Can You Use Regular Butter Instead of Unsalted Butter

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Regular butter (the salted kind) typically contains about 1.5% to 2% salt by weight. That’s roughly a quarter teaspoon of salt per stick. In a batch of chocolate chip cookies, that’s the difference between “perfectly balanced” and “your Grandma accusing you of oversalting the dough.”

Unsalted butter is pure, naked, innocent butter fat. It’s the butter that never went to a salt party. Chefs love it because it lets you control the salt—like being the DJ of your baked goods. But let’s be real: most of us don’t have a chef’s pantry.

Here’s a surprising fact: Butter wasn’t always salted. Ancient herdsmen accidentally discovered salt preserved butter in hot climates. Thanks, ancient sweaty guys! Now we have the luxury of choice—and a little confusion.

When You Can Use Regular Butter (And Nobody Will Know)

If you’re making savory dishes—like scrambled eggs, garlic bread, or a pan sauce—go ahead, use salted butter. The salt enhances flavors, and nobody will gasp in horror. Your eggs won’t write a formal complaint.

Same goes for simple cookies like shortbread or sugar cookies. The small amount of salt in regular butter often improves the texture and taste. Your shortbread might actually thank you.

Even in pie crusts, salted butter works fine—just reduce any added salt by a pinch. The crust won’t stage a protest; it’ll just be perfectly flaky. Unless you’re a pastry snob, relax.

When You Absolutely Need Unsalted Butter

Now, here’s the drama: Delicate desserts like French macarons, white cakes, or custards. These rely on precise chemistry. Extra salt can mess with the structure, causing your macarons to look like sad, cracked little alien heads.

Also, buttercream frosting is a diva. She hates surprises. If you use salted butter, your frosting might taste like a potato chip wearing a ball gown. Stick to unsalted, or risk a frosting meltdown.

And beware compound butters for steaks. If you add salted butter to herbs, you’ll double the salt. That steak will taste like the Dead Sea. Your taste buds will file for divorce.