We Tried 5 Best Supermarket Olive Oils for Frying, Grilling, Drizzling and More
From a smooth extra-virgin for the grill to a robust bottle made for bread dipping, these affordable supermarket olive oils cover nearly every cooking need.
Kelsey Mulvey
Our Top Pompeian Olive Oil Picks
Truth be told, my love for all things olives has spanned decades. When I was little, I was so obsessed with olives to the point I received pimento-stuffed green ones in my Easter bag one year. But as I got older — and eventually found my footing in the kitchen — I began shifting my focus to olive oils.
Since olive oil is one of those pantry staples we reach for constantly—for roasting vegetables, building marinades, frying, grilling and finishing dishes with a glossy drizzle—the right bottle can make everyday cooking feel a little more considered. Fortunately, there’s Pompeian, an affordable supermarket brand that has quickly become one of my go-tos. Farmer-owned by a family of olive growers and craftspeople, the company has spent more than 100 years making olive oil that’s accessible, versatile and easy to cook with.
But which one should you buy first? Good olive oil may be nonnegotiable, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. Some bottles work better when you want a neutral cooking oil, while others shine when you want a fuller olive flavor to come through. After testing Pompeian’s olive oils for weeks, I found five favorites for grilling, roasting, frying, marinades, dipping and drizzling.
What are the health benefits of EVOO?
Incorporating EVOO into your everyday cooking may be a simple way to support your health. EVOO is at the center of the Mediterranean Diet (which has been consistently ranked as one of the top diets by USA Today). The Mediterranean Diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve brain and mental health and decrease inflammation. However, including EVOO in any healthy eating plan can provide several benefits. Olive oil is packed with monounsaturated fatty acids — a.k.a. “good fats” — and acts as a healthier fat of choice. In fact, the 2025-2025 Dietary Guidelines recommend swapping butter with vegetable oils, like olive oil. Research has shown that eating butter has been shown to raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and total cholesterol. Researchers also recommended swapping olive oil for butter to help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.
But which ones should you buy in the first place? Good olive oil might be non-negotiable, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. Fortunately, I have been testing Pompeian’s olive oils for weeks and have found my five favorites.
Kelsey Mulvey
How We Tested
For the past five weeks, I’ve exclusively used Pompeian’s olive oils for all my meal preps. Not only did I taste each oil separately to get a better understanding of its flavor and consistency, but I also used each one for sauteing, roasting, dipping and drizzling.
While I did try a few new recipes with these olive oils, I mostly used them with the dishes I’ve made dozens of times like the roasted broccoli I make weekly, my go-to crispy tofu recipe and the microwaveable popcorn my husband and I devour whenever we enjoy a movie marathon. That way, I was able to remove any variables like overcooking or using the wrong measurements to see how these options really stacked up against each other.
Finding the right olive oil ultimately depends on your flavor preferences and cooking needs, but if you’re looking for a bottle to use on the grill, I recommend Pompeian’s Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It has bright, slightly citrusy notes, but it’s light enough that it won’t upstage the rest of your food. That matters when you’re grilling ingredients like vegetables, seafood or chicken, where you want the oil to help with browning and flavor without overpowering other ingredients.
There’s a common misconception that extra-virgin olive oil should only be used raw or as a finishing oil, but Chef Domenico Tolomeo, corporate chef at Caputo Flour and a professional pizza maker, says it can absolutely have a place on the grill. “Extra-virgin olive oil can absolutely be used for grilling,” he says. “It helps seasonings adhere, encourages browning and can help prevent sticking.”
According to Pompeian, its Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a smoke point of 380 to 410 degrees, making it a good fit for medium-heat grilling and for finishing foods after they come off the grates. I’d avoid using it over ripping-hot direct flames or as a substitute for a neutral, high-heat oil in every grilling scenario, but it’s great for brushing onto vegetables, drizzling over grilled bread or whisking into a quick sauce for foods headed to the grill.
If you’re looking for an olive oil that cooks your food nicely but with a softer flavor, try Pompeian's Light Taste version. As the lightest in both color and taste, the beauty of this one lies in its subtleties. The olive oil aroma is super faint, and almost has floral notes, so it’s important to use this with care.
Though the flavor profile of this olive oil was too weak to really make a difference in the taste of breads and salads, this variety really delivered in the frying department. I love to make crispy tofu by filling a frying pan with a shallow layer of oil and adding cornstarch-coated tofu to the mix. When I used this option for my tried-and-true recipe, I noticed the oil heated and fried my tofu quickly. It came out wonderfully crispy without being overly greasy.
There's also a big misconception when it comes to light olive oils that Amanda Neal, lead recipe developer at Food Network, wanted to clear up. "They're not lower in calories or fat content," she explains. Instead, they are only "highly refined and lighter in color and flavor.” She mentioned light olive oils are a good option for cooking if you want a very muted oil note in your meal, which became apparent in my testing.
As the name might suggest, this olive oil has a light, refreshing taste. Instead of straightforward notes of apple or citrus, Pompeian used arbequina, hojiblanca and koroneiki to give this variety a peppy sweetness. That clever mix makes it a particularly great option for cooking produce.
When I used Pompeian’s Fresh & Fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil for my favorite roasted broccoli, which I’ve been making for at least a decade, the results were as perfect as I could imagine: The florets were exceptionally crispy, but it didn’t taste like my broccoli was drenched in olive oil, as it often does with other brands. While it wasn’t my favorite option for dips or dressings — the flavors are considerably lighter than other ones — its roastability can’t be beat.
Don’t be fooled: This Pompeian olive oil might be called “mild,” but it certainly packs a punch. On its own, Mild Taste Olive Oil has stronger, more herbaceous notes that command attention. One night, I made my roasted broccoli recipe and while I noticed my final product was just as crispy as when I used the Light Taste alternative, the flavor was different. While the broccoli’s natural flavors really stood out with the Light Taste, I noticed I tasted more of the pungent olive oil with the mild.
That said, I think this is an excellent olive oil to use with marinades. I love to bake my salmon in a sauce made with equal parts soy sauce and olive oil, and while Pompeian’s lighter oils made my marinade too soy sauce-heavy, Mild Taste brought more balance to the mixture.
Looking for olive oil with an extra oomph? Grab a bottle of Pomepian’s Robust Extra Virgin Olive Oil. During my weeks of testing, this was by far the most flavorful. Not only was this full-bodied oil thick and creamy like the smooth variety, but I also thought it tasted the most like olives.
However, as someone who really loves olives, even I felt this was too overpowering for roasting and sautés. Instead, I’d recommend using this one for dipping and drizzling. I love swapping out the heavier dressings that come with my bagged salads for this bold oil, and think this would pair well with a caprese salad. The ultra-olivey taste will naturally go great with bread, but why stop there? I’ve been drizzling the robust option over popcorn for movie marathons, and I think the combination deserves a round of applause.
What is the difference between extra virgin olive oil and regular olive oil?
There are a lot of differences between extra virgin and regular olive oil, but Neal says the main contrasts lie in processing and flavors. “Regular olive oil is a refined oil and typically lighter in flavor than EVOO, and better for cooking," she explains. However, Pompeian’s arsenal of EVOO works for roasting, sauteing and frying, too.
Since regular olive oils are often exposed to heat or chemicals, EVOOs are typically cold-pressed so they retain more of their good-for-you nutrients, which is why EVOO is often praised for being "the highest quality and unrefined," according to Neal. In fact, Pompeian received the first SCS Sustainably Grown Certification for EVOO on the market.
What is the best kind of olive oil for cooking vs. drizzling and dipping?
While Pompeian’s olive oils can pull double (or triple) duty, Neal says virgin or pure olive oil is generally best for cooking, whereas EVOO is better suited for dips and drizzles. “Pure olive oil has a milder flavor and higher smoke point than EVOO, making it a better option for cooking,” she explains. “The rich flavor of EVOO is best for dipping and drizzling and can enhance other flavors in your dish.” Many brands like Pompeian have recommendations on how to blend each on its label, making the shopping process a bit easier.
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