The 3 Best and Worst Oils for Cooking

Throughout the last few decades, the cooking oil options in the grocery aisles have significantly increased. Should you buy cold pressed? Refined? Infused? And should your choice be different depending on how you’re cooking? If you find yourself overwhelmed by the options, you’re not alone. In this article, we share a guide to help you choose the best cooking oil for your needs. 

How should I choose the right oil for cooking?

Cooking can mean a lot of different things. Are you baking at 350°F? Are you grilling? Or are you making a stir-fry? Cooking oils are used to transfer heat to the food. Along the way, your food also picks up some of the oil, which also adds flavor and nutrition. There are a number of factors to consider when you’re choosing the best oil for cooking.

Nutritional value

All cooking oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature. But not all fats are created equal. To choose the healthiest oil, consider how much it contains of:  

• Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs): Monounsaturated fats from plant sources are linked to better heart health and even living longer. Safflower, olive, canola, and avocado oils are especially high in monounsaturated fats. 

• Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs): Polyunsaturated fats are important for brain health and heart health. They can also increase your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or “good” cholesterol. Soybean, walnut, flaxseed, and corn oils have the highest levels of polyunsaturated fats.

• Omega-3 fatty acids: These are a type of polyunsaturated fat that your body can’t make, so you have to get it from your diet. Omega-3 fatty acids help with maintaining the health of your body’s vision, immune health, reproduction, and more. Soybean, walnut, flaxseed and corn oil are excellent sources of polyunsaturated fats. 

• Saturated fat: While there’s some controversy about whether saturated fat is bad for heart health, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fat to no more than 10% of your daily calories. Palm oil and coconut oil are especially high in saturated fat. 

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Type of cooking 

Your choice of cooking oil might depend on whether you’re going to be cooking with low heat or high heat. This is because oils will start to emit air pollutants when they get too hot. These air pollutants may increase the risk of health problems like lung disease or cancer. The temperature when this happens is called the smoke point. And it’s different for each oil. More on this below. 

Processing

Refining means that the oils are extracted from their natural sources using heat or chemicals. Refined oils have a longer shelf life, and can withstand higher temperatures. Some oils — like soybean or sunflower — must be refined to remove contaminants like pesticides or trace metals. Other oils — like avocado or olive oil — can come in refined or unrefined forms. If an oil is labeled “extra virgin” or “cold-pressed”, it’s unrefined. 

The refining process can remove some of the valuable nutrients in oils. So unrefined oils are generally considered more nutritious. But the refining process can also make oils safer to use at higher temperatures. So if you’re cooking food on high heat, regular olive oil is a better choice than extra virgin olive oil. 

Flavor 

Your choice of cooking oil might depend on whether you’re looking to add flavor to your food, or not. Some oils — like walnut or flaxseed oil — can change the taste of your food. Other oils — like canola oil and grapeseed oil — are more neutral in flavor, so they won’t affect the taste. 

There are also many oils on grocery shelves that have added or infused flavors — like garlic, truffle, rosemary, or parmesan. Many of these flavor compounds may be destroyed at higher temperatures. It’s best to use these oils for salad dressings or as a drizzle after the food is done cooking. 

What is a smoke point?

Smoke point is the temperature where an oil starts to smoke continuously, and emit blue hazy smoke. Seeing smoke while using cooking oil means the heat is causing the fat to break down into glycerol (an alcohol) and free fatty acids. Cooking beyond that can cause the release of harmful indoor air pollutants. 

As noted above, these particles are considered carcinogens (potential cancer-causing substances). So if you’re cooking food at medium-to-high heat, consider using an oil with a higher smoke point. 

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Use this chart to determine the type of oil for the type of cooking you plan to do. Consider selecting an oil with a high smoke point to keep in your pantry that you can use for most cooking. 

What are the best oils for cooking?

When choosing an oil for cooking, the best options are the ones that: 

• Are high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats

• Have a relatively high smoke point

1. Avocado oil 

Avocado oil tops the list when it comes to health benefits and smoke point. Avocado (and avocado oil) consumption in the United States has increased six times since the 1980s. This is partly because of their taste, and also because avocado is packed with nutrients.  

Avocado oil is high in oleic acid, which has been associated with lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol levels. Refined avocado oil also has one of the highest smoke points of up to 520°F. So you can use it for any kind of cooking, including frying. But keep in mind that some of the nutritional benefits of avocado oil — like the antioxidant chlorophyll — may be degraded at high heat. 

2. Olive oil

This is another great, heart-healthy option. Although it can’t stand up to high heat as well as avocado oil.

Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of Total Body Diet For Dummies, recommends extra virgin olive oil for low-to-medium cooking temperatures. 

“It imparts great flavor, beneficial monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, and phenolic compounds,” she said. “These compounds have been shown to protect cells from damage and decrease risks for chronic diseases.” 

The health benefits of extra virgin olive oil are maintained when used for sauteing, but shouldn’t be used for deep frying or grilling. Regular olive oil — instead of extra virgin — is a good choice if you’re cooking at higher temperatures. Olive oil and extra virgin olive oil both tend to be more expensive because they’re imported from Europe. 

3. Canola oil 

Canola oil is a mild-tasting oil that won’t change the flavor of what you’re cooking. It’s also an affordable option, costing less than avocado or olive oil. 

The majority of canola oil is produced in Canada, and comes from the seeds of the rapeseed plant. You may spot the American Heart Association Heart Check on a bottle of canola oil because of its documented benefits on cardiovascular health. 

Using canola oil when cooking is associated with reducing total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in adults older than 50 years of age. Even though it doesn’t have the highest smoke point of cooking oils, it’s still high enough that you can use it for frying foods. 

What are the worst oils for cooking?

Some oils that are higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are also more sensitive to higher heat. Because of their delicate chemical structures, the chemical bonds break easier. This process can pose some health risks. Nut and seed oils, specifically, should not be heated. 

Flaxseed oil and walnut oil 

Culinary experts don’t recommend cooking with oils like walnut or flaxseed oil because of their low smoke point. 

Both flaxseed and walnut oil contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are a type of polyunsaturated fat that has a more unbalanced chemical structure. The compound found in flaxseeds and walnuts called alpha-linolenic acid has antioxidant properties, which is what links it to its anti- inflammatory properties and heart health benefits. 

But these benefits can be lost at higher temperatures. Retelny doesn’t recommend heating these oils because heat changes the composition of the oil, creating potentially inflammatory, cancer-causing compounds.

Flavored oils 

Infused oils are oils that have different flavors added to them — like truffle oil or garlic oil. They have become popular in regular grocery stores and specialty food stores. They may be good for a salad dressing or for drizzling on toasted bread. It’s not recommended to cook flavored oils at high heat as the temperatures can destroy the flavor. 

Is coconut oil good or bad for you?

Coconut oil is surrounded by some controversy. 

Coconut oil is different from other plant oils because it has a higher amount of saturated fat. This is why it’s solid at cooler room temperatures. And high amounts of saturated fat can be risky for heart health. Systematic reviews indicate that coconut oil consumption raises both LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) and total cholesterol levels. 

But that’s not the whole story. Coconut oil can also increase your HDL, or good cholesterol, level. Some argue that the type of fat in coconut may be absorbed differently and may help with brain health or lead to other benefits. It also contains antioxidants that could have health benefits. 

To date, there haven’t been any randomized controlled trials (the gold standard of research) that have looked at cardiovascular outcomes and coconut oil consumption. Overall, researchers believe that coconut doesn’t have enough evidence to back it as a “healthy” oil. If you keep it in your pantry, try to use it sparingly.   

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Kerry Hackworth, MS, RD, LDN

Kerry Hackworth has been in the field of nutrition for over a decade. Her career began in corporate wellness, where she provided personalized health coaching.

Edited by:

Katie E. Golden, MD

Katie E. Golden, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and a medical editor at GoodRx.

Reviewed by:

Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP

Karen Hovav, MD, FAAP, has more than 15 years of experience as an attending pediatrician in a variety of clinical settings. She has worked in a large academic center in an urban city, a small community hospital, a private practice, and an urgent care clinic.

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