Olive Oil Smoke Point: Can You Cook With Extra Virgin?

Quick answer: The smoke point of olive oil ranges from about 347°F to 464°F (175–240°C), depending on grade, quality and freshness, and extra virgin olive oil is usually quoted at around 400°F (205°C). That is above normal pan-frying, roasting and deep-frying temperatures, so yes, you can fry with olive oil, extra virgin included.

Olive oil smoke point is one of the most searched cooking questions, and people expect a single number as the answer. The real answer is a range, and it matters less than most cooking advice suggests. Extra virgin olive oil is a good everyday cooking oil. This guide gives you the real numbers, explains what a smoke point does and does not tell you, and shows how to cook with extra virgin olive oil with confidence.

Key takeaways

• Olive oil smoke points range from about 347°F to 464°F (175–240°C), depending on grade, quality and freshness, according to the UC Davis Olive Center. Extra virgin is often quoted at around 400°F (205°C).
• Most home cooking stays below that. Deep frying runs at 320–356°F (160–180°C), and most oven recipes stay under 392°F (200°C).
• Smoke point is a poor predictor of how an oil behaves under heat. In a 2018 laboratory study, extra virgin olive oil produced the lowest level of polar compounds of the oils tested.
• Freshness, low free acidity and natural antioxidants do more for a cooking oil than a high smoke point.

What is a smoke point?

The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil starts to give off a thin, continuous stream of bluish smoke under controlled laboratory conditions. Past that point the oil is breaking down, and you can smell it: acrid, harsh and unpleasant.

In the kitchen, smoke is a useful warning. As a single number on a chart, though, a smoke point hides a lot, and it says little about how an oil behaves over a few minutes of normal cooking.

Olive oil smoke point: the real numbers

There is no single smoke point for olive oil, because olive oil covers several grades and every bottle is different. The UC Davis Olive Center puts the range at 347°F (175°C) to 464°F (240°C), depending on grade, quality and freshness. Extra virgin olive oil is commonly given a smoke point of about 400°F (205°C).

Two things move the number around:

• Quality and freshness. An oil made from healthy fruit and still fresh tends to smoke at a higher temperature than an old or poorly made one, because free fatty acids and oxidation by-products lower it. That is one more reason to read the harvest date and the lab report, as we explain in olive oil acidity: what it really means.
• Refining. Refined olive oils generally have higher smoke points than extra virgin, but refining also strips out most of the flavor and many of the natural antioxidants. A higher number there is bought with a plainer oil.

How hot does cooking actually get?

Most of what we cook sits below even the lowest olive oil figure:

• Sauteing and pan-frying: typically well below 350°F (175°C).
• Deep frying: 320–356°F (160–180°C).
• Oven baking and roasting: mostly below 392°F (200°C), with some roasting recipes going a little higher.

The exception is very hot searing, where an empty pan is heated until the oil smokes the moment it touches the surface. If the oil is smoking, the pan is too hot for any oil.

Why smoke point is a poor guide to cooking oils

For years, extra virgin olive oil was marked down for cooking because its smoke point is lower than that of some seed oils. More recent research questions that logic. A 2022 review in Trends in Food Science & Technology concluded that smoke point is not an accurate indicator of an oil’s performance and stability, and that extra virgin olive oil stays stable at high temperatures because of its fatty acid profile and its minor constituents.

A 2018 laboratory study by De Alzaa, Guillaume and Ravetti, published in Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, heated extra virgin olive oil and other common cooking oils up to 464°F (240°C) and held them at 356°F (180°C) for six hours. Extra virgin olive oil produced the lowest level of polar compounds, the by-products of oil breaking down, closely followed by coconut oil. Oils high in polyunsaturated fats degraded far more readily. The authors found that smoke point did not predict how an oil performed under heat, and that oxidative stability and total polyunsaturated fat were better guides.

It is one study, run under specific conditions, and a six-hour lab test is not a weeknight dinner. But the direction matches the review above, and it is why we no longer treat smoke point as the question to ask.

What matters more than the smoke point

• Freshness. Oil ages with time, heat, light and oxygen. A recent harvest date, a tin or dark bottle and a cool cupboard all help. Our guide on how to tell if olive oil is real covers what to check on the label.
• Quality and free acidity. Careful handling of the fruit keeps free fatty acids low, which is good for the oil whether you pour it raw or cook with it.
• Natural antioxidants. Polyphenols and other minor compounds help an oil resist breakdown. Some polyphenols are lost to heat, as we explain in polyphenols in olive oil, but the flavor carries through.
• Fat profile. Olive oil is mostly monounsaturated and low in polyunsaturated fat, which is the profile that held up best in the study above.
• How you cook. Do not heat the pan empty, add the food before the oil smokes, and do not keep reusing the same oil.

Cooking with extra virgin olive oil, method by method

Sauteing and pan-frying

This is where extra virgin olive oil is at home. Heat the pan over medium heat, add the oil and wait until it shimmers, then add the food. Vegetables, eggs, fish and chicken all work.

Roasting and baking

Ordinary oven temperatures sit inside the olive oil range. Extra virgin olive oil gives roast vegetables a good crust and flavor, and it is the reason our Greek lemon potatoes turn out crisp and golden. It also makes a moist, fragrant lemon olive oil cake.

Deep frying

You can deep fry in extra virgin olive oil at 320–356°F (160–180°C). Use a thermometer and do not overheat it. The oil is expensive for the volume, and it still ages with each use, so strain it and throw it away once it is dark, foamy or smells off.

Searing and grilling

For very hot searing, use a heavy pan on medium-high rather than maximum heat, and add the oil just before the food. If it starts to smoke, lower the heat.

Finishing, raw

The best flavor is still raw. A drizzle over a finished dish keeps the most aroma and the most polyphenols, and it is how we use it in a Greek salad or on Cretan dakos.

How to tell your oil is too hot

• Thin wisps of smoke rise from the surface.
• The smell turns acrid or sharp.
• The oil darkens quickly, or the food tastes bitter and burnt.

If you see any of these, take the pan off the heat, open a window and start again with fresh oil. Burnt oil will flavor everything it touches.

Which Memilon oil for cooking

• Memilon Crete is our everyday cooking oil. It is 100% Koroneiki from Phaistos in the Messara plain, with 0.29% acidity and 610 mg/kg polyphenols, cold extracted below 27°C (80°F). It is bold and peppery, so it suits roasted vegetables, grilled meat and anything with strong flavors.
• Memilon Lesvos is the gentler choice. Made from the rare Kolovi variety in Plomari, it is elegant, balanced and delicately fragrant, with 0.29% acidity and 512 mg/kg polyphenols. Reach for it for fish, eggs and lighter dishes.
• Memilon BIO Crete is certified organic early-harvest Koroneiki, 0.18% acidity, and a finishing oil first. Pour it raw over the finished dish.

We do not publish a smoke point for each oil, because it is not the number we would rely on. For every batch we publish the harvest date, the acidity and the K232 and K270 values, and you can look up the lab results for your batch by its LOT number. You can see all three oils, with free shipping on every order, in our Greek olive oil collection.

Olive oil smoke point: frequently asked questions

What is the smoke point of olive oil?

It ranges from about 347°F to 464°F (175–240°C), depending on grade, quality and freshness, according to the UC Davis Olive Center. Extra virgin olive oil is often quoted at around 400°F (205°C).

Is olive oil a high smoke point oil?

It sits comfortably above the temperatures used for sauteing, baking and deep frying. Smoke point is also not the whole story: how stable an oil is under heat depends more on its fat profile, antioxidants and freshness.

Can you fry with olive oil?

Yes. Extra virgin olive oil works for pan-frying and for deep frying at normal frying temperatures. Keep the heat under control, and strain and discard the oil when it is dark, foamy or smells off.

Is regular olive oil better than extra virgin for high heat?

Its smoke point is usually higher, but it is also refined, which removes most of the flavor and many natural antioxidants. In the 2018 study above, extra virgin olive oil was the most stable oil tested, so a higher smoke point does not make a better cooking oil.

Does cooking destroy the benefits of olive oil?

Some polyphenols are lost with heat and time, so using the oil raw keeps the most. Cooking with a good extra virgin olive oil is still a fine choice, and a 2022 review notes that food cooked in it takes up some of the oil’s bioactive compounds.

Can I reuse olive oil after frying?

You can strain it and keep it somewhere cool and dark, but it ages with every use. Throw it away if it is dark, foamy, thick or smells off. Our guide on whether olive oil goes bad explains how long oil keeps and how to store it.

A smoke point tells you when an oil starts to burn. Freshness and quality tell you how it will behave long before that.

Sources

• UC Davis Olive Center, "Ten Myths and Facts About Olive Oil" (2019): smoke point range by grade, quality and freshness.
• Lozano-Castellón J. et al., "Cooking with extra-virgin olive oil: A mixture of food components to prevent oxidation and degradation", Trends in Food Science & Technology 123, 28–36 (2022).
• De Alzaa F., Guillaume C., Ravetti L., "Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating", Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 2(6) (2018).

This article is general information about olive oil and cooking and does not replace advice from a doctor or dietitian.