Top 12 Best Olive Oils for Cooking, Dipping and Dressing in 2024
Explore our top tested oil olives for cooking, making dressings and marinades or eating straight-up with crusty bread. Plus, find out what to look for when shopping for olive oil and how best to store it.
Tested by Julia Morlino and T.K. Brady
Olive oil is known for wearing many hats in the kitchen. You can use it to coat a skillet, dress a dry salad, garnish pasta, drizzle over caprese and so much more. Safe to say it's a star ingredient that will oil be there for you. "Nutritious and delicious, olive oil [also] provides a wide range of benefits, from promoting heart health to supporting brain function," says Filippo Berio VP of Marketing Marco De Feo. Knowing this, finding the best bottle should be a top priority. And luckily, there are lots of great oils out there with various flavor profiles and price points to choose from. So once you know what quality and flavor to look for, you can start stocking up on your favorite bottle in no time.
Our Top Olive Oil Picks
How We Tested
Over eight months, our team of testers used over 30 bottles of olive oil in their normal cooking routine, from greasing a pan to mixing a marinade. They noted how rich, mild, grassy or smooth each option tasted directly from a spoon and in meals. They also took into consideration how easily the bottles could be stored and poured, as well as how often certain oils were reached for based on the given kitchen task. Using all 32 options for everyday cooking helped our testers realize which oils were reliable, tasty and long-lasting in their cabinets. And after cooking, sautéing, baking, drizzling and dipping these expert-approved olive oils, these top 12 options are worth a spot in your pantry.
Filippo Berio's Pure Olive Oil checks every box for a good pantry staple: reliable, long-lasting, affordable and delicious. It has a strong grassy flavor that can stand on its own in a tomato salad or dip, but is also light enough to act as a foundation for more ingredients like balsamic or lemon. Our tester reached for this oil for most kitchen tasks, from baking and sautéing to dressing and pizza making, given the simple flavor profile that does exactly what you need it to. This oil is also very yellow and bright, making it a stunning finishing garnish. If you go through olive oil fairly quickly, Filippo Berio sells this 169 oz. jug that you'll never run out of.
There's something about cooking with a squeeze bottle that makes you feel like a real chef, and Graza Sizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil embodies exactly that. The easy pour and high smoke point make this oil the best option for all kinds of everyday cooking like roasting, searing, pan frying, baking and marinating. Graza Sizzle is made from mature, mid-season fruity and peppery olives that give it a flexible, mellow flavor compatible with all the recipes up your sleeve.
It's no surprise the oil known to have made Brooklyn restaurant Frankies 457 famous made its way onto our list. Frankies Extra Virgin Olive Oil is harvested, cold-pressed and packaged right from Sicily, bottling authentic fruity, grassy and bright flavors. Our testers noted that it truly tastes like the oil you'd find at the center of the table at an Italian restaurant. Since Frankie's 457 falls on the pricier side, we wouldn't recommend it as your everyday olive oil. Yet, it's a great choice for home cooks looking for a reliable ingredient for special dishes like proteins and vegetables. The bottle is also an opaque tin so the flavor is protected from light, remains fresh and looks incredibly sleek on your dining room table (as if you're dining out!)
A good drizzling oil should have some kick to it, and Partanna's Mild Extra Virgin Olive Oil does not disappoint. Though a bit too flavorful and buttery for sautéing or cooking, it provides a delicate tang to meals that need a little extra oomph. Our tester loved mixing this oil with rice vinegar for salad dressing. Partanna is also in partnership with Starbucks as a part of the brand's Oleato beverage line, which features the oil in various coffees like a Starbucks Blond Espresso Roast and Caffé Latte — alluding to the fact that this oil elevates any kind of recipe with as little as a drizzle. The dark glass bottle is also helpful in preserving its freshness, which lasted the entire duration of testing.
While the "smooth" label certainly stands true, our testers found this La Tourangelle flavor to be incredibly tasty, fruit-forward and full of fragrant aromas that shine when paired with bread. La Tourangelle was effortlessly soaked up by our testers' dippers and left a delicious, fresh taste that was pungent enough to go for seconds but not too overpowering that you couldn't taste what was being coated. La Tourangelle comes in a wider can, which our testers noted was hard to hold when coating a skillet, but the mess-free spout lip helped the oil seamlessly transition to dipping bowls. We recommend pairing this oil with balsamic vinegar and/or cheese to really elevate your dip.
Metáfora Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Portugalia Marketplace is one of the most robust flavored oils on our list. It has a rich consistency that may be too overwhelming for sautéing or as a dressing but is great for a protein marinade or thick pasta sauce. Also thanks to its peppery finish and spicy undertones, Metáfora has a full-bodied flavor that would intensify any dish for the better, like a simple bread dip or caprese drizzle (though its higher price point makes this bottle exceptionally special for occasional recipes).
Considering this oil's sleek recyclable and UV-coated glass bottle, Heraclea Early Harvest would grab anyone's attention on the countertop (for its look and taste, that is). It hits all the right notes for a dipping and drizzling oil: dark in color, thick in consistency and strong in fruit and pepper. It's best for finishing touches right at the table, like a last-minute pizza topping or an additional kick to your salad. Our testers wouldn't recommend using this oil for cooking, as the glass bottle is quite heavy and wide to find a comfortable grip, but that doesn't shy away from its perfect tabletop display. Not to mention Heraclea was one of the fresher tasting oils on our list, thanks to the green, unripe olive contents harvested from a family farm in Turkey.
Olive oil is known to be a fail-proof gift for cooks thanks to its versatility in the kitchen, but the physicalities of the bottle are equally a nicety. Behold — the polished and delicious dynamic duo every home cook dreams of. Brightlands bestselling Awake and Alive set includes a bold, robust oil and a bright, grassy one, leaving your recipient with endless ways to cook, sauté, grill, drizzle, dip and more. Awake's full flavor makes it best for heartier meals like stews and pasta, while Alive's smoothness pairs perfectly with lighter bites of hummus or baked goods. But despite their differences, our testers loved that both oils are universally great for bread dipping thanks to the fresh, vibrant flavor in each stunning glass bottle.
Our testers appreciated the slimness of Kosterina's bottle and how it made daily cooking tasks like coating a skillet mindless. It's narrow enough for an easy grip and light enough to effortlessly lift, allowing you to gracefully move throughout the kitchen. The oil also has a narrow pour spout, which helps control exactly how much you want out. Thankfully, Kosterina's stunning matte white bottle and modern wooden top correspond with the beauty of what's inside — a natural, bold olive flavor and a thin consistency that's versatile for a range of dishes.
Though Rao's is known for their deliciously authentic red sauce, the brand's Limited Reserve Olive Oil also deserves a prize for tasting as if it came straight from Italy. Made from premium Italian olives, our testers found that this oil has a thick texture, powerful fruit notes and mild pepperiness that pairs well with Italian dishes from spaghetti e olio to garlic bread. Rao's Limited Reserve line is full of exclusive Italian ingredients in limited supply, so if you're in a household where Italian dinners are a staple, you should get your hands on this product ASAP!
You'll never pick up a garlic press again. Kosterina's Garlic Olive Oil combines the previous Kosterina oil on our list with roasted garlic oil to create a rich, savory flavor that adds complexity to any recipe. Our tester was weary of the pungent aroma after smelling it from the bottle, but all worries were pushed aside after cooking with it. This oil is the perfect base for vegetables, eggs and more in the way the flavor effortlessly gets soaked into the food for the perfect amount of garlic kick. It's also great for bread dipping and drizzling (try it over avocado toast!) Our tester confessed that cooking with this oil on the stove made the whole kitchen smell like garlic bread, but who's complaining?
Heraclea Lemon Infused Olive Oil is the light at the end of the recipe. It brightens up any dish with zest and citrus, providing a balanced flavor of fresh Memecik olives and sour sun-ripened lemons. It's known to complement fresh greens, grilled chicken and fish as a dressing or topping, and our tester agreed it requires zero additions. The flavor is just as full on its own and remains fresh thanks to the tin packaging that protects the oil from damaging light.
What to Look for When Buying Olive Oil
Shopping for olive oil is relative to your flavor and cooking preferences. Extra virgin olive oil is known to be the most flavorful and "highest grade of virgin olive oil" according to De Feo, meaning no additives are thrown in. It's produced by separating the oil from crushed olive fruit, in contrast to regular or light-tasting olive oil which is more mild and highly processed. However, experts agree that the categories of oils have no insight into their quality. Co-founder of Graza Olive Oil Andrew Benin says the most important factor when finding the right bottle is the "sensory evaluation of 'does it smell fresh?' 'Does it smell like fresh olive fruit?'" Followed by the question of what you're buying the oil for. He also recommends reading the oil's harvest and bottling date to ensure you're buying the freshest on the shelf.
Price also comes into play when shopping for olive oil, which is dependent on the size bottle you want, the brand and where you're shopping. Purchasing olive oil on Amazon can lead to inflated prices due to dynamic pricing, so experts recommend shopping at your nearby grocery store to snag a standard 17 oz. bottle for anywhere between $9 and $23.
How to Store Olive Oil
Experts advise storing your oils in a cool, dark place outside the fridge and away from excessive heat so they don't oxidize due to UV and light exposure. This is also why most olive oil bottles are dark in color or opaque packaging.
How Long Does Olive Oil Last?
The longevity of olive oil is based on how properly it is stored and handled. De Feo recommends using olive oil within the first three months of opening to retain the freshest flavor, though most oils have a 12-16 month shelf life once opened. "Top-notch olive oil will last up to two years in a sealed container, but that depends on the quality of the oil at the time of bottling," says Benin. Looking for "Best By" or "Best Before" dates can help determine exactly how much time you have to get the most out of the bottle's freshness, though Benin says the key is to "buy and store your oil in quantities that you can work through fairly quickly."
What's the Best Kind of Olive Oil for Cooking vs. Drizzling/Dipping?
"Because extra virgin olive oil is the most flavorful, though notes and intensity vary, it will add to the flavor profile and complexity of any dish," says De Feo. A common misconception is that you can’t cook with extra virgin olive oil because of its lower smoke point, but experts agree that its flavor is easy for food to absorb and plays a vital role in the creation of meals, "whether a slice of bread for dipping, a marinade for grilling or a drizzle to finish off a soup or flavor ice cream," says De Feo. This makes extra virgin olive oil best for tasks beyond dipping and drizzling like sauteing, grilling, roasting, baking and pan frying.
Due to pure and light-tasting olive oils' low, neutral flavor and higher smoke point, these are the best kinds for sauteing, grilling, roasting, baking, pan frying and deep frying according to De Feo. In fact, these characteristics make these oils a "great and healthier alternative to vegetable oils when pan frying or deep frying."
This article has been reviewed since its original publish date for accuracy, pricing and availability. We stand by our list of top olive oil picks.
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