Here is my quick Jana Eats guide to pantry staples, cooking oils & fats edition! I keep these in my pantry so I have it stocked and ready for any healthy recipe. With so many people staying home and needing to create some quarantine cuisine, we all need to know how to utilize everything in our pantry. From baking to grilling, there is an oil or fat for that!

Everybody’s body needs fat for healthy functioning. So why not give your body a range of good fats in your cooking and baking? Read on for my quick explanations of where to use these pantry staples and some good brand picks to look out for or get delivered to your door.

Watch me introduce you to each of these oils on my YouTube channel for Jana Eats, too!

 Olive Oil

Olive oil is great for drizzling or including in recipes that use lower heat. Olive oil has a lower “smoke point”: the temperature at which your pan starts sending up serious smoke signals. That over-heated oil can leave a rancid taste in your food.

It’s really important to choose a good quality olive oil because many olive oils are blended with lesser quality oils like grapeseed. Go for a bottle that is dark glass or metal, says it is cold-pressed, and look for labels that show it’s certifications or origins. Here’s a fantastic beginner’s guide to buying olive oil from Bon Appetit Magazine: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/how-to-buy-olive-oil-beginners-guide

Favorite Picks:

• Frankie’s 457 Organic Olive Oil:  find it at Whole Foods!
• La Tourangelle Organic Olive Oil: There are many fantastic olive oils out there in grocery stores now, but if you don’t want to venture out, La Tourangelle is a good Organic pick at a good price for quality from Amazon.
• Brightland’s “Ardor” Chili Infused Olive Oil: If you’re feeling fancy, this one packs a delicious amount of heat and flavor.

Avocado Oil

Avocado Oil is great for high-heat cooking with a 500F degree smoke point. It is flavor neutral and great for sautéing, grilling, baking, whatever! Quality avocado oils usually come in tinted glass bottles.

Favorite Picks:

• Chosen Foods Avocado Oil: currently in my pantry and easy to order from Amazon.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is good for so many things, including your skin care! Coconut oil also has a higher smoke point, though not as high as avocado oil. You can easily find it in almost any grocery store now, refined or unrefined.

Unrefined coconut oil does impart some coconut flavor, so watch your flavor profiles. It goes especially well in Asian cuisine, but I also bake with it all the time. It’s key in my two-ingredient Chocolate Magic Shell recipe for ice cream topping.

Remember, coconut oil is solid at cooler temperatures but is easily melted with low heat and soft at a warm room temperature.

Favorite Picks:

• Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil: expeller-pressed from fresh, carefully dried coconut kernels. Contains only 1 ingredient—simple & delicious! Bonus: Dr. Bronner’s is fair-trade and has donated to my favorite organization that empowers people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, TERI Inc.

Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Many people who are sensitive to dairy can still have ghee because the clarifying process removes casein and lactose. Ghee is simply clarified butter. It is simmered over low heat until the milk solids have a chance to start to brown lightly, creating a slightly nutty, caramelized flavor. I think it tastes more buttery than butter. Ghee is high in Omega-3s and butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that is said to be good for your gastrointestinal tract.

I put it into my bulletproof coffee in the morning, on popcorn, and when I make my Perfect Scrambled Eggs. 

Favorite Picks:

• Indian Milk & Honey Co. Ghee: lactose-free “homestyle” ghee with smooth texture and balanced “nutty” flavor. It is GMO free, hormone free, and salt free. Easy to order to your door on Amazon.

• Fourth & Heart Ghee: can be found at Walmart, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix, Vons, and many more grocery stores!

MCT Oil

Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oils are heart-healthy and are super popular, especially for the Keto diet. MCTs are only naturally occurring only in coconut and palm oil, human breast milk and in full-fat cow and goat milk. Most plants and animal protein we eat have long-chain fatty acids that take more digestive steps to create usable energy from them. Many people choose to add MCTs into their diet for its easily absorbed “good fats” and the benefits for many health conditions like Crohn’s disease or celiac disease.

Choose a brand that doesn’t use solvents to extract the oil. Unlike just using coconut oil to get your MCTs in, it doesn’t “chunk up” in cold temperatures the way coconut oil does. I add it into my Bulletproof Coffee in the morning, but you can add it into smoothies, dressings, all sorts of things.

Favorite Picks:

• Sports Research Brand Organic MCT Oil Unflavored: Here is a large bulk option from Amazon and is currently in my pantry. Sourced from sustainable Organic coconuts, no palm oil. It is also extracted through a patented heat process without the use of Hexane or other icky solvents.

Animal Fats: Duck, Beef Tallow, Etc.

Animal fats are not always found in everyone’s pantry, but are easy to get with the magic of the internet! Choose brands whose animals are grass-fed and free-range for better nutrition for you, and better for the animals. Duck fat is a favorite of mine and has a deeply umami flavor that is awesome for frying eggs or making hash browns.

Favorite Picks:

• Epic Brand Duck Fat: ever ordered duck fat fries? If you haven’t, you can make them with this! It’s decadent and delicious. From the company: “Our Ducks come from a farm in the Midwest where they most certainly, get to be ducks. They have access to water and are cared for by loving hands. The duck fat is proudly made in the USA.”

Almond Oil

Almond oil is definitely a multi-purpose oil. It has a higher smoke point and is pretty flavor neutral. Use almond oil for frying, sautéing or baking. Be sure to pick a sweet almond oil that can be used for cooking purposes, though it can be used to nourish skin as well!

Favorite Picks:

• La Tourangelle Sweet Almond Oil: expeller-pressed oil for cooking or body care! This is a brand I have used and is high-quality.

Toasted Sesame Oil

Make sure that your sesame oil is toasted, trust me, it has better flavor. You don’t need a lot, a teaspoon goes a long way. Sesame oil is great in salad dressings and as a drizzle.

Favorite Picks:

• La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil: currently in my pantry and easy to order from Amazon. 

(Disclosure: I may receive a very small amount of revenue if you purchase through my Amazon links. It does NOT raise the cost for you, but does help me keep on creating recipes and videos on Jana Eats. Thanks!)

What pantry staple oils & fats do you keep stocked at all times? Will you try any of these items in your cooking and baking that you haven’t before? Let me know in the comments!