7 Best Vegan Cooking Oils
Sunflower Oil
Sunflower oil is made from sunflower seeds, mostly Helianthus annuus, via cold-press extraction, seed pressing, or crude oil refining techniques. In North and South America, people natively use this kind of oil for cooking and food dressing.
Sunflower oil contains a significant amount of vitamin E (28% per tablespoon). It has a light flavor so that it won’t overpower the taste of your dish.
Sunflower oil also has a lot of omega-6 fatty acids, which are considered to be pro-inflammatory. We do need these kinds of fatty acids, but overconsumption could lead to excess inflammation.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is one of the most popular vegan cooking oils that cooks tend to have in their kitchen. It’s an excellent all-round oil generally used to dress and bake with. It’s delicious to eat while it’s still hot, but also tasty when mixed with ingredients to make cold dressings.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has a high amount of saturated fats compared to its competitors, but it really shines as a replacement for butter in vegan baking.
It’s known for helping people reduce hunger and seizures. Coconut oil benefits people with diabetes and has even been shown to promote weight loss. It has even been used to treat arthritis pain!
Peanut Oil
Peanut oil is often found in Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking and is mostly used for frying food. On the plus side, peanut oil has less cholesterol and helps prevent heart disease. Someone with peanut allergies will want to avoid this one, although gourmet oils don’t have the property, which causes allergic reactions.
Vitamin E is one of the biggest benefits of peanut oil. It is one of the most potent antioxidants on earth, making peanut oil a great ingredient when cooking.
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is just as good as olive oil and has its own unique flavor profile. You can use it for shallow frying, to roast vegetables, or as a butter replacement in your favorite baking recipes.
In addition to cooking, avocado oil is often used to heal dry or itchy skin. So next time you need cooking oil, this versatile option should be on your radar.
Rapeseed Oil
Rapeseed oil is made from Brassica napus, a member of the cabbage family. In the US,
It’s also known as canola oil. China, India, and Canada are the three top countries that produce this vegan cooking oil.
Among all the vegetable oils, rapeseed is the only one that doesn’t contain many saturated fats. Instead, they have monounsaturated fats and some polyunsaturated fats.
More recently, manufacturers are producing less nutritious rapeseed oils as a way to manufacture large quantities, so if you want to use this vegan cooking oil in your dish, try to find the “cold-pressed’ or unprocessed ones.
Rice-bran Oil
Rice bran oil’s subtle, neutral flavor makes it ideal for cooking and frying when you don’t want a strong flavor and is most prevalent throughout Asia.
It is relatively similar to peanut oil but with a higher smoke point, making it beneficial when used in high-heat applications such as frying. Health reports have also confirmed that rice-bran oil’s fat profile is optimal, making it a healthier choice. Additionally, it contains chemicals such as tocotrienols, which are believed to possess antioxidant properties.
It sounds challenging to find the best vegan cooking oil for your meals, but there are plenty of them to buy and try. Take time to shop and choose, using them for different purposes and meals.
Do you have any of these vegan cooking oils in your kitchen? What kinds of vegan cooking oils do you like? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
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