Can You Fry With Olive Oil? Yes — Including Deep Frying

Short answer: yes, you can fry with olive oil — pan-frying, shallow frying and deep frying. The idea that olive oil "can't take heat" is one of the most persistent myths in the kitchen. Extra virgin olive oil starts to smoke around 190–210 °C (375–410 °F), and frying happens at 160–190 °C. Much of Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisia fries in olive oil every day. Here is how to do it well.

Smoke point is only half the story

Smoke point tells you when an oil starts to visibly break down. It does not tell you how much of the oil has degraded into harmful compounds before that point, which is the thing that actually matters for cooking. Two properties decide that:

• Fat type. Monounsaturated fat (about three-quarters of olive oil) is far more stable under heat than the polyunsaturated fat that dominates sunflower, soybean, corn and grapeseed oil. Polyunsaturated fats have more weak points in their structure, so they oxidise faster when hot.
• Antioxidants. Extra virgin olive oil keeps its polyphenols and vitamin E, which protect the oil as it heats. Refined oils have had most of these stripped out.

Studies that have heated common cooking oils side by side for extended periods have repeatedly found extra virgin olive oil to be among the most stable, producing fewer polar compounds and trans fats than high-smoke-point seed oils. Higher smoke point does not mean healthier for frying; more stable does.

Temperatures to fry at

• Sautéing / stir-frying: 120–160 °C — no issue at all.
• Shallow / pan-frying (cutlets, fish, eggs, potatoes): 160–180 °C.
• Deep frying (fries, fritters, calamari, doughnuts): 170–180 °C. Do not go above 190 °C with any oil.

A thermometer takes the guesswork out, but the old test works: a cube of bread should sizzle steadily and turn golden in about 45–60 seconds. If the oil smokes, it is too hot; lower the heat and let it settle.

Which olive oil to fry with

For deep frying, use a mild extra virgin. The robust, peppery character of a high-polyphenol oil is partly lost at frying temperatures, so you are paying for flavour you will not fully taste. Our Naturally Smooth oil is the sensible choice, and the 3 L tin is the economical way to buy the volume deep frying needs.

For shallow frying and sautéing, either style works; a robust Organic oil adds flavour to fried vegetables, fish and eggs.

Avoid "light" or "pure" olive oil if you were choosing it for health reasons — it is refined olive oil with the polyphenols removed. It fries fine, but at that point you might as well use a cheaper refined oil.

Can you reuse olive oil after frying?

Yes, two or three times for deep frying if you handle it well: let it cool, strain it through a fine sieve or coffee filter to remove crumbs, store it in a sealed container away from light, and do not mix batches. Discard it when it darkens noticeably, foams, smells stale or starts smoking at a lower temperature than before. Never top up old oil with new to stretch it further.

Does frying destroy the health benefits?

Some of the polyphenols are lost during frying, and more with each reuse — but the oil's fatty-acid profile, the main reason olive oil is recommended, does not change. Food fried in olive oil also absorbs some oil, so what you eat carries olive oil's monounsaturated fat rather than a seed oil's polyunsaturated fat. For the full benefit of the polyphenols, use the oil raw as well: dressings, dips and drizzling over the finished dish.

Practical tips

1. Don't overcrowd the pan. Cold food drops the temperature and the result is greasy rather than crisp.
2. Dry the food. Water causes spitting and speeds up oil breakdown.
3. Use enough oil. Shallow frying in a thin film scorches the oil; a few millimetres keeps the temperature even.
4. Drain on a rack, not paper, if you want things to stay crisp.
5. Salt after frying, not before — salt draws water out and shortens the oil's life.

Frequently asked questions

Can you deep fry with extra virgin olive oil?

Yes, at 170–180 °C. Choose a mild oil for cost and flavour reasons, and don't let it smoke.

Is frying in olive oil healthier than in vegetable oil?

Olive oil is more heat-stable because it is mostly monounsaturated and carries natural antioxidants, so it forms fewer breakdown products under the same conditions. Fried food is still fried food; the oil you choose changes what kind of fat you eat and how much degrades.

Does olive oil become toxic when heated?

No. Like any oil it degrades if held above its smoke point or reused too many times, but under normal frying temperatures it is one of the more stable options available.

Can I fry eggs in olive oil?

Yes — it is the classic way. Medium heat, a generous spoonful, and a robust oil for the best flavour.

Golden Spoon extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed in the Sfax region of Tunisia, lab-tested, and shipped from Ottawa across Canada. Read more about the numbers behind it on our high polyphenol olive oil page, or see the full range.