According to leading advocates of the carnivore diet, when it comes to choosing cooking oils, animal fats reign supreme. As a full-stack developer expert on specialized diets, I recommend tallow, lard, butter, ghee and other saturated fats from animal sources as the best oils for cooking on a strict carnivore diet. Not only are animal fats more aligned with carnivore principles, but they tend to be more nutrient-dense, stable at high heats, and less prone to oxidation compared to vegetable and seed oils.
While often overlooked, the type of cooking oil used can make or break your success on a meat-based diet like carnivore. As with any restrictive regimen, ensuring you get adequate nutrition from the limited foods allowed is paramount. Choosing oils dense in vitamins A, D, E, and K directly impacts the diet‘s sustainability.
Just as critical is picking fats that won‘t oxidize into harmful free radicals when exposed to high temperatures. Oxidative stress exacerbates inflammation and disease progression − the very things those adopting a carnivore diet aim to avoid.
So if vegetable oils and other polyunsaturated fats are off the table, what oils provide the right fatty acid profile and remain stable under hot cooking conditions?
Tallow & Lard
Beef tallow and lard from pork contain the same fatty acids found in the animals themselves. About 50% is monounsaturated oleic acid – the same health-promoting fat found in olive oil. These saturated and monounsaturated fats give tallow and lard high smoke points, allowing them to withstand frying and roasting temperatures up to 420°F.
Nutritionally, tallow and lard provide:
- Vitamin D for immune function and calcium absorption
- Vitamin E, K, and CLA as antioxidants to reduce cellular damage from inflammation
- Butyrate to supply cells with energy and keep gut bacteria happy
With beneficial CLA and stable saturated fats, using beef tallow and lard to cook meat sustains the carnivore diet by locking in flavor and fat-soluble nutrients.
Butter & Ghee
Clarified butter, or ghee, is simmered to separate milk solids from the pure butterfat. Removing milk proteins makes ghee lactose- and casein-free, meaning even dairy-sensitive individuals can usually tolerate it. With a smoke point over 400°F, ghee remains stable under high heat while providing vitamins A, D, E, K2, CLA, and butyrate.
Regular butter contains the same nutrients and fats as ghee but has a lower smoke point. Still, at 350°F, butter exceeds the smoke points of olive and avocado oil, making it suitable for light sautéing. Its rich taste enhances vegetables and eggs approved on a carnivore diet.
Bacon Grease & Duck Fat
Don‘t let these flavorful fats go to waste! Bacon grease gives everything from Brussels sprouts to sweet potatoes a smoky richness. Duck fat adds crispness and savory depth to roasted vegetables and potatoes.
Both animal fats boast high smoke points (375-400°F) and contain vitamin D, E, and monounsaturated fat for cooking stability. Reusing these tasty fats allows you to extract additional nutrition from meat cooked previously.
Dairy Fat
High-fat dairy like cheese, heavy cream, and sour cream contain mostly saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. While dairy is technically avoided on a strict carnivore diet, some can tolerate small amounts. Fermented cheese and heavy cream add flavor and valuable fats if digestion isn‘t compromised.
The key is sticking to full-fat dairy instead of low-fat or skim varieties laden with powdered milk and stabilizing vegetable oils. Opt for organic products from pasture-raised animals whenever possible.
Now that we know the best oils for cooking on the carnivore diet, let‘s discuss why vegetable, seed, and nut oils should be avoided.
Highly Processed
Modern vegetable oils like canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower seed, and safflower oil undergo extensive processing using chemicals, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Heating, compressing, oxidizing, and chemically extracting oils intensifies free radical and trans fat production.
We simply didn‘t evolve eating these lab-created fats.
Prone to Oxidation
The polyunsaturated fatty acid content of vegetable oils causes them to oxidize when heated. This rancidification creates free radicals that trigger inflammatory cascades in the body when consumed.
Cholesterol oxidation products and aldehydes also form, disrupting cellular function and mitochondria, potentially contributing to heart disease and cancer growth.
Linked to Chronic Disease
Study after study demonstrates substituting vegetable oils for animal fats over the past 60 years has increased cases of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, liver damage, nutrient deficiencies and certain cancers – the very diseases proponents claimed reducing saturated fat would prevent!
When polyunsaturated fats from industrial seed oils get incorporated into cell membranes, it enhances oxidative damage and disruption of cell signaling.
In one meta-analysis, higher polyunsaturated fat intake was significantly associated with worse heart health, whereas saturated fat improved lipid profiles and markers of cardiovascular disease risk.
Adopting an all-meat diet contradicts everything we‘ve been told for decades about eating more veggies and using vegetable oils instead of butter or lard. But the truth is, our ancestors thrived on animal foods as their primary calorie and fat source.
Modern food processing and chemical-laden crops have created an inflammatory environment making conditions ripe for chronic illnesses.
Stripping your diet down to basics, eliminating plant foods and oils, and solely relying on nutrient-dense animal fat allows your body to reset, reduce oxidative stress, and heal.
For the growing number of people seeking relief from autoimmunity and metabolic disorders through carnivore, select cooking oils wisely. Opt for stable, naturally-occurring animal fats like tallow, lard, and ghee over inflammatory seed and vegetable oils.
At the end of the day, fat quality determines the long-term sustainability of a carnivore diet. By choosing cooking oils rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and inflammation-taming fatty acids, you give your body the best chance at thriving on animal foods alone.