9 Best Substitutes For Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is among the most common cooking oils being used across the globe. You probably have one sitting in your kitchen right now.

However, not everyone wants to use vegetable oil. Whatever the reason might be, you are probably here wanting to know what might be the best substitutes for vegetable oil. 

Thankfully, we got you covered.

In this post, let us go through some of the top alternatives for vegetable oils that you can use in your next dish.

Substitutes For Vegetable Oil

Olive Oil

Olive oil is no doubt one of the healthiest substitutes for vegetable oil. As its name implies, olive oil comes from olives, the fruit of the olive tree. 

Here are some of the health benefits that it can provide:

• Reduce inflammation in the body
• Can help kill bacteria
• Reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s Disease, and diabetes, to name a few
• Come with vitamins E and K
• Loaded with antioxidants, which promotes the good health of cells
• Suppress weight gain

With this in mind, olive oil is probably your best bet if you don’t like to use vegetable oil for now or for good.

However, did you know that some people are hesitant in using olive oil because they believe that it might not be good for cooking?

The truth is there’s nothing to worry about. Olive oil is the ideal cooking oil choice. The reason is that it is composed of monounsaturated fats, which are also quite resistant to high heat. This means that olive oil can tolerate high levels of temperature and thus, it can be used for healthy cooking.

You can use olive oil for sauteing and pan-frying. However, olive oil might not be a good idea if you’re going to use it for deep frying.

If you’re going to use olive oil, it is ideal for the following:

• Salads
• Pasta
• Marinades
• Flavoring
• Side dishes
• Appetizers
• Sauces

Please note that you can use extra virgin olive oil, light olive oil, or olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is a healthier option. However, because it didn’t undergo many processes, it retains its original smell and taste, which might affect your dish. So, it is up to you to weigh the pros and cons of the type of olive oil to use.

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Avocado oil

Avocado oil is somewhat rare. The process of extracting oil from avocado can be work-intensive. Thus, you may not see it as much as other types of oil. As a result, it can be a little more pricey. However, if you look into its health benefits, you will soon see that paying an extra buck is all worth it.

Curious about how avocado oil can help improve your health? Here are some of them:

• Rich in healthy fat known as oleic acid
• Reduces cholesterol
• Improves cardiovascular health
• Good for the eyes because of the high lutein level
• Improves nutrient absorption
• Decrease symptoms of arthritis
• Hasten wound healing
• Promote healthy skin
• Rich in antioxidants that prevent diabetes and cancer

When it comes to cooking, avocado oil is best used for marinades, salads, salad dressings, stovetop grilling, stir-frying, sauces, and sauteing. Avocado oil comes with a light and fresh taste. 

Compared to olive oil, avocado oil has a weaker flavor, which allows you to have better control over how your dish would taste. Not only that, but avocado oil has a higher heat tolerance and ensures you get well-cooked food.

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Butter

It is no secret that butter is among the most common ingredients used in baking such as cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, and other baked products. Because of the richer flavor of butter, it can easily turn any baked goods into a luxurious treat. 

Of course, butter isn’t simply for baking. It can also be used as a healthy ingredient for cooking, sauteing, and frying. For the best result, you may want to choose unsalted butter when cooking because it gives you more control over how much saltiness you want to add to your recipe.

There are a lot of health benefits that come with butter. Here are some of them:

• Rich source of vitamin A, D, and E
• Provides calcium and improves musculoskeletal health
• Can be used for a low-carbohydrate diet
• Helps in losing weight
• Lowers the risk for developing cancer
• Improves eyesight
• Improves skin health

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Canola oil

Canola oil is extracted from crushed canola seeds. Out of the many commonly used oil in the US, canola oil is known to be a healthier choice. The reason is it comes with a lower saturated fat level and a higher level of monounsaturated fat.

When it comes to health benefits, Canola oil also comes with a few:

• Protect the heart
• help in maintaining normal cholesterol and blood pressure level
• Decrease inflammation in the body

When it comes to cooking, canola oil is known to be a versatile choice. This means that it can be used in a wide range of cooking. Because it has a neutral to light flavor, it doesn’t affect the taste of your food.

Canola is ideal for sauteing, grilling, stir-frying, and baking. You can use canola oil for sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.

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Applesauce

Did you know that you can create a sauce out of apples? Yes, that’s right. Generally, the process includes cooking apples with apple cider or water. As an end-product, you’ll get apple sauce.

Applesauce is made with sour apples to make the sauce more savory. However, it can also be sweet and tart in taste. There are also unsweetened applesauce products, which can be a good choice if you want the applesauce not to heavily affect you dish.

Applesauce is ideally used for baking. It can be used as a 1-to-1 replacement for melted butter or oil when you prepare baked goods such as pieces of bread, cookies, and cakes. The consistency of applesauce makes your baked product moist and tasty, without affecting the taste that much.

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Sunflower oil

Sunflowers are not just beautiful to behold, but they are also a good source of oil. While sunflower is a native plant in the US, sunflower oil initially became more popular in Eastern Europe. It was only in recent years that sunflower oil gained more attention in the US.

As a vegetable oil healthy option, sunflower oil gives you a lot of cooking and health benefits.

When it comes to cooking, sunflower oil comes with a mild flavor. It also has a high smoke point, meaning it can tolerate a lot of heat and won’t easily produce harmful substances.

Sunflower oil is a perfect vegetable substitute. It is good for frying, searing, sauteing, and other types of cooking. You can even use sunflower oil in salad dressing.

When it comes to health benefits, sunflower oil can help:

• Improve heart health
• Increase energy level
• Strengthen the immune system
• Lower cholesterol
• Improve digestion
• Aid in repairing the body

So, if you need cooking oil that brings a subtle nutty taste and gives you a whole load of health benefits, then sunflower oil should be on top of your list.

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Coconut oil

There are a lot of ways to use coconut oil. Because of its versatility, it is a perfect choice to substitute vegetable oil. If you’re vegan, you can even use coconut oil in place of butter. Because of the subtle tropical taste and nutty flavor of coconut oil, it can be used for sauteing, frying, greasing baking pans, replacing butter in recipes, cooking curries, and even baking other goods.

It is great to know that coconut oil also comes with a lot of health benefits. These are the following:

• Helps in keeping your heart and brain healthy
• Promote weight loss and reduce hunger
• Kills bacteria, fungi, and viruses inside your digestive system.
• Reduce seizures
• Improves good cholesterol level

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Yogurt

Yes, that’s right! Yogurt can actually be used for cooking and it can be a great vegetable oil substitute. Yogurt is not only a great choice because of how it can improve your recipe, but also it comes with many health benefits. 

Here are some of the reasons you should use yogurt in your cooking and baking:

• Rich in vitamin B, calcium, and protein
• Promote good bacteria in the gut
• Protect you against osteoporosis
• Relieve irritable bowel disease
• Aid food digestion

There are different types of yogurt. When it comes to cooking, the most common type of yogurt used is Greek yogurt. This yogurt is thick and creamy in terms of its consistency. Because of this, it can be a great substitute for mayonnaise and cream when you want to prepare dips and toppings. 

When it comes to baking, yogurt can be used as a leavening and moistening agent for bread, brownies, and cakes. For example, because of the acidic level of yogurt, it reacts with baking soda, which can further encourage the puffing up of bread. Not only that but yogurt can add a tangy and nice flavor to your baked goods. 

Aside from baking, yogurt can also be used for salad dressing and marinating poultry and meat. Yogurt won’t be an ideal choice for frying.

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Flaxseed oil

Flaxseed oil is also known as flax oil or linseed oil. The flaxseed oil is derived from dried and ripened seeds of the flax plant. Through pressing and in some cases, the solvent extraction process, flaxseed oil is made.

There are a lot of benefits that you can get from Flaxseed oil. These are the following:

• Reduce inflammation
• Improve the health of the heart
• Slows down brain aging
• A great source of omega-3 fatty acids
• Suppress cancer cell growth
• Aid in proper digestion
• Improve skin health

While the health benefits of flaxseed are impressive, it has limited culinary application. The reason is that flaxseed has a low smoke point. This means that when flaxseed oil is put under intense heat, it produces harmful substances.

With this in mind, flaxseed oil is not ideal for frying and overheating. However, you can use it to your heart’s content when you prepare marinades, salads, sauces, and salad dressings. You can also add flaxseed oil to foods once they are cooked.

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Fruits

You might not have thought about it before, but yes, you can use fruits to serve as a vegetable oil substitute. You can use mashed fruits or fruit puree that include pears, bananas, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. Depending on which fruits you choose, you will reap a lot of nutrients and various health benefits. Pureed or mashed fruits are best used for baking and not for cooking. 

Choose the right vegetable oil substitute

These are just some of the best vegetable oil substitutes that you should give a try. Other vegetable oil substitutes would also include the following:

• Soybean oil
• Peanut oil
• Sesame oil
• Rice bran oil
• Liquid oil
• Grapeseed oil

Feel free to explore each of the alternatives we feature in this list and find the healthiest oils for you. Get familiar with them. You will then soon see what each substitute can do and how it can make your dish or baked goods delicious and unforgettable.