Trying Buttery Spreads to Find Best to Buy at Grocery Store

I bought a 15-ounce tub of Country Crock, which is the brand we always kept in the house when I was a kid.

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.

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’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.

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).

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’s spread was highly distinguishable from the others.

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.

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.

Similar to Earth Balance, Smart Balance has a high percentage of vegetable oils at 64%. Its blend includes canola, palm, and olive oils.

The label says that the product contains 400 milligrams of omega-3 ALA per serving.

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.

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. 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.

This story was originally published on January 4, 2023, and most recently updated on June 3, 2025.