Olive oil substitutes
Olive oil substitutes — 8 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called light olive oil, pure olive oil, refined olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil for cooking, EVOO
Use Canola oil
1 cup for every 1 cup olive oil
If the oil is being cooked, canola or any other neutral oil is a cup-for-cup swap and only the flavour changes. If the oil is raw - a vinaigrette, a drizzle over soup, bread for dipping, pesto, hummus - then the olive oil is the flavour of the dish and no neutral oil replaces it.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Cup for cup, and in a cooked dish nothing else changes.
- Best for —
- sauteing, roasting and pan-frying, where you only need the fat
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 22 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the olive oil doing?
Pick your caseWill the olive oil be heated, or will you taste it raw?
Here the olive oil is a cooking fat. Canola, sunflower, refined safflower, grapeseed or avocado oil all swap cup for cup, and the dish will taste slightly plainer and nothing else will change.
Notes on canola oil, vegetable oil or sunflower oil
1 cup per cup
The olive oil is the flavour, not the fat. A neutral oil makes the dressing work mechanically and taste of nothing. Use a smaller amount of any olive oil you do have, or rebuild the flavour: more lemon or vinegar, a scraped garlic clove, salt, and a little Dijon for body. There is more on this at for salad dressing.
Notes on canola oil
1 cup per cup
Extra virgin olive oil is not the tool: it starts to break down around 375-405F (190-207C) and tastes acrid past that. Use refined olive oil (about 465F), canola or sunflower (400-450F), peanut (about 450F) or avocado (about 500F). See for high-heat cooking.
Notes on avocado oil, canola oil or peanut oil
1 cup per cup
If the recipe is named after the olive oil, the flavour is the point and you need olive oil of some grade. Otherwise any neutral oil works cup for cup. See for baking.
Notes on vegetable oil or canola oil
1 cup per cup
The oil is only there to stop things sticking. Use whatever is open, including a neutral spray or a smear of butter.
Ask one question: will you taste this oil raw? If it is going into a hot pan or an oven, olive oil is just a fat and any neutral oil replaces it cup for cup. If it is going into a dressing, a dip or a drizzle, the olive oil is the flavour of the dish, and the honest options are to use less of the oil you have or to rebuild the flavour with acid, garlic and salt.
Olive oil is doing two jobs and which one matters depends on heat. Cooked, it is simply a liquid fat that carries heat and coats food, and any neutral oil does that. Raw, its unrefined compounds are the flavour you tasted and wanted: fruity, grassy, peppery, sometimes bitter at the back of the throat. Nothing neutral puts that back.
Fat & richnessprimary
A 100% liquid fat that coats food, carries heat from the pan and, in a dressing, coats the leaves so the vinegar clings instead of running off.
Aroma & flavor identitysecondary
Extra virgin olive oil carries polyphenols and volatile compounds from the fruit, which is why a raw drizzle tastes peppery and a good one catches slightly in the throat. Heat drives most of that off, which is why cooked olive oil tastes far milder than raw.
Browning & colorsecondary
In a pan it transfers heat to the surface of the food so it colours and crisps, and the grade sets the ceiling: extra virgin starts to break down around 375-405F, refined olive oil not until about 465F.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 cup olive oil| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup olive oil | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canola oilsauteing, roasting and pan-frying, where you only need the fat | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Vegetable oilbaking, when a recipe calls for olive oil but is not named after it | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Sunflower oilshallow and deep frying where olive oil would start to smoke | 1 cup refined sunflower oilTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Ghee (clarified butter)sauteing and roasting where you want a rich flavour rather than a plain one | 1 cup, melted and measured liquidTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Peanut oildeep frying, where the oil has to hold up for the whole batch | 1 cup refined peanut oilTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Avocado oilsearing in a very hot pan, where extra virgin olive oil would smoke | 1 cup refined avocado oilTweak it | Tweak it |
| 7 | Melted buttergentle sauteing of onions, mushrooms or fish where you want a dairy richness | 1 ¼ cups, meltedYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 8 | Melted coconut oilsauteing and roasting in dishes where a sweet, tropical note suits the food | 1 cup, melted and measured liquidYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Toasted sesame, walnut or chilli oil | not a swap — do not substitute cup for cup; use ½ tsp at the end of cooking as a seasoningNot for this | Not for this |
Canola oil
flatter, with none of the peppery bite or fruitiness
A refined, flavourless liquid fat with a slightly higher ceiling than extra virgin olive oil, at 400-450F (205-230C), which makes it the straightforward swap for anything cooked.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup canola oil for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- sauteing, roasting and pan-frying, where you only need the fat, when you do not want any olive flavour in the finished dish, high-heat cooking that would push extra virgin past its limit
- Taste
- flatter, with none of the peppery bite or fruitiness; roasted vegetables taste plainer but still good
- Texture
- in a cooked dish, identical; in a dressing, thinner and less clinging
- Look
- a dressing looks pale yellow and thin instead of green-gold and glossy, and it separates faster in the jar
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup, and in a cooked dish nothing else changes.
- In anything raw, build the flavour back: an extra squeeze of lemon or 1 extra tsp vinegar per ¼ cup of oil, ½ tsp Dijon for body, and a pinch more salt.
- For a vinaigrette, whisk in ½ tsp Dijon per ¼ cup of oil. It thickens the dressing and holds the emulsion together, which olive oil's own body would otherwise have done.
The one thing canola cannot do is be tasted. That is a feature when you are frying an egg and a loss when you are dressing tomatoes.
For cooked food, this swap is close to invisible. For raw food, accept that the olive character is simply gone.
Vegetable oil
neutral; a cake loses the faint savoury fruitiness olive oil gives it
Usually soybean oil or a seed-oil blend, refined to be flavourless, with the same 400-450F (205-230C) range as canola.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup vegetable oil for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- baking, when a recipe calls for olive oil but is not named after it, when it is the bottle already open in the cupboard
- Texture
- identical in every application
- Look
- batters and crumbs come out paler and more uniformly yellow, without the green-gold cast
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup, with nothing else to change in a cooked dish or a batter.
- In a cake where the olive oil was providing the character, such as a citrus or olive oil cake, add the zest of one extra lemon or orange so the crumb still has something to taste of.
For baking this is the swap that costs you the least, because most of olive oil's aroma is driven off in the oven anyway.
Sunflower oil
clean and blank; nothing is added and the olive note is gone
A clean refined seed oil that holds to about 440F (225C) in its high-oleic form, so it goes hotter than extra virgin olive oil without complaint.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup refined sunflower oil for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- shallow and deep frying where olive oil would start to smoke, roasting at 425F and above
- Texture
- identical
- Look
- roasted vegetables come out just as browned, sometimes slightly more, because the oil takes the heat better
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup. Refined safflower oil behaves the same way and swaps in identically.
- Buy refined, not cold-pressed. Cold-pressed sunflower oil has a definite seedy taste and a lower ceiling.
Worth knowing for roasting at high temperatures, where extra virgin olive oil can turn bitter and this will not.
Ghee (clarified butter)
nutty and buttery rather than fruity and peppery
Butter with the water and milk solids removed, so it is close to 100% fat and holds to about 450F (230C), which is higher than extra virgin olive oil manages.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup ghee, melted and measured liquid for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- sauteing and roasting where you want a rich flavour rather than a plain one, high-heat cooking that would push extra virgin olive oil too far, spooning over rice, flatbread or roasted vegetables at the end
- Taste
- nutty and buttery rather than fruity and peppery; a different flavour, not an absent one
- Texture
- richer on the palate, and it sets soft-solid as the dish cools
- Look
- vegetables come out glossier and browner than they would in olive oil
- Prep
- Warm to liquid before measuring.
- Suits
- vegetarian, gluten-free
- Contains
- dairy
- Melt it and measure it liquid, cup for cup, or 1 cup will not be 1 cup.
- It is a saturated fat and solid at cool room temperature, so do not use it in a dressing that will be refrigerated.
The one swap here that gives back a real flavour instead of removing one. It is dairy, so it is out for a milk allergy or a vegan dish.
Not for a vinaigrette or anything served cold, because it firms up.
Peanut oil
neutral in the refined version, so the olive note is simply gone
Refined groundnut oil with a ceiling around 450F (230C) and enough stability to be reused, which is why it is the traditional deep-frying oil.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup refined peanut oil for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- deep frying, where the oil has to hold up for the whole batch, wok cooking at high heat
- Texture
- identical
- Look
- fried food comes out with a slightly crisper, more even crust over a long fry
- Prep
- Use as-is; check the bottle says refined.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- peanuts
- Cup for cup, but tell anyone eating: this is a peanut product.
- Use refined peanut oil for cooking; the cold-pressed kind tastes strongly of peanuts and smokes lower.
Choose it for stability under long or repeated frying rather than for anything it adds.
Never where anyone may have a peanut allergy, even refined.
Avocado oil
mildly buttery and grassy raw, and nearly nothing once cooked
A refined fruit oil with the highest ceiling of any common oil, roughly 500F (260C), and a mild buttery character that is closer to olive oil than a seed oil is.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup refined avocado oil for 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- searing in a very hot pan, where extra virgin olive oil would smoke, dressings, when you want something rounder than canola
- Taste
- mildly buttery and grassy raw, and nearly nothing once cooked; the closest neutral option to olive oil in a dressing
- Texture
- identical
- Look
- a dressing keeps a little more body and gloss than one made with canola
- Prep
- Buy refined for high heat.
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free
- Cup for cup, nothing else to change.
- It costs several times what canola does, so use it where the heat or the raw flavour justifies it.
If the reason you are replacing olive oil is that your pan keeps smoking, this is the oil with the most headroom on the shelf.
Melted butter
dairy-rich instead of fruity and peppery
Only about 80% fat, so you need a quarter more of it, and it cannot take anything like olive oil's heat because its milk solids burn first.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- 1 ¼ cups butter, melted for 1 cup olive oil
- Then
- keep the pan at medium heat, because butter's milk solids blacken at about 300F (150C)
- Best for
- gentle sauteing of onions, mushrooms or fish where you want a dairy richness, tossing through cooked pasta or vegetables at the end, when it is the only fat in the house
- Taste
- dairy-rich instead of fruity and peppery; in Italian and Greek dishes it reads as a different cuisine
- Texture
- silkier while hot, then firm as the dish cools, where olive oil stays liquid
- Look
- the pan browns faster and can go from golden to speckled black quickly; a cold pasta salad turns cloudy and sets
- Prep
- Melt gently and use straight away.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- dairy
- Use 1 ¼ cups melted butter per cup of olive oil, because butter is 80% fat and oil is 100%.
- Keep the heat at medium or below. If you need real heat and a buttery taste, use ghee instead.
- If your butter is salted, cut the recipe's salt by about ¼ tsp per stick used.
This is the swap that most changes the identity of a dish. Nothing is wrong with it, but a butter-dressed salad or butter-roasted tomato is a different recipe from the one you started.
Not for high heat, not for deep frying, and not for anything served cold.
Melted coconut oil
either blank (refined) or distinctly coconut (virgin)
A 100% fat that is liquid above 76F (24C) and solid below it, refined to be neutral or virgin and clearly coconut-flavoured, depending on the jar.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Browning & color
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Amount
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted and measured liquid for 1 cup olive oil
- Then
- measure it liquid, and never use it in a dressing you intend to refrigerate
- Best for
- sauteing and roasting in dishes where a sweet, tropical note suits the food, curries and stir-fries that already contain coconut, when it is the only oil in the cupboard
- Taste
- either blank (refined) or distinctly coconut (virgin); in a Mediterranean dish, both are wrong in different ways
- Texture
- firms up as the food cools, so roasted vegetables can feel waxy at room temperature
- Look
- a cooled dish develops a white film of set fat across the surface
- Prep
- Melt gently, then measure.
- Suits
- vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free
- Contains
- coconut
- Melt and measure liquid, cup for cup.
- Use refined coconut oil for neutral cooking; virgin coconut oil tastes clearly of coconut and its ceiling is only about 350F (175C).
- Never in a vinaigrette destined for the fridge, where it will set into a solid white block.
The 76F melting point is the practical problem. A pasta salad dressed with coconut oil looks fine warm and turns cloudy and waxy in the fridge.
Only where a tropical flavour fits and the food will be eaten hot. Never in a cold dressing.
Toasted sesame, walnut or chilli oil
overwhelming and, once heated, bitter and slightly burnt
Finishing oils, made to be tasted in drops rather than cooked in by the cup, with flavours strong enough to take over a whole pan and smoke points low enough to turn bitter over heat.
- Covers
- Fat & richness
- Misses
- Aroma & flavor identity — not covered
- Browning & color — not covered
- Amount
- Do not substitute cup for cup; use ½ tsp at the end of cooking as a seasoningper 1 cup olive oil
- Best for
- adding half a teaspoon at the end of cooking, off the heat, as a seasoning
- Texture
- no different, which is what makes the mistake easy to walk into
- Look
- the food darkens far faster than it should, and the pan residue goes brown and sticky early
- Prep
- Keep the bottle for the last thirty seconds of cooking, not the first.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Contains
- tree nuts, sesame
- If one of these is genuinely the only oil you have, use 1 tbsp of it plus enough water or broth to keep the pan from catching, and expect the dish to taste of sesame or walnut.
Walnut oil also contains tree nuts, which matters if you are cooking for other people.
Listed only because people reach for them when the olive oil runs out. They are seasonings, not cooking oils.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- A vinaigrette, a drizzle over soup or beans, bread for dipping, pesto, hummus, or a raw tomato salad.Use half as much of any olive oil you still have, or accept the change and rebuild: more lemon or vinegar, a scraped garlic clove, salt, and ½ tsp Dijon per ¼ cup of oil for body.
- Deep frying in extra virgin olive oil.Use refined or light olive oil (about 465F / 240C), canola or sunflower (400-450F), peanut (about 450F) or avocado (about 500F).
- SafetyAny tested canning, pickling or preserving recipe where you were thinking of adding oil, or of swapping the vinegar or lemon juice for olive oil.Follow the tested recipe exactly, and never change the proportion of vinegar or lemon juice. Check current guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at https://nchfp.uga.edu/ before altering anything. Keep home-made garlic or herb oils in the fridge and use them within a few days.
- A recipe named after the olive oil, such as an olive oil cake or a good focaccia.Use whatever grade of olive oil you have, even refined, or choose a different cake today.
Safety
2 notes- Canning
Never alter the oil, vinegar or lemon juice in a tested canning, pickling or preserving recipe. Safe processing depends on measured acidity, and changing it can allow Clostridium botulinum to grow in a sealed jar. Home-made garlic or herb-infused oils must be kept refrigerated and used within a few days rather than stored at room temperature.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)
- Allergen
Peanut oil is a peanut product and walnut oil is a tree nut product; neither is safe for someone with those allergies, refined or not. Ghee and butter are dairy, and coconut oil is a coconut product. Canola, sunflower, grapeseed and olive oil itself are free of all of these.
If it went wrong
4 fixes- The dressing tastes thin and sharp after you swapped in a neutral oil.The olive oil was carrying most of the flavour and all of the body.Whisk in ½ tsp Dijon mustard per ¼ cup of oil, a pinch of salt and a scraped garlic clove, then taste. If it is still sharp, add another tablespoon of oil rather than more vinegar.
- The pan smoked and the food tastes bitter and burnt.Extra virgin olive oil pushed past about 400F, or a nut or seed finishing oil used as a cooking oil.Discard the oil, wipe the pan and start again with refined olive, canola or avocado oil. Food cooked in scorched oil cannot be saved.
- The cold pasta salad turned cloudy with white flecks.It was dressed with coconut oil or butter, which set solid in the fridge.Let it come back to room temperature for 30 minutes and toss again. Dress cold salads with a liquid oil that stays liquid at fridge temperature.
- The olive oil cake tastes of nothing much.A neutral oil went in where the recipe wanted the olive flavour.You cannot add it back after baking. Serve it with a lemon glaze or macerated fruit to give it something to taste of, and use olive oil of any grade next time.
Measure it
7 measures- 1 cup olive oilabout 216 g (1 tbsp is about 13.5 g)
- Smoke point by gradeextra virgin 375-405F (190-207C); refined, light or pure olive oil about 465F (240C)Light refers to the flavour, not the calories. All olive oil is about 120 calories per tablespoon.
- Compared with other oilscanola and sunflower 400-450F (205-230C); peanut about 450F (230C); avocado about 500F (260C); butter about 300F (150C)Deep frying is done at 350-375F, so every one of these clears it except butter.
- Olive oil to butter1 cup olive oil = 1 ¼ cups melted butterAnd in reverse, 1 cup butter = ¾ cup olive oil, with no reduction to the other liquids.
- Grades explainedextra virgin is cold-pressed and unrefined; virgin is unrefined but less strictly graded; pure or plain olive oil is a refined blend; light is the most refined and mildestOnly the unrefined grades carry the peppery flavour, and only the refined ones take real heat.
- Dressing ratio3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar or lemon juiceIf you swap to a neutral oil, add ½ tsp Dijon per ¼ cup of oil to replace the body the olive oil was providing.
- Coconut oil melting point76F (24C)Which is why a coconut oil dressing sets solid in the fridge and an olive oil one does not.
Questions
8 questionsWhat is the best substitute for olive oil?
For anything cooked, canola oil cup for cup: it is a refined liquid fat with a slightly higher ceiling at 400-450F (205-230C), so only the flavour changes. For anything raw, such as a vinaigrette or a drizzle, there is no neutral substitute for the flavour, so use half as much of whatever olive oil you have, or rebuild the dressing with extra lemon, garlic, salt and ½ tsp Dijon per ¼ cup of oil.
Can I use vegetable oil instead of olive oil?
Yes, cup for cup, and in a cooked dish or a batter you will barely notice. What you lose is the peppery, fruity flavour, which matters most in dressings, dips and anything you eat raw, and least in a cake or a tray of roasted vegetables.
Is olive oil bad for high-heat cooking?
It depends on the grade, and the usual claim is overstated. Extra virgin olive oil handles ordinary sauteing and roasting fine, up to about 375-405F (190-207C), and the flavour mellows as it cooks. Refined, light or pure olive oil holds to about 465F (240C), which is higher than canola. The one thing you should not do is deep fry in extra virgin, because deep frying at 350-375F leaves almost no margin.
What is the difference between extra virgin and light olive oil?
Extra virgin is cold-pressed and unrefined, so it keeps the fruity, peppery compounds from the olives and has a lower smoke point of 375-405F (190-207C). Light, pure or refined olive oil has been processed to strip most of that flavour out, which leaves it nearly neutral and pushes its ceiling to about 465F (240C). Light describes the taste, not the calories: all olive oil is about 120 calories a tablespoon.
What can I use instead of olive oil in salad dressing?
Avocado oil comes closest, because it has a little body and a mild buttery character. Otherwise use canola or grapeseed oil and rebuild what is missing: keep the 3-to-1 oil-to-acid ratio, add ½ tsp Dijon mustard per ¼ cup of oil for body and emulsion, a scraped garlic clove, and a good pinch of salt. Do not use coconut oil, which sets into a solid block in the fridge.
Can I use butter instead of olive oil?
For gentle cooking, yes: use 1 ¼ cups melted butter per cup of olive oil, because butter is about 80% fat. Keep the heat at medium, since butter's milk solids blacken at about 300F (150C), far below olive oil's range. If you want a buttery flavour at high heat, use ghee instead, cup for cup. Either way the dish tastes of dairy rather than of olives, which changes its character.
Can I use coconut oil instead of olive oil?
In hot food, yes: melt it, measure it liquid, and use refined coconut oil unless you want a coconut flavour. Virgin coconut oil tastes clearly of coconut and its ceiling is only about 350F (175C). Do not use it in a dressing or anything served cold, because coconut oil is solid below 76F (24C) and will set into a white block in the fridge.
Can I change the oil or vinegar in a canning or pickling recipe?
No. Safe home canning and pickling depend on the recipe's measured acidity, and changing the vinegar, lemon juice or oil can allow Clostridium botulinum to grow inside a sealed jar. Follow tested recipes exactly and check current guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at https://nchfp.uga.edu/. Home-made garlic or herb-infused oils should be refrigerated and used within a few days, not kept in the cupboard.
Tips for substituting olive oil
10 tips- Decide first whether the oil will be heated or tasted raw. Cooked, olive oil is just a fat and canola swaps in cup for cup. Raw, it is the flavour of the dish and nothing neutral replaces it.
- For a vinaigrette made with neutral oil, whisk in ½ tsp Dijon mustard per ¼ cup of oil. It gives back the body and holds the emulsion, which olive oil would have done on its own.
- The standard dressing ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar or lemon juice, whichever oil you use.
- Extra virgin olive oil is fine for sauteing and roasting up to about 375-405F (190-207C). What it cannot do is deep frying, and it will taste of olives in a plain vanilla cake.
- Light, refined or pure olive oil is nearly flavourless and holds to about 465F (240C), which is a higher ceiling than canola. Light refers to the flavour, not the calories.
- For butter instead of olive oil, use 1 ¼ cups melted butter per cup, because butter is only 80% fat, and keep the pan at medium because its milk solids blacken at about 300F (150C).
- Ghee is the swap that gives back a flavour rather than removing one: cup for cup, measured melted, and it holds to about 450F (230C).
- Do not dress a salad that is going in the fridge with coconut oil or butter. Both set solid below room temperature and turn the dressing cloudy and waxy.
- Toasted sesame oil, walnut oil and chilli oil are seasonings. Use half a teaspoon off the heat at the end rather than cooking in them by the cup.
- Never change the oil, vinegar or lemon juice in a tested canning or pickling recipe: the acidity is what makes the jar safe. See the National Center for Home Food Preservation at https://nchfp.uga.edu/.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)