There is a lot of confusion about what cooking oils are best to use so I’ve created a Healthy Cooking Oils Chart below. It will help you 
decide the best healthy cooking oil for you depending upon what you are cooking.
We’ve been told coconut oil and butter cause heart disease, now we’re seeing evidence to the contrary. One of the biggest misconceptions I had was that eating fat makes you fat, not so. Its the type of foods that you eat that is important. The closer to nature and the less refined the better.
Here are the cooking oils I avoid and are typically found in prepared foods:
Crisco
Canola Oil (or Rapeseed Oil)
Soybean Oil
Corn Oil
Safflower Oil
Healthy Cooking Oils Chart
Cooking Oil |
Characteristics |
Smoke Point |
Notes |
| Coconut Oil (virgin) | Does not taste like coconut, buttery consistency | 375 Degrees | Antimicrobial, antiviral, antibacterial and amazing for your health. Great in baked goods as a butter substitute. |
| Coconut Oil (refined) | Light coconut taste, buttery consistency | 375 Degrees | This is refined so it loses some of its great antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiviral properties. This is still a great choice if you can’t get past the coconut taste. |
| Avocado Oil | Virtually no taste | 520 Degrees | High smoke point makes this great to fry foods in. Plus it is high in Vitamin E and Omega 9 fatty acids. |
| Macadamia Nut Oil | Rich, nutty flavor (make sure to get it unrefined otherwise it is very neutral) | 390 Degrees | This is my favorite oil that we use all the time. It is even better for you than olive oil. It is delicious on veggies with a little salt |
| Olive oil | Tastes like olives | 400 Degrees | Best in salad dressings and meals that will compliment the taste of olive oil. CAUTION this is a highly adulterated oil |
| Butter from grass fed cows | Creamy buttery taste – yum! | 350 Degrees | Butter got a bad rap, butter from grass fed cows is best. |
| Tallow | Creamy – will have a slight taste and odor like beef | 350 Degrees | I render my own tallow when we get meat from a grass fed cow, just cut the fat pieces into small chunks and set the crockpot on low. |
| Palm Oil | No taste – buttery consistency | 430 Degrees | This is my favorite butter alternative in recipes. Look for a brand that is sustainably sourced as some manufacturers are cutting down the rainforest harvesting palm oil |
| Grapeseed Oil | No taste | 420 Degrees | Okay to use in moderation, I often use this when a cake calls for a few tsps of oil. It is also a great moisturizer. |
I’d love to hear from you! What is your favorite cooking oil?
Hi There! I'm Shannon - I help women regain their health from the inside out so they can lead healthy, happy lives - full of energy and effortlessly maintain an ideal weight. 
Hello, I see that you have a great and informative website. It is a wonderful thing when more bloggers provide information about healthy living.
Nowadays when so many obese people, who lack information, how to lead healthy lives, your website is a breeze of fresh air.
I personally like ghee butter, but now I can not find it in Costco. I like to buy in bigger quantities, because I use it often. In a second place is Coconut oil, organic one, from Costco too. I think to try avocado oil. Many friends use it.
Thanks for information, all the best, happy writing, Nemira.
Nemira,
I would love to try ghee butter one of these days. I can’t tolerate dairy products 🙁 Ghee butter is an excellent addition to this list!
Hi, nice article and a pleasant surprise to see butter in the list. With all this hysteria about healthy oils I thought that butter was a big no-no. Of course I agree with you that it should be there.
Do not understand the meaning ‘highly adulterated oil’ about olive oil. I have a very high opinion about olive oil, this is my number one.
Cannot stand the smell of Coconut Oil. Actually, why it is called oil, it looks like a butter.
Grapeseed Oil is relatively new for me, but we have a bottle at home, my wife purchased it some time ago. French product, from a family who is making it for almost a century now.
Thank you.
Jovo
Olive oil is highly adulterated – aka it is often fake. If you google is my olive oil fake a number of articles will come up. Often they mix it with other cheaper oils. Here is an article from Forbes Magazine.
Coconut oil is actually an oil. It has a melting point at about room temperature and will turn from a solid into a liquid. If you are not a fan of the smell – buy the unscented kind. In my house we have both the extra virgin coconut oil and the stuff without the scent. Here is the unscented brand I buy.
Great feedback Jovo – thanks for stopping by
Shannon
Hi there Shannon,
Where I live, palm oil is the most widely used cooking oil, probably because it’s also the cheapest. We have been using this every since I was a kid. I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite because too much palm oil can cause health risk – not to mention the disaster they cause to the environment.
If I can cook my meal everyday, I would use virgin coconut oil instead. It has more protective properties as listed in your chart.
Cathy
Virgin Coconut Oil is an excellent choice! There seems to be a lot of concerns with palm oil.
Thanks for stopping by!
Shannon
Hi Shannon,
I’ve recently started using rice bran oil for cooking. It has a high smoke point and it’s great for stir-fries.
Marion
I have yet to use rice bran oil – love oils with a high smoke point 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Marion