Fat isn’t just a nutrient essential to your body, it’s also a key player in healthy cooking. It carries heat and helps cook foods quickly and evenly. It also coats your taste buds, making flavor linger longer.
But which oil is the best to cook with? And which is the healthiest cooking oil? With all the different oils on the market–avocado oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil and more–how do you know when to use each one?
A note on storing your oils properly-heat and light can damage oil and may alter its taste, so store oil in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Be sure to read labels carefully, though, because some oils have specific storage requirements. Grapeseed oil, for example, should be refrigerated.
Get our top oil picks plus our ultimate buyer’s guide that outlines some of the most common oils-and offers the nutritional benefits of each one.
We do have a favorite, but the rest of the oils listed in this guide all offer different culinary and health benefits.
The Best: Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
What it is: Oil cold-pressed from ripe olives. (Regular and light olive oils are more refined.)
Nutritional Benefits:
People who regularly eat extra-virgin olive oil in place of saturated fats have a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke–and lower cholesterol. That’s why it wins our healthiest oil prize.
Uses:
Has a fruitier flavor and aroma than most oil, making it great for salad dressing, drizzling and moderate-heat sautéing. While we think it’s the best, it’s not the best for cooking with high temperatures because of it’s lower smoke point.
Avg. Smoke Point:
375°F
Fat Breakout:
78% monounsaturated fats
8% polyunsaturated fats
14% saturated fats
Avocado Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from ripe avocados after the skin and seed are removed.
The green hue ofavocado oilcomes from carotenoids (specifically eye-healthy lutein) and chlorophyll. Though chlorophyll has been touted as a blood cleanser and detoxifier, there’s no solid science backing these claims.
With a hint of avocado flavor, this oil works well in a salad dressing and its high smoke point makes it good for stir-frying or sautéing. Try it in thisQuinoa Avocado Salad.
482°F
65% monounsaturated
28% polyunsaturated
7% saturated
Canola Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from the crushed seeds of the canola plant.
Canola oil has the smallest amount of saturated fat and the most heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids of any of the common cooking oils. It’s also a good source of vitamins E & K.
With a high smoke point, light texture and neutral flavor, it’s an excellent choice for sautéing, baking and frying. Its neutral flavor also makes canola a good choice for some dressings.
468°F
62% monounsaturated
31% polyunsaturated
Coconut Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from the meat of mature coconuts. It’s solid at room temperature, but liquid above 75°F. Can be used in solid or liquid state.
Althoughcoconut oilis high in saturated fat, it contains a type of fat that elevates “good” HDL cholesterol. More research is needed to support coconut oil’s purported therapeutic benefits-such as potential antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
Use it for baking and low-heat sautéing because of its smoke point. Match it with foods that go with its coconut flavor.
350°F
6% monounsaturated
2% polyunsaturated
92% saturated
Grapeseed Oil
What it is:Oil pressed from the seeds of wine grapes.
Rich in polyunsaturated omega-6 fats, which help lower cholesterol, grapeseed oil also delivers vitamin E.
Grapeseed oilis light in color and flavor with a hint of nuttiness. It has a high smoke point, making it a good option for baking, sautéing and stir-frying.
420°F
17% monounsaturated
73% polyunsaturated
10% saturated
Peanut Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from peanuts. Available in refined, unrefined and toasted versions.
Though in small amounts, it’s the only oil that contains resveratrol, a compound that may protect against certain cancers and heart disease. Also a good source of vitamin E.
Great neutral flavor; try roastedpeanut oilfor a toasty flavor. Use refined peanut oil for frying, grilling, sautéing or roasting due to its higher smoke point. Unrefined has a lower smoke point and is good for medium-heat cooking or salad dressings. Enjoy it in thisCarrot-Peanut Noodle Salad.
450°F when refined
320°F when unrefined
48% monounsaturated
34% polyunsaturated
18% saturated
Butter
What it is:Though butter is a dairy product, not an oil, it’s often used in many of the same applications as oil.
A tablespoon of butter delivers 7% of the daily value for vitamin A-nearly what you’d get in a cup of milk. Some say ghee, or clarified butter (butter that has been heated to remove water and milk solids, leaving behind pure fat) is healthier than butter, but there isn’t any science to support that claim.
Delicious as a spread and a favorite for baking because it provides moisture as well as fat. Use clarified butter for high-heat sautéing because it has a higher smoke point.
300°F
21% monounsaturated
3% polyunsaturated
51% saturated
Safflower Oil
What it is:Oil from the seeds of the safflower.
In a study, adding a daily dose ofsafflower oil(about 1 2/3 tsp.) to their diet helped women with type 2 diabetes who were also categorized as having obesisty trim belly fat, improve their insulin sensitivity and “good” HDL cholesterol and lower C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation.
Safflower oil (sometimes labeled “high heat” or “high oleic”) has a high smoke point and very light flavor, making it good for stir-frying, sautéing and baking.
510°F
75% monounsaturated
13% polyunsaturated
8% saturated
Soybean Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from soybeans.
Soybean oilis one of the few cooking oils to deliver heart-healthy omega-3 fats. It is also rich in omega-6 fats and because soybean oil is the primary oil in many processed foods (salad dressings, baked goods, frozen food, mayonnaise), it’s a major source of omega-6s in our diets. Learn more aboutomega-6s and if they’re bad for our health.
Its neutral flavor and high smoke point make soybean oil appropriate for most any cooking method.
465°F
23% monounsaturated
58% polyunsaturated
16% saturated
Walnut Oil
What it is:Oil cold-pressed from the meat of dried walnuts.
Just like its whole-nut counterpart,walnut oilhas been shown to promote heart health. There’s also research to suggest walnut oil improves your body’s response to stress: in one study, when adults added walnuts and walnut oil to their daily diet, they lowered their blood pressure response to stress (as well as their resting blood pressure).
Its rich, nutty flavor makes it ideal for salad dressings or finishing a dish. Don’t heat it-it can become bitter.
320°F
63% polyunsaturated
9% saturated
Get More:Healthy Recipes with Walnuts
Rice Bran Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from the germ and inner husk of rice.
A good source of vitamin E and antioxidants. Consuming a combination ofrice bran oiland sesame oil helped participants in a recent study significantly lower their blood pressure and improve their cholesterol levels. The oil blend, however, was uniquely made for the study, so you might not be able to repeat the results at home.
Rice bran oil has a high smoke point, making it ideal for high-heat sautéing, but because of its mild, light flavor, it can also be used for baking or in a salad dressing. The consistency of rice bran oil is thinner than most other cooking oils so you’ll need less of it when cooking.
490°F
39% monounsaturated
35% polyunsaturated
20% saturated
Sunflower Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from sunflower seeds.
Sunflower oil has one of the highest concentrations of vitamin E of all oils. Like soybean oil, sunflower oil is rich in omega-6 fats and it’s commonly used in processed foods.
478°F
45% monounsaturated
40% polyunsaturated
Fat Breakout:(High-oleic)
84% monounsaturated
4% polyunsaturated
Vegetable Oil
What it is:A general term that can include a combination of soybean and other oils such as corn, canola or sunflower.
Despite previous thinking, new studies have found that the omega-6 fat, linoleic acid, in vegetable oil does not promote inflammation and can be part of a heart-healthy diet.
Flavor is generally neutral, but varies based on the blend. Best used in baking, sautéing and frying.
Varies based on blend, but generally good for high-heat cooking.
Fat Breakout:Varies based on blend
Red Palm Fruit Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from the palm fruit. Like coconut oil, it can be used in either a solid or liquid form.
Often regarded as unhealthy because it is confused with palm kernel oil (which contains trans fat and 89% saturated fat),red palm fruit oilhas much less saturated fat (43%). It’s also rich in beta-carotene (hence the red-orange color) and vitamin E, making it a heart-healthy oil.
Because of its lower smoke point, it’s best for low-heat sautéing. Red palm fruit oil has a carrot-like taste; however, some brands use a cold-filtering process to remove the flavor while still maintaining the nutritional properties.
302°F
43% monounsaturated
11% polyunsaturated
43% saturated
Corn Oil
What it is:Oil extracted from the germ of corn.
Recent research found corn oil superior to extra-virgin olive oil in lowering total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Corn oil has a unique combination of plant sterols and healthy fatty acids that may contribute to these heart-healthy benefits.
Its mild flavor and high smoke point make corn oil very versatile: use it for baking, sautéing, grilling and stir-frying.
450°F
28% monounsaturated
55% polyunsaturated
13% saturated
WATCH: How to Make 3 Healthy Homemade Vinaigrettes
Don’t Miss:
*10 Bad Cooking Habits You Should Break
*4 Good Foods to Eat Full Fat
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