The 9 Best Olive Oils to Buy for Cooking, According to Culinary Pros

The pros in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen and the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances Lab and Nutrition Lab teamed up to create this list of best olive oils based on a blind taste test and their experiences cooking with and tasting many olive oils. Each expert has been trained in how to taste olive oil and what to look for in a good olive oil.

✔️ Type: Olive oil falls into different types, also known as grades, that are based on how the oil is processed. Here are the most common you’ll find in American supermarkets:

• Extra virgin: All of the picks on our list are extra virgin; it’s flavorful and versatile. It's the least processed and made solely of the juice from olives that are crushed without the use of heat or chemicals. It’s typically low in acid and high in antioxidants. It’s an all-around smart choice for cooking, making dressings and sauces and finishing dishes.
• Virgin olive oil: This grade also refers to oil processed without heat or chemicals; it just doesn’t meet the high standards for extra virgin. Its oleic acid level cannot exceed 2.0 grams per 100 grams of oil. It’s a good choice for cooking or dressings.
• Pure olive oil: This might also be labeled as light olive oil or just olive oil. It is usually a blend of virgin and refined olive oils (refined meaning it undergoes heat or chemical treatment to remove flaws). It has little flavor but is suitable for cooking. It's less expensive than virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil.

✔️ Flavor and aroma: Some olive oils are robust and peppery; some are bright and fruity; some are mild and buttery. They also have different levels of bitterness or astringency. Experiment to find what works for you and the foods you like to cook most. And the aroma should be of olives or fresh, verdant notes; never use it if it smells rancid or off.

✔️ Packaging: Exposure to sunlight can damage olive oil, which can make it taste rancid. You can, of course, store any bottle of oil out of sunlight, but our experts like packaging that gives you freedom when it comes to storage. Oils sold in tinted or opaque bottles, in cans or bag-in-box protect the oil from all light, helping your oil stay fresher longer. You also want a good seal on the container, as exposure to oxygen can also affect the flavor. Once you select helpful packaging, be sure to store the oil in a cool place; research has shown that shelf life is improved when olive oil is stored below 72˚F (22˚C) and generally above 54˚F (12˚C).

Craving quality above all else? Here’s what to look for on labels:

✔️ Extra virgin. By definition, this type of olive oil “has excellent flavor and odor.” Made from olives extracted without excessive heat or chemicals, it’s the highest grade of quality an olive oil may be awarded.

✔️ Harvest date. This tells you when the olives were picked from the trees and helps indicate freshness (note: this is not the same as the best-by date). Not all bottles will have a harvest date, likely because they’re using a blend of oils with various harvest dates, so the transparency of simply printing the harvest date indicates that the brand has nothing to hide.

✔️ Third-party certification. Look for badges or symbols on labels that indicate it was tested by an outside organization. Some names to seek out: the Applied Sensory Olive Oil Taste Panel, the Olive Oil Commission of California or the California Olive Oil Council (yep, those are two different things) or the North American Olive Oil Association.

Olive oils produced in Europe may have a designation of origin certification, such as PGI, PDO, IGP, or AOC.

Unfortunately, there is no worldwide standard for classifying olive oil as “extra virgin.” One bottle labeled “extra virgin olive oil” can taste completely different and be much higher or lower in quality compared to another. Here’s what you can do to spot the best from the rest:

✔️ Look for bottles from reputable California producers. While USDA guidelines for what classifies as extra virgin olive oil are largely unenforced (they are voluntary for producers), California has stricter laws. In 2014, the state passed the Grade and Labeling Standards for Olive Oil, Refined-Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil, which are updated annually and highly restrictive regarding the use of the phrase “extra virgin olive oil.” The law requires external chemical and sensory testing for large producers of olive oil in California, and the results must be submitted to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

✔️ Do your research. Found a bottle you love? Go on the brand’s website and see if it has published any third-party testing data to confirm its extra virgin olive oil meets the standards of national or international olive oil organizations, such as the International Olive Council (IOC) or the California Olive Oil Council (COOC). While it’s hard to tell if extra virgin olive oil is “real” from the label alone, a brand producing the legit stuff will likely prove it online.

Samantha MacAvoy is an assistant food editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen. She conducted the olive oil taste test for this story, working with the chief food director and other Test Kitchen editors. She has covered olive oil and other cooking oils in both print and digital publications like Good Housekeeping and she regularly tastes and cooks with olive oil both in the Test Kitchen and at home.

Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, where she's constantly testing new kitchen products and food items that come her way. She's a trained cook and published recipe developer and grew up using olive oil almost exclusively in her Greek and Italian family. She has a grand diplome in classic culinary arts from the former French Culinary Institute and a certificate in culinary nutrition from the former Natural Gourmet Institute, now both known as the Institute of Culinary Education.