Baking With Olive Oil

We get asked a lot in the store to share recipes and cooking tips to those who are purchasing from our great lineup of ultra premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars. While we’ve got a great list for you to check out online here there are also lots of ways that you can incorporate olive oil into your cooking without a specific recipe.

While many might not know this, you can substitute olive oil for a variety of other baking and cooking fats. We explore those here and even include a nice conversion chart for those of you who are ready to take that leap.

Butter/Margarine

Lots of recipes today in baking call for one of these two ingredients. While these have their place as a cooking and baking fat, if you want to opt for something healthier then olive oil is a great choice.

You might be thinking – what do I do if I have to cream the butter with something else? Many recipes for cookies or light and airy cakes call for this technique. Even with olive oil you can make it work.

Below is a great chart on the substitutions you would use for typical measurements. If you don’t see your conversion here then please do this at a ratio of 3 parts olive oil for 4 parts butter.

1 teaspoon = ¾ teaspoon
1 tablespoon = 2 ¼ teaspoons
2 tablespoons = 1 ½ tablespoons
½ cup = 3 tablespoons
1/3 cup = ¼ cup
½ cup = ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons
2/3 cup = ½ cup
¾ cup = ½ cup + 1 tablespoon
1 cup = ¾ cup

Canola/Vegetable Oil

This type of swap in your recipes would be very easy as the exchange is a simple one-to-one ratio. In addition to being good for your health, the richness of a good quality olive oil is only going to enhance the delicious flavors in a chocolate brownie or cake recipe.

Why Make A Switch

We’ve talked a lot about the health benefits of olive oil and it’s becoming a popular topic that you’ll see in the news on occasion. Changing out one of the fats in a recipe for a healthier option can have an impact on your overall health.

Olive oil has been proven to have a high concentration of antioxidants and can help with inflammation. Check out our article on the 5 Proven Health Benefits of Olive Oil to read more about this topic.

Takeaway

Don’t be afraid to get creative in the kitchen and experiment by incorporating a new and healthy fat into your baking. Our recommendation (as it always is) is that you use a high quality, not overly processed olive oil, much like the ones we carry at D’Olivo. The robustness of the flavors you find in these as well as the health benefits will enhance whatever you’re cooking.