5 Best Italian Olive Oil Brands That Will Beat All Your Old Favorites

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Some say a quality extra virgin olive oil is worth its weight in gold. It has an almost mystical ability to bestow richness and depth of flavor to all kinds of foods, and consuming it provides health benefits, such as lowered inflammation. But not all EVOOs are equal. To find out what brands of olive oil are truly best, The Takeout reached out to Jasper J. Mirabile Jr., owner and chef at Jasper's Restaurant. He recommended five top-notch olive oil brands folks should seek out.

If you've ever heard Chef Mirabile share his culinary knowledge as the host of the weekly radio program "Live! From Jasper's Restaurant," you may already be familiar with some of these brands. Spain may be the top olive oil producer in the world, but Italy is also well-known for distributing its exceptional EVOO across the globe. These five brands hail from The Boot, and Chef Mirabile holds them all in high regard. "I can't wait for each harvest in Italy and Sicily to taste the new oils," he says. "It's the highlight of the year for me. Each one is so unique and flavorful."

Chef Mirabile doesn't necessarily indicate he has a single favorite among these brands, as each has its own appealing qualities. But with his detailed knowledge of how they are produced and taste, you can bet they're all superior to the most frequently ordered brand on Instacart. Each possesses distinguishing characteristics that work best to enhance specific dishes and elevate cuisine in ways that other ingredients can't duplicate.

Although Chef Mirabile adores all the brands on this list, Olio Verde may be as close to a favorite as it gets. Coming to you by way of Castelvetrano, Sicily, it was the first Sicilian olive oil made solely with Nocellara del Belice olives, and Chef Mirabile has long been an acquaintance of the family that produces the EVOO from those esteemed fruits. As he notes, "I have been to the Becchina farm during the harvest, and it is an experience I will never forget."

When you first open the bottle, you're met with the smell of fresh, ripe tomatoes. However, it's the flavor of this premium olive oil that lights a fire within Chef Mirabile. "This oil tastes of fresh cut grass with underlying notes, [and leaves] impressions on the palate of almond hay and pumpkin," he says. "I treasure each bottle."

Olio Verde also features fruitiness and subtle hints of spice. The bold flavor can tame the earthiness of grilled vegetables and level up your favorite seafood dishes. If you have trouble finding it at your local grocery store, you can always visit oliooliveoil.com and procure a bottle there.

Next up is an olive oil from Gaiole, a municipality in Chianti, Tuscany, that's near and dear to Chef Mirabile's heart. Six generations of the Stuchi Prinetti family have cared for the fruits that produce the acclaimed Badia a Coltibuono Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Its superior quality has earned gold and silver medals from 2023 to 2026 at the New York International Olive Oil Competition.

Chef Mirabile even has a connection to the folks who supply it. "I love this olive oil, produced by the famed Stucchi Prinetti family, who also make wonderful Tuscan wine," he explains. "I have visited many times, and I have even attended a cooking school given by Lorenzo de' Medici, Roberto Stucchi's mama."

Of the flavor, Chef Mirabile says, "This is a beautiful example of the character and elegance of Tuscan olive oil with a nice peppery finish." It's an EVOO that can enhance raw veggies as well as risotto, and it brings that special something to a robust pasta dish. Chef Mirabile shares that it can be found in his area in Kansas City, but if you don't see it in your neck of the woods, Badia a Coltibuono Extra Virgin Olive Oil can also be purchased on Amazon.

One primary aspect of Partanna Extra Virgin Olive Oil (aka Partanna XV) that Chef Mirabile appreciates is that it's a fantastic representation of Sicilian character. "Partanna XV comes from the Asaro family in the town of Partanna, located in the fertile Belice Valley," he tells us. That region is known for having an exceptional microclimate for growing Castelvetrano olives, which are the backbone of this unique EVOO.

Three varieties of Partanna olive oil walked away with silver awards at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition, so you know it's not just Chef Mirabile who thinks it's outstanding. "This is a very special oil from an area I love, especially since my family is just a few miles from this area in Sicily," he says. "What I love most about this is that you can find it all around America now." You don't want to let this buttery, peppery olive oil develop any of the telltale signs that indicate it's gone bad, as it's as versatile as it is flavorful. It works equally well for roasting, sauteing, and baking, and while Chef Mirabile says it can be found throughout the U.S., you can also order a bottle from the producers here.

With its piquant taste of herbs and pepper, Viola Colleruita is one of the most robust olive oils on this list. The trees that produce its olives grow among intercropped legumes which bolster the soil, creating especially flavorful fruits. They are meticulously sourced early in the harvest season and quickly processed to retain the phenolic compounds in the olives; those produce the nutritional benefits of EVOO and also contribute to the harmony between bright notes of green olive and bitterness.

You can't judge an olive oil by its color, but you can certainly judge it by its flavor, and Chef Mirabile raves about the unique taste of Viola Colleruita. "This is a beautiful Umbrian olive oil with wonderful hints of artichoke and a great balance between bitter and pungent," he says. "It has a freshness and complexity that makes it excellent on its own, but it is also wonderful drizzled over simple Italian dishes. This is the kind of olive oil I love to taste with a piece of good bread." Viola Colleruita also suggests that its product is ideal for an olive oil ice cream or gelato. Folks can find Viola Colleruita Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Amazon.

Tenuta San Guido's Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a somewhat fruity, sweet olive oil imbued with the scents of spice and almond produced by the famed Tuscan winery, which also makes the celebrated Sassicaia wine. Because the olives in the region olives grow in soil that can be challenging to work, roughly 2,000 of the company's 8,000 trees are there purely to help fortify the crop. Three different types of olives are grown with plenty of free space around them to boost the unique characteristics of each individual cultivar, which combine to create an olive oil with a harmonious profile.

The bottle looks incredibly similar to the winery's vintages, which as Chef Mirabile explains, is likely no coincidence. "The king of all Italian wines, of course, also produces some of the finest olive oil from the Maremma in Tuscany. It is elegant, powerful and beautifully balanced," he says. "I have visited this winery a few times and have such great memories of not only their wine, but their olive oil, which I brought back to America, is now available through some of the wine distributors." This EVOO provides the chef's kiss to cooked fish and raw foods such as salads, and is a fantastic variety to use for a homemade mayonnaise. If you can't spot it locally, you can order a bottle online here.