Olive Pomace Oil substitute

Best substitute

Refined olive oil ("olive oil" or "light olive oil")

Use the same amount as the olive pomace oil you are replacing

Best for deep frying

Close match

Use plain refined olive oil, the bottle labelled just "olive oil" or "light olive oil", 1:1 - it is the closest thing on a supermarket shelf and behaves almost identically in the pan. If you do not have it, peanut oil or canola oil at 1:1 will fry and roast just as well; you only lose a faint olive background note. Know what the oil is doing before you choose: pomace oil is in the recipe as heat-stable frying fat, not as a flavour, because it smokes at around 460F/240C and costs a fraction of virgin oil. That is why Spanish and restaurant recipes call for it. Do not reach for extra virgin olive oil for deep frying - it smokes lower, tastes bitter when pushed hard, and you will spend a lot of money to make worse chips.

Other olive pomace oil substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Peanut oil
Different taste
Use the same amount
Refined peanut oil smokes around 450F/230C and is the classic restaurant frying fat, so it does the structural job perfectly: crisp crust, no breakdown, clean draining.
What changes
It brings a very slight sweet-nutty warmth rather than an olive note, which is unnoticeable in battered or breaded food and only faintly detectable in something plain like fried potatoes.
Best for
deep frying, fritters, croquettes and churros, wok cooking, anything breaded
Not an option if you are cooking for anyone with a peanut allergy - highly refined peanut oil is generally considered low risk, but never make that call on someone else's behalf.
3Canola, sunflower or safflower oil
Different taste
Use the same amount
The neutral workhorses.
What changes
All three smoke in the 400-450F/205-230C range and hold up to frying, and they leave the food tasting purely of itself. Compared with pomace oil, food fried in them reads as slightly plainer and less savoury - the fried thing tastes of the fried thing and nothing else. In a Spanish dish where the oil is meant to sit in the background as a mild olive note, stir a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil into the finished dish to put that flavour back.
Best for
deep frying, everyday shallow frying and roasting, cake and muffin batters that specify a light oil, mayonnaise and aioli
The cheapest and easiest swap by a wide margin. For a garlicky aioli, neutral oil is arguably better than pomace, because there is nothing competing with the garlic.
4Rice bran oil or avocado oil
Different taste
Use the same amount
Both are very high smoke point oils - rice bran around 450F/230C, refined avocado oil higher still - so they are the safest choice if your recipe pushes past 400F/205C or you are reusing frying oil.
What changes
Rice bran is mild with a faint toasty edge; refined avocado oil is close to flavourless. Neither carries any olive character, so a dish that relied on the oil for a whisper of fruitiness will taste cleaner and blanker.
Best for
very high heat frying and searing, oil you plan to strain and reuse, roasting vegetables hard and fast, recipes where you want no flavour from the fat at all
Both cost more than pomace oil, which defeats one of pomace oil's two reasons for existing. Worth it if you fry often and want oil that lasts several batches.
5Extra virgin olive oil
Close match
Use the same amount
Fine for sauteing, roasting below about 375F/190C, dressings and finishing, where it will actually taste better than pomace oil - grassier, more peppery, more olive.
What changes
The problem is deep frying: it smokes somewhere around 375-410F/190-210C depending on the bottle, its polyphenols turn acrid when held hot, and it is expensive enough that filling a pan feels painful. Food fried in it can pick up a bitter, catty edge.
Best for
sauteing and gentle pan cooking, moderate roasting, dressings, dips and finishing, confit-style slow cooking in oil
This is the swap most people reach for and the one that goes wrong most often. Use it when the pomace oil was standing in for ordinary cooking fat; avoid it when the recipe says deep fry.
6Solid fats: lard, beef tallow or vegetable shortening
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, melted
The honest note here is that these are not equivalents, they are a different school of frying.
What changes
All three are very heat stable and give a famously crisp, dry crust - lard is the traditional fat for many Spanish and Latin American fried foods. But they set solid at room temperature, so anything you plan to eat cold, or any dressing, is out, and lard and tallow both add a distinct savoury meatiness. Chips fried in tallow taste noticeably richer and more roasted than chips fried in pomace oil.
Best for
deep frying potatoes and doughnuts, traditional Latin American and Spanish frying, pastry and confit, refrying beans
Not vegetarian in the case of lard and tallow. Never use them where the oil stays liquid in the finished dish, such as a vinaigrette or a drizzle.

What is Olive Pomace Oil?

Olive Pomace Oil is Olive pomace oil, sometimes sold as pomace oil or sansa oil, is the oil pulled out of the crushed pulp, skins and pits left over after olives have been pressed for virgin oil, then refined and usually blended with a little virgin olive oil for flavour.

Cooking tips

Pomace oil exists for two reasons - a high smoke point and a low price - so pick the substitute that matches the reason your recipe wanted it. Frying a large batch means matching the smoke point; a tablespoon in a pan means anything mild will do.
If a Spanish recipe calls for pomace oil and you swap in something neutral, put the missing olive flavour back at the end rather than at the start: a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil stirred in off the heat survives, while the same oil heated in the pan does not.
Judge frying oil by sight and smell, not by the clock. Any of these substitutes is done when it darkens, smells sharp or foams around the food - strain it while warm through a coffee filter if you want another round out of it.
Pomace oil and refined olive oil both sit far enough below the flavour threshold that they work in cakes and quick breads. Extra virgin does not always - it can taste distinctly savoury in a sponge, so use a neutral oil for baking instead.
Buying it is easier than most people expect: Spanish and Middle Eastern groceries and restaurant supply shops stock five-litre tins of pomace oil cheaply, often labelled aceite de oliva de orujo or sansa.

Frequently asked questions

Is olive pomace oil real olive oil?

It comes from olives, but it is a separate grade. Virgin and extra virgin oil are pressed mechanically from whole olives; pomace oil is extracted from the leftover pulp and pits using heat and solvents, then refined and usually blended with a little virgin oil. Under EU rules it has to be labelled as olive pomace oil rather than olive oil, precisely because it is not the same product.

Can I use extra virgin olive oil instead of pomace oil?

For sauteing, roasting and dressings, yes, 1:1, and it will taste better. For deep frying, no - it smokes at a lower temperature, turns bitter when held hot, and costs several times as much per litre. Use plain refined olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil for frying instead.

What is the difference between pomace oil and light olive oil?

Both are refined and mild, and in the kitchen they are interchangeable. The difference is the raw material: light olive oil is refined virgin oil from whole olives, while pomace oil is refined from the spent pulp. Pomace oil is usually cheaper and its smoke point is marginally higher.

Can I just leave it out?

Only if the recipe uses it as a small greasing or sauteing fat, in which case any oil in your cupboard will do. If you are frying, you cannot leave the oil out - it is the cooking medium, and reducing the amount gives you soggy, oil-logged food rather than crisp food. Match the volume the recipe asks for.

Is pomace oil bad for you?

Its fatty acid profile is close to other refined olive oils, mostly monounsaturated, but the refining strips out the polyphenols and most of the flavour compounds that make extra virgin oil interesting nutritionally. Think of it as a competent neutral frying fat rather than a health food, and keep the good bottle for salads.

Related substitutes

More oils & fats substitutes

Olive Pomace Oil substitute

Other olive pomace oil substitutes

2Peanut oil

3Canola, sunflower or safflower oil

4Rice bran oil or avocado oil

5Extra virgin olive oil

6Solid fats: lard, beef tallow or vegetable shortening