What Is Avocado oil and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about avocado oil and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 11 recipes to cook tonight.

Key Points

Pressed from avocado flesh; smooth, buttery, and mildly grassy, much gentler than olive oil.
Refined avocado oil has a very high smoke point near 520°F (271°C), ideal for searing and roasting.
A rare two-in-one oil: high-heat cooking and cold finishing or salad dressing both work.
One of the most adulterated oils, so buy a trusted brand and distrust a cheap bottle.
High in monounsaturated fat; keeps six months to a year in a cool, dark cupboard.

What is avocado oil?

Avocado oil is pressed from the flesh of ripe avocados rather than a seed, which makes it unusual among cooking oils. The result is a smooth, buttery oil that tastes faintly of fresh avocado and grassy greens, far milder than olive oil.

Its real claim to fame is heat. Refined avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points in any kitchen, which lets it do hard, hot jobs that scorch other oils.

That makes it a rare two-in-one bottle: stable enough to sear a steak, yet mild enough to drizzle raw over a finished plate.

How to Use Avocado Oil

For searing, roasting, and stir-frying, this is one of the best choices going. Refined avocado oil smokes around 520°F (271°C), so you can get a cast-iron pan ripping hot for a crust without the oil burning and turning acrid.

It carries the flavor base in plenty of savory cooking. A Boulette - Meatballs German Style browns cleanly in it, and it builds the deep, slow-cooked foundation of a Prairiehare's French Onion Soup without any oil flavor muscling in.

Then flip it around and use it cold. Its buttery mildness makes a smooth salad dressing, the kind that dresses a Sauteed Shrimp Over Arugula With Avocado Vinaigrette, and a swirl of it finishes a Pumpkin & Avocado Oil Soup with a clean, green richness.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Avocado oil flatters bright, fresh flavors: citrus, tomato, leafy greens, and seafood all suit its mild grassiness. It also takes the place of butter in many savory dishes without going heavy.

The common mistake is paying for premium unrefined avocado oil and then deep-frying with it. Unrefined (virgin) avocado oil has a lower smoke point and a real flavor, so frying wastes both. Keep it for dressings and finishing, and buy refined for the high heat.

The other issue is the bottle itself.

Avocado oil is genuinely expensive and is one of the most adulterated oils on the shelf, often cut with cheaper oils, so a suspiciously cheap bottle is worth distrusting.

Substitutes

For high-heat cooking, refined safflower or sunflower oil match the heat tolerance closely while staying just as neutral. Light (refined) olive oil is another stand-in that holds up to a hot pan.

For a finishing oil or dressing where you want that grassy, buttery note, a mild extra-virgin olive oil is the nearest swap, though it brings more pepper and bite than avocado oil does.

Buying and Storing

Look for refined avocado oil for cooking and unrefined or "virgin" for finishing, and favor dark glass that protects it from light. Because adulteration is common, a trusted brand is worth more here than with most oils.

Avocado oil is high in monounsaturated fat, which makes it fairly stable, more so than walnut or sunflower oil. An opened bottle keeps well for six months to a year in a cool, dark cupboard.

You do not need to refrigerate it, though the cold will not harm it. A stale, paint-like smell instead of a fresh green one means it has gone off.

Quick facts

Where to find avocado oil: Avocado oil is usually found in the oils section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 鳄梨油
British (UK) term: Avocado oil
en français: huile d'avocat
en español: aceite de aguacate

Recipes using avocado oil

There are 11 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Prairiehare's French Onion Soup

A very simple recipe for a classic, which helps you to get warm in the winter (ok, I mean when it is getting 4° Celsius in the night in Southern California). The number of servings is accurate when you have it as a meal - as a starter it should serve way more people. I did not list any spices, as I usually have self made chicken broth which is already pretty tasty and spicy, sweetness comes from the onions and the white wine balances it. For bread and cheese - don't think about any fancy, old dry bread is good and any cheese which melts. The onions are king when it comes to taste. Ovenproof crock bowls are very nice for final preparation and serving the soup.

Boulette - Meatballs German Style

This was a common meal in German blue collar working class families. It is still very popular on buffets, and even used to become "hip" recently for people who got bored with mussels, salmon or caviar on buffets. People in old times often did not use ground meat, but ground cheap meat leftovers. This used to be pub food in the very old times in Germany as you could store it for a long time - no fridge was around at that time, only a pantry. It is perfect as a cold snack for long road trips.