Hemp Seed Oil substitute

Best substitute

Extra virgin olive oil

Use the same amount as the hemp seed oil you are replacing

Best for salad dressings

Close match

Extra virgin olive oil is the most available swap, 1:1, and it works better than you would expect because both are green, peppery, slightly bitter finishing oils. The difference is where the bitterness sits: olive oil is peppery at the back of the throat, hemp is greener and seedier across the tongue. Pumpkin seed oil is closer still if you can find it, dark and seedy and nutty, so use about three quarters as much because it is stronger. Flaxseed oil matches it nutritionally and in that grassy delicacy, though it is more bitter, so cut it half and half with something milder. Whatever you use, do not fry with it: hemp seed oil has a very low smoke point and belongs in cold dishes only.

Other hemp seed oil substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Pumpkin seed oil
Close match
use about three quarters as much
The closest match in spirit and colour.
What changes
Both are very dark green, unrefined, strongly seedy oils sold specifically as finishing oils and never for cooking. Pumpkin seed oil is more toasted and more intense, with a deeper roasted-seed flavour where hemp is fresher and greener, so scale back the quantity and top up with a neutral oil if the recipe needs volume. Wonderful over salads, on vanilla ice cream in the Austrian manner, or drizzled over pumpkin soup. It also turns things the same dramatic green that hemp oil does.
Best for
salad dressings, drizzling over soup, grain bowls, finishing, goat cheese salads
Genuine roasted pumpkin seed oil stains, and it is worth buying the Styrian kind if you can, since it is a far better oil than the cheap versions.
3Flaxseed oil, cut with olive oil
Different taste
half flaxseed oil, half olive oil, used 1:1
The best nutritional match, since flax and hemp are both notable for alpha-linolenic acid, and it shares hemp's grassy, faintly marine bitterness.
What changes
On its own it is too bitter and too fishy for most dishes, which is why blending it with a milder oil is much better than using it neat. Taste your flaxseed oil first. It oxidises fast, and old flaxseed oil tastes distinctly of paint, a flavour that only gets more obvious once it meets vinegar and salt. Like hemp oil, it must never be heated.
Best for
smoothies, dressings, drizzling, cold dips, omega-3 focused cooking
Sold as linseed oil in some countries, but only the food-grade version. Hardware-shop linseed oil is not food.
4Walnut oil
Different taste
Use the same amount
A good option when you want a delicate, unrefined finishing oil and are not chasing the specific green vegetal note.
What changes
Walnut oil is nutty and slightly tannic, with a woody bitterness rather than a grassy one, so a dressing made with it tastes rounder and less like fresh greens. It sits particularly well with sherry vinegar, apples, pears, blue cheese and bitter leaves. Like hemp oil it should be kept in the fridge and not heated, so the handling rules stay the same.
Best for
salad dressings, bitter leaf salads, cheese plates, drizzling, grain salads
Tree-nut allergen, unlike hemp seed oil, so do not swap it in unannounced.
5Neutral oil plus ground hemp hearts
Different texture
Use 1 tablespoon neutral oil plus 1 teaspoon hemp hearts for every tablespoon of hemp oil
The move if you have the seeds but not the oil, and hemp hearts are far more widely stocked.
What changes
Stir the hulled seeds straight into a smoothie, a dip or a dressing along with a plain oil, and you get most of the nutrition and a good part of the flavour, since it is the same seed. In a smoothie you will not notice the difference at all. In a clear vinaigrette you will, because the oil goes cloudy and slightly gritty rather than smooth and glossy. Blitz the seeds first if that matters.
Best for
smoothies, dips, hummus, pesto, sprinkling over salads
Hemp hearts are soft and oily, so they blend easily without soaking.
6Honest answer for hemp-forward dressings
Taste and texture differ
extra virgin olive oil plus a handful of hemp hearts
Nothing tastes exactly like hemp seed oil, and if the recipe is a simple dressing whose whole character is that grassy green seediness, be realistic about it.
What changes
The least-bad version is a grassy extra virgin olive oil with a tablespoon of hemp hearts blitzed into it, which gets you the flavour direction, the colour and the nutrition, at the cost of a slightly thicker and less glossy dressing. That is a genuinely good salad. It is not the same salad.
Best for
setting expectations, hemp-forward dressings, green goddess style sauces
Add a little lemon zest. It lifts the green note and makes the substitution taste deliberate.

What is Hemp Seed Oil?

Hemp Seed Oil is Hemp seed oil, also written hempseed oil or sold simply as hemp oil, is a dark green, unrefined oil cold-pressed from hemp seeds that tastes grassy, nutty and slightly bitter, and it contains essentially no CBD or THC.

Cooking tips

Never cook with hemp seed oil. Its smoke point is around 165C or 330F, well below sauteing heat, and its very high polyunsaturated content means it degrades into something acrid and bitter almost immediately. Use a different oil for the pan and stir the hemp oil in after the heat is off.
Hemp seed oil is not CBD oil, and this trips people up constantly. Food-grade hemp seed oil is pressed from the seeds and contains essentially no cannabinoids, which is why it sits on the grocery shelf. CBD oil is an extract of the plant's flowers and leaves, usually diluted in a carrier oil, priced completely differently and not intended for cooking. Do not swap one for the other in either direction.
Refrigerate it the day you open it and plan to use it within a couple of months. Hemp oil is one of the most oxidation-prone oils sold for food, and heat, light and air all accelerate it. If it smells sharp, fishy or like old paint, it has gone, and no amount of garlic will hide it.
It turns things a dramatic dark green, which is either the best or worst thing about it. In a pesto or a green goddess dressing it looks wonderful. In a pale dip such as a white bean puree or a yoghurt sauce it looks murky, so use it as a drizzle on top rather than mixing it through.
Its bitterness needs balancing rather than hiding. A little honey or maple syrup, a squeeze of lemon and enough salt turn hemp oil's grassy edge into something bright, which is why it works so well in a mustard vinaigrette and poorly in a bland one.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave hemp seed oil out?

Usually yes, with a swap. It is almost always a finishing or dressing oil, so it is contributing flavour and nutrition rather than structure, and replacing it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil gives you a dish that works. Leaving out the oil entirely is different, because a dressing with no fat will not cling to leaves and will taste harsh, so put something in its place even if it is plain olive oil.

Is hemp seed oil the same as CBD oil?

No, they are different products from different parts of the plant. Hemp seed oil is cold-pressed from the seeds and contains essentially no CBD or THC, which is why it is sold as a food. CBD oil is an extract from the flowers and leaves, sold as a supplement and usually diluted in a carrier oil like MCT. They cost very different amounts and taste nothing alike, so never substitute one for the other.

Can I fry or bake with hemp seed oil?

Frying, no. Its smoke point is around 165C or 330F, it is extremely high in polyunsaturated fat, and it turns bitter and acrid quickly. Baking is marginally more forgiving because the inside of a cake never gets that hot, but you will still lose most of the flavour and much of the nutritional benefit, so it is a waste of an expensive oil. Keep it for cold food.

What is the best substitute for hemp seed oil in a salad dressing?

A grassy extra virgin olive oil, 1:1, since both bring the same green bitter note that dressings are built around. Pumpkin seed oil is closer if you have it, used at about three quarters the quantity because it is stronger. If you want the nutrition as well as the flavour, blitz a tablespoon of hemp hearts into the olive oil version.

How can I tell if my hemp oil has gone rancid?

Smell it. Fresh hemp seed oil smells green, nutty and faintly grassy, a bit like sunflower seeds and cut hay. Rancid hemp oil smells sharply fishy or like old crayons and paint, and it tastes bitter in a chemical rather than a vegetal way. It does not change colour much, so smell is the only reliable test. Once it has turned, throw it out, because that flavour dominates whatever you put it in.

Related substitutes

More oils & fats substitutes

Hemp Seed Oil substitute

Other hemp seed oil substitutes

2Pumpkin seed oil

3Flaxseed oil, cut with olive oil

4Walnut oil

5Neutral oil plus ground hemp hearts

6Honest answer for hemp-forward dressings