Sesame Oil Substitute: Seed-Oil-Free Swaps for Every Recipe

Quick answer: small amounts of cold-pressed sesame oil are fine on this site as a finishing or flavour oil. If you prefer to avoid it, or have none to hand, use sesame brown butter for drizzling, ghee with toasted sesame seeds for marinades, lard or tallow for stir-frying and tahini for dressings. The table below gives the swap and ratio for each job.

Toasted sesame oil turns up in a lot of Korean, Chinese and Japanese recipes, usually as a teaspoon of flavour at the end. Sesame oil is pressed from seeds, and it is the one seed oil this site makes room for: a little cold-pressed sesame oil as a finishing or flavour oil is fine, but not as an everyday cooking fat. The swaps below are for when you would rather leave it out or have run out. The flavour you want comes from the toasted seed, so you can get it without the bottle.

Sesame oil swaps by job

How to make sesame brown butter

1. Put 2 tbsp butter or ghee and 1 tbsp sesame seeds in a small frying pan over a medium-low heat.
2. Swirl the pan as the butter foams. In 2–3 minutes the seeds turn golden and the butter smells nutty.
3. Take it off the heat straight away, as sesame seeds burn quickly. Use it warm.

Spoon it over ghee bibimbap, cold noodles or miso soup in place of a sesame oil drizzle.

How sesame oil compares with traditional fats

Most of the difference is in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that seed-oil-free cooks are cutting back on. These are the USDA figures:

Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 171016 (sesame oil), 171401 (lard), 171413 (olive oil), 171400 (beef tallow), 173430 (butter, without salt).

For every fat side by side, including smoke points, see Cooking Fats Compared. For the full list of oils this site does and does not use, see what oils are seed-oil-free.

Recipes where the swap is already done

• Korean bulgogi in tallow: ghee in the marinade instead of sesame oil
• Bibimbap with ghee
• Dan dan noodles in lard: with lard-based chilli oil
• Gyoza fried in lard
• All seed-oil-free Asian recipes

Replacing vegetable oil in baking or frying instead? See the vegetable oil substitute guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is sesame oil a seed oil?

Technically, yes: sesame oil is pressed from sesame seeds. It has a long history in Asian cooking, and this site allows small amounts of cold-pressed sesame oil as a finishing or flavour oil, not as a main cooking fat. USDA FoodData Central lists it at about 41 g of linoleic acid per 100 g, far more than butter, lard or tallow. Other seed oils stay off the menu. If you prefer to avoid it, use the swaps on this page.

What is the best substitute for toasted sesame oil?

For a finishing drizzle, sesame brown butter: toast 1 tbsp sesame seeds in 2 tbsp butter or ghee until golden, then use it in the same amount as the sesame oil the recipe asks for.

Can I use tahini instead of sesame oil?

Yes, in sauces and dressings. Tahini is ground sesame seeds, so it carries the same nutty flavour. Use about 1½ tsp tahini for every 1 tsp sesame oil and whisk it in with a little warm water. Check the label, as some brands add oil.

What can I use if I am allergic to sesame?

Use plain brown butter or ghee. It gives a nutty, toasty note without any sesame. Check every other label in the recipe too, as sesame is a common ingredient in Asian sauces.