Cooking with sweet almond oil is a great choice! Full of nutrients and monounsaturated fatty acids, almond oil is a good choice of oil which can increase the levels of good cholesterol.

It can also decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease thanks to these effects on cholesterol, its antioxidants and its anti-inflammatory properties.

However, there are some things you need to know about using sweet almond oil for cooking. For a start, that you should be using sweet almond oil and not other types.

It also depends what sweet almond oil cooking you are doing whether you should use refined or unrefined almond oil.

I have all the answers below to is almond oil good for cooking, the best almond oil for cooking and how to start cooking with almond oil. But first, I describe exactly what almond oil is and the different types so you can understand how to use almond oil for cooking.

Exactly How To Use Sweet Almond Oil For Cooking

What Is Almond Oil?

Almond oil is extracted from almonds, but what are they?

Almonds are the seeds from almond fruit which grow on almond trees. You can see some pictured below.

Almond fruit
Almond fruit

Almonds are full of many nutrients and are great for many purposes. Thanks to their fat content, they make great oil. Once almonds are obtained from the fruit, they are dried and hulled, ready for almond oil to be extracted.

There are two methods to extracting almond oil which produce two types of almond oil.

Refined Almond Oil

In this method, the oil is extracted using high heat and chemicals. It’s cheaper to produce so leads to cheaper priced almond oil. However, this process of extracting the oil also loses many of the nutrients in almond oil.

Another plus, though, when it comes to almond oil in cooking, is that it also produces almond oil which can resist higher temperatures which can make this a better choice for sweet almond oil cooking with heat.

Unrefined Almond Oil

In this method, almond oil is pressed from the almonds without heat and chemicals. In this way, the oil retains most of its nutrients leading to a far healthier, albeit more expensive, almond oil.

This makes unrefined almond oil for cooking a better choice for cold dishes like salads where you’ll get the full benefits of the nutrients.

Unrefined almond oil can also be referred to as cold pressed almond oil or virgin almond oil. Organic almond oil for cooking means that the almonds come from an organic source.

Sweet vs Bitter Almond Oil

In addition to the two methods to produce almond oil, there are also two categories of almond oil – sweet and bitter.

This refers to the type of almonds that are used to make the oil. Sweet almond oil is the one that is good for consumption and that you will want to use in cooking.

Bitter almond oil can have toxic properties.

Can Almond Oil Be Used For Cooking?

Yes! Almond oil is great for cooking. It has many benefits thanks to the rich nutrients it contains and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s a better oil to use for your heart and has a subtle taste which can go great on salads.

There are many great recipes with almond oil that are worth whipping up in your kitchen.

Useful vegetable oils in glass bottles.Almond oil Avocado oil, chickpea oil, linseed oil, peanut oil

Which Type To Use For Cooking With Almond Oil?

First of all, you want to ensure you are using sweet almond oil for cooking. Bitter can be toxic.

Next up is to decide whether to use refined or unrefined/virgin/cold pressed almond oil for cooking.

The first point to consider here is that unrefined almond oils are the most nutritious so if you want maximum benefit from consuming it then unrefined is the way to go. This is the top choice for salads, dressings, low-heat baking or any time you want to add some extra nutrition to a dish.

Unrefined almond oil also has more of a taste, although it is mild. If you want this taste, you want to use this type.

If you want to know where to buy almond oil for cooking that contains these nutrients, click here and buy some now.

This type also is multi-purposeful – you can use unrefined almond oil for cooking and skin (more here).

However, if you are going to be applying higher heats to your almond oil like to fry or saute, a refined almond oil can make more sense.

Not only can refined almond oil stand a higher heat than unrefined (up to 420Β° Fahrenheit), if you heat an unrefined almond oil, you are going to start destroying its extra nutritional value anyway.

Click here to buy refined almond oil for cooking.

cooking almond oil
Delicious almond oil salad

You can find my recommendations for the absolute best almond oil here.

How To Use Sweet Almond Oil For Cooking?

The most important thing is to pick the right type, refined or unrefined, for your sweet almond oil recipes.

From there, you can use the oil exactly how you wish. In fact, you can use almond oil in place of other oils like olive oil if you want.

Just to warn one last time, remember unrefined almond oil does not withstand heat as well so for frying uses, I do recommend unrefined almond oil.

Conclusion

I hope you found this guide to using almond oil in cooking helpful. Almond oil is one of my favorite products EVER – there are not too many products where you can both love it on your skin and on a salad πŸ™‚

Getting the right type of almond oil for the job is important though and I’ve helped you with that above. Enjoy!

There are many other almond oil uses. Cooking is just one! Read our guide to using almond oil for skin here, hair here and faces here. It can also be useful for your dog (more here). Find all our almond focused guides to healthy living here. You can find my recommendations for the absolute best almond oil here.

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