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Cooking Oils, Ranked

The seed oil war, settled by the data.

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#10

Butter

Score4.2/10

Keto

10Low-FODMAP

10Carnivore

9Paleo

6Mediterranean

2Zone

2Anti-Inflammatory

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Vegan

1Whole30

1DASH

The traditional fat, modern frameworks are wary of.

Real and minimally processed, but its saturated fat load keeps butter near the bottom of most diet scorecards.

Vegetable oil

Score5.1/10

Vegan

9Whole30

9Low-FODMAP

9DASH

9GLP-1 Friendly

5Keto

5Mediterranean

4Zone

2Anti-Inflammatory

2Paleo

1Carnivore

The generic bottle, generically ranked.

An unspecified blend usually dominated by soybean oil, vegetable oil scores low for the same reasons as other heavily refined seed oils.

Peanut oil

Score5.2/10

Vegan

9Low-FODMAP

9Keto

8DASH

8Anti-Inflammatory

5Mediterranean

5Zone

5GLP-1 Friendly

4Paleo

2Carnivore

1Whole30

High smoke point, middling score.

Great for frying, but its omega-6 heavy profile keeps peanut oil firmly in the middle of the pack.

Canola oil

Score5.3/10

DASH

9Low-FODMAP

9Whole30

8Vegan

8Zone

5Anti-Inflammatory

5GLP-1 Friendly

5Keto

5Mediterranean

2Paleo

1Carnivore

The most argued-about bottle in the pantry.

Canola oil's refined, high-heat processing is exactly what seed-oil skeptics point to — even though its fat profile isn't unreasonable on paper.

Sunflower oil

Score5.4/10

Vegan

9Whole30

9Low-FODMAP

9Keto

8DASH

8GLP-1 Friendly

6Mediterranean

4Anti-Inflammatory

2Zone

2Paleo

1Carnivore

A seed oil with a mixed report card.

High in polyunsaturated fat, sunflower oil splits opinion — some frameworks credit the fat profile, others flag the processing.

Ghee (clarified)

Score5.6/10

Whole30

10Keto

9Low-FODMAP

9Zone

8Carnivore

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Paleo

5Mediterranean

4DASH

4GLP-1 Friendly

2Vegan

Butter, minus the part that bothers people.

With milk solids removed, ghee scores a bit better than butter on tolerability — though it's still mostly saturated fat.

Coconut oil

Score6.0/10

Keto

10Whole30

10Paleo

9Low-FODMAP

9Vegan

8Carnivore

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Zone

4Mediterranean

2DASH

2GLP-1 Friendly

Saturated fat with a cult following.

Beloved by keto and paleo for its MCTs, but its high saturated fat content keeps it controversial elsewhere.

Sesame oil

Score6.2/10

Whole30

9Keto

8Vegan

8Low-FODMAP

8DASH

8Anti-Inflammatory

8Zone

6Mediterranean

5GLP-1 Friendly

5Paleo

2Carnivore

Flavor-forward, framework-approved.

Used more for flavor than volume, sesame oil's fat profile still scores well across most major diets.

Avocado oil

Score7.6/10

Whole30

10Keto

9Paleo

9Low-FODMAP

9DASH

9Zone

9Vegan

8Anti-Inflammatory

8Mediterranean

6GLP-1 Friendly

5Carnivore

The high-heat alternative that holds up.

A similar fat profile to olive oil with a higher smoke point makes avocado oil a favorite for searing and roasting.

Extra virgin olive oil

Score8.3/10

Keto

10Mediterranean

10Whole30

10Low-FODMAP

10Zone

10Anti-Inflammatory

10Paleo

9DASH

9Vegan

8GLP-1 Friendly

4Carnivore

Still undefeated.

Monounsaturated fat, polyphenols, and a near-universal endorsement across diets keep olive oil at the top of every cooking fat ranking.

All 10 Cooking Oils

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Cooking Oils, Ranked

The most contested shelf in your kitchen. From extra-virgin olive oil to the seed oils every wellness account warns about — every cooking fat ranked by how it scores across keto, paleo, Mediterranean, and the rest.

The seed oil debate generates more heat than light. Instead of picking a side, we ranked the most common cooking oils and fats by their actual score across 11 dietary frameworks — best at the top, worst at the bottom.