Yes: avocado oil is a good everyday cooking oil, as long as you match the type to the job. Use refined avocado oil for frying, roasting and other hot cooking where you want a mild taste, and keep extra virgin avocado oil for dressings, dips and drizzling over food at the end.
What makes avocado oil a good kitchen oil
Most of the fat in avocado oil is monounsaturated. In the US Department of Agriculture's nutrient data, 100 g of avocado oil holds about 71 g of monounsaturated fat, about 13.5 g of polyunsaturated fat and about 11.6 g of saturated fat. The main monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, the same kind that olive oil is known for.
That matters in a hot pan. In a 2024 study published in Grasas y Aceites, researchers fried with virgin, minimally refined and refined avocado oils and compared them with olive and sunflower oils. Virgin and minimally refined avocado oil were among the most stable oils after nine rounds of deep-frying, and the authors linked this to their high oleic acid content and the protective minor compounds in those oils.
A 2019 review in the journal Molecules reached a similar overall view: avocado oil keeps good nutritional value at both low and high cooking temperatures. The same review notes that there is still no international quality standard for avocado oil, so what is in the bottle depends on the fruit, how the oil is made and how it is stored.
Avocado oil also helps you get more from your vegetables. In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2005, people who ate a salad with avocado oil absorbed more of the salad's carotenoids (plant pigments such as beta-carotene and lutein) than when they ate the same salad without avocado. The researchers credited the fat in the avocado.
None of this makes avocado oil a medicine. It is a cooking fat, and like any oil it is rich in calories, so use it in place of other fats rather than on top of them.
The types of avocado oil, and what each one is for
You will see a few different words on avocado oil labels. Here is what they mean in the kitchen.
Refined avocado oil
Refined oil has been cleaned and filtered after pressing to remove flaws, colour and strong flavours. Researchers at the University of California, Davis describe refined avocado oil as light yellow and nearly clear, because refining takes out the pigments.
Use it for: everyday frying, shallow-frying fish, browning onions for a stew, roasting vegetables, making chapati and mandazi, and any dish where you want the food to taste of itself, not of the oil.
Extra virgin avocado oil
Extra virgin oil is unrefined. The UC Davis team describes good virgin avocado oil as green, with a grassy, buttery flavour and sometimes a hint of mushroom. That flavour is the point of buying it.
Use it for: salad dressings, dips, drizzling over sukuma wiki or grilled vegetables just before serving, and finishing soups and rice dishes. You can cook with it, but gentle heat keeps its fresh taste, and heavy frying hides the flavour you paid for.
Crude avocado oil
Crude oil is the raw oil before it is refined. It is mostly a starting material for refiners and for cosmetic and food manufacturers, not something most home cooks buy.
Organic avocado oil
Organic avocado oil is made from organically grown fruit. It can be extra virgin or another grade, so read the rest of the label to know how to use it in the kitchen.
A simple guide for your kitchen
| Cooking job | Best choice |
|---|---|
| Frying, roasting, sautéing | Refined avocado oil |
| Chapati, mandazi, pilau | Refined avocado oil |
| Salad dressings and dips | Extra virgin avocado oil |
| Drizzling over food at the end | Extra virgin avocado oil |
| Marinades for chicken or fish | Either; extra virgin adds more flavour |
A quick salad dressing to try: shake three spoons of extra virgin avocado oil, one spoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a little crushed garlic in a clean jar.
How to keep your avocado oil fresh
Good oil can still go off at home. The UC Davis researchers advise keeping avocado oil away from light and heat, so a cool, dark cupboard is better than the shelf next to the cooker. They also suggest buying a bottle size you can finish before it goes stale.
Trust your nose. Oil that has turned rancid smells stale, a little like play dough. If it smells like that, it will not taste good in your food. Keep the cap on tight and never dip a wet spoon into the bottle.
How Imara can help
We are Imara Avocado Factory in Thika, Kenya. We make crude, refined, extra virgin and organic avocado oil, and we refine our oil ourselves in our own refinery in Thika.
- For your home or small shop: our own Imara brand bottles, with a minimum order of 5 pieces.
- For your shop or brand: private label in 250 ml, 500 ml and 1 L, as a bottle or a spray, from 100 bottles per product. See our private label and bottling service.
- For food businesses: bulk avocado oil from one container.
Tell us what you cook and how much you need, and our team will help you choose the right oil. Contact us or email support@imaraavocados.com.
FAQ
Can I fry with avocado oil? Yes. Refined avocado oil's mild taste makes it a practical choice for frying and roasting. In a 2024 frying study, virgin and minimally refined avocado oils held up especially well over repeated deep-frying, which the researchers linked to their high oleic acid content and protective minor compounds. If you want to keep extra virgin oil's flavour, save it for gentler cooking and finishing.
Does avocado oil taste of avocado? Refined avocado oil tastes mild and neutral. Extra virgin avocado oil has a green, buttery flavour that you will notice in dressings and dips.
Is avocado oil better for me than other oils? Avocado oil is mostly monounsaturated fat, and adding it to a salad can help your body absorb more of the salad's carotenoids. It is still a fat, so use it in place of other oils and in sensible amounts.
Sources
- Unlu NZ, Bohn T, Clinton SK, Schwartz SJ. Carotenoid absorption from salad and salsa by humans is enhanced by the addition of avocado or avocado oil. Journal of Nutrition, 2005;135(3):431–436.
- Avocado Oil: Characteristics, Properties, and Applications. Molecules, 2019;24(11):2172.
- Performance of virgin and refined avocado oils during deep-frying and thermoxidation simulating frying in comparison with olive and sunflower oils. Grasas y Aceites, 2024.
- University of California, Davis. Study finds 82 percent of avocado oil rancid or mixed with other oils.
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 173573, Oil, avocado.
