Can You Mix Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil?

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According to market analytics firm Statista, the United States has a growing peanut oil consumption rate. US domestic peanut oil consumption grew by 23% in 2020, amounting to an approximate amount of 129,000 metric tons. By definition, peanut oil is a vegetable-derived oil like palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and sunflower seed oil. As peanut oil grows in popularity, you might wonder if you can mix it with other oils when your stock starts dwindling.

You can mix peanut oil with other vegetable oils with similar smoking points. Different vegetable oils have different smoking points. Smoking points are the approximate temperatures needed for the oil to start catching smoke. This article will discuss different vegetable oils’ smoking points and how well they are compatible with peanut oil.

Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil Smoking Points

An oil’s smoking point or smoke point is the temperature that brings it to the point of burning or smoking. When you heat an oil past its smoking point, the food that you fry in the oil will get a burnt flavor and lose essential nutrients contained in the oil. Overheated oil may also produce trans fatty acids, which experts dub as the worst type of fat that you can eat. Continued consumption of trans fatty acids may lead to debilitating health risks like cardiovascular diseases, breast and colon cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

Peanut oil is a good source of monounsaturated fat (a healthy fat) with an approximate smoking point of 450°F or 232°C. You can use peanut oil for frying and sautéing. You may also add peanut oil to any dish to add a slight, nutty flavor. Roasted peanut oil offers stronger flavors, which may be best suited for side dishes that require extra flavor.

It is an important side note that peanut oils also contain allergens that may be harmful to certain people. There are approximately 6.1 million Americans of all ages with peanut allergies. Be cautious when mixing peanut oil with other oil, especially if you are serving a dish to someone with a nut allergy.

When using peanut oil to cook food, be sure to keep its temperature under its smoking point to avoid generating harmful chemicals like toxic fumes or free radicals. When you mix peanut oil with another vegetable oil that has a lower smoking point, you risk generating the same harmful substances by burning the oil with the lower smoke point.

While it’s generally safe to mix peanut oil and vegetable oil, keep in mind that you will have to follow the lower smoke point of the oils. For example, if you mix peanut oil with another oil that has an approximate smoke point of 375°F or 191°C, you should not exceed 375°F to avoid burning the second oil and risk harming the body with toxic chemicals.

We have gathered the common vegetable oils and listed their smoke points to help you identify how much you should heat them should you ever decide to mix oils. Here are some of the best vegetable oils that you can mix with peanut oil.

Safflower Oil: 450°F or 232°C Smoke Point

Safflower oil comes from safflower seeds and is a great source of vitamin E, which helps maintain healthy eyesight and good skin. This oil has a nearly exact smoke point as peanut oil at 450°F or 232°C. With a similar smoke point, you do not have to worry about burning one oil sooner than the other, risking toxic substances.

You can use safflower oil for deep-frying, pan-frying, searing, roasting, and baking purposes. You may also directly add safflower oil to salad dressings for a mild flavor. Because it has a slight flavor, note that mixing peanut and safflower oil may produce a mixed flavor.

Sunflower Oil: 440°F or 226°C Smoke Point

Refined sunflower oil is a healthy oil that comes from the seeds of the sunflower plant. This oil is another excellent source of vitamin E for skin, eye, and immune system strength. Sunflower oil has a smoke point of 440°F or 226°C, which is a few degrees lower than peanut oil. So, if you want to mix peanut oil with this vegetable oil, be sure to keep the heat under sunflower oil’s smoke point.

Sunflower oil also has a mild flavor to it. Mixing this oil with peanut oil may produce a flavor that you could either like or dislike.

Almond Oil: 430°F or 221°C Smoke Point

Almond oil has strong antioxidant properties and contains high amounts of vitamin E and monounsaturated fat. This oil’s smoke point is a few degrees lower than peanut oil at 430°F or 221°C. You may mix this oil with peanut oil for frying, roasting, grilling, baking, and salad dressing purposes while keeping the almond oil’s smoke point in mind.

Almond oil also has a mild flavor like peanut oil. Combining peanut oil with almond oil may be more to your liking than other vegetable oils because they both come from nuts. Note that nuts may also pose a greater risk for those with nut allergies.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 410°F or 210°C Smoke Point

Extra virgin olive oil is a common cooking oil with some peppery undertones, which means it is rich in antioxidants. EVOO’s antioxidants are known as polyphenols, which experts associate with health benefits like boosting digestion, brain health, protection against heart disease, and prevention of type 2 diabetes.

This oil has a 410°F or 210°C smoke point. Be sure not to go beyond this temperature if you mix it with peanut oil for sautéing, frying, and salad dressing purposes.

Can You Mix Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil?

You can mix peanut oil with vegetable oil as long as you keep in mind the smoke points of the oils you combine. Peanut oil has a 450°F or 232°C, which is the temperature you need to start burning the oil. Going beyond this temperature risks production of trans fatty acids, which are health hazards.

If you want to mix peanut oil with vegetable oil, your best course of action is to combine it with oils that have similar smoke points. The best vegetable oils with similar smoke points as peanut oil are safflower oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, and extra virgin olive oil. However, oils such as those coming from pistachios wouldn’t be ideal to mix with vegetable oil because of its much lower smoke point at 250°F or 121°C .