Can You Mix Peanut Oil and Vegetable Oil? (And Should You)

You can mix peanut oil and vegetable oil, considering that both varieties have near-similar smoking points. Making sure that both oils have similar, or better yet, exact smoking points, keeps health hazards at bay. Moreover, the combination of these varieties creates a rich, pleasant flavor. 

The rest of the article will walk you through everything you need to know about mixing these varieties perfectly. I’ll also be answering a few commonly asked questions about the mixing process itself.

What Is Meant by a Smoking Point?

The smoking point refers to the highest temperature an oil can reach in its natural state. Afterward, the liquid begins to burn and emit smoke. It’s best to cook under any oil’s smoking point, as food fried in burnt oil has no nutrients, is carcinogenic, and leaves an awful aftertaste. 

When choosing oils to mix, ensure you know both of their smoking points. When combined, the blended oil’s smoking point is the same as the lowest smoking point overall. For example:

• Coconut oil smoking point: 350°F – 385°F (173°C – 196°C)
• Peanut oil smoking point: 450°F (232 °C)

If you decide to blend these two oils and heat them up to fry something, you must ensure that the temperature you use doesn’t go beyond 385°F. Any temperature beyond that will leave you with burnt and inedible food on your plate. One way to know the oil has reached its smoke point is if it starts to smoke and bubble up continuously. 

Peanut Oil Properties

You get peanut oil from peanut seeds. It has benefits as cooking oil and as an ingredient in various medicines. You might also come across it by the name “groundnut oil.” The oil has a mild, almost sweet, and nutty flavor that helps elevate any cooked dish. 

One of the great things about peanut oil is how nutritious it is. It is low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fat, which is nutritious and healthy. It has been a dietician’s favorite oil, especially for those suffering from low cholesterol issues and cardiac ailments. 

The oil is also known for reducing fatty buildup in your blood vessels, helping you keep heart diseases at bay. One of the unfortunate downsides of peanut oil is that peanut is a major food allergen in the US and various other parts of the world. Peanut allergies can be deadly to many, and hence, the oil should be used cautiously by those who are allergic. 

However, overall, peanut oil is nutritious, heart-healthy, and a great taste enhancer to your home-cooked meals. 

Vegetable Oil Properties

Vegetable oil can come from various different sources, such as:

• Coconut oil
• Sunflower oil
• Safflower oil
• Soybean oil
• Almond oil
• Olive oil
• Corn oil

The enhanced flavors of many of these oils add a crisp, light texture to any fried ingredient. These oils are also well-known for helping improve your metabolism and strengthen your immune system. They also give the body a lot of energy. 

Vegetable oil is rich in monounsaturated fat (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fat (PUFA.) These are good fats, essential for reducing bad cholesterol in the body. Some of these oils are rich in Vitamin E, which helps protect the nervous system. 

Vitamin E is also well-known for improving your body tissues and boosting immunity against various diseases. Not to forget, since vegetable oil contains several types of healthy fats, it also provides a great flavor profile to all dishes. A balanced amount of vegetable fat in your diet is an excellent approach to staying fit and healthy.

Are Peanut Oils and Vegetable Oils Mixable?

You can mix vegetable and peanut oil together as long as you know their smoking points. Most vegetable oils have lower smoking points than peanut oils. You also need to know their flavor profiles to better understand what kind of taste they will add to your food. 

Smoke points play a crucial point in mixing oils. Burning cooking oils can destroy any dish. However, after blending peanut and vegetable oil, if you remember the lower smoking point, it can save your dish! What’s more, mixing vegetable oil with other flavorful varieties, such as peanut oil, is a great way to add rich and aromatic flavors to your meals. 

It’s also a standard method of repurposing your least-used oils in daily dishes. Now, remember that not all vegetable oils are blendable with peanut oil, and reading up on their labels can give you some insight into the matter. Some of the best vegetable oils to mix with peanut oil are:

• Safflower oil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sunflower oil
• Almond oil

Smoking Point of Peanut Oil

Peanut oil’s smoking point falls at 450°F ( 232°C), which is pretty high. So if you want to mix any vegetable oil with it, it’s easy! However, you must always be careful when cooking with peanut oil, as it can heat up quickly and burn your food. 

And since peanut is a common allergen among other food ingredients, you must be careful while using its oil variant. Try not to mix these two oils to make any food for someone highly allergic to peanuts. 

Smoking Point of Different Vegetable Oils

While peanut oil’s approximate smoke point is 450°F ( 232°C), other compatible vegetable oils have a similar or lower smoking point, making them perfect for blending. Now, as I mentioned before, four types of vegetable oils agree well with peanut oil. So let’s check out their properties and smoking points. 

1. Safflower Oil

Safflower oil’s smoking point is 440°F ( 226°C), which is very similar to that of peanut oil. Due to its smoking temperature being a few degrees below peanut oil, always calculate the blend’s smoking point as that of the safflower variety (the lowest between the two.)

This oil has a mild and aromatic flavor that blends perfectly with peanut oil’s nutty and sweet flavor profile. Together, they leave a unique taste in your mouth, which might be likable by only a few. 

2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The smoking point of extra virgin olive oil clocks in at 410°F (210°C). When mixed with peanut oil, it becomes an excellent drizzle for salads and helps significantly with sauteing meats. 

Thanks to its rich antioxidant content, extra virgin olive oil comprises a mild peppery flavor. It fuses perfectly with peanut oil’s sweet and nutty flavors, making it a tasty blend. 

3. Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil’s smoke point is at 440°F ( 226°C), which makes it as good of a mixing option as safflower oil. Thanks to the smoking temperature being so close to that of peanut oil, you do not have to worry about burning the oil while heating it. 

In terms of flavor profile, sunflower oil does not have any. It is very light in smell and taste, making it perfect for blending! To fry or roast your meals, you can mix sunflower oil and peanut oil to give the blend a light, nutty, and fragrant flavor. 

4. Almond Oil

Almond oil and peanut oil make a beautiful blend, especially if you consider using them for more than just frying ingredients. This oil’s smoke point clocks in at 430°F (221°C), making its temperature slightly lower than that of peanut oil.

Other than frying, you can use this oil for:

• Salad dressing
• Baking 
• Roasting
• Grilling
• Sauteing

What Happens When Vegetable Oil and Peanut Oil Are Mixed? 

After mixing vegetable oil with peanut oil, the former determines the dominant smoking point, while the latter is the dominant flavor profile. Vegetable oils are flavorless and have a mild aroma. Hence, peanut oil’s sweet and nutty flavors become the leading taste of foods you fry in this blend.

This nutty flavor is more robust in raw oil than in its fried state. So, for example, if you blend extra virgin olive oil with peanut oil, you will have a nutty, sweet, peppery aroma that enhances salads and pizzas. The flavor will still have a solid nutty aftertaste if you use the same oil blend for cooking. 

The ratio of the blended oil’s flavor also depends on how much of each you have used. So if you used only a drizzle of peanut oil to blend with the vegetable oil of your choice, the mix would have a mild nutty flavor. The opposite is true if you switch the ratios.

2 Things To Know Before Mixing Peanut and Vegetable Oil

So you’re ready to mix your favorite vegetable oil with peanut oil. However, are you prepared for the outcome? While blending oils to cook your favorite dishes sounds fun, here are a few things you must know about mixing peanut and vegetable oils:

You Can Deep Fry in Mixed Oil, With Caution

Peanut oil adds a nutty and fantastic taste to any deep-fried food. On the other hand, vegetable oils like safflower oil are great for deep frying and have a mild aroma. However, the rule of thumb is always to keep the temperature under 400°F ( 204°C.) 

Anything beyond this temperature will leave you with burnt, unappetizing, and foul-smelling oil unfit for cooking. 

Peanut Oil Has a Very Strong Smell

Consider the food you’re cooking before deep frying it with a peanut oil mix. While peanut oil has various health benefits, it has a strong smell and taste. So unless you like how peanuts taste, it might be unbearable for you to eat food fried in this type of oil. 

2 Things To Remember When Mixing Peanut and Vegetable Oil

When mixing vegetable oil with peanut oil, there are some things to remember about the blend and the flavor.  Doing so helps you cook with peanut and vegetable oils without struggling and allows you to create mouth-watering dishes. So let’s look through two major things to remember when mixing peanut oil and vegetable oil:

1. Peanut Is a Highly Allergic Food Component

Around 0.6% of the US population suffers from peanut allergy. If you’re not cautious, the peanut and vegetable oil blend might be fatal for someone with a peanut allergy. So before you make this blend, check who you are using it for, to ensure everything goes well.

2. Butter and Peanut Oil Blend Do Not Go Well Together

Try not to cook with a butter+oil blend when deep frying or grilling. Butter has a low smoking point of around 300° F (148.8°C). Therefore, it does not blend very well with peanut oil, which has a relatively higher smoke point. So try to ignore it for deep-frying recipes. 

Can You Cook Turkey in a Peanut and Vegetable Oil Mix?

You can deep fry a turkey by mixing peanut and vegetable oil due to their similar smoking points. It tastes much better than a roasted turkey, especially with the right flavors. Hence, peanut oil’s nutty and sweet aftertaste, paired with vegetable oil’s mild aromatic finish, makes a perfect dish. 

One thing about turkey is that it absorbs flavors quickly. So, when using a peanut oil and vegetable oil mix, always use fresh oil. Of course, as per the Texas Peanut Producers Board‘s suggestions, you can reuse peanut oil about three or four times to deep fry a turkey. After that, the oil starts to foam up and worsen in quality. 

Moreover, choose a vegetable oil with a lower smoke point than peanut oil, preferably around 400°F (204°C) when deep frying a turkey. Try to keep the heat moderately high at around 375°F (190°C.) It takes about three to four minutes per pound for the turkey to cook. So, moderating the temperature ensures you do not burn your dish.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can mix peanut oil with any vegetable oils it is compatible with. All you need to do is understand all the oils’ flavor profiles and ensure you maintain the correct minimal smoking point when heating up the oil. And, of course, you need to also be careful about cooking something with a peanut oil blend for anyone allergic. As long as these criteria are met, peanut-vegetable oil has a lot to offer.

Thanks for stoppin’ by!

Jelly Grandma