies by oil makeup - somewhere in the region of 20-45g	Around 12-100g
Sodium	Naturally low (unsalted)	Varies by brand	Varies significantly

Yes, plant-based and dairy butter aren’t so different when it comes to calories, so the main nutritional difference lies in the source and composition of the fats.

And again, this can differ from brand to brand and butter to butter.

Palm oil, sustainability and the environmental case

Depending on how much research you’ve done around plant-based butter already, you might know that plant-based butter has a lower carbon footprint than dairy butter.

However, with the use of palm oil in some plant-based butters, it gets a little bit more complex.

The production process of dairy butter is incredibly resource-intensive and requires a lot of land, water and feed crops. Cattle also produce methane emissions, which we already know is a huge contributor to climate change.

The result? Dairy butter has a higher carbon footprint in comparison.

Saying that, plant-based butters aren’t in the clear when it comes to its sustainability, either - and it’s all because of one ingredient, palm oil.

Palm oil is highly efficient to grow and produces more oil per hectare than many alternative crops, but its cultivation has been linked to deforestation and habitat destruction in some locations.

Because of the greater awareness of the production of palm oil and the devastating effects it can have, more and more people are buying products that either avoid palm oil or use palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

This is a collective that promotes more responsible production and encourages businesses to keep its supply chains as transparent as possible.

As we covered earlier, there are several palm oil-free options for plant-based butters - including those that use rapeseed oil, coconut and shea instead.

Shea butter is a real standout, however, as it’s 100% natural and provides a gloriously creamy texture and excellent heat stability without relying on palm-derived ingredients.

Don’t know where to buy your shea butter? Star Shea’s Vegan Butter can be purchased right here in both 1kg and 25kg quantities. We can assure you it’s organic, free from additives and palm oil, too!

How to choose a plant-based butter for baking

So, how do you choose a plant-based butter for your baking needs?

For baking, you need to opt for a plant-based butter with over 70% oil content, and ideally a butter that’s sold in a block rather than a spread.

Let’s also explore some more specific bakes…

For cookies, softer, lower-fat plant butters that contain a lot of water won’t do your cookies any good. Instead, opt for firmer butter and chill the dough before baking to avoid it spreading in the oven.

For cakes, most plant-based butters can be swapped with a 1:1 ratio, meaning that if a recipe says to use 100g of dairy butter, you can swap it exactly for 100g of plant-based butter.

For buttercream, you’ll need to choose a firmer plant-based butter so that your icing doesn’t turn into liquid at room temperature.

For pastry and pie crust, higher-fat options will be your best friend, as it will hold its shape better when chilled.

Finally, for simply spreading on toast, you’re going to need a plant-based butter that comes in a spreadable format, as well as one that tastes delicious.

So, the best plant-based butter for you really depends on how you and your family are planning on using it.

If you’re using your plant-based butter purely for baking, fat content matters. But for everyday use, how well it spreads and the flavour might be more important.

The good news is that today’s plant-based butters are more versatile than ever, making it easier to find an option that suits your cooking style, dietary preferences and sustainability goals.

And, if you want to stick to shea butter as your plant-based butter vice of choice, Star Shea’s Vegan Butter is made with only the finest organic ingredients and is free from additives and any nasties you won’t want in your baking.

Perfect for those with a dairy allergy, on a vegan diet, or wanting to prioritise more natural ingredients in cooking, our Vegan Butter is wonderfully smooth (and spreadable if you wish!).

Alternatively, there are also great spreadable options like Flora’s Plant B+tter and Lurpak’s Plant Based if you’re looking for a great plant-based butter to spread on toast. Or, for a block that’s better for baking, Mergulo’s Plant-Based Butter and Flora’s Professional Unsalted will give you that structure and flakiness in said bakes.

Regardless of which plant-based butter you eventually decide on - truly, there’s never been a better time to swap to a plant-based butter!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is plant-based butter the same as margarine?

No, plant-based butter isn’t the same as margarine, and it can be quite difficult to tell the two apart thanks to its almost identical appearance.

Traditional margarine will be higher in water than plant-based butters and is also designed for use mainly as a spread.

Plant-based butters tend to be made with a higher fat content than margarine to be able to recreate the cooking and baking performance and dairy butter (as well as its gloriously creamy taste).

Is plant-based butter healthier than dairy butter?

‘Heathier’ isn’t a quantitative measurement, so it can be tricky to weigh up which one is better than the other. However, plant-based butters often contain higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids, which are commonly viewed as a ‘healthier’ alternative.

These are some benefits of Star Shea’s Vegan Butter to keep in mind when comparing it to your classic, supermarket-bought dairy butter.

• Made with the finest organic ingredients
• Hand processed
• Free from additives, animal products and chemicals
• Rich in essential nutrients
• Boasts a smooth and creamy texture
• Sourced from eco-certified farms
• Perfect for vegans or those with dietary restrictions

Is plant-based butter palm oil-free?

It can vary from brand to brand, so it’s a good thing to look out for when investing in your plant-based butter.

Palm oil is one of the most debated ingredients in food production because of its links to deforestation and habitat loss.

If you want your butter to contain palm oil because of its firm, butter-like texture but care about the sustainability element, look for products with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certifications on it.

Saying that, there are plenty of plant-based butters on the market which don’t use palm oil in its recipes. Plus, shea butter is completely palm oil-free!

Can you bake with plant-based butter?

Yes! Plant-based butter is great for baking, but just be clear on what you need from your butter beforehand.

For example, for pastry and pie crusts, plant-based butters with a higher fat content are preferred. Or for cookies, opt for a firm block of butter.

Read Star Shea’s guide on how to use shea butter in baking right here.

Can you freeze plant-based butter?

Yes! You can indeed freeze plant-based butter. Simply keep it in its original packaging or an airtight container to stop it from spoiling.

When you’re ready to use it, thaw it in the fridge overnight so it has the time to return to its smooth, spreadable texture.

What's the best plant-based butter for buttercream?

For making buttercream, you’re going to need a plant-based butter that’s firm when chilled and stable at room temperature - the last thing you need is a liquid mess when you take it out from the fridge!

You also need your plant-based butter to be high enough in fat to whip up light and fluffy without splitting.

For this, block-style plant-based butters will work best, as it has a closer resemblance to dairy butter.

Some bakers also swear by shea-based blends, as shea butter naturally adds stability and a creamy, almost nutty, finish.

Essentially, you’re just going to want to avoid any plant-based spreads, as it can make your buttercream too loose and greasy.

Does plant-based butter contain dairy or lactose?

If you’re lactose intolerant or live a dairy-free lifestyle, the good news is that plant-based butter is made without dairy ingredients, so it does not contain lactose.

Instead of milk or cream, it’s typically made from a blend of plant oils, water and salt.

Because plant-based butters are dairy-free, it’s also more often than not suitable for those who are lactose intolerant or following a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Although it’s important to always check the ingredients list on your plant-based butter!

Is shea butter used in plant-based butter?

Shea butter, just like rapeseed and coconut, can be used in plant-based butters. It’s popular because of its rich, creamy (and slightly nutty) finish, as well as its firmness - it’s super similar to dairy butter in that aspect!

Not all plant-based butters contain shea, though, as some brands choose to rely on other fats instead.

If you’re specifically looking for a plant-based butter that contains shea, why not choose a butter that’s 100% shea, like our Vegan Butter. It’s also organic, rich in essential nutrients and super creamy.