5 Best Coconut Oil Substitutes for Biscuits

Quick tip: Butter adds a rich, creamy flavor and helps create tender, flaky biscuits due to its water content and solid fat structure.

Butter works well because it is about 80% fat and 15-18% water, which helps steam leaven the biscuits, contributing to flakiness. The solid fat at room temperature is essential for creating layers in the dough.

For best results, keep butter cold and cut it into the flour quickly to prevent melting, which preserves the biscuit’s flaky texture. Avoid overmixing to maintain tenderness.

Compared to coconut oil, butter imparts a richer flavor and slightly more tender crumb, though biscuits may brown more quickly due to milk solids.

Quick tip: Lard produces exceptionally flaky biscuits with a neutral flavor, though it lacks the subtle sweetness of coconut oil.

Lard is a pure fat that is solid at room temperature, which helps create distinct layers in biscuit dough through fat coating flour particles and producing steam during baking.

Ensure lard is cold and cut in similarly to butter. Because lard has no water content, biscuits may be slightly less tender but more flaky.

Compared to coconut oil, lard yields a more traditional biscuit texture with a savory profile, lacking coconut’s subtle aroma.

Quick tip: Ghee adds a rich, nutty flavor and solid fat consistency but lacks water content, which can slightly reduce biscuit tenderness.

Ghee is clarified butter, so it is nearly 100% fat and solid at room temperature, making it good for flakiness. However, the absence of water means less steam generation during baking, which can affect rise and tenderness.

Use cold ghee and handle dough gently to maintain flakiness. Expect a more intense buttery flavor.

Compared to coconut oil, ghee produces biscuits with a richer, nuttier taste but a slightly denser crumb.

Quick tip: Vegetable oil will make biscuits moist but less flaky and tender due to its liquid state at room temperature.

Vegetable oil is liquid fat, so it does not create the solid fat layers needed for flaky biscuits. It coats flour but does not trap air or steam effectively.

Use slightly less oil than coconut oil to avoid overly greasy dough. Mix gently to avoid tough biscuits.

Compared to coconut oil, biscuits will be softer and denser with less rise and no flakiness.

Quick tip: Applesauce adds moisture and some sweetness but drastically changes texture, producing cakey, dense biscuits rather than flaky ones.

As a fruit puree, applesauce contains water and sugars but no fat, which is critical for biscuit structure and flakiness. It can replace fat in low-fat recipes but results in a different texture.

Use only if a moist, cakey biscuit is desired. Reduce other liquids to compensate for moisture.

Compared to coconut oil, biscuits will be softer, less flaky, and have a fruity flavor.