Ghee vs Butter (Makhan) vs Margarine vs Banaspati: Which to Buy
Ghee vs butter, which is healthier? Nearly a draw. Both are mostly saturated milk fat; ghee is simply butter with the water and milk solids cooked off, so it handles high heat better. Soft tub margarine made today is usually low in trans fat and lower in saturated fat, but only the label proves it. Banaspati is the one to leave on the shelf. Below: the numbers side by side, which fat suits which dish, and what heart patients should ask.
The short version
- Desi ghee: pure fat, about 60% saturated; best for tadka, paratha and high heat.
- Butter (makhan): about 80% fat, the rest water; best spread cold or melted on low heat.
- Soft margarine: plant oils, usually far less saturated fat; check for “partially hydrogenated”.
- Banaspati (vanaspati): the traditional source of trans fat; skip it.
- Amounts: think teaspoons, not ladles, whichever you pick.
Ghee vs butter which is healthier: the numbers
Take a level tablespoon of each. The fat is almost the same fat, just in a different form.
| Per level tablespoon | Energy | Saturated fat | Trans fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desi ghee | about 115 to 125 kcal | about 8 g | small, natural |
| Butter | about 100 kcal | about 7 g | small, natural |
| Soft tub margarine | about 70 to 100 kcal | about 2 to 3 g | usually near zero |
| Banaspati | about 115 to 125 kcal | about 5 to 7 g | can be high |
Ghee looks slightly “worse” per spoon only because it has no water in it. Gram for gram of fat, the two are twins. So the question isn’t which is healthier. It’s how much, and for what.
Why does ghee get the good reputation? Heat. Butter’s milk solids start to burn at around 150 °C and its water spits in a hot pan, while ghee sits happily at high tadka temperatures. That’s a cooking advantage, not a heart one. Ghee also carries a lovely nutty aroma, so a small amount flavours a whole daal.
Is margarine bad for you? Old fears vs new labels
The fear comes from real history. For decades, margarine and bakery fats were made by partial hydrogenation, a process that turns liquid oil solid and creates artificial trans fat. Trans fat raises “bad” LDL cholesterol and lowers “good” HDL, and it’s worse for the heart than saturated fat.
Most soft tub margarines sold now are made differently, by blending liquid oil with a small amount of solid fat, and the result is a spread that stays soft straight from the fridge, carries little or no trans fat, and has far less saturated fat than the same spoon of butter. Different product, same old name. Hard block margarine, “cooking margarine” and “bakery fat” are a different story and can still carry more saturated or trans fat.
So margarine vs butter isn’t a fixed verdict. It depends on the tub in your hand. The site’s guide to cooking oil, ghee and atta label words covers the wording on packs in detail. The short check is here.
- Find “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients. If you see it, put the pack back.
- Read trans fat per 100 g. Aim for under 1 g, ideally shown as 0.
- Compare saturated fat per 100 g. Soft spreads often sit around 15 to 30 g; butter sits near 50 g.
- Pick “soft” or “tub” over block or “for baking” when you want the lower-fat option.
- Check salt if you have high blood pressure: salted butter and many spreads carry more than you’d guess.
Why banaspati is the one to leave
Banaspati (also sold as vanaspati or “cooking ghee”) is vegetable oil hardened to look and behave like desi ghee, and because it’s cheap and keeps well in heat without a fridge, it fried a whole generation of samosas, jalebis, parathas and wedding mithai across Pakistan and India. It’s also been the biggest source of artificial trans fat in South Asian kitchens.
Regulators in Pakistan and India have moved to cap trans fat in these products, and some newer banaspati is better than it was. Good news. You can’t see it from outside the tin, though. And even a low-trans banaspati is still a heavily saturated fat with no advantage over ghee except price.
If cost is the reason you buy it, a plain liquid oil (canola, sunflower, sarson) is usually a cheaper and kinder switch for everyday salan. Save desi ghee for the small amounts where you’ll actually taste it.
If you have heart disease, high LDL cholesterol, diabetes or a family history of early heart attacks, ask your doctor or a dietitian how much saturated fat suits you; many will suggest keeping ghee and butter to a teaspoon or two a day in total, with liquid oils for the rest. Keep taking any cholesterol or blood pressure medicine exactly as prescribed; a change of fat is never a reason to stop, start or change one. Blood pressure of 140/90 or more in a clinic, or about 135/85 at home, needs a doctor’s review, and 180/120 with chest pain, breathlessness or a severe headache is an emergency. If you’re on insulin or a sulfonylurea and eating less fat and fewer calories overall, watch for lows.
Which fat for which dish
A desi kitchen doesn’t need one perfect fat. It needs the right small amount of the right one. Here’s the match.
- Tadka on daal: a teaspoon of ghee gives more aroma than two tablespoons of oil. Good trade.
- Everyday salan and sabzi: liquid oil, measured with a spoon instead of poured.
- Paratha: a light brush of ghee on one side, not a pool. Oil works too.
- Toast and bread: a thin layer of butter or soft margarine, scraped rather than spread thick.
- Baking cakes and biscuits: butter for flavour, or a soft spread made for baking. Skip banaspati.
- Deep frying: none of these. Use oil, and don’t reuse it endlessly.
How much ghee per day is fine? That’s already answered in ghee: how much per day, with the weight-loss maths, so it isn’t repeated here.
The fat that matters most is the one you pour without measuring.
Myth: desi ghee is heart-healthy, butter is poison
Social media loves this pair. Ghee is sold as ancient and pure, butter as Western and dangerous. Nutritionally, they are the same fat. Ghee made at home from malai carries exactly the saturated fat of the malai.
The belief persists for good reasons, just not nutritional ones. Ghee is part of prayer, weddings and grandmothers’ kitchens. It keeps without a fridge. And it used to be compared with banaspati, against which it genuinely looked better. Honest version: a little ghee is fine in a balanced desi diet, and so is a little butter. For the bigger cholesterol picture, see cholesterol and desi food.
In Unani and Ayurvedic tradition, ghee is prized as a carrier for spices and as a “warming” food for winter and recovery. That’s a cultural and culinary role, described here as tradition. It says nothing about how much a person with raised cholesterol should eat.
Surprising facts
- Pure ghee has almost no lactose or casein left, which is why some people who can’t handle milk tolerate it.
- Roughly 15 to 20 litres of buffalo milk go into one kilo of desi ghee, which is why the real thing is costly.
- Margarine was invented in France in 1869, as a cheaper butter for the navy and the poor.
Worried your ghee isn’t pure? The honest home checks, and which ones mislead, are in desi ghee real or fake.
Ghee, butter and margarine: common questions
Ghee vs butter: which is better for you?
Neither. Both are mostly saturated milk fat. Ghee suits high-heat cooking and has a stronger aroma, so you may use less; butter suits spreading; keep both to small amounts.
Is margarine bad for you?
Modern soft tub margarine is usually low in trans fat and lower in saturated fat than butter, so it isn’t the villain it was. Block and bakery margarines can be worse; read the label for “partially hydrogenated” and trans fat per 100 g.
Is ghee better than butter for cholesterol?
No. Gram for gram of fat, they’re almost identical in saturated fat, which is what affects LDL cholesterol; if your cholesterol is high, ask your doctor how much of either fits your plan.
Which margarine is healthiest?
A soft tub spread with 0 g trans fat, no partially hydrogenated oil, and the lowest saturated fat per 100 g you can find. Lower salt helps if you have high blood pressure.
Is banaspati ghee harmful?
Yes, compared with the alternatives. It’s historically the biggest source of artificial trans fat in desi cooking, and even newer versions are heavily saturated. It isn’t poison in a single meal, but it’s the one fat worth replacing, usually with a liquid oil.
Margarine or butter for babies?
Babies under 1 shouldn’t have salt, sugar, ghee or butter added to their weaning food. After 1, small amounts of unsalted butter or a soft spread on toast are fine in a normal family diet; ask your child’s doctor about anything specific.
Can you cook with butter instead of ghee?
For low-heat cooking, yes. For high-heat tadka or bhunai, butter’s milk solids burn and spit, so ghee or oil works better; a mix of a little butter and oil raises its tolerance to heat.
Is ghee good for diabetics?
Ghee has no sugar, so it doesn’t raise blood sugar directly. It does add a lot of calories and saturated fat, and heart risk is already higher with diabetes, so a teaspoon for flavour is sensible and a ladle isn’t.
Does margarine go bad?
Yes. Keep it in the fridge with the lid on, and throw it away if it smells sour, paint-like or cheesy, or grows mould; use it by the date on the tub.
Is butter ghee the same as pure ghee?
“Butter ghee” and “pure ghee” labels should both mean ghee made from milk fat, while “cooking ghee” or “vegetable ghee” usually means banaspati or a blend. Read the ingredients line, not the front of the tin.
Related reading on sugar, fat and blood pressure: Diabetes & Blood Pressure.