What Are the Healthiest Cooking Oils?

Walking into the oil section of a grocery store can be seriously overwhelming.

Not only do we have oils from different plant sources (olive or avocado? Sesame or soybean?), but we also have to decipher words like “cold-pressed” versus “expeller-extracted” and extra-virgin or refined. 

Add in smoke points and fat content, and you may decide to skip cooking altogether and head for takeout. 

If this sounds like you, keep reading to learn more about what makes a healthy cooking oil, our top 4 choices for the healthiest ones, and what to look out for when purchasing them.

What Makes a Healthy Cooking Oil?

There are a few things to consider when choosing a healthy cooking oil, including smoke point, fatty acid breakdown, antioxidant or nutrient content, and level of processing. 

Smoke Point

Smoke points are the temperature at which an oil or fat will start to smoke, which is a sign of degradation and the release of harmful free radicals that cause oxidative damage.

Reaching an oil’s smoke point can also change its flavor, as ​​a chemical called acrolein is released, giving the oil an acrid taste and smell.

Fatty Acid Profile

All oils will have some combination of unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Unsaturated fats are monounsaturated (MUFAs) or polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), and PUFAs can then be primarily classified into omega-3 or omega-6 fats.

Saturated fats are good to cook with because they are very stable. For a brief chemistry lesson, saturated fats do not have double bonds, so they can “stack” upon each other without leaving gaps. These fats are fully saturated, meaning there is no room for any other molecules to bind to them, like harmful free radicals.

Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells, leading to disease and accelerated aging. Due to their chemical stability, predominantly saturated cooking fats such as grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, or tallow are less likely to oxidize and create harmful molecules.

A monounsaturated fat has one double bond, which means there is one open space for another molecule to bind to it. These fats are partially stable because another compound, like a free radical, could still come in and bind to that one open spot. 

Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) have multiple double bonds, which means they have many open spots for free radicals to bind to. This makes them very unstable and able to promote inflammatory processes more rapidly when exposed to heat or light.

PUFAs can be very healthy fats as long as they are not oxidized. For example, the PUFAs in salmon or flaxseeds are healthy. However, PUFAs in cooking oils like canola or soybean oil—which have gone through extensive processing like mechanical pressing, bathing in a hexane solution, degumming, bleaching, and deodorizing—are almost certainly already oxidized before you even cook with them. 

High-PUFA cooking oils like soybean, corn, canola, and vegetable oil are also much higher in omega-6 fats, especially an omega-6 called linoleic acid. Omega-6 fats are essential fats that we need to eat, but they tend to be overconsumed in our modern diets.¹ 

While omega-3 fats promote anti-inflammatory pathways, omega-6 fats lead to pro-inflammatory states. However, research is mixed on whether or not eating more omega-6s actually contributes to inflammation-related conditions.  

Overall, oils that are predominantly monounsaturated or saturated fats and have a higher smoke point are considered good for cooking.

The 4 Healthiest Cooking Oils

1. Avocado Oil

Avocado is a more recent addition to the cooking oil scene, providing a high smoke point and relatively neutral flavor that is great for many uses in the kitchen. 

The healthiest option is unrefined, cold-pressed avocado oil (sometimes called extra-virgin avocado oil), which uses mechanical extraction—imagine a machine pressing down on the avocado—to squeeze out the oil.

Conversely, refined avocado oil uses heat or chemical solvents to extract the oil, followed by a bleaching and deodorizing process to eliminate the chemical taste and smell. 

Unrefined, cold-pressed avocado oil retains its natural color, flavor, and nutrients, making it a healthier choice.

Avocado Oil Nutrition and Health Benefits

Avocado oil has several health benefits, including reducing VLDL and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are markers of heart and metabolic health.² Research with animals has also shown that avocado oil consumption reduces C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which indicates inflammation in the body.² 

Avocado oil is high in unsaturated fats, especially monounsaturated fats (MUFAs). The predominant fat in avocado oil is oleic acid, a beneficial monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid also found in olives and olive oil. 

It also contains the phytosterols campesterol, stigmasterol, and vitamin E, which are antioxidants that fight cellular oxidative stress and free radical accumulation.³ 

Each 1-tablespoon serving of avocado oil has approximately 10g of monounsaturated fat, 2g of polyunsaturated fat, and 1.6g of saturated fat. 

Avocado Oil Smoke Point

Avocado oil tends to be best for higher-heat cooking because it has a greater smoke point. 

Unrefined, extra-virgin avocado oil has a smoke point of 482°F, and refined avocado oil’s smoke point can exceed 500°F. 

2. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

You may have heard you should never cook with olive oil because it has a low smoke point. While it’s true that olive oil has a lower smoke point than avocado oil, you can still use it for low-to-medium heat cooking—especially if you choose the right one.

Olive oil that is less processed (e.g., extra-virgin and cold-pressed) and contains more antioxidants has a higher smoke point, making it a good oil for cooking.  

Olive Oil Nutrition and Health Benefits

There are substantial evidence-backed health benefits of olive oil, which have been recognized ever since its first use thousands of years ago in Mediterranean regions.

Olive oil contains a high concentration of polyphenols, including tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, and oleuropein. Hydroxytyrosol is a well-studied and potent antioxidant that provides anti-cancer, neuroprotective, and antimicrobial effects.⁴ 

With its high levels of antioxidants and healthy fats, olive oil has been found to benefit heart, metabolic, and cognitive health.⁵ It may also help with healthy weight management and increase lifespan. One 28-year-long study found that people who consumed the most olive oil had a reduced risk of death by up to 34%, especially when the olive oil replaced margarine, mayonnaise, or dairy fat. However, this is just a correlation, and many other factors could play a role in this association.⁶

Like avocado oil, olive oil is predominantly made up of the monounsaturated fat oleic acid. Its fat breakdown is almost identical to that of avocado oil, with each tablespoon containing 10g of monounsaturated fats, 1.5g of polyunsaturated fats, and 1.9g of saturated fats. 

Extra-Virgin Vs. Virgin Olive Oil

However, there are many differences when it comes to the type of olive oil you choose. 

Extra virgin olive oil means the oil comes from the first pressing of olives. This is the highest potential grade of olive oil, made from the first mechanical cold-pressing of the olives with no chemical solvents or treatments. 

Extra virgin and virgin olive differ based on their acidity—it can be called extra virgin if the free fatty acid level is 0.8% or lower, while virgin olive oil can have a fatty acid level between 0.8-2.0%.

Time—including time spent on the tree after maturity and time between harvesting and processing—can increase its acidity, so fresher olive oils are lower in acidity.

Olive Oil Smoke Point

High-quality extra-virgin olive oils have higher amounts of antioxidants that protect the oil from heat during cooking, leading to smoke points of around 410°F.

According to the North American Olive Oil Association, the smoke point of some olive oils can reach 470°F.

3. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a very unique fat, as it’s one of the only plant-based fats that is mostly saturated and solid at room temperature. 

Because of its saturated nature, coconut oil is less prone to oxidation during processing or cooking. 

The healthiest type of coconut oil is unrefined (virgin) coconut oil, which has undergone much less processing than refined coconut oil. Refined coconut oil has little coconut flavor or aroma, as it’s been deodorized, bleached, and liquefied. On the plus side, refined coconut oil has a higher smoke point, but it’s not as healthy as unrefined virgin coconut oil.

Coconut Oil Nutrition

While saturated fat is not as bad as once thought, it’s still wise not to overconsume it. Each tablespoon of coconut oil contains 12g saturated fat, 0.7g monounsaturated fat, and 0.2g polyunsaturated fat. 

Coconut oil also has a few beneficial attributes, including its content of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Although MCTs are a type of saturated fat, they are thought to be better for metabolic and cognitive health than other saturated fats. 

Because they are shorter, MCTs are quickly absorbed and rapidly metabolized in the liver, making them a readily available energy source. 

MCTs make up about 50% of the saturated fats in coconut oil. Lauric acid, the predominant MCT in coconut oil, has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.⁷ 

Coconut Oil Smoke Point

Although coconut oil is high in saturated fat, it has a midpoint smoke point of 350°F. Therefore, it can be used for lower-heat sauteeing and baking, but it’s not the best for high-heat cooking. 

4. Animal Fats

Although not technically oils (they are solid fats), animal fats like grass-fed butter, tallow, and ghee are also good options for cooking with. 

This is because they are predominantly saturated fats, meaning they are stable during cooking and don’t produce inflammatory compounds or oxidize. 

Plus, they tend to be much less processed than many plant oils (depending on the brand) and have been used for centuries.

Animal Fats Nutrition

Most animal fats have similar fat breakdowns, with a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fats. 

A tablespoon of grass-fed butter, tallow, or ghee contains approximately 7-8g saturated fat, 3-5g monounsaturated fat, and less than 1g polyunsaturated fat. 

Grass-fed animal fats also contain a naturally occurring trans fatty acid called CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) that has been shown to have immunomodulating, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and weight-regulating properties.⁸ 

Unlike unhealthy artificial trans fats, natural trans fatty acids like CLA are beneficial to health when consumed in moderation.

Using fats from grass-fed or pasture-raised animals is essential, as these fats have fewer PUFAs, less linoleic acid, more omega-3s, and more oleic acid (the MUFA found in olive oil). Plus, grass-fed and pasture-raised farming practices are better for the animals and the environment. 

Animal Fats Smoke Point

Of the animal fats, butter has the lowest smoke point, as you may have personal experience with if you’ve left butter on a hot pan for a smidge too long.

The smoke point of common animal fats is as follows:

• Grass-fed butter: 350ºF
• Beef tallow: 420ºF
• Ghee: ​​450°F to 485°F
• Pork lard: 370°F

Cooking Oils to Avoid

Cooking oils that are less healthy and should be avoided when possible are more prone to oxidation, have more PUFAs, or are highly processed. While many of these cooking oils have high smoke points, they are not considered as healthy as the ones mentioned above. Some oils are healthy options but have lower smoke points, making them only beneficial for use without heat—like for salad dressings, for example. 

Oils that we recommend limiting or avoiding entirely when possible: 

• Canola oil (aka rapeseed oil)
• Soybean oil
• Vegetable oil 
• Corn oil 
• Cottonseed oil 
• Safflower oil 
• Sunflower oil (“high-oleic sunflower oil” is a bit better because it has less linoleic acid) 
• Grapeseed oil 

Oils that are considered healthy but have a low smoke point and should not be used for cooking:

• Flaxseed oil 
• Walnut oil
• Macadamia oil 

Healthy Cooking Oils FAQs