All About The Plant-Based Butter

The funny thing about butter, is that I actually like vegan, soy-free, everything-free butter better than "real" dairy butter. A few weeks ago, my mom made this amazing sourdough bread, and I tried a bite with regular butter. Then I tried some with my own butter, and it tasted so much better! I mean, I don't think any type of everything-free butter is a match for Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter, but that's a special case. In general, the dairy-free, plant-based stuff tastes so much better to me now, although 6 years ago I most likely would have begged to differ. 

I say plant-based butter because that's what dairy-free butter is made out of- plants! Lots of dairy-free butters will use soy (which is a plant), but I also can't have soy. So the ones I use are made out of oil blends. 

There's actually a very small variety of foods I even use butter on, yet I go through the little tubs like crazy! Probably because I'm just slightly addicted to toast. And mac n cheese. And mashed potatoes. Which those three things are honestly the only things I can think of right now that I even use butter for. Oh- and grilled cheese. Be sure to check out my cheese post for a rant on the best everything-free grilled cheese cheese!

But back to the butter. Here's my top three favorite vegan/soy-free/plant-based butter substitutes!

Earth Balance

The very first plant-based butter I ever used was from Earth Balance. Back before my mom and I really read the ingredients label, I tried their "Original," because we saw the words "Dairy-Free" and gave it a go. Later on, we realized they had a Soy-Free type, so I use the kind in the little red tub (made out of Palm Fruit, Canola, Safflower, Flax, and Olive Oils). 

This butter is great on everything. You really just can't go wrong when it comes to the soy-free kind, anyway. It tastes pretty good on toast (although I do have another preference when it comes to my toast now), it's the only kind I'll use in my mac n cheese, it's perfect in potatoes, really just anything. No complaints when it comes to Earth Balance.

They also have Soy Garden, which is soy-based (Original is oil-based but it uses soy, just not as it's primary ingredient). 

Their Olive Oil type is soy-free, but I haven't tried it. 

They have an Organic type, but it's not soy-free which is a bummer, because I didn't even realize that their other kinds weren't organic until... today?! Woah, guess I'm pretty oblivious. Not like that's a total deal-breaker, but my mom and I try to get organic whenever we can.

The Omega-3 kind has horrible reviews on the Earth Balance website, with people complaining of it tasting awfully fishy. Like, fish fishy. As in, FISH. Sounds gross to me, but I guess if that floats your fishing boat... (I know, I know, I'm so punny. Haha)

There's also these two kinds, which are smaller tubs than the originals above. I do remember trying the organic coconut, and I don't think I hated it, but also wasn't super in love either (since I didn't go back and buy it again). I can also have the European Style, but haven't tried it either (I feel like this whole post is about things I haven't tried lol). I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a tub and try it out.

There's also these kinds in the black tubs, which feature the different oils. I won't go into too much detail but you can check them out if you're interested.

Earth Balance also has sticks in Original and Soy-Free!

Melt

I would consider myself a toast-a-holic. If I don't eat my four slices of toast every morning for breakfast (yes, four, don't judge because everything-free bread is TINY), then I get pretty cranky. And that's not to mention the occasional slice or two I'll eat at night with a smoothie. I'm just in love with toast. I didn't know that my toast experience with Earth Balance could get any better than it already was, and then I discovered Melt.

This stuff... oh my gosh. It's just... amazing. Incredible. It spreads so nicely and has the most fantastic taste ever. AND it's organic! And soy-free! It's made with a blend of oils like Earth Balance, but slightly different oils (virgin coconut oil, palm fruit oil, canola oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, flaxseed oil).

Melt also has Probiotic Butter (what??), Salted Butter Sticks, and Unsalted Butter Sticks. I've tried none of those but I can guarantee you probably can't go wrong with Melt. 

Also, Melt is generally cheaper than Earth Balance, although Melt is 13 oz, and EB is 15 oz. However, if you factor in the fact that Melt is organic and its taste is incredible, then I'd say Melt is the better choice. (Although I did try Melt with my mac n cheese and it just didn't give me the flavor I'm used to with EB, so I still buy both brands)

Natural Grocers

So, this is kind of an odd one, because Natural Grocers (the store) has their own... "Organic Plant-Based Buttery Spread." I found this a couple months ago and grabbed it to try it out. I have no complaints, it's pretty good! The thing is, it has a lot more muted taste, so if you aren't a fan of super rich, unique tasting butter, this would definitely be the way to go. I personally love the rich taste, so I'm not head-over-heels for this kind, but I'll definitely still use it! They have the tub and sticks, and it's organic!

And can we take a second to appreciate the adorable hippo on the packaging?

Another thing that I thought was interesting was Melt and Natural Grocers' butters have the exact same ingredients and oil blend... hmmm. Do we have a copy cat (or copy hippo) in the room?? Either way, the two still have different flavors. 

That's it for butter! Whether you're a toast-a-holic like me, or just need some plant-based butter for baking, hopefully one of these brands will be the right fit!

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