Can I Use Vegetable Oil Instead Of Olive Oil
You can use vegetable oil instead of olive oil in almost any recipe. However, it may not be suitable for high heat cooking like frying because vegetable oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil. Canola oil, soybean oil, refined olive oil, and peanut oil are excellent substitutes for vegetable oil.
You may want to use the ratio 1:1 if you are replacing the olive oil with vegetable oil (or other cooking oil) in a baking recipe. You can include extra virgin olive oil in baking recipes calling for butter, and you automatically make your recipes healthier, since olive oil is lower in saturated fats compared to butter.
Extra virgin olive oil is best reserved for non-baking dishes, such as salad dressings, or for the final splash on cooked meats or vegetables. Using either extra virgin or virgin olive oil will give your dressing a refined flavour that cannot be achieved with just cooking with vegetable oil. The unique flavours of olive oil cannot be duplicated using an inexpensive option such as vegetable oil.
While olive oil might sound a lot like vegetable oil as far as being an all-purpose oil, olive oil is usually used for fancier dishes due to the flavors that it can add. As noted before, olive oil has a very distinctive taste, and this is a taste that you are going to experience when using it in your kitchen. Different oils are refined extremely well before they are blended, giving the resulting cooking oil a very mild, neutral taste, setting it apart from olive oil.
With those two elements in mind, your best alternative for vegetable oil in cooking will be another neutral-flavored oil with a higher smoke point. If you are cooking in a hot environment, or if you need a neutral oil with no flavors, such as when you are making baked goods, then vegetable oil is your best option. The texture and density of each cooking oil is fairly similar, so you can swap one out for the other.
In baking, oils are usually specified because they have no flavor, so in baking, this is mainly dependent on the quality of oil that you are using. When it comes to cooking with specific oils, you have to carefully consider your recipes and the way the oils are going to be used. Keep reading for more information on which oils work best for you and your repertoire of recipes.
| Difference | |
| Vegetable Oil | Only pressed olives can be used to produce olive oil, with extra virgin olive oil being the least processed type |
| Olive Oil | Vegetable oil, on the other hand, is produced by combining oils from several sources, including canola, cottonseed, sunflower, soybean, corn, and safflower |
Remember, this is also up to your tastes, so as with any of the other substitutes, feel free to research which oils you find to be best tasting and best pairings with the dishes you are making. When using coconut oil as a replacement for vegetable oil, keep in mind that coconuts taste may or may not go well with the other flavors. Coconut oil is also a nice butter to experiment with, but it will give your brownies a slight coconut taste (but chocolate and coconut are an awesome combo!).
Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, you will have to melt your butter if your recipe calls for a liquid butter. Do not use melted coconut oil in marinades or dressings, because it turns to a solid once it is sitting around at room temperature or below.
Coconut oil works fine in curry dishes, but if you are cooking something a little more traditional, such as a shepherds pie, you are better off using butter. If a recipes first step calls for creaming butter and sugar together–a very common starting point for cakes and cookies–then you are better off sticking to the butter that the recipe calls for rather than substituting in olive oil. If you are used to using additional, processed olive oil in recipes, you will not notice a major difference in the flavors of your dishes. We suggest using mild-flavored olive oil (like olive oil with a lighter tone), or mixing in a 50/50 combination of olive oil with neutral oils such as canola or vegetable oil if you are low in the latter.
If you’re interested in How To Fry Chicken In Olive Oil, take a look at my other article.
Olive oil is great for intensely-flavored baked goods, such as olive oil cakes, but the neutrality of vegetable oil makes it perfect for providing baked goods with the necessary fats without impacting the flavors in your recipes. Vegetable oil can be sold as a single plant source (such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or safflower) or blended into one common oil labeled vegetable oil. Some oils extracted from these plant sources may be distinguished as being of one specific plant source, like peanut, sunflower, canola or corn oil. There are a number of oils suitable for cooking, including canola, safflower, peanut, and grapeseed.
Polyunsaturated oils, like corn, sunflower, and safflower, are better used for salads and not cooking. Plant oils are common pantry staples, commonly used in cooking practices like sauteing or roasting vegetables, making sauces, spreading on pizza, and keeping pasta from sticking. The best oils to withstand high heat when frying are avocado, peanut, canola, sunflower, and sesame.
Medium-high heat works best for searing, and using a suitable oil like vegetable, olive, canola, or peanut oil is essential. Deep-frying requires heating several cups of oil, which is why we prefer using cheap, neutral oils for this method.
Avocados have high smoke points (400 degrees F and above), meaning that they are best for high-temperature cooking. High-quality extra virgin olive oil may have a smoke point that is extremely high, over 400degF (204degC), but lower-quality versions may have significantly lower smoking points, in the range of 220degF (104degC), much too low for frying.
Olive oil also forms a protective coating around your chicken, keeping it from cooking too fast on the exterior before it is cooked all the way through the interior. Heat an additional teaspoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium-high, add chicken breasts, and cook until edges are opaque, about 10 minutes. If the recipe calls for cooking oil or melting butter, you may want to substitute olive oil, says Julie Harrington, R.D., a chef, food-nutrition consultant, and co-author of The Healing Soup Cookbook.
If you’re interested in How Long Does Vacuum Sealed Food Last At Room Temperature, take a look at my other article.
Vegetable oil is one of those ingredients that is used in so many different recipes, that it is easy to use up all of your supply of it without realizing. Vegetable oil is also preferred because it does not puff up the batter (as butter can) and helps create the fattier, chewier brownies instead of the cakey texture. This feature of vegetable oil makes it easier for beginners, since they will not need to adjust their baking times in order to get that ideal texture.
Your best options for a neutral flavour, which will give you the closest end result taste as your original recipe, are canola, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, and avocado oils.
Is vegetable oil the same as olive oil?
Only pressed olives can be used to produce olive oil, with extra virgin olive oil being the least processed type. Vegetable oil, on the other hand, is produced by combining oils from several sources, including canola, cottonseed, sunflower, soybean, corn, and safflower.
Can I substitute vegetable oil for olive oil in baking?
If you want to bake a dessert that usually uses vegetable oil as an ingredient, you can perfectly substitute it with olive oil. Such recipes call for a one-to-one ratio, meaning that if the recipe calls for one cup of vegetable oil, you will add only one cup of extra virgin olive oil.
Which is healthier: vegetable oil or olive oil?
Even though both olive oil and vegetable oil contain unsaturated fatty acids, olive oil tends to be healthier due to the high levels of monosaturated fats like oleic acid, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid. In contrast, vegetable oil mainly contains omega-6 polyunsaturated fats.