Avocado vs. Olive Oil

It is NO SECRET that I have been cooking A LOT lately. I have so many exciting things coming for you guys I could burst (!), but for now I am going to answer a question I got this week — what is the difference between avocado oil and olive oil, and when do I use each?

Ok — such a good question. There is so much info about oil and it can be overwhelming to sort through. I have a more comprehensive post on why vegetable oils aren’t the best choice… aka we ditched all vegetable oils years ago and why you should too. Which brings me to today’s post on my go-to oils! Let’s get into it–

Avocado Oil

Avocado has the highest smoke point (400 degrees F) so it’s my go-to for cooking, roasting, sauteing and marinating. The smoke point essentially lets you know the temperature at which it can heat until it burns or turns rancid, potentially turning into carcinogenic compounds. Avo oil has a more neutral/mild flavor, so you don’t have to work around the flavor when you’re planning a dish. My rule of thumb is to use avocado oil for anything that goes on or in the oven. Scroll through these dinner recipes and you’ll notice that the first ingredient is almost always avocado oil!

Olive Oil

You guys have to know that I am obsessed with olive oil. I’d consider myself an olive oil snob at this point, but that’s a topic for another conversation. Olive oil, or extra virgin olive oil, has a much lower smoke point than avocado oil, so I don’t tend to use it for cooking. I do however use it for just about everything else. Olive oil can be your bestie for drizzling — the finishing touch on any dish. I love a good side salad dressed with high quality, organic, cold pressed EVOO and also love using it as the base of other dressings! And also… if you haven’t tried olive oil on popcorn, run, don’t walk!

Coconut Oil

I also use coconut oil from time to time and it’s my preferred oil for baking. It adds a great creamy texture and mildly sweet taste to baked goods. Pro tip: use refined coconut oil if you’re not a fan of the coconut flavor. Coconut oil is higher in saturated fats, so I use it more sparingly than others, and even opt to use nut butters and applesauce in place of oil when baking (seriously life changing hack). Scroll through my breads, cupcakes, and other baked goods to see when/how I use coconut oil.

Hope you guys find this helpful! I love getting a DM requesting a specific blog post — I’ve been blogging for years and I swear I’ll never get sick of it, especially because the chances that someone else is wondering the same thing as you is pretty high!