Is Olive Oil Spray Beneficial for Cooking?

Olive oil spray is popular in cooking but is it beneficial adding it to your diet? In this article, I cover olive oil spray plus the best olive oil sprays for cooking.

Olive oil is one of the most popular oils for cooking. I use it in cooking a lot and have shared a few of my recipes in the Cooking with Oils series.

Olive oil is a heart-healthy oil that’s a staple part of the Mediterranean diet. It contains a vital fatty acid, oleic acid, which keeps the heart healthy and helps the body to fight free radical damage.

However, can you get the same benefits in an olive oil spray? And if so, has anything in the properties being altered in some way that makes it less beneficial?

What is a Cooking Spray?

A cooking spray is an oil that’s in spray form. A cooking spray has been thinned out considerably.

It is then kept suspended with an appropriate emulsifying agent like lecithin with some kind of propellant added to get the spray out of the can.

The purpose of cooking sprays is to prevent food from sticking to baking pans.

Cooking sprays are also supposed to contain lower calories than oils as they are applied in a thinner layer in pans and pots.

Is Olive Oil Spray Healthy?

If the olive oil spray contains other ingredients apart from olive oil such as soy lecithin, dimethyl silicone, and propellants then it wouldn’t be considered completely healthy.

Though lower in calories, those ingredients in olive oil spray mean it’s not completely healthy. Choose healthy olive oil sprays free of additives.

Is Olive Oil Spray Gluten-Free?

Yes, olive oil spray is gluten-free, vegan, and kosher.

6 Differences Between Olive Oil & Olive Oil Cooking Spray

1. Processing Method

Olive oil is cold-pressed from olives while olive oil spray is a thinned-out form of the oil as explained above.

2. Calorie Content

Though there are claims that olive oil spray contains zero calories, this is not accurate. 

A tablespoon of olive oil comes to 120 calories approx. while an equal amount of cooking spray comes to 30 calories approx. Both are not a huge amount of calories either way.

3. Ingredients

Cold pressed olive oil is natural while olive oil spray has some kind of additives added to it, which are not completely natural including the propellant to get it out of the can.

It should be noted that not all olive oil spray brands use propellant or other additives. I will indicate those in the recommendations below. 

4. Method Used in Cooking

One of the arguments for the cooking spray is that olive oil is degraded when heated to high temperatures.

However, this can easily be countered by using olive oil only for sautéing, low heat cooking, and salad dressings.

5. Reduce Wastage

You waste less oil when you use an olive oil spray. Instead of a big glop of olive oil, you get a fine mist of oil. 

My Final Thoughts on Olive Oil Spray

I do not see any great benefit that would make me give up olive oil in favor of the olive oil cooking spray.

If I were to choose between the two, I would stay with extra virgin olive oil.

Even if it has a higher number of calories, it should be fine if consumed in moderation as with all things.

Recommended Olive Oil Spray Brands

If you’re still keen on giving olive oil sprays a go, below are the best recommendations:

Avola Organic Olive Oil Spray

Mantova Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray

La Tourangelle 100% Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray

Apart from olive oil cooking spray, there are also other types of cooking sprays which include: 

La Tourangelle Avocado Oil Spray

Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Spectrum Naturals Grapeseed Oil Spray

Best Alternative – Olive Oil Spray Bottle

If you still would rather use a cooking spray than natural oils, then you should consider using an oil spray bottle like Misto Brushed Aluminum Olive Oil Sprayer.

You fill an olive oil sprayer with your favorite oil so you can control the amount of mist that goes into the pan. It’s still a spray but all-natural.

1. Misto Brushed Aluminum Olive Oil Sprayer

Misto Brushed Aluminum Olive Oil Sprayer is a reusable oil spray and mister bottle in a convenient size. 

It features an easy-to-use pump style cap and is BPA-free. LEARN MORE HERE.

2. Evo Oil Sprayer Bottle

Evo Oil Sprayer Bottle has a  non-aerosol trigger sprayer with a unique fan-shaped spray, which dispenses cooking oil easily. 

The bottle is beautifully designed and has a generous 18 oz capacity. It’s made from BPA-free, latex-free, and DEHP-free plastic. LEARN MORE HERE.

3. Purelite Continuous Spray Olive Oil Mister Dispenser

Purelite Continuous Spray Olive Oil Mister Dispenser uses air pressure to get the oil out of the dispenser and is made from food-safe glass. 

It has a wide mouth for easy pouring, a mesh screen filter, and measurement lines. LEARN MORE HERE.

An olive oil sprayer is reusable and can be emptied and cleaned if it gets clogged up with oil. I’d say that’s the best of both worlds.

Additionally, you can use other types of oil in your sprayer, not just olive oil. Check out more information about the Olive Oil Sprayers HERE.

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