Olive Oil vs Butter – Which Is Right For Me?

Olive Oil vs Butter: Cuisine

Olive Oil vs Butter For Taste

Taste-wise, there’s a significant gap between these two.

Butter has a very different flavor to olive oil, but there are some advantages that come with this. Butter suits almost any food, whereas olive oil goes better with Mediterranean dishes.

However, if you’re careful, you can substitute butter for olive oil.

The one other major difference – at least when it comes to cooking – is the discrepancy between their smoke points. So let’s compare them!

Comparing Smoke Points Of Butter And Olive Oils

For those unacquainted, ‘smoke point’ just means the temperature at which oil starts to burn and, well, smoke, rather than boil. When an oil reaches this state, they turn bitter and all of the food you’re cooking in it will taste burnt.

Oils with high smoke points can tolerate high temperatures without smoking, whereas oils with low smoke points start smoking very easily, at relatively low temperatures.

So, where do olive oil vs butter land on the scale? Below, I’ve added a table to demonstrate just that. With a few other oils for context, of course.

Oils	Smoke Point ºF	Smoke Point °C
Butter	302ºF	150ºC
Refined or Pure Olive Oil	465ºF	240ºC
Extra Virgin Olive Oil	325-375ºF	163-190ºC
Vegetable Oil	400-450ºF	204-232ºC
Refined Sesame Oil	410ºF	210ºC
Sunflower Oil	450ºF	232ºC
Refined Coconut Oil	450ºF	232ºC
Refined Avocado Oil	520ºF	271°C

If you’re curious about oils that weren’t listed, this other article on cast iron seasoning lists which oils are best according to smoke points and fat. If you’re interested in the smoke points of different types of olive oil, click on the link to check them out too!

So, where does all this put us in terms of actually cooking with these fats?

Tips And Tricks!

Mix olive oil and butter when cooking – butter gives flavor, and the olive oil keeps the butter from burning. You can also mix olive oil with vegetable oil if you find you’re running low on one for deep frying! Just make sure to check the smoking point of the type of olive oil you plan to use.

Cooking With Butter And Olive Oil – Answering Your Questions

Olive Oil vs Butter For Frying

Olive oil is far easier to fry with than butter. I mean, just try sautéing some garlic in butter! While its not impossible of course, it isn’t quite as easy because of the difference in their smoke points. Olive oil is also generally regarded as the more healthy oil to fry with.

Is It Better To Cook Eggs In Butter Or Oil?

Look, in my opinion, its a whole lot easier to cook eggs in oil. The oil won’t burn and it’s easy to baste the egg with so you don’t get any runny spots. Butttt… Butter does have more flavor to it – and a pleasant one at that. If you’re concerned in terms of nutrition though, olive oil is the better choice in most cases.

Is Olive Oil Better Than Butter On Toast?

This honestly just depends on what kind of toast you want. For more of a bruschetta/garlic bread vibe, mash some roasted garlic and spread onto your toast (along with the olive oil with cooked it in) is an *excellent* choice. But if you’re more in the mood for regular old toast, bread and butter is a classic. I mean, that is where the saying ’bread and butter’ comes from after all. Still, if you want to change things up a little you can try making some pão na chapa instead.

Olive Oil vs Butter: Baking

As baking is far more of an exact science than cooking, olive oil and butter’s different qualities produce different end results and so are best used in different things. I’ve linked this video that will show you how they are used differently and why.