Olive Oil vs Canola Oil (Rapeseed Oil): An Honest Comparison
Olive oil vs canola oil is one of the few kitchen questions where two respectable sources can give you opposite answers. The British Heart Foundation points out that rapeseed oil — canola's British name — has half the saturated fat of olive oil. Olive oil's defenders point to decades of Mediterranean-diet research. Both are telling the truth. The honest comparison is less tribal: each oil wins on a different measure, the research behind each is a different kind of evidence, and the biggest difference in your kitchen is often not olive versus rapeseed at all, but refined versus cold-pressed. Here is what is in each bottle, what the trials actually measured, and when to reach for which.
For our own oil, see our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil.
The Short Answer
- Canola and rapeseed oil are the same family of oil. Canola is the name used mainly in North America and Australia for rapeseed bred to contain less than 2% erucic acid; in the UK, the same low-erucic oil is simply sold as rapeseed oil.
- Rapeseed oil wins on saturated fat and omega-3: it has roughly half the saturated fat of olive oil and far more alpha-linolenic acid, the plant omega-3.
- On cholesterol, a 2018 network meta-analysis of 54 trials in the Journal of Lipid Research ranked rapeseed oil second only to safflower oil for lowering LDL cholesterol.
- Extra virgin olive oil wins on long-term evidence, polyphenols and heat stability. A 2014 review in the British Journal of Nutrition concluded rapeseed oil cannot yet be recommended as a substitute for extra virgin olive oil in a Mediterranean-style diet.
- Most supermarket canola is refined, which strips out much of its vitamin E and plant sterols. Extra virgin olive oil is never refined, so its polyphenols and flavour survive.
- Both are sound everyday oils. Choose rapeseed for a neutral, economical oil; choose extra virgin olive oil when flavour, unrefined character and the longer evidence record matter to you.
Canola and Rapeseed Oil: One Plant, Two Names
Canola is not a separate plant. It is rapeseed, bred in the 1970s to remove two problems of the older crop: high levels of erucic acid in the oil and glucosinolates in the leftover meal. According to Oklahoma State University's food-science fact sheet, the name "canola" was registered by the Western Canadian Oilseed Crushers in 1978, and since 1986 it has meant varieties with less than 2% erucic acid in the oil.
So when a UK recipe says rapeseed oil and a US one says canola, they are almost always pointing at the same low-erucic oil. Erucic acid is still regulated for good reason: EU food law caps it at 20 g per kg — 2% — in vegetable oils sold as food, and modern food-grade rapeseed sits comfortably inside that limit.
In the UK, a bottle of generic "vegetable oil" is very often 100% rapeseed oil, refined and neutral; our olive oil vs vegetable oil comparison covers that shelf. British farms also sell cold-pressed rapeseed oil — nutty and unrefined — a very different product from the refined bottle beside it.
Olive Oil vs Canola Oil: The Numbers Side by Side
Figures below are typical values; individual oils vary by variety and grade.
| Measure | Extra virgin olive oil | Refined canola / rapeseed | Cold-pressed rapeseed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source | Flesh of the olive fruit | Seed of the rapeseed plant | Seed of the rapeseed plant |
| Main fat | Oleic acid (monounsaturated) | Oleic acid, about 62% | Oleic acid |
| Saturated fat | About twice rapeseed's level | About 6–7%, the lowest of common oils | Similarly low |
| Plant omega-3 (ALA) | Very little | About 9–10% | Similar to refined |
| Processing | Mechanical pressing only, never refined | Pressed and/or solvent-extracted, then refined, bleached and deodorised | Pressed, not refined |
| Flavour | Fruity, grassy, often peppery | Neutral | Nutty, earthy |
| Natural antioxidants | Polyphenols present in fresh extra virgin oil | Much of the vitamin E and plant sterols lost in refining | Retains the seed's natural vitamin E |
The canola figures come from Oklahoma State University's composition data: commodity canola oil at 6.3% saturated fat, 62.4% monounsaturated and 9.6% alpha-linolenic acid. The same fact sheet notes that crude canola oil carries 700–1,200 mg/kg of tocopherols and plant sterols that are largely lost in conventional refining. For a wider view of how rapeseed sits among the seed oils, our explainer is olive oil a seed oil? sets out the full fatty-acid ranges.
Which Is Healthier? What the Research Actually Compared
The evidence genuinely points in two directions, depending on what you measure.
Where rapeseed oil comes out ahead: blood cholesterol
In 2018, Schwingshackl and colleagues published a network meta-analysis in the Journal of Lipid Research pooling 54 randomised trials of 13 oils and solid fats. Safflower oil ranked first for lowering LDL cholesterol, followed by rapeseed oil. A 2019 meta-analysis by Ghobadi and colleagues in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, covering 27 trials and 1,089 participants, found a similar pattern: compared with other plant oils, olive oil lowered LDL and total cholesterol less — but raised HDL cholesterol more. On the blood-lipid numbers alone, rapeseed has a real edge.
Where olive oil comes out ahead: long-term outcomes
Cholesterol is a marker, not an outcome. Hoffman and Gerber's 2014 narrative review in the British Journal of Nutrition asked whether rapeseed oil could replace olive oil in a Mediterranean-style diet. They rated the cardiovascular evidence for extra virgin olive oil as "convincing", found the evidence for rapeseed oil "limited to short-term studies on the biomarkers of risk factors", and concluded it could not yet be recommended as a substitute. Our article on olive oil and heart health covers the trials behind that judgement.
| Question | What the research found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Which lowers LDL cholesterol more? | Rapeseed ranked second of 13 oils and fats; olive oil lower | Schwingshackl et al., J Lipid Res, 2018 |
| Which raises HDL cholesterol more? | Olive oil, compared with other plant oils | Ghobadi et al., Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2019 |
| Which has more long-term outcome evidence? | Extra virgin olive oil; rapeseed evidence is mostly short-term biomarkers | Hoffman and Gerber, Br J Nutr, 2014 |
| Which is more stable when heated? | Extra virgin olive oil produced the fewest polar compounds; canola among the highest | de Alzaa et al., Acta Sci Nutr Health, 2018 |
The Regulators' View: Two Cautious Health Claims
US regulators have treated the two oils almost identically. In November 2004 the FDA allowed a qualified health claim that "limited and not conclusive" evidence suggests about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease — when it replaces saturated fat, without adding calories. In October 2006 it allowed a near-identical claim for canola oil at about 1½ tablespoons (19 grams) a day.
Both claims share the same condition — the benefit depends on the oil replacing saturated fat. Swapping butter or lard for either oil is the big move; choosing between the two is a finer decision.
Cooking With Each: Heat, Flavour and Processing
Refined canola has a high smoke point — the Canola Council puts it at 242°C — and it is the default for deep-frying for good reason: it is neutral and inexpensive. But smoke point is not the whole story. In a 2018 study in Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, de Alzaa, Guillaume and Ravetti heated ten oils and found extra virgin olive oil produced the lowest level of polar compounds, while canola produced among the highest. The study was run by an Australian olive-oil laboratory in a modest journal, so treat it as one data point rather than a verdict — but it matches Hoffman and Gerber's note that rapeseed's omega-3 is prone to oxidation during frying. Our article on olive oil at high heat explains the chemistry.
- Dressings, dips and finishing: extra virgin olive oil, or cold-pressed rapeseed if you like its nutty taste.
- Everyday sautéing and roasting: either oil copes comfortably with normal home heat.
- Neutral-tasting bakes: refined rapeseed, or a mild olive oil.
- Large-batch deep-frying: refined rapeseed is the practical choice on cost.
The Objections, Answered Honestly
"Canola oil is toxic."
Not on the evidence. The erucic-acid concern belonged to old rapeseed varieties and is why canola was bred and why limits exist. Refined canola is often extracted with a solvent such as hexane, and most Canadian canola is grown from herbicide-tolerant varieties, some of them genetically modified; the Canola Council states the refined oil contains no GM material because the protein is removed in processing. If either point matters to you, cold-pressed rapeseed avoids solvents entirely.
"Olive oil sellers would say that."
Fair challenge, so here is the concession plainly: on saturated fat, omega-3 and LDL-lowering trials, rapeseed oil beats olive oil, and the British Heart Foundation is right to recommend it. Our case for extra virgin olive oil rests on the long-term evidence, the polyphenols refining removes, and flavour — not on rapeseed being bad.
How to Choose Well, Whichever You Buy
The grade on the label matters more than the plant. For olive oil, look for "extra virgin" — plain "olive oil", "pure" and "light" describe mostly refined blends — plus dark glass or a tin and a harvest or best-before date. For rapeseed, "cold-pressed" signals an unrefined oil; a plain "rapeseed oil" or "vegetable oil" is refined. In both cases the ingredients list should name a single oil. For a fuller walkthrough, see our guide to choosing a quality olive oil, and for another neutral-oil alternative, our olive oil vs avocado oil comparison.
Why Sidr & Stone
This article's argument is that processing decides what reaches the bottle. Sidr & Stone's olive oil is an extra virgin, cold-pressed, unfiltered oil from olives grown on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco — pressed, never refined, with nothing added.
- Single-estate — Sidr & Stone's olive oil comes from our own family-owned farm near Marrakech, Morocco, and we control every step from tree to bottle, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — our trees are not irrigated; they take what the season gives.
- Organically grown — no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides are used (not yet certified; certification is in progress).
- Single harvest — a small, limited batch, picked when the fruit is ready; the current batch's harvest details are on the product page.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — mechanical extraction only, with no solvents, no refining and no deodorising.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed, so it may show natural sediment, which is normal.
- 100% natural — a single ingredient, olive oil, with no rapeseed or other oil blended in.
- Dark glass with a gold label — protective packaging against light.
- 10% of profits to charity — a brand-wide commitment.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you Sidr & Stone is the best olive oil, or that rapeseed oil is a poor choice — the evidence supports neither claim. What we will say is that our oil is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and the difference from a refined oil is there in the colour, the aroma and the taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is olive oil better than canola oil?
It depends on the measure. Rapeseed (canola) oil has less saturated fat, more omega-3 and a stronger record for lowering LDL cholesterol in trials. Extra virgin olive oil has the longer outcome evidence, polyphenols and better heat stability. Both are sound choices in place of butter or lard.
Why does olive oil raise HDL more but lower LDL less?
Olive oil is richer in monounsaturated fat and lower in polyunsaturated fat than most seed oils, and polyunsaturated fats tend to lower LDL more strongly. A 2019 meta-analysis of 27 trials found this trade-off.
Is rapeseed oil the same as canola oil?
Almost always, for cooking purposes. Canola is the name used in North America and Australia for rapeseed bred to contain less than 2% erucic acid, and the rapeseed oil sold as food in the UK is the same low-erucic type.
Can I swap olive oil for canola oil in baking?
Yes, usually one-for-one. A mild olive oil keeps the bake neutral; a robust extra virgin adds a fruity note.
How is Sidr & Stone's olive oil different from canola oil?
Ours is a single-ingredient extra virgin olive oil, pressed from the olive fruit on our own farm outside Marrakech and never refined. Most supermarket canola is a refined seed oil made to be neutral and inexpensive.
Is cold-pressed rapeseed oil as good as extra virgin olive oil?
It is a good unrefined oil with an excellent fat profile, but far less long-term research behind it. Many cooks keep both.
Where can I buy an unrefined, single-estate olive oil?
Look for a producer that names one origin and sells only extra virgin. Our single-estate Marrakech olive oil is available to pre-order from the current single-harvest batch, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
The olive oil vs canola oil debate is loud because both sides have a point. Rapeseed oil is the better-measured choice for saturated fat, omega-3 and short-term cholesterol markers — an economical, neutral workhorse. Extra virgin olive oil carries the longer outcome evidence, the polyphenols that refining removes, and a flavour no refined oil can match.
The choice that matters most is the one both regulators' claims rest on: use a liquid plant oil in place of saturated fat. After that, choose by grade — cold-pressed and extra virgin over refined — and by what you are cooking.
Our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil — single-estate, rain-fed and unfiltered — is available to pre-order now from our limited single-harvest batch, with estimated shipping from November 2026 and fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Our extra virgin olive oil is grown organically on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech: we control every step from tree to bottle, and no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used. It is not yet certified organic — certification is in progress, and we will publish it as soon as it comes through.
Pre-Order Sidr & Stone Organic Marrakech Olive Oil — Limited Single-Harvest Batch →
Disclaimer: This article compares olive oil and canola (rapeseed) oil and summarises published research, regulatory claims and composition data at the time of writing; standards, products and research findings may change, and readers should check current sources. References to the Canola Council of Canada, the British Heart Foundation and the US FDA describe their published information and imply no affiliation or endorsement. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.