How To Bake With Canola Oil

Canola oil is an excellent alternative to solid fats like butter and margarine because it contains fewer saturated fats. If you’re looking for a healthier way to bake, you may be asking yourself: Can you bake with canola oil?

Here’s how to bake with canola oil:

• Find a baking recipe that contains solid fats or oils.
• Replace the solid fat or oil with canola oil.
• Follow the rest of the recipe as normal.
• Bake in the oven.
• Enjoy your healthier baked goods.

The rest of this article will discuss these tips in greater detail. It’ll also explain whether canola oil can replace vegetable oil and the differences between the two.

1. Find a Baking Recipe That Contains Solid Fats or Oils

If you’re still asking yourself “Can you bake with canola oil?” the answer is a resounding yes!

You can replace many things with canola oil, such as oils and butter. So, the first thing you should do is find a recipe that contains these ingredients. 

There are a lot of things you can bake with canola oil, such as:

• Cakes. Use canola oil for baking cakes like chocolate and vanilla sponge.
• Cookies. You can bake all sorts of cookies using canola oil.
• Brownies. Replace the regular oil and solid fats in a brownie recipe with canola oil.
• Pie crust. You can use canola oil instead of butter when baking a pie crust.

Once you’ve decided on a recipe, you can move on to the next tip.

2. Replace the Solid Fat or Oil With Canola Oil

Read the ingredients list of your chosen recipe. If you see any solid fats in the ingredients list, you can replace them with canola oil. However, you’ll need to know how to calculate the correct amount of canola oil. For example, if a recipe calls for one cup of butter, you likely won’t need to substitute it with an entire cup of canola oil. Instead, you’d need to use ¾ cup (177 ml) of canola oil.

You should use a slightly lower amount of canola oil because it’s more liquid than butter even when the latter melts, so using too much can make the batter too runny. If you use too much canola oil, you’ll need to add more dry ingredients or reduce the amount of other liquid ingredients.

You can also replace other oils in a recipe with canola oil. You can use the same measurements in those cases because most oils have the same or similar consistencies.

3. Follow the Rest of the Recipe As Normal

Once you’ve made your canola oil measurements (and the rest of the ingredient measurements), you can follow the rest of the recipe. Bear in mind that if you’ve substituted butter with canola oil, the mixing time may be shorter because unmelted butter takes longer to mix.

4. Bake in the Oven

After mixing all the ingredients well, you can place your batter in the oven for the recommended time. Note that although you’ve replaced some components with canola oil, the baking time should remain the same. It might look a little different than usual while baking (e.g., the color), but that’s nothing to worry about.

5. Enjoy Your Healthier Baked Goods

When the time comes, you can remove your baked good(s) from the oven. Although you may notice a slight difference in the flavor, you shouldn’t notice anything too drastic. Canola oil has a neutral taste (unlike coconut and olive oil), so you won’t be able to taste it in the final product.

Can Canola Oil Replace Vegetable Oil in Baking?

Canola oil can replace vegetable oil in baking. Vegetable and canola oils have neutral tastes and can handle high heat, so you can use them as replacements for one another whenever necessary. Luckily, you will not notice any difference in taste if you substitute vegetable oil with canola oil. 

Vegetable Oil vs. Canola Oil Baking

Although you can replace vegetable oil with canola oil (and vice versa) in baking, they have their differences. 

But first, let’s look at their primary similarities when it comes to baking:

• They both have neutral tastes. Since vegetable and canola oil have neutral tastes, you can’t taste them in baked goods. That’s why they’re excellent substitutes for each other. Other neutral oils include sunflower and avocado oil.
• Their measurements are the same. If you replace butter with canola oil, the measurement will be different. But if you replace vegetable oil with canola oil (and vice versa), the measurements remain the same.
• They have similar smoke points. Not all oils have similar smoke points, but vegetable and canola oil do. The smoke point range for vegetable oil is 400-450°F (204-232°C), while the smoke point for canola is 400°F (204°C).

Of course, the smoke points aren’t entirely similar because vegetable oil can have a slightly higher smoke point. However, they’re a lot more similar compared to other oils. For example, avocado oil has a smoke point between 510 and 520°F (266 and 271°C).

Now, let’s look at their main differences:

• The levels of saturated fats. Canola oil contains 1 g (0.04 oz) of saturated fats for every tablespoon. On the other hand, vegetable oil contains 2 g (0.07 oz) of saturated fats per tablespoon. So using canola oil can reduce the number of saturated fats you eat.
• Canola oil has more monounsaturated fats than vegetable oil. Monounsaturated fats are healthier than saturated fats, so you should use canola oil in your baked recipes to lower your cholesterol levels.

Conclusion

Now, you no longer have to ask yourself: “Can you bake with canola oil?” Baking with canola oil is excellent if you’re looking for a healthier substitute for butter or vegetable oil. 

Here are essential things to remember when baking with canola oil:

• You should use a smaller measurement of canola oil if substituting butter.
• You can replace vegetable oil with the same amount of canola oil.
• Canola oil has a smoke point of 400-450°F (204-232°C). Vegetable oil has a slightly higher smoke point range.
• Canola oil has a neutral taste, making it an excellent choice for baking.