For added flavor in your breads, try using an infused olive oil.

How to Bake Cookies, Cakes & Breads With Olive Oil

by Samantha Lowe

Believed sacred throughout much of the ancient world, the golden liquid of olive oil has been enchanting humans and enhancing their foods for thousands of years. Heart healthy and containing compounds that actually facilitate vitamin absorption, it is no wonder that olive oil is often the choice oil for families. Olive oil is not just for cooking and salad dressings; you can use it when baking instead of using other fats and oils that are not nearly as beneficial to your health. Due to olive oil's strong flavor, this substitution works better for savory baked goods, like rosemary cakes and cracked-black pepper cookies, than it does for sweet baked goods.

Choose a recipe for substitution that has fruits in it, or is savory in flavor. The oil compliments fruity flavors well due to its own earthy complex taste. Recipes that contain other strong flavors and do not simply rely on the rich taste of butter or oil are also good for the addition of olive oil.

Substitute olive oil for the oil called for in a recipe in a ratio of one to one. If calling for butter, substitute olive oil in a ratio of 3 parts oil to every 4 parts butter, due to the water that butter contains.

Substitute half olive oil and half canola oil if you are worried about the strong flavor of the olive oil turning off the overall taste of a baked good. This maintains the heart healthiness of the oil, as canola oil has almost all the same benefits that olive oil does, but has little flavor.

Add the olive oil at the same point in your recipe where butter or regular oil is called for. Continue with the recipe as it states.

Items you will need

  • Low-intensity flavor olive oil, late harvest variety
  • Canola oil (optional)


  • Olive oil keeps the moist texture of baked goods for longer than other oils due to the vitamin E it contains.


  • Do not choose low-quality, highly processed oil, as this will create an undesirable flavor throughout the baked good.

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