Margarine vs Butter: What Are the Differences?

The butter-versus-margarine debate has been ongoing for decades. Both are often used in similar ways—spread on toast, melted into vegetables, used to grease a pan. But nutritionally, culinarily, and flavor-wise, they are not equal.

For me—as a registered dietitian and home cook—there really isn’t much of a debate. Butter wins.

Let’s start with the basics. Butter is made from cream, with a little salt added if it’s a salted butter. That’s it. Margarine, on the other hand, is often a more processed product made from plant-based (refined) oils and additives so that it can mimic butter’s texture and flavor. For me, that simplicity matters.

Butter also outperforms margarine in the kitchen. Its fat-to-moisture ratio is essential for baking, especially in recipes like cookies, pie crusts, and puff pastry, where structure and texture are everything. Margarine—particularly soft or tub varieties—contains more water and stabilizers, which leads to inconsistent results when baking and a lesser final product.

But perhaps the most compelling reason butter comes out on top is taste. Butter has a richness and depth of flavor that margarine can’t replicate. And when it comes to exceptional butter, Cabot stands out. Butter was Cabot’s very first product more than 100 years ago—and today, it continues to earn top honors, including being named World’s Best Butter at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest.

So, what exactly is butter, and how does it compare nutritionally to margarine? Let’s break it down. 

What is butter?

Butter is made from cream. And the type of fat in cream is predominately saturated. This is why butter was once discouraged — its saturated fat content was connected to poor heart health. But the research is more nuanced these days. Nowadays, research suggests that butter may be more neutral, but also not a “health food.” There is research that suggests regularly eating butter doesn’t raise your risk of heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

What is margarine? 

Margarine, on the other hand, is typically made of a blend of vegetable oils. This makes it higher in unsaturated fat and lower in saturated fat than butter. It’s also naturally lower in cholesterol because plant-based oils don’t contain cholesterol. It’s this nuance that gives margarine its heart-healthy reputation: when unsaturated fats replace saturated fat in the diet, it can improve your cholesterol profile (lowering the bad kind and ever-so-slightly boosting the good kind) and, research shows, lowers your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

The other advantage to using margarine is that its smoke point is higher than that of butter. And if you’re using it in an application where other flavors dominate (perhaps in a spread or to make a crumble dessert topping), choosing margarine over butter matters less. 

How do margarine and butter compare nutritionally? 

	Butter	Stick margarine	Spreadable margarine
Calories	102	100	60-80
Total fat	12g	11g	5-9g
Saturated fat	7g	2-3g	1-3g
Trans fat	0g	up to 2.5g	0g
Cholesterol	31mg	0mg	0mg

Nutrition numbers aside, the other significant difference between butter and margarine when it comes to nutrition is that margarine can (and typically does) have more ingredients than butter, as well as additives and colorings.

Some margarines are also fortified with plant sterols—a good-for-you and good-for-your-heart additive. One of the drawbacks to phytosterols, however, is that they are prone to oxidation when heated or kept for a long time. And once unsaturated fats are oxidized they lose their healthfulness. 

So what's the final verdict?

If heart health is your top priority—and you’ve been advised to improve your cholesterol—certain margarines containing plant sterols can be a helpful tool. But for others, everyday eating isn’t just about improving a single health marker; it’s about enjoyment and satisfaction.

In my kitchen, taste matters—and choosing butter doesn’t mean sacrificing health. Newer research has softened butter’s reputation, and when used thoughtfully (read: in moderation), it can absolutely fit into a healthy eating pattern. If flavor, function, and overall enjoyment are the standards by which we’re judging butter versus margarine, butter comes out on top.

Interested in learning more about butter? Visit our blog that breaks down the difference between European Butter and American Butter!

Sources: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/margarine

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0158118