Can You Mix Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil?

Cooking with different types of cooking oils is something we all do in the kitchen.

After all, there are so many different types of oils that it’s impossible not to find something that adds the right amount of taste and texture to your foods.

Can You Mix Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil?

Vegetable oil being mixed with peanut oil in a pan

You can mix peanut oil and vegetable oil when cooking, but there are some rules you have to follow. As long as you make sure the oils don’t get higher than the lowest smoke point of the two oils, you should be fine.

What To Know Before You Mix Peanut Oil with Vegetable Oil

Before you mix any two oils, you have to know what the smoke point is of each oil and go by the lowest one. For example, if the smoke point of a certain oil is 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s mixed with an oil that has a smoke point of 275 degrees, then the two oils combined should never get higher than 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, trans fatty acid can form, which is extremely unhealthy.

Smoking Points

What is a smoke point? The smoke point of an oil is the temperature it has to be at for the oil to smoke or burn. If the oil gets hotter than that, you’ll get a stronger flavor and usually a very unpleasant one at that. Cooking oils past their smoke point can potentially be unhealthy, especially if it turns into trans fatty acids. And if you keep eating trans fatty acids, you may increase your risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Smoking Point for Peanut Oil

Peanut oil has an approximate smoke point of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and it gives your foods a nice nutty flavor. Peanut oil is used a lot for sautéing and deep frying, as well as for making side dishes that you’d like to add a little extra flavor to. But you have to be careful with this oil because some people have a peanut allergy and cannot consume it. In fact, it is estimated that there are roughly 6 million Americans that have allergies to peanuts, and they cover people of all ages.

Smoking Point for Vegetable Oil

Peanut oil mixed with vegetable oil that is smoking in a pan
Different kinds of vegetable oil have different smoke points.

There are many types of vegetable oils, so you have to know the exact type of vegetable used in the oil. Here are the smoke points for three common cooking oil options:

  • Safflower oil: 450 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Sunflower oil: 445 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Extra-virgin olive oil: 410 degrees Fahrenheit

If you use regular vegetable oil, which usually includes a combination of different oils such as sunflower, safflower, corn, soybean, canola, and even peanut oil, just know that the smoke point for this oil is roughly 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that if you mix peanut oil (which has a smoke point of 450 degrees) and vegetable oil (which has a smoke point of 400 degrees) you should never let the combined oils get any hotter than 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Effect on Flavor

Each type of oil for cooking has a specific flavor to it, even though the flavor isn’t usually that strong. If you mix different oils, you may find the resulting product to have a rather neutral taste, or it may have a slight hint of one of the oils’ flavor. This means that when mixing two different oils, you have to consider the taste of each type so that the two flavors complement one another.

Is It Safe To Mix Cooking Oils?

You can safely mix cooking oils as long as you don’t cook the oil higher than the lowest oil’s smoke point. If you want to mix peanut oil and some type of vegetable oil, it’s best to combine it with oils that have roughly the same smoke point. For instance, peanut oils work best and taste best when mixed with safflower oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, or extra-virgin olive oil.

Precautions To Take

In addition to making sure the oils don’t get hotter than the lowest oil’s smoke point, it is also best to use two oils that have smoke points that are very close to one another. An oil with a smoke point of 425 degrees and an oil with a smoke point of 450 degrees will work better than an oil with a smoke point of 425 degrees and an oil with a smoke point 250 degrees.

If you’re thinking about using a thermometer to check the temperature of your oil, see our post about whether or not you can use a meat thermometer for oil.

And if you’d like to use lard instead of cooking oil, see our post about where to find lard in the grocery store.