Can You Use Vegetable Oil Instead of Olive Oil?
Over the last few decades, olive oil has become increasingly popular due to its alleged health benefits. Monounsaturated fats and antioxidants in olive oil reduce inflammation, which helps regulate blood sugar levels and reduce heart attack risk.
Can you use vegetable oil instead of olive oil?
While cooking or baking, you can substitute vegetable oil for olive oil, but it is best to follow the recipe. However, olive oil has a unique, refined flavor that cannot match vegetable oil. If you don’t care too much about the refining taste of the recipe, then you can use vegetable oil.
Olive oil is generally best for uncooked products like dressings and salads or can serve as a base. To use olive oil in a recipe for vegetable oil, simply substitute the same amount of olive oil. Reading this article, you can learn more about olive oil vs. vegetable oil.
In this guide, we’ll explore whether you can use vegetable oil instead of olive oil, their comparison, and the different uses of vegetable oils.
Can Vegetable Oil Be Substituted for Olive Oil?
The organic version of vegetable oil, canola oil, or sunflower oil could better substitute for olive oil. However, olive oil is easily interchangeable with any other vegetable oil in a 1:1 ratio despite its less refined nature and robust flavor. It is, however, impossible to get the same taste from vegetable oil that you get from olive oil.
Vegetable Oil:
Vegetable oil is a combination of neutral oils, which lack micronutrients and are rich in pro-inflammatory substances.
The vegetable oil is derived from plants, like nuts and seeds, so its smoke point is high, and it is better to use vegetable oil when cooking at high temperatures.
Olive Oil:
The oil is extracted from the olive fruit and has a low smoke point, which performs best on medium to high heat. It has a distinctive taste, which chefs use to add some flavor to their dishes.
Make sure to check out my article Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Good For Roasting?.
Why Should You Use Vegetable Oil Instead of Olive Oil?
Olive oil is universal cooking oil and can be used for salads and recipes cooked at low heat, vegetable oil is a neutral oil with a high smoke point, making it more suitable for high heat cooking.
Processed vegetable oil removes all of the nutritional components and omega-6 fatty acids, thus causing inflammation and plaque buildup in the arteries.
On the other hand, using vegetable oil lowers cholesterol levels. Be sure to use organic vegetable oil whenever possible, and avoid hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Besides that, olive oil is best suited for low-heat or non-cooking recipes and has monounsaturated fats, which are healthy and suitable for your heart if consumed in moderation.
Minerals and antioxidants are essential for preventing infection, blood sugar control, and heart attacks.
You can also freeze vegetable oil because it becomes solid when frozen, which makes it easier to store and transport.
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Comparison Between Vegetable Oil and Olive Oil
Vegetable oils are obtained from resources that include soybean, corn, canola, or sunflower, and they can be both edible and non-edible and are mostly consumed worldwide.
At the same time, olive oil originated from fresh olives and is primarily used as the healthiest oil worldwide and in the Mediterranean.
Comparison Table:
| Olive Oil | Vegetable Oil | |
| Extract From | Fresh olives | Plants, seeds, fruits, and vegetable |
| Properties | Smoke Point is low from 215 -242 DegreeExtraversion has a lower smoke point | High Smoke PointCanola Oil 245 degreeSafflower Oil 265 Degree |
| Oil Types | Extraversion, Blended, Pure, or Light olive oil | Pumpkin seedSunflowerSoybeanCorn OilCanola oil and many more |
| Composition | Monounsaturated Fatty acids 73% + Saturated Fatty acids 14% | Coconut oil(Saturated fats 92%)Sunflower Or Canola has (6%-9% saturated Fats 62-92% Monounsaturated fats |
| Calories | Each Table Has 120 calories | Each Table has 120 Calories |
Where Can You Substitute Vegetable Oil Instead of Olive Oil?
You can substitute vegetable oil for olive oil if you find an organic version and use it 1 to 1, just like olive oil. A substitution of vegetable oil cannot bring out the same flavor as olive oil.
Additionally, you can not substitute vegetable oil in baking recipes where olive oil is used since olive oil has a solid taste that another oil cannot match.
Vegetable Oil for Cooking:
Vegetable oil is a chemically processed, versatile, neutrally flavored oil that comes at an affordable price and is considered one of the best cooking oils due to its high smoke point (400-450 degrees Fahrenheit).
Vegetable oil is perfect for cooking at high temperatures, such as roasting, frying, and baking. Unlike olive oil, which you cannot use for frying or roasting, it is perfect for dressing salads and uncooked food.
Vegetable Oil for Deep Frying:
The high smoke point of vegetable oil makes it an excellent choice for deep frying, sauteing, and pan-frying. Vegetable oil can withstand high temperatures before it starts to burn.
However, you should not use olive oil for deep frying as it would reduce its health benefits. If you are looking for a substitute for avocado oil, vegetable oil is a good option. It has a high smoke point and is suitable for sauteing and pan-frying.
Vegetable Oil for Marinade:
The oil used in marination usually doesn’t affect the flavor of other ingredients, so vegetable oil is perfect. Olive oil, however, can bring a strong flavor and change the taste of other ingredients.
In addition, vegetable oil has a high smoke point, so you can quickly cook your steak or any other marinated food on high heat.
Vegetable Oil for Brownies:
Vegetable oil is preferred when baking brownies due to its mild, neutral taste, which does not alter the final taste.
In traditional brownie recipes, butter or vegetable oil is used as fat. However, olive oil adds a bitter taste to brownies, a nice compliment to chocolate.
Vegetable Oil for Cake Mix:
The neutral taste of vegetable oil makes adding it to the cake mix better than olive oil.
However, you can substitute olive oil for vegetable oil if you have it, but you must compromise a little bit with the more pungent taste of olive oil in your cake.
Vegetable Oil for Pizza Dough:
For pizza dough, vegetable oil is a good option because it helps stretch the dough and does not alter the taste of the ingredients.
While olive oil is still a good option due to its strong flavor, it will enhance the taste of pizza, but it will burn at high temperatures, so you can use vegetable oil instead.
Vegetable Oil for Steak:
It is excellent to use vegetable oil to sear a steak, as it prevents it from sticking, but this is not the only way to cook a perfect steak.
Good marinating is required before cooking, and its high smoke point prevents it from sticking. On the other hand, olive oil is not a good choice due to its low smoke point.
Vegetable Oil for Chicken:
It’s the best choice to use vegetable oil for searing chicken because it cooks on high heat, while olive oil or butter is not a good choice as they burn on high heat and have a low smoke point.
Also, the ideal temperature for frying chicken is 350-365 degrees, so vegetable oil works best since you have to bring the oil back to medium heat during the cooking process.
Read Also: Are Gel Food Colors Oil Based?
Benefits of Using Vegetable Oil Instead of Olive Oil
The high smoke point of vegetable oil makes it a good choice for cooking, baking, and frying instead of olive oil, which has a low smoke point. However, the long neutralizing process also removes the most beneficial components from vegetable oil, harming our health.
However, less-processed vegetables are less harmful to health, but it’s hard to find them in grocery stores.
You can use soybean or sunflower oil as they can quickly get the low process from the grocery store. Vegetable oil can be easily used in any recipe and is a good substitute for olive oil.
In addition to its high smoke point and affordable price, vegetable oil can also reduce cholesterol levels in the body.
Various vegetable oil products are available in the market, which you can use in any recipe. However, you can only use olive oil in recipes cooked on low heat.
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Final Thoughts:
Although oil weather vegetable and olive oil are good for cooking, the less smoke point of vegetable oil restricts it to only a few recipes.
However, the health benefits of olive oil are beyond the limit, which made it famous worldwide.
Conversely, vegetable oil has its advantages and flaws, but it is still used worldwide due to its neutral nature.
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