13 Best Cooking Spray Substitutes for Professional Baking

Cooking spray is an essential kitchen tool. We often use cooking spray for simple frying, healthful cooking, and no-grease baking.

It’s an all-in-one substance that keeps food from sticking to pots and pans (much to the chagrin of the person washing the dishes) and is even healthier than most cooking oils. When you use that spray, you can count on a mess-free day.

Of course, there will come a time when you will have emptied the limited substance of your cherished spray. That last spray on your breakfast eggs indicated the conclusion. You’re now concerned about your lunch menu, which includes a lot of frying. Not to worry, here are several cooking spray alternatives to consider:

1. Butter
2. Margarine
3. Lard or shortening
4. Bacon fat
5. Tallow
6. Flour
7. Extra virgin olive oil
8. Canola oil
9. Vegetable oil

Cooking spray may not be everyone’s preferred oil for environmental, financial, or health reasons, and we understand. Furthermore, it may leave a terrible black residue that discolors cookware. Whatever your reason for avoiding cooking spray, here are 12 options to consider:

13 Best Substitute For Cooking Spray 

Butter 

Butter is a tried-and-true no-stick method that you undoubtedly saw your mother use when you were a youngster. Were we all surprised that the butter wrapper could be used to wipe or massage butter onto baking pans and cookware? It was clever, inventive, and cost-effective.

Other strategies include preserving an extra wrapper so you don’t have to use the one that holds your butter. For greater control and coverage, use a paper napkin or a baking sheet to wipe the butter with your fingertips. If you are in a hurry, you may always rub the butter straight on the pan.

If you want to save time, you could use a stick or chop the bricks into smaller pieces.

When cooking or frying, we all know that butter emits a fresh and appealing scent that may also improve the taste of your dish. It’s firm at room temperature, making portion control simpler when frying or sautéing. Cooking at a high temperature, on the other hand, will result in a difficult-to-clean layer of scorched butter.

Margarine

Another option for a cooking spray alternative is margarine. In terms of taste, shape, and performance, it’s essentially identical like butter, sans the dairy.

Saturated fats are abundant in butter and margarine. If you are concerned about your health, you should either reduce your usage or seek out better alternatives.

Lard or shortening

The fundamental distinction between lard and shortening is the fat content. Lard is manufactured from animal fat, while shortening is mostly made from plant fat. Crisco, the brand name for shortening, is available in the United States as All-Vegetable shortening or Butter Flavor.

Aside from their fat content and branding, lard and shortening are comparable in terms of how they might substitute cooking spray. At room temperature, both have a somewhat firm but spreadable feel that makes them simple to massage on your cookware. This shape makes crimping rounded surfaces or the edges of baking pans easy.

Because they are flavorless (unless you get a flavored kind), they are great for frying, baking, and grilling because they will not change the flavor of your meals.

Quick Tip:

Can’t decide whether to use butter or lard? For baking, use butter, while for savory foods, use lard.

Bacon fat

Here’s a tasty cooking spray replacement for meat lovers that’s also inexpensive. Bacon fat is the remnant (oil) that remains after frying bacon and has several culinary applications.

You may reuse this oil by wiping it (with a paper towel) on pans that will be used for further cooking. Remember that this approach will give your dish a little bacon taste, so use it to enhance eggs, rice, comparable meats, or veggies. Cook with it or sprinkle it over veggies or salads.

That is not the end of the bacon fats’ application! If you want to use this often to replace cooking spray, sieve the bacon pieces and store the excess oil in a glass jar in the refrigerated. It’s like storing homemade bacon-flavored lard with the same near-solid texture that makes rubbing on cookware easier.

Although not all recipes benefit from the bacon taste (such as cookies or vegetarian meals), this is still useful for the majority of your cooking spray requirements.

Flour

We switch to a firm and fine cooking spray substitute. That’s correct, flour may be used as a nonstick baking replacement. The simplest method is to dust the insides of the pans. Bread dough may develop that tenacious stickiness that only flour can keep at bay.

If the flour does not cling to the pans, a greasier material (such as butter, shortening, olive oil, or lard) may be softly rubbed into the pans before dusting with flour. This approach is ideal for runnier batters that need a thicker no-stick coating.

Quick Tip:

Purchase a basting brush to promote uniform and easy spreading of your pans.

Flour is an excellent cooking spray substitute for baked products since it keeps your batter intact and does not change the taste of your recipe.

While flour does find a place in the nonstick use for baked products, it does so admirably.

Tallow

Tallow and lard are quite similar in that they are both derived from animal fat and have a solid-malleable shape at ambient temperature.

The fundamental distinction is that lard is made from pig fat, while tallow is made from rendered beef fat. Now that we’ve established that difference, it’s simple to see why tallow would be a good alternative for cooking spray.

Tallow is an ancient cooking oil with several applications. Its number one talent is frying, which may be done at very high temperatures to produce super crispy chicken or seared steak. It’s also great for baking and sautéing.

Although tallow has a faint beef taste, adding pepper, garlic, and other spices can improve your cuisine.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or just olive oil)

Extra virgin olive oil may be used in lieu of cooking spray if you want a better fat option. It’s still a nonstick alternative that may offer a particular taste to foods like meat, fish, pasta, eggs, and veggies.

If you just want the nonstick feature, a few drops of olive oil on the pan should enough. Although extra virgin olive oil is popular among health-conscious people, keep in mind that it has a low smoke point. High-heat foods (such as fried chicken or bacon) will not reach the proper crispiness using olive oil.

Canola oil

Canola oil is another popular choice for individuals concerned about the fat level of the oil. Canola oil, like olive oil, offers more healthful fats and is less expensive, making it a win-win option for cooking spray.

Another advantage of canola oil is that it does not change the taste of your meal. Canola oil is a good choice for cooking dishes on medium to high heat, although other oils can also sustain greater temperatures. Canola oil may be used for frying, sautéing, and lining baking pans.

Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is another oil worth noting. Vegetable oil is a typical kitchen oil, so if you run out of cooking spray, you should have some on hand.

Because vegetable oil has no flavor (it’s bland), it’s an excellent frying or baking oil that can sustain very high temperatures.

Of course, moderation is still the key to healthy cooking. If cooking spray can control the quantity of oil distributed, you can control the amount of vegetable oil poured to avoid an oily catastrophe.

Fat-free dairy products

If you are watching your weight, you may use a fat-free dairy product for cooking spray. When combined with water, it provides the same benefits as a cooking spray.

It may be time-consuming to combine 3 parts water and 1 part fat-free dairy product, but you may save this for later use. If avoiding trans fats is your primary concern, this replacement is ideal.

Parchment paper

Parchment paper is a low-cost and effective baking substitute for cooking spray. With its wax covering, parchment paper is another tried-and-true way of preventing food and cakes from sticking to the pan.

It’s handy since you won’t have to clean up after yourself. It’s also healthy since you won’t be using oil or butter in your cooking. For this kitchen-saving invention, whomever devised parchment paper deserves a massive cake.

Other oils

Other kinds of cooking oil may also be used in lieu of cooking spray. The trick is to keep the oil dose under control. If you’re rubbing it on your cookware, dab a few drops and utilize the paper towel technique to obtain uniform coverage, or simply pour a dollop on your skillet if you’re not making a fried chicken feast.

Here are other oils you can use:

• The oil of avocado Expensive, but worth it for the health advantages and creamy, delightful taste. It can also resist greater temperatures.
• Sunflower seed oil Another nutritious option that can withstand high-temperature frying.
• Oil from peanuts The same characteristics as sunflower oil, but more expensive
• The oil of almonds Another excellent sunflower oil replacement, although, like peanut oil, almond oil is significantly more expensive.
• Oil palm Palm oil is derived from vegetable oil and has a high smoke point, making it suitable for deep frying and scorching foods.
• The oil of coconut Oil with a faint coconut flavor that is solid at room temperature (making it easier to apply on cookware).

Make Your Own Healthy Cooking Spray

To produce your own cooking spray at home, you don’t have to be a scientist. Cooking sprays may include a propellant to assist blast the oil and lecithin as an emulsifier, but they are not required for this home project.

All you need is a spray bottle, some water, and your preferred oil.

You may make the spray bottle out of food-grade plastic, glass, or stainless steel. If you can get a genuine oil misting or spraying bottle, it is the greatest alternative.

The mixture will consist of 5 parts water and 1 part oil. Your oil of choice will be determined by what you have on hand or by your own health preferences. Olive oil, avocado oil, or sunflower oil are all possibilities. Remember to shake the bottle every time you use it to ensure that the oil is properly mixed. Spritz away!

Quick Tip

Because coconut oil is solid at room temperature, it may not be ideal for this home project.