Assessment
Embrace Olive Oil
This heart-healthy fat is a culinary multitasker
HakanEliacik / 500px/Getty Images
Quick Win
This mainstay of Mediterranean-style meals makes for delicious sautés, dressings, sauces and spreads. The recipe options are endless.
Try This Today
- Everyday cooking. Make extra-virgin olive oil your go-to cooking oil for everything from stove-top to baked dishes, like our Spinach & Warm Mushroom Salad, Butternut Squash Bisque or Caprese Zucchini Casserole.
- DIY dressings and marinades. Say goodbye to store-bought! See how easy it is to make them yourself with delicious recipes like our Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette and Balsamic Marinated Chicken.
- Sauces and spreads. Olive oil is an essential ingredient for our Garden Tomato Sauce, pesto and chimichurri sauces (check out our Roast Salmon With Chimichurri Sauce) and hummus, like the one featured in this Edamame Hummus Wrap.
Why
Olive oil contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids along with polyphenols, compounds found in many plant foods that research suggests may benefit health. People who consumed at least ½ tablespoon of olive oil per day had a 28 percent lower risk of dementia-related death compared to those who rarely or never consumed olive oil in a study of more than 92,000 adults, mean age 56, who were followed for 28 years. The results were published in JAMA Network Open in 2024.
More Ways to Benefit
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