The Benefits of Avocado Oil & Cooking With It

Why avocado oil might be the healthiest cooking oil

You’ve probably heard the virtues of olive oil, coconut oil and possibly even grape seed oil. But what about the oil that comes from avocados? The benefits of avocado oil might surprise you. In fact, avocado oil is one of your best choices for cooking as well as using straight as a drizzle on salads, sandwiches and to finish soups.

Using avocado oil in cooking

Avocado oil is the oil that comes from mashing the flesh of avocados. (Here’s a little more information on how avocado oil is processed.) It looks and feels like most other cooking oils and offers a light mild taste. You can use it all the same ways you would use olive, grape seed, walnut or any other cooking oil you choose.

Is avocado oil healthy to cook with?

Avocado oil is tasty and easy to use in cooking. It’s also great for frying – more on that later. But does avocado oil offer health benefits? Yes! In fact, avocado oil brings a few benefits to the table most other oils can’t offer, both when it comes to cooking and your health.

RELATED: Asparagus and Ricotta Toast with Avocado Oil

What’s so great about avocado oil? Well, for starters, it’s very heat stable. In other words, you can use it at high temperatures before it starts visibly smoking and breaking down–that’s a problem with some of the other popular oils. They can’t be used at high heat. But avocado oil can be used for frying. In fact, cholesterol free avocado oil is possibly the healthiest oil you could choose for frying.

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The greatest health benefits of avocado oil

The cooking oil made from pressed avocado flesh is high in vitamin E, aka the sex vitamin. It can reduce cholesterol and support heart health. In fact, studies show that the nutrients in avocado oil can help promote healthy blood pressure. (Don’t forget, what’s good for your heart is good for your sex life.)

Avocado oil for skin

The vitamin E in avocado oil is good for skin. It helps your skin cells regenerate. It is known as one of the best nutrients in fighting the signs of aging. (However before you go and make yourself an avocado oil skin treatment, you might want to check with a dermatologist.)

Avocado oil may also be antimicrobial, at least in combination with other oils. And if nothing else, the moisturizing effects of avocado oil can feel great on chapped, winter skin.

More avocado oil uses

Interestingly, another item on the list of what is avocado oil good for is decreasing inflammation of the gums. And we all want a kisser with a good set of gums!

In addition, you can use avocado oil for hair. Although it may benefit your actual tresses by providing moisture, where it might be most useful is on your scalp. Massaging it into your scalp can increase blood flow and clear clogged hair follicles.

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Using extra virgin avocado oil

Of course, as with any other oils, not all avocado oils are created equally. And you may choose different oils depending on your purpose. AVOHASS California organic avocado oil is an extra virgin avocado oil made in the USA with good flavor and body. This cold-pressed avocado oil is GMO free and unrefined. This is a good oil for finishing dishes or using in salad dressing.

Shop for AVOHASS online

Other avocado oil to buy

A more friendly priced oil comes from La Tourangelle. Although this is not avocado oil is refined and is not an organic product, it offers good flavor at a fairly wallet friendly price. In addition to selling the oil in 8-ounce tins, La Tourangelle makes an avocado oil spray.

Buy La Tourangelle avocado oil spray

If you want to try deep frying with avocado oil, Chosen Foods sells 100% avocado oil in large size bottles. Although not organic, this oil is also GMO free. So this is our pick if you want to buy avocado oil in bulk.

Order Chosen Foods avocado oil in bulk

How to buy the best avocado oil

A study in the October 2020 issue of Food Central revealed that many products sold in the United States as avocado oil are cut with other oils. Some samples in the study published in the food journal contained no avocado oil at all. And many samples were rancid at the time of purchase. To avoid buying an inferior oil, try to buy an oil closest to its production date, if you know it. (The best buy date may not be an indicator of freshness. In the study, several oils tested as rancid before the best buy date.)

An extra virgin avocado oil should look vibrant green and have grassy notes to its aroma and flavor. If it isn’t green, it isn’t pure, extra virgin avocado oil. A refined oil should be pale yellow with more subtle aromas. All avocado oils should have a buttery quality. Try to buy from a retailer that will allow you to return the oil if it smells or tastes “stale.” (The smell may remind you of an old can of play dough.) The benefits of avocado oil are very real, so long as the product in your bottle is also real!

How to store avocado oil

As you can probably infer from the research presented in Food Central, avocado oil is a somewhat fragile product and relies on the correct storage. You may have heard that you need to store open avocado oil bottles in the refrigerator. You do not. The oil should be stored in a cool, dark place like a pantry or kitchen cupboard that is away from the oven or other heat source.