Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
Olive oil is an iconic ingredient. It’s essential to many cuisines and lends its fruity, vibrant flavor to many dishes, from pasta to chocolate cake. It can be infused with herbs or other flavors to transform it into something more elegant and complex, or drizzled over vanilla ice cream for the perfect dessert upgrade. The oil serves as the starting point for cooking everything, from omelets to fancy dinners. It has been treasured throughout history, from ancient Greece to today.
Since olive oil is clearly important to both culture and my kitchen, I went on a quest to find the best one available at my favorite grocery store: Trader Joe’s. I’ve reviewed many of the store’s products, including its snacks, so I was excited to do so again. This time, I purchased every olive oil I found to taste and rank from worst to best, based on factors like taste and texture, to determine which one was best. Use this list to help you out on your next Trader Joe’s run!
9. Trader Giotto’s imported olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
I firmly believe the best olive oils are extra virgin. The ingredient list for this bottle includes both extra virgin and refined olive oil, making it the only blend on this list that’s not 100% EVOO. As a result, it didn’t have the flavor of a high-quality EVOO, so I had to rank it last.
This olive oil is thin and almost translucent. When I poured it out, it did not hold its shape — it simply spread across the plate. Since it’s made with a mix of the two oils, it didn’t deliver much on flavor. I could barely taste it, and what I could tasted bland and nondescript. Granted, I tried it plain — and no one ever eats olive oil plain except for tasting purposes. If I tried it on pasta or vegetables, the flavor would likely be nonexistent.
8. Trader Giotto’s organic extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
This organic olive oil is made without certain pesticides and chemicals. I’m all for organic products, though the certification rarely has a big impact on flavor. Though, in the case of olive oil, I find organic products have a cleaner taste and offer better peace of mind.
In many ways, this was the most basic, run-of-the-mill olive oil I tried. It had a thin, slightly watery texture and was neither light nor heavy — just a solid, middle-of-the-road option. I appreciated that it wasn’t too greasy, but it wasn’t particularly fresh-tasting, either. Its flavor was unobtrusive, somewhat bland, vague, and nondescript. Nothing about this olive oil stood out to me, and other bottles just stood out more than it. I would advise against purchasing this one when there are much better Trader Joe’s olive oils to try, but it wasn’t bad at all.
7. Trader Giotto’s extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
Growing up, my mom made Italian pasta dinners almost every Sunday — featuring lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken marsala, and the like. A bottle like this could have served my family well for those meals. While it’s not bad, it’s not great, either. It’s just a solid, functional, typical olive oil.
I found this one had a rich, mellow taste. It was less fruity than many of the others and more sour. It even tasted slightly stale to me. The texture wasn’t too greasy — something I didn’t think was such a big factor in olive oil until I tried several products in succession for this ranking. All in all, it’s a solid pick. It would be good for everyday cooking purposes, especially those that don’t require the olive oil’s flavor to be the focal point of the meal.
6. Trader Giotto’s 100% Italian president’s reserve extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
This olive oil is labeled as 100% Italian president’s reserve — which means nothing to me, but sounds very fancy and legitimate. But you know what? I think the president could do better. This olive oil is pretty good, sure, but it isn’t quite at the level of many of the higher-ranked bottles on this list.
Its slightly brighter and fresher taste helped it rank higher than its predecessors. It did not have the same hint of staleness, which was great. On the other hand, I found it had a slightly greasier mouthfeel, and thought that the texture was more oily than light.
I wouldn’t buy this oil again, unless it was my only option. It would be better for sauteing and baking than drizzling and dipping.
5. Trader Joe’s premium cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
This is the first olive oil I tried that made me think, “Wow, this is really nice.” Its sole ingredient is extra virgin olive oil, and it has a full-bodied flavor — very rich, mildly fruity, and bold. It also has an interesting savory, almost spicy, finish. While it doesn’t taste super fresh, it does taste nice and strong. If you like an olive oil that can hold up to whatever you’re dipping into it, it’s a good one to choose. I could still detect its flavors remarkably well even after topping it up with sourdough toast.
Overall, this is a solid all-purpose olive oil. It’s not spectacular and won’t make an immediate impact on a meal, but it will quietly elevate it more than the lower-ranked products. And though I know presentation isn’t the most important consideration, it helps that it comes in a very pretty bottle.
4. Trader Joe’s organic Spanish extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
I knew this olive oil was different at first taste. At first, I got the impression that it was a smooth, bright, and very fresh-tasting olive oil. Then, the flavor turned peppery on my tongue. I was left with a tangy, slightly bitter finish that was intriguing and bold. If you want a complex olive oil that really stands out and adds some spice to your meal, choose this one. This olive oil is to most others what arugula is to iceberg lettuce — unique, full of flavor, and a little too much at times.
Sometimes you don’t want your cooking oil to be front and center, as you want the dish as a whole to shine. In that case, you’ll probably want to use a slightly more subtle olive oil instead of this one. Still, it’s excellent for some recipes, like salad dressings, and for dipping bread.
3. Trader Joe’s Sicilian Selezione extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I will — because I’m supposed to be judging everything about these olive oils in order to rank them. This bottle’s packaging and design instantly made me want to buy it. The sunny golden color is also very winsome.
This olive oil’s packaging describes using phrases like “fruity flavor,” “smooth and buttery,” and “distinctive peppery finish.” And I’m here to tell you that it’s not false advertising; every bit of that is true. The first thing I thought when I tasted it was, “Woah, that is, by far, the fruitiest olive oil I’ve tried.” The sweet and sunny flavor was barely present in the other bottles, but it was at the forefront with this one. The texture is also distinctly buttery rather than oily, and it’s almost velvety soft. And that peppery finish? Oh, it’s there, and I was glad to see it was balanced and proportionate. Essentially, this olive oil tasted cleaner, brighter, and fresher than any of the olive oils I ranked below it. I loved this one, and I’m glad I discovered it.
2. Trader Joe’s Spanish garlic-flavored organic extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
This petite bottle of Spanish olive oil with garlic flavor is just 8.5 ounces. I love garlic, so I was really excited to try this one. One thing that stood out about the original Spanish olive oil was its spicy complexity, which seemed like it would lend itself well to garlic.
And garlic lovers, this one’s for you! I could smell the garlic as soon as I opened the bottle, and it became even stronger when I poured it. And when I tasted it? Total garlic attack. It genuinely tasted like I had just sauteed garlic in olive oil and licked the pan. Most of the spiciness of the original oil is gone and replaced by purely savory, aromatic, and pungent notes — though it’s not too bold or brittle. It’s rich, caramelized, and complex. I didn’t feel right putting this at No. 1 because it’s the only olive oil with added flavor, but it is really, really good. If you love garlic, don’t miss out on it.
1. Trader Joe’s California extra virgin olive oil
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
Without further ado, here is the top olive oil at Trader Joe’s! It’s a California extra virgin, and it does everything right. It’s mellow, fresh, fruity, and clean-tasting — without being particularly bold or pronounced. The texture is clean and clear with a smooth finish; it’s not cloying or greasy at all. I also appreciated its delicate flavor, which would allow me to eat more of it than the other, lower-ranked oils. I’d love this one on any simple meal worthy of a hearty drizzle on top — like a salad or a summer pasta dish. In fact, I’d probably be happy with a whole meal of just fresh bread dipped in this olive oil.
Thanks to a bill passed in 2022 to protect California olive oil’s integrity, you can be assured that any bottle labeled as such includes 100% California-grown olives. And I could taste the purity of flavor in this one; it was evident that Trader Joe’s wasn’t trying to sneakily mix olive oils together to cut corners. I haven’t tasted such a smooth, flawless olive oil in a long time. It’s just lovely and perfect for any purpose. I could use this one every day and never need another.
Methodology
Judy Moreno/Tasting Table
I selected all of the olive oils I could find at Trader Joe’s for this ranking. I tried each of the oils straight from a spoon, which might seem weird, but a good olive oil is almost drinkable. This method allowed me to get the more accurate sense of the quality of each product. I was looking for a smooth, rich texture, as well as a bright, fruity, and fresh-tasting flavor. Texture only came into play when differentiating between the blended oil and the other extra virgin olive oils. Generally speaking, if you want a silky-smooth olive oil, go for extra virgin. I also considered the packaging and how appetizing each oil looked when it was poured.
I wanted my olive oil to taste like it came from just-picked olives that were pressed the same day it was bottled. While nothing tasted quite as good as that, the top three came pretty close!