I tried 4 brands of buttery spread from the store, and the cheapest was my favorite
- I tried four different brands of buttery spread from the grocery store to see which is the best.
- I didn't think Smart Balance or Earth Balance were very spreadable, and they were expensive.
- Although it was the cheapest option, Country Crock turned out to be my favorite spread.
I thought all spreadable butter alternatives tasted the same, but maybe I'm wrong.
I grew up on "buttery spreads," butter alternatives typically made with some blend of vegetable oils. We put them on everything from bread and mashed potatoes to corn on the cob.
As I've grown up, I've started using real butter for its rich flavor and creamy texture — keeping some in a covered dish on the counter for a spreadable option and some in the fridge for whenever I need it chilled.
I figured all buttery spreads tasted the same, but I decided to revisit my childhood and try four different brands to see if there are any standouts worth keeping in my fridge.
Country Crock had the lowest percentage of vegetable oil.
I bought a 15-ounce tub of Country Crock, which is the brand we always kept in the house when I was a kid. It was the least expensive product at $4.29 ($0.29/ounce).
The label emphasized that it was churned in Kansas and contains "farm-grown ingredients." It also had the lowest amount of vegetable oil of the brands I tried at 40%.
Its oil blend consists of soybean, palm-kernel, and palm oils.
It was incredibly easy to spread but needed a little more salt for flavor.
I noticed right away that Country Crock's butter alternative was easy to spread, even when chilled.
The texture was smooth, and it didn't tear the soft bread at all when I spread it.
I tasted it both plain and on the bread. Although it tasted similar to butter, I think it could've used some more salt for a better flavor — it was a little bit bland.
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter has an AHA seal of approval.
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter's spread has an American Heart Association certification label because it's made with soybean oil (an unsaturated fat) and has about 70% less saturated fat than regular butter.
The 15-ounce tubwas $4.49 ($0.30/ounce), making it only slightly more expensive than Country Crock.
Aside from the AHA certification, the label also noted that it's rich in omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and contains 45% vegetable oil (a blend of soybean, palm, and palm-kernel oils).
I could believe this wasn't butter, but the flavor was still good.
The texture of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was very smooth and almost as easy to spread as Country Crock.
As for the flavor, this didn't have me fooled into thinking I was eating real butter. But it wasn't bad by any means.
It definitely had an earthy, vegetable-oil taste, but it wasn't bland, and it thankfully didn't have an oily texture.
Earth Balance had the highest percentage of vegetable oils.
Earth Balance's spread was highly distinguishable from the others.
For one, its 15-ounce container was the most expensive at $7.49 ($0.50/ounce). The label also noted it's non-GMO, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan.
It contains 78% vegetable oils, the highest of any I tried, including a blend of palm, canola, soybean, flax, and olive oils.
After opening the tub, I noticed right away that this spread was the darkest in color and looked more solid than the other products.
The Earth Balance spread didn't have a lot of flavor, and it was incredibly challenging to spread.
I found it really difficult to spread Earth Balance, maybe because of the high vegetable-oil content.
Although some of the other spreads were smooth and spreadable even when chilled, this remained pretty solid even after it came to room temperature.
The flavor was fine. It had both a slight buttery taste and an earthiness from all of the oils, but overall it was pretty bland.
Still, as the only vegan product I tried (some of the other spreads contain vitamin D that can be sourced from lanolin, which can come from sheep wool), it's a decent alternative to real butter.
Smart Balance boasts its health benefits on the label.
Similar to Earth Balance, Smart Balance has a high percentage of vegetable oils at 64%. Its blend includes canola, palm, and olive oils.
The 15-ounce tub cost $6.49 ($0.43/ounce).
The label noted that the product contains 400 milligrams of omega-3 ALA per serving.
This product was really difficult to spread.
It wasn't dark beige like Earth Balance, but Smart Balance's butter alternative was similarly difficult to spread.
When I tried putting it on bread, it started tearing up the piece. It also came out of the container in solid chunks.
It softened up somewhat as it came to room temperature, and the label at least warned that it would be "firm out of refrigeration." But I think the perk of a buttery spread is that it can be used right out of the chilled container, unlike waiting for real butter to soften.
In terms of flavor, Smart Balance had a great butter-like taste at first. But then, as it melted in my mouth, it left an aftertaste I didn't love.
Country Crock was my favorite but I still plan to stick to traditional butter.
Of the four buttery spreads I tried, Country Crock was my favorite.
It was the easiest to spread — which is the whole point, in my opinion — and the least expensive. It wasn't the most flavorful, but none of the spreads were really rich in flavor.
I thought the flavor of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was pretty good, but it wasn't quite as easy to spread. I'd probably skip Smart Balance and Earth Balance because of their higher cost and more solid texture.
All in all, I still plan to stick to using traditional butter. But I'd buy Country Crock again if I needed a quick, convenient butter-like spread.
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