Olive oil is predominantly an unsaturated fat. Roughly 73% of its fatty acids are monounsaturated, with another 8 to 15% being polyunsaturated. Saturated fat makes up only about 14 to 19% of the total. So while olive oil does contain some saturated fat, it is overwhelmingly unsaturated, and that distinction is what gives it most of its well-known health benefits.
The Fatty Acid Breakdown
The dominant fatty acid in olive oil is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that typically accounts for 55 to 83% of the oil’s total composition. The International Olive Council sets this as the official allowable range for oils labeled as olive oil. Most extra virgin olive oils fall in the 64 to 75% range for oleic acid, with the exact number depending on olive variety, growing climate, and harvest timing.
After oleic acid, the next largest component is linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fat, which ranges from about 3.5 to 21% but usually lands around 7 to 15%. Then comes palmitic acid, the main saturated fatty acid in olive oil, at roughly 7.5 to 20% (most samples fall between 11 and 16%). Smaller amounts of stearic acid (another saturated fat, under 5%) and linolenic acid (a polyunsaturated fat, under 1%) round out the profile.
In practical terms, one tablespoon of olive oil contains about 1.9 grams of saturated fat out of roughly 14 grams of total fat. The rest is unsaturated.
How Olive Oil Compares to Other Fats
The contrast becomes clearer when you line olive oil up against other common cooking fats. A trial published in BMJ Open tested coconut oil, olive oil, and butter side by side and reported their saturated fat content: coconut oil was 94% saturated, butter was 66% saturated, and olive oil was just 19% saturated with 68% monounsaturates. That gap is enormous. Coconut oil and butter are saturated-fat-dominant, while olive oil sits firmly on the unsaturated side.
This composition is one reason olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean diet and a frequent recommendation for people looking to shift their fat intake away from saturated sources.
Why the Unsaturated Profile Matters
The high monounsaturated fat content in olive oil has several measurable effects on cardiovascular health. Compared to saturated fats, monounsaturated fats lower total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. When they replace carbohydrates in the diet, they also raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol and decrease triglycerides.
There’s a deeper mechanism at play, too. LDL particles can become oxidized in the bloodstream, and oxidized LDL is a key driver of plaque buildup in arteries. Monounsaturated fats produce LDL particles that are less susceptible to this oxidation than polyunsaturated fats do, because they have fewer chemical bonds vulnerable to oxidative damage. So olive oil’s particular balance of fats, high in monounsaturated and relatively low in polyunsaturated, offers a specific protective advantage.
Limited evidence also suggests monounsaturated fats may reduce the tendency of blood to clot and improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, particularly when replacing carbohydrate-heavy meals.
Olive Oil’s Stability When Cooking
You might expect a predominantly unsaturated oil to break down quickly under heat, since unsaturated fats are generally more vulnerable to oxidation than saturated ones. Olive oil holds up better than its fat profile alone would predict. The reason is its combination of a high proportion of monounsaturated fat (which is more stable than polyunsaturated fat) with naturally occurring antioxidants like tocopherols, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds.
That said, research has shown that the antioxidant content, particularly the type and amount of tocopherols, plays a bigger role in an oil’s heat stability than the fatty acid composition itself. This is why extra virgin olive oil, which retains more of these protective compounds than refined olive oil, tends to resist oxidation better during cooking.
The Saturated Fat That Is There
Olive oil’s 14 to 19% saturated fat content is worth acknowledging, even though it’s a minor component. The two saturated fatty acids present in meaningful amounts are palmitic acid and stearic acid. At roughly 1.9 grams per tablespoon, the saturated fat in olive oil is low enough that even people actively managing their cholesterol can use it liberally as a replacement for butter or other high-saturated-fat options. Swapping a tablespoon of butter (which contains about 7 grams of saturated fat) for a tablespoon of olive oil cuts your saturated fat intake for that serving by more than 70%.