Deep Frying Foods in Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Yes, You Can!

When it comes to deep-frying your favorite foods, many home cooks simply head straight for that bottle of vegetable oil.

While vegetable oil is adequate for frying, unlike extra virgin olive oil, it is basically devoid of any nutrition whatsoever. Extra virgin olive oil, on the other hand, is loaded with healthy polyphenols and antioxidants, and yes, these healthy molecules still exist in olive oil even after they have been heated. In the past, it’s been thought that deep frying foods in extra virgin olive oil destroys their inherent health benefits (such as those important heart-healthy polyphenols) but this is simply not true.

In fact, a 2020 study conducted by the University of Barcelona concluded that extra virgin olive oil retains a significant amount of polyphenols and antioxidants when heated to a temperature of up to 338 degrees, a common temperature ideal for frying.

Moreover, the study found that while there was some loss of polyphenol content compared to raw EVOO, the relative content of both polyphenols and antioxidants still remained relatively high. Don’t forget that EVOO already contains over 500% more antioxidants than traditional oils used for frying such as coconut or avocado oil!

These studies, along with the USDA’s newly published guidelines that now include extra virgin olive oil on their list of approved oils for frying, have led the North American Olive Oil Association to officially recommend extra virgin olive oil as a delicious, safe, and healthy oil for deep frying.

Smoke point

In the past, many home cooks have overlooked deep frying in olive oil thinking that it has a low “smoke point” (the point at which an oil begins to heat up to the point of actually smoking). However, the revised USDA guidelines now include olive oil as yet another oil that has a high smoke point, adding extra virgin olive oil to the same category as corn or sunflower oil.

So, what are the downsides to frying foods in EVOO? Essentially none!

Back in the day, some people have thought that frying in extra virgin olive oil would give their food too strong of a flavor, but this is simply not the case. In fact, most extra virgin olive oils don’t impart particularly overpowering flavors at all even when they are enjoyed raw.

Others argue that deep frying foods in EVOO is more costly than frying in simple vegetable oil, but experts, including author and Harvard Professor of Nutrition, Dr. Guy Crosby, argue that protecting one’s health by frying in olive oil which contains very high concentrations of phenolic antioxidants like hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol along with multiple anti-inflammatory agents such as oleocanthal (that help to preserve these antioxidants) makes the few extra dollars spent well worth it.

So, the next time you’re craving beer-battered fish, Southern fried chicken, or a platter of crispy homemade potato chips, grab a bottle of extra virgin olive oil instead of that run-of-the-mill vegetable oil because your good health is worth it.

Shop for your favorite healthy EVOOs here and check out our White Truffle Arancini Recipe to try it out for yourself!