Unlike Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), cold pressed avocado oil is a newer product that has been slowly growing as a supermarket category over the last 10-20 years.¹ Whilst the benefits of eating avocados as a source of healthy fats are well known,² we thought it was finally time to take a look at the concentrated version and answer the question, how does it compare to EVOO?

How is avocado oil made?

Just like EVOO, there are many different grades of avocado oil.³ Unfortunately, refined avocado oil dominates the market over cold pressed, as it allows producers to use bruised, overripe and insect infested fruits for oil.³ For the purpose of this blog we are going to focus on unrefined, cold pressed avocado oil, as it is more comparable to EVOO’s healthy composition and is available on supermarket shelves.

Extra virgin cold pressed avocado oil is the highest grade currently available on the market, as it involves the mechanical extraction of avocado oil at low temperatures.³ Typically, extra virgin avocado oil is made by ripening avocados off the tree for 1-3 weeks, removing the skin and pip, mechanically crushing the green flesh, gently churning the avocado paste and finally separating the oil through centrifuge.³ As avocados are a great source of fibre and other smaller nutrients, only ~9.5% of a whole Hass avocado can be used to make oil.⁴ Given it’s poorer yield,³ some producers require 16 Hass avocados to create a small 250ml bottle of oil!⁵

Personally, our team would prefer to eat our avos on toast, with some herbs, spices and a drizzle of EVOO, but for those of you that are curious about avocado oil, let’s take a closer look at its quality, composition and impact on health.

Quality standards for avocado oil

Whilst cold pressed avocado oil follows a similar processing method to EVOO, something important to note is there are no formal international or national quality standards that regulate the production of cold pressed avocado oil.⁶ For olive oil to be classified as extra virgin it needs to meet a strict list of criteria, especially if you are purchasing from Australia.⁷ These standards monitor olive harvest methods, processing and three different chemical tests to ensure freshness and quality.⁷ When it comes to avocado oil, there are some strategies outlined in the literature to help producers create a high-quality oil if they are motivated to do so, but no external association formally monitoring processing methods or chemically checking the oil.^3,6 These strategies mostly include tips on using ideal avocado varieties (e.g. Hass), ripening duration for different grades of avocados, discarding heavily damaged, overripe or insect infested avocados and mechanically extracting the oil in a cold environment using no additional chemicals.^3,8 Whereas when you purchase a bottle of local EVOO, you can be confident in its quality and nutritional benefits, as certain parameters must be met to label the oil as “Extra Virgin”.⁷

Chemical composition and resistance to heat

Cooking oils that haven’t undergone chemical and/or high heat refinement are typically better for you,⁹ as they tend to contain many healthy fats and small nutrients that are essential to a healthy diet. However, as outlined in a previous blog investigating EVOO vs Flaxseed Oil it is important to take a closer look at chemical composition, as some healthy foods (like flaxseeds) are no longer safe to cook with or are not as nutritious when converted into an oil.

Since avocado oil is a newer product, it doesn’t have a very large body of evidence investigating its composition and impacts on human health. This has made it difficult to accurately compare both oils, but from analysing what is currently available, avocado oil and EVOO have a similar fatty acid profile! Avocado oil is roughly 70% mono-unsaturated fatty acids, 14% poly-unsaturated fatty acids and 12% saturated fat.¹⁰ Considering this, it is no surprise that this oil is safe to cook with, as like EVOO, it is mostly comprised of mono-unsaturated fatty acids which are not only healthy but relatively heat stable.^2,9

Unfortunately, the national food composition databases that include avocado oil have no values listed for bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and antioxidants, suggesting that refined avocado oil was analysed over cold pressed.¹⁰ According to more recent literature, if high quality avocados are used for oil some fat soluble polyphenols and antioxidants remain in the oil, but not as many different types or as highly concentrated as EVOO.^3,11

De Alzaa et al (2018) is one of few studies to investigate the chemical changes in both EVOO and avocado oil when exposed to different cooking methods. As we know from a more recent blog exploring smoke point, EVOO is the most resistant to heat, followed by other cold pressed oils such as avocado oil! The poorer performance could be due to a slightly higher poly-unsaturated fatty acid content (~4% more) or it could suggest significantly lower concentrations of bioactive compounds than EVOO. Either way this oil outperformed most refined oils that claim to be ideal for cooking.

Sensory properties of avocado oil

The main downside to cooking with avocado oil is that it doesn’t add flavour to your meals like EVOO does. From our personal experience, extra virgin avocado oil tastes very bland and essentially has no smell with the exception of a slight old-avocado odor. Whereas EVOO has a range of different flavours and aromas based on olive variety that can really transform the taste of a dish!

So, which one is it? Is EVOO or avocado oil healthier?

One of the main reasons why health professionals recommend consuming EVOO daily is because the body of evidence supporting their advice is credible and vast. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for avocado oil. Whilst we understand that avocado oil has a healthy fat profile and is stable when cooking,^2,9 we are still missing crucial research surrounding the health implications of daily consumption and the bioactive compounds present. Whereas incorporating whole avocados into a balanced diet has shown many health benefits due to its combination of healthy fats, fibre and bioactive compounds.² Therefore, from a health perspective, EVOO is without a doubt still the number one choice.

Published 31/01/2025

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