Can You Fry Chicken In Olive Oil? (Which Oil Is Best?) Updated March 2023

There are many different oils you can use wherever you cook. One popular type of oil is olive oil. 

Freshly squeezed from olives, olive oil is a tasty ingredient for cooking many things and brings many different cooking methods to your kitchen. It also gives food a nice flavor and cooks it quickly. 

Now, if you cook chicken a lot and are wanting to fry it up in your new frying pan, you may wonder if you can use olive oil to give the chicken that good flavor and fry it properly as well. 

So, can you fry chicken in olive oil?

You can fry chicken in olive oil However, olive oil is meant to only fry smaller portions. So, you can fry chicken tenders or thin chicken breasts in olive oil but not a whole bone-in chicken.

That means you can use olive oil in your frying pan but putting it in a deep fryer is probably not a good idea. This is because olive oil can’t be heated to the higher temperatures that many other types of oil can.

Olive oil, avocado oil, and canola oil are some of the healthiest oils that you can use to fry your chicken in. Of those three, you are pretty likely to have a bottle of extra virgin olive oil sitting in your kitchen.

Matter of fact, Livestrong even calls olive oil the healthiest oil for frying. And even despite its lower smoke point (the smoke point of olive oil is 374-405 degrees), it has been used to fry many different foods for centuries. 

Originating in the Mediterranean, olive oil is a staple ingredient in many foods around the world. But you should know that olive oil should be used with some things in mind. 

Olive oil does not have very high temperatures which it can be heated to and it also should be heated slowly. You also use less olive oil when you are frying then you would with any other cooking oil. 

Although you need to make sure you use enough oil when you deep fry chicken, with olive oil how much you will need to use is less than with different types of oil.

Refined olive oils are good to use however, they don’t have the quality that extra-virgin olive oil does. Extra-virgin olive oil is the best kind you can buy. It is pure oil from olives and tastes great. 

When frying with olive oil, refined olive oil may be able to be heated to higher temperatures than extra-virgin olive oil. Still, no matter the type of olive oil you are using, you should be careful not to burn it.

So this means most of the time it shouldn’t be any higher than medium heat.

Heat it up slowly to an ideal temperature between 350 and 380 degrees Fahrenheit. Olive oil will fry your food just fine but remember that it is best for smaller foods. 

So, if you are frying chicken with olive oil you can’t fry a whole bone-in chicken. You can fry small chicken pieces such as chicken tenders or thin chicken breasts with olive oil. 

Olive oil can give chicken a nice flavor and taste while cooking it quickly. Be sure to do small amounts and you can fry chicken in olive oil.

Is Frying Chicken In Olive Oil Bad For You?

Eating a lot of fried foods is not healthy. This could put you at risk for heart disease and weight gain. But every once in a while it is good to fry up some chicken. 

Since you keep olive oil in your kitchen, you are probably wondering if frying the chicken with the olive oil is bad for you.

Frying chicken in olive oil is not bad for you since it is a pretty healthy oil. Fried foods could cause certain health issues but if fried with olive oil in moderation, then this isn’t bad for you.

As you can see, frying isn’t the best way to cook food but when done in moderation, it is fine. Olive oil can be used to fry chicken and as long as you don’t burn it, it can help make a tasty meal. 

When frying, olive oil is similar to any other oil meaning that frying with olive oil isn’t bad for you. Olive oil can actually have a lot of health benefits. It is even said that when frying chicken or any other foods for that matter, you should choose olive oil. Olive oil is a good choice for frying chicken and is not unhealthy or bad for you.

What Is The Best Oil To Cook Chicken With?

Now, even though you can fry a piece of chicken with olive oil, remember that it cannot be heated to a very high temperature. So, if you are frying a large amount of chicken or want to raise the heat up a little, you should go with a different kind of frying oil. 

What is the best oil to cook chicken with?

The best kind of oil to fry chicken with are vegetable oil, shortening, lard, peanut oil, canola oil, and coconut oil. These oils have a high smoke point for great frying.

Some people have even used soybean oil or sunflower oil for frying their chicken because of their higher smoke point and since they have a neutral flavor.

When frying anything you want to choose a neutral oil that won’t add a lot of flavor to the breaded chicken.

You want the flavor of the chicken and breading (or flour mixture) to be the stars of your dish not the type of oil that you used to fry it.

So, olive oil is good to use for small amounts of chicken as long as you don’t use to too high of a oil temperature. For deep frying chicken it is recommended that you use vegetable oil, shortening, lard, peanut oil, canola oil and coconut oil because of their higher smoking point.

These range in smoke points of 360 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Since olive oil has a relatively low smoke point compared to vegetable oil, it will typically not be used for frying whole chickens or for larger pieces of chicken like legs and thighs. No matter which oil you use you will always want to have a plate (or dish) with paper towels on top to help absorb the hot oil after you take the chicken out.

If you let the chicken sit in the oil it will be soggy rather than crispy. If your personal preference is to have soggy fried chicken I’m not going to judge you (okay maybe a little) but most people will want to use paper towels to soak up that extra oil.

All of these frying oils also have a neutral taste meaning that the taste of the chicken will shine through. If you want to use olive oil to fry with, you can always mix it together with vegetable oil for a great frying oil. 

This way you get the flavor of olive oil while being able to use more oil in your frying.

Final Thoughts

You can fry chicken in olive oil. It is even said to be the best option in regards to health for frying oil. Just remember to heat it slowly and to the right temperature. 

Olive oil can add some nice flavor and can be used to fry chicken with. Frying with olive oil isn’t bad for you, but if you want to deep fry at a high temperature there are other oils you should use instead.

All that to say, you can fry up some delicious chicken with olive oil.