How to Cook and Season Food Without Oil

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Cut oils from your recipes without compromising flavor
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Oils abound in seemingly every recipe you see—as an emulsifier, pan lubricant, or just to stick your seasonings to your food. But for those of us trying to cut our fat intake (or just trying to be kinder to our hearts), all that oil raises some red flags. Luckily, there are plenty of ways around those oils, and we’ll fill you in on some handy substitutes and alternate cooking methods. We’ll show you how to cook and bake without oil, which cookware to use for the best results, and then some tasty, oil-free dressings and condiment alternatives.

Things You Should Know

  • Saute your food on the stove with 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 mL) of water, vegetable broth, cooking vinegar, or wine to help your seasoning stick without oil.
  • Spritz your food with water or cooking vinegar before seasoning it, then place it in the oven to roast. Or, dry roast your veggies and season them afterward.
  • Use high-quality nonstick cookware like enamel, cast-iron, or stainless steel pans to cook your food on a nonstick surface without the need for oils.
Section 1 of 5:

Cooking Without Oil

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  1. 1
    Saute food on the stove with water or vegetable broth instead of oil. Oil performs several functions when cooking on the stovetop, among them helping seasonings stick to your food. To help your seasoning bind without oil, use 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 mL) of either water or vegetable broth instead, adding additional water as needed—as your food cooks and water evaporates, or as you add additional ingredients to the pan. [1]
    • Stir your food often to keep it from sticking to the sides in the absence of oil.
    • Alternatively, use a splash of white or red wine when searing meat in a pan . Cooking with wine also adds some rich flavor to meats and veggies.
    • Or, use vinegar or soy sauce, but be aware that these will add tangy, sour, or salty flavors to your dish, so use them sparingly.
  2. 2
    Spritz food with water or broth before seasoning it for the oven. Before you hit your food with those seasonings, use a spray bottle to spray it with a light coating of water, broth, or cooking vinegar. This adds a wet coating for salts and other seasonings to stick to, without the need for oil. Alternatively, just dry-roast your meat or veggies to bring out their natural flavors. [2]
    • Add your seasoning after a dry-roast. The expelled moisture from your meat or veggies will help the seasonings cling.
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  3. 3
    Steam your food rather than frying or sauteing it. Sidestep the need for oil altogether by steaming it on the stovetop. [3] Add 0.5–1 inch (1.3–2.5 cm) of water to a saucepan, then place a steam basket loaded with your food on top of the saucepan. Use a food thermometer to monitor and cook it until it reaches about 160 °F (71 °C). Then add your desired spices—the steam from cooking will help them adhere to your food.
  4. 4
    Pick up an air fryer for an oil-free cooking method. Air fryers cook your food by circulating hot air within the cooking chamber, making for a no-oil-needed cooking method. To use an air fryer in place of an oven, set it to about 25 °F (−4 °C) less than you would an oven, and cut the cook time by 25%, as a general rule of thumb. [4] Season your food beforehand by spritzing it with water to help that seasoning stick.
    • Alternatively, bake or saute your food instead of frying it for a healthier way to prep your food without the need for oils.
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Section 2 of 5:

Choosing the Right Cookware

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  1. 1
    Use nonstick pans to fry and saute food without the need for oil. When we cook on the stove, we typically use oil to keep the food from clinging to the pan and creating a mess. But investing in a high-quality nonstick pan lets you skip the oil, since the pan itself is helping your food stay unstuck. [5] Go for a thick-bottomed stainless steel pan , or enamel-coated cast iron or titanium pans .
    • Avoid Teflon pans, which have historically been made with PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), which is toxic to humans.
    • Cook meats on a well-seasoned cast-iron pan to get that essential sear without your chicken, steak, or pork sticking.
  2. 2
    Use silicone cookware to bake in the oven without greasing the pan. Butter, cooking spray, or vegetable oils are often the go-to when we need to prep an oven pan for roasting veggies or baking cookies. But swapping the fats for a simple silicone baking mat cuts all that grease entirely. Simply lay the mat on the pan, pop your food on top, then bake it as usual. [6]
    • Silicone baking mats can usually tolerate up to 480 °F (249 °C) of heat, but this varies by product. Check your mat’s packaging label for heat specifications.
    • Transfer your cooked or baked food to a cutting board before you go at it with a knife, since silicone mats are prone to rips or tears around sharp tools.
    • Alternatively, line your baking pans with parchment paper before popping them in the oven for non-stick, low-mess roasting and baking.
  3. 3
    Use a stovetop heat diffuser to avoid burning your food without oil. Oil also tends to provide a key buffer between your food and the heat source. So when you cook without oil, you’re more likely to burn your food. Sidestep this issue by placing a heat diffuser between your pot and the burner. The diffuser helps you more evenly cook your food without any major temperature fluctuations. [7]
    • Heat diffusers also come in handy when your pots and pans aren’t the best quality, which can lead to uneven temps across the pan.
    • Let the diffuser cool off for 1-2 hours after using it. Remember that it’ll get as hot or even hotter than the pot itself, so handle with care.
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Section 3 of 5:

Baking Without Oil

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  1. 1
    Swap oil for unsweetened applesauce in your baking. Vegetable oil adds some vital moisture to baked goods, but there are some ways to get that moisture without the added fats. In breads, cakes, and cookies, substitute any oils for an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce. [8] Applesauce contains pectin, which is a natural product of citrus fruits that helps bind and moisturize your confections.
    • If you’re just trying to reduce oil instead of cutting it altogether, swap half the oil for applesauce for the best results. The oil will still do its thing, but the applesauce will pull its own weight.
    • Alternatively, swap the oil for equal amounts of mashed banana, pumpkin, tahini , or yogurt. Yogurt contains some oils, but in a healthier, lighter form.
  2. 2
    Substitute oils with oil-free nut butters. Nut butters like peanut, sunflower, cashew, or almond butter do have oil, but those oils are natural byproducts of the nuts themselves and make for a more health-conscious substitute for vegetable oils. Swap any oils in a recipe for an equal amount of one of these nut butters. Just be sure the label specifies there are no added oils! [9]
    • Cashew butter tends to have the smallest flavor footprint, while sunflower, almond, and peanut butter will add a nutty flavor to your confection.
    • To loosen up a stiff nut butter, stir in a spoonful of soy milk before adding the nut butter to your bowl.
  3. 3
    Make dessert sauces and frostings with silken tofu. Dessert toppings also tend to call for oils or butters. Luckily, silken tofu is a champ when it comes to whipping up creamy and rich frostings without added fats. Just blend 1 package of silken tofu with 4 tablespoons (59 mL) of maple syrup, 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of vanilla extract, and a pinch of lemon zest. Then freeze it for 1 hour before whipping it up and frosting your confections with this light and airy buttercream. [10]
    • Make a quick silken tofu dessert sauce by blending a handful of frozen fruit with 1 package of silken tofu.
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Section 4 of 5:

Dressings and Condiments

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  1. 1
    Make creamy dressings with nut or seed butters instead of oil. Creamy dressings typically use oils to emulsify and bind the ingredients together, but oils aren’t required for a rich salad-topper. Swap oil bases for blended avocados, hummus, seeds, beans, or nut butters to add some richness to your creamy dressing recipes. For example, make a creamy hemp dressing by simply blending the following ingredients in a blender until smooth: [11]
    • 1 cup (240 mL) of water
    • 1 handful shelled hemp seeds
    • ¾ tsp (4.5 g) of salt
    • ½ tsp (1 g) of onion powder
    • ½ tsp (1 g) of garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of lemon juice
    • ½ tsp (2 g) of dill
    • 2 tsp (6 g) of chives
  2. 2
    Substitute oils in fruity or transparent dressings for applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce is also a handy ingredient when adapting oily dressing recipes. Simply blend the applesauce in a blender to activate the binding agent, pectin, then swap it for the same amount of oil the recipe calls for. [12]
    • Alternatively, heat 1 tbsp (2g) of arrowroot powder and 1 cup (240 mL) of water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir it until it’s thickened to make a quick and easy dressing base.
  3. 3
    Make an oil-free tofu-based mayo to use as a condiment or ingredient. Soups, dressings, sauces—so many recipes use mayo as a base. But mayo is heavy on the oils, which is also why it’s so prolific. Any time you encounter mayo as an ingredient, whip up this quick oil-free mayo and substitute it 1:1 with the real thing. Simply blend the following ingredients in a blender: [13]
    • 1 package of firm silken tofu
    • 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of Dijon mustard
    • ¾ tsp (1 g) of garlic powder
    • ¾ tsp (1 g) of onion powder
    • ¾ tsp (1 g) of salt
    • ½ tsp (1 g) of coconut sugar
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Section 5 of 5:

Seasoning Popcorn Without Oil

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  1. 1
    Make stovetop popcorn and skip the oil. Oil helps regulate heat when you make popcorn on the stove, but the truth is that you don’t really need it at all. Simply pour a single layer of kernels into a saucepan, put on the lid, and turn your burner to medium heat. Wait for the kernels to start popping, and once you can count 1-2 full seconds between pops, turn off the heat. Leave the pan on the burner until the kernels stop popping altogether. [14]
    • Hit that popcorn with a little bit of salt. The small crevices in the popped kernels are enough to hold finer seasonings without using oil, like salt or onion powder.
    • Alternatively, pop unoiled kernels in the microwave using a silicone microwave popcorn container . Your microwave’s popcorn setting will do the trick.
  2. 2
    Spritz your popcorn with warm water to help seasonings stick. Usually, we use oil or butter to get those sweet or salty toppings to stick. Instead, fill a spray bottle with warm water and hit your popcorn with 2-3 sprays (with the nozzle set to mist). Then give your popcorn a dash of seasoning and shake it up for an evenly-coated bowl of movie theater-quality ‘corn. [15]
    • We recommend a few pinches of nutritional yeast and a shake of garlic salt for a salty, umami flavor explosion.
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    What seasonings can I use to make a dish more flavorful if I am trying to avoid salt?
    Jennifer Lease, RD, CDN
    Registered Dietitian & Trained Chef
    Jennifer Lease is a Registered Dietitian and Trained Chef based in Denver, Colorado. With nine years of experience in the food and nutrition fields, she specializes in a plant-forward approach to applying nutrition information to cooking. Jennifer holds a BS in Dietetics and a Dietetic Internship Certificate from The University of Delaware. She also received her professional chef training from The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.
    Jennifer Lease, RD, CDN
    Registered Dietitian & Trained Chef
    Expert Answer
    I recommend using fresh herbs, fresh citrus zest and juice, using cooking methods that add tons of flavor, like roasting.
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      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about healthy foods, check out our in-depth interview with Jennifer Lease, RD, CDN .

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.ornish.com/zine/cooking-without-oil/#
      2. ↑ https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/dry-roasting-vegetables
      3. ↑ https://www.greenmatters.com/p/oil-free-cooking-basics
      4. ↑ https://www.foodandwine.com/how-to-use-an-air-fryer-7151506
      5. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/top-tips-for-cooking-without-oil/
      6. ↑ https://www.thekitchn.com/essential-baking-tools-silpat-91390
      7. ↑ https://www.thekitchn.com/persnickety-sto-20009
      8. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/top-tips-for-cooking-without-oil/
      9. ↑ http://www.plantplate.com/Guide/Detail?guideID=1018
      1. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/dessert/carrot-cake-with-silken-buttercream-frosting/
      2. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/salad/hemp-ranch-oil-free-dressing/
      3. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/oil-free-salad-dressings/
      4. ↑ https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/dip-spread/tofu-mayonnaise/
      5. ↑ https://turkishstylecooking.com/oil-free-popcorn-recipe.html
      6. ↑ https://nerdymillennial.com/how-to-make-popcorn-without-oil-6-vegan-popcorn-seasoning-recipes/

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