Olive oil is the healthier choice for most people. While grapeseed oil has some nutritional strengths, olive oil delivers a better fat profile for heart health, stronger anti-inflammatory effects, and a cleaner processing method. That said, grapeseed oil isn’t unhealthy, and it has a few practical advantages worth knowing about.
How Their Fats Compare
Both oils contain 13.5 grams of total fat and 120 calories per tablespoon, but the type of fat inside them is very different. Olive oil is roughly 74% monounsaturated fat (10 grams per tablespoon), the kind most consistently linked to heart protection. Grapeseed oil flips that ratio: it’s about 70% polyunsaturated fat (9.5 grams per tablespoon) and only 16% monounsaturated fat.
Almost all of grapeseed oil’s polyunsaturated fat is omega-6. A single tablespoon delivers nearly 9,500 milligrams of omega-6 fatty acids, one of the highest concentrations among common cooking oils. Omega-6 fats aren’t harmful on their own, and replacing saturated fat with any unsaturated fat is a net positive. But most Western diets already contain far more omega-6 than omega-3, and adding a high-omega-6 oil can push that imbalance further. Olive oil, by contrast, keeps omega-6 intake low while supplying a large dose of monounsaturated fat.
Inflammation and Heart Protection
This is where olive oil pulls ahead most clearly. A meta-analysis of 15 randomized trials found that people consuming olive oil saw their C-reactive protein, a key marker of chronic inflammation, drop by an average of 0.64 mg/L compared to control groups. Levels of interleukin-6, another inflammatory signal, also fell significantly. Chronic low-grade inflammation is a driving force behind heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other conditions, so an oil that actively lowers it carries real long-term value.
Much of this benefit comes from polyphenols, the plant compounds found in extra virgin olive oil. These include a compound that acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent (you may notice a peppery sting at the back of your throat with high-quality extra virgin olive oil, which signals its presence). Grapeseed oil contains its own antioxidants, including proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, and quercetin, all of which show anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in lab studies. But the clinical evidence for olive oil’s benefits in living, breathing humans is far more developed.
Vitamin E: Grapeseed Oil’s Edge
Grapeseed oil does beat olive oil in one clear nutritional category. A tablespoon provides 27% of the daily value for vitamin E, compared to 13% from olive oil. Vitamin E protects cells from oxidative damage and supports immune function. If your diet is low in nuts, seeds, and other vitamin E sources, grapeseed oil offers a meaningful boost. For most people, though, this single advantage doesn’t outweigh olive oil’s broader benefits.
How They’re Made Matters
Olive oil, particularly extra virgin, is extracted using purely physical methods. The olives are crushed, the paste is mixed, and the oil is separated out mechanically. No chemical solvents are involved, which preserves the oil’s polyphenols and other beneficial compounds.
Grapeseed oil tells a different story. Grape seeds contain relatively little oil, so extracting it efficiently usually requires hexane, an industrial solvent. Research analyzing commercial vegetable oils found hexane residues in nearly all samples except those obtained by mechanical pressing. Cold-pressed grapeseed oil does exist, but it’s more expensive and harder to find. Most bottles on supermarket shelves are solvent-extracted, which strips away some of the antioxidants that make grape seeds beneficial in the first place.
Cooking Performance
Grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point: around 421°F (216°C), compared to 374°F (190°C) for standard extra virgin olive oil. High-quality, low-acidity extra virgin olive oil narrows the gap, reaching about 405°F (207°C). For everyday cooking like sautéing and roasting, both oils work fine. But if you’re deep-frying or searing at very high heat, grapeseed oil handles the temperature better without breaking down.
Grapeseed oil also has a neutral flavor, which makes it useful in baking or dishes where you don’t want an olive taste. Olive oil’s fruitier, sometimes peppery flavor works well in dressings, marinades, and Mediterranean-style cooking but can clash with certain recipes.
What Health Authorities Recommend
The American Heart Association lists both oils as healthy choices for cooking, placing them in the category of nontropical vegetable oils that contain more unsaturated fat and less saturated fat. Both oils fall well under the AHA’s threshold of 4 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon (grapeseed has 1.3 grams, olive has 2 grams). The AHA lists olive oil among its primary recommended cooking oils, while grapeseed oil falls into a “specialty oils” category described as healthy but potentially harder to find or more expensive.
Which Oil to Use When
If you’re choosing one oil as your kitchen staple, extra virgin olive oil is the stronger pick. Its monounsaturated fat profile, proven anti-inflammatory effects, and minimal processing give it advantages that grapeseed oil can’t match. Use it for salad dressings, low-to-medium-heat cooking, drizzling over vegetables, and anywhere its flavor complements the dish.
Grapeseed oil earns a place as a secondary oil. Its high smoke point and neutral taste make it practical for high-heat cooking, stir-fries, and baking. If you do buy it, look for cold-pressed versions to get more of the antioxidants and avoid solvent residues. Just don’t rely on it as your primary fat source, since its heavy omega-6 load can tip your fatty acid balance in an unfavorable direction when consumed in large amounts.