Baking With Peanut Oil- Everything Discussed

Introduction

If you’re fond of peanuts, switching to peanut oil for baking would be great. But are you unsure of the idea? 

Hold that thought. Don’t discard it already. Because we’re here with a solution for you.

So can you really try baking with peanut oil?

Well, yes baking with peanut oil can work as a great substitute. Such as canola, vegetable, sunflower, or almond oil. Peanut oil has a high smoking point. Its earthy, nutty flavor does make your food more delicious. Moreover, there’s a good variety of peanut oil. So you can use it for different baking purposes. 

We just gave you an idea. But if you want to know everything about peanut oil, hop onto our segment.

How To Use Peanut Oil As A Substitute? 

Using peanut oil for baking is not so common unless you’re looking for a nutty flavor. But you can always use peanut oil as a substitute for other oils.

However, make sure the properties of the oils are similar. So changing them won’t affect the flavor and texture of the food. 

Using peanut oil for baking would be a great way to use it. Especially if you’re intending to bake something savory. This is because the nutty flavor and earthy flavor of the oil complement savory food pretty well.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t bake desserts using peanut oil. This will add a nutty flavor to your cookies and muffins. This will also bring the right texture in cookies and muffins.

Moreover, if you make baklavas, peanut oil is the right oil for you to use. Because there are different kinds of nuts in the dessert already. So the oil will enhance the flavor even more.   

Substituting Canola Oil

Canola oil is the most commonly used oil for baking and cooking. 

So canola oil can be substituted by peanut oil as they’re quite similar. You may wonder why?

Canola oil is quite good for frying food. You can use this oil at pretty high temperatures without the fear of it burning. 

The same goes for peanut oil. It has a pretty high smoking point. So you know it won’t burn down your entire house. 

So this means you can use peanut oil instead of canola oil.  You can bake your puff pastries and other savory and sweet dishes with it. 

Substituting Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is a kind of oil that is highly used for baking. This is because it has a high moisture content. So the baked goods tend to come out pretty moist. Moreover, it can be cooked at a high temperature. 

So substituting vegetable oil with peanut oil can be pretty easy. This is because peanut oil will give moisture to the baked goods. It’ll also make your food taste more flavorful. 

Substituting Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is generally used for cooking instead of baking. But just like canola, oil, has a high smoking point. Moreover, it has a higher proportion of unsaturated fat.

Hence, using peanut oil instead of sunflower oil won’t affect the taste and flavor of the food. 

First of all, these oils are flavorless and have a minimum smell. So substituting peanut oil won’t be a difficult job. Furthermore, peanut oil also has a higher proportion of unsaturated fat. So it’s quite healthy compared to other oils. 

You can consider using this as a substitute for sunflower oil. As it’ll not alter the taste or texture of the baked food.

Substituting Almond Oil

Almond oil is quite similar to peanut oil first because both are nut oils. Moreover, these two have similar properties. This is why you can bake with peanut oil as a substitute for almond oil. 

However, almost all oil can only be used for low heat baking. For a nutty flavor in your baked goods, go for peanut oil instead. Because alongside the flavor, it’ll be good at high temperatures. 

Furthermore, peanut oil is quite a healthy substitution for almond oil. It’s good for your health. And it’ll make your food taste better as well. 

Substituting Walnut Oil

Walnut oil is one of the healthiest oils for cooking or baking. Furthermore, its earthy flavor gives a twist to the food you bake. It could either be a dessert or a savory item. 

As peanut oil has similar benefits as walnut oil, you can replace it. Moreover, roasted peanut oil adds an earthy flavor in case you prefer that.  

Why can Peanut Oil be used as a substitute?

Don’t worry if you’re still confused about which oil can be best substituted by peanut oil. Go through the table to get a gist of that.

Varieties of Peanut Oil-Which Is Better?

Now peanut oil can come in varieties and the flavors change accordingly. As already mentioned, peanut oil is highly suitable for high-heat baking. You can bake a cake, brioche bun, pastry, or even roast a turkey. You can use it for all purposes.

This is because peanut oil doesn’t have quite a strong flavor. So it doesn’t affect the taste of food much. But it will definitely kick your tastebuds a little depending on the type of oil you’re using.

And the best part about peanut oil is that it doesn’t absorb the original flavor of the food itself. So maybe using cold-pressed oil wouldn’t be a problem either. You can also use it for thickening ranch dressing. 

So let’s take a tour of the varieties of peanut oil.

Refined Oil

Refined peanut oil is the most commonly known and used peanut oil. The refined version of the oil simply refers to the fact that it has been neutralized. 

The flavors and all sorts of colors are removed from the oil. So you can easily use it for cooking and baking. Moreover, the refinements result in the removal of allergens and other materials. So it is completely safe to use. 

You can use refined peanut oil for roasting meat like chicken and turkey. This will make sure the meat is holding its own flavor. Which is quite important when roasting meat.

You can also smoke meat with peanut oil. Just brush it on top of the meat. It’ll be good because it’s flavorless. But use less so the smoked meat doesn’t turn black.

Furthermore, you can use refined peanut oil to bake chocolate cakes to avoid the nutty flavor. 

So baking desserts would be the best option in case of using refined peanut oil. As this will not add any other flavor to the dessert.

Virgin Or Cold-Pressed Oil

Virgin or cold-pressed peanut oil refers to the pre-refined phase of the oil. This means the oil has not been refined yet. And it retains the nutty flavor.

But there’s a catch- 

The cold-pressed peanut oil doesn’t have the strong flavor of peanuts. It just contains the natural aroma of the peanut. This makes a great oil for baking buns and bread. 

Furthermore, you can try baking muffins and cupcakes. You can also use peanut oil for brushing on top of pie crusts and tarts. The light aroma of peanuts will make a great combination with the baked goods.

Roasted Oil

Roasted peanut oil is the most flavorful among all the varieties of peanut oil. This is because the peanuts are roasted well before extracting the oil from them. 

The roasted peanuts are the reason why it gives a deep nutty flavor with a dark golden brown color. Moreover, roasted peanut oil contains an earthy flavor that enhances the nutty flavor even further.

You can use roasted peanut oil for baking things such as baklava or nut cakes etc. Or simply drizzle over baked goods just before tossing them into the oven. 

This brings out the nutty flavor and aroma into the food. And if you’re fond of the nutty flavor, it’ll be like a little treat for you. 

Peanut Oil Blends

Peanut oil blend as the name suggests is a blend of different kinds of oil such as vegetable oil or canola oil. But the oils used are on the cheaper end. This is done to make peanut oil more affordable for people. 

Peanut oil can be slightly more expensive than commonly used oil. As a result, you get peanut oil blends. These are more readily available and affordable for all. 

The mix of different oils, make it ideal for any kind of baking. The smoking point of the oil remains the same. So you can use this for high heat baking as well.  

Which One To Go For? 

In case you’re wondering which variety of peanut oil to use, you can go take help from our table. 

FAQs

Conclusion

Before we end our peanut oil segment, there’s something we’d like you to know. Peanut oil is high in pro-inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids. So consuming too much of that could lead to diseases.

Other than that, baking with peanut oil is a quite healthy substitute. We hope our thorough discussion has helped you make your decision.