6 Best Sesame Oil

Sesame oil imparts a rich, nutty flavor to your dishes, and using the best quality is crucial. Check out our recommendations for the best sesame oils to enhance your culinary creations.

sesame oil

Sesame oil is a common staple in Asian households. It’s used to add a punch of flavor to meats and vegetables, as well as dressings and marinades. 

Like most condiments, sesame seed oils differ in flavor, intensity, and purpose. In this article, we’ll round up some of the best sesame oils you’ll find in each category, whether for frying, seasoning, or dressing. 

Here are some of the best sesame oils you can get your hands on today. Let’s get right into it!

sesame oil

Kadoya Sesame Oil 

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Founded in 1858, Kadoya is a household name in Japan. The Kadoya Sesame Oil is one of the company’s top-selling products, adored for its rich toasted flavor. 

With Kadoya Sesame Oil, a little goes a long way. Just a few drops are enough to turbocharge dipping sauces, add complexity to a broth, and deepen the flavor of cold noodles and stir-fries. It imparts an intensely toasty and smoky sesame flavor, so be careful with your measurements!

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Kadoya Sesame Oil, 22.10 Fl Oz
  • Use it as seasoning or dressing
  • Product of Japan
  • The package weight of the product is 1.5 pounds

La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil

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Derived from the best quality ingredients, the La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil is delicious and versatile. It offers a welcome touch of gourmet to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, adding depth to steamed vegetables and warm notes to vinaigrettes and salads. 

The La Tourangelle Sesame Oil is packaged in a BPA-free can to protect it from light and preserve its freshness and quality regardless of where it’s stored. It’s made from sesame seeds harvested from Japan or Mexico, then slowly roasted over low temperatures to reach that signature golden brown color and toasty taste.

La Tourangelle, Toasted Sesame Oil, Great for...
  • A Traditional Touch: Sesame oil has long been giving its characteristic flavor to traditional Asian...
  • Quality You can Taste: The mainstay of all La Tourangelle’s natural, artisanal oils is premium...
  • Delicious and Versatile: Our oils, dressings and vinaigrettes make it easy to create distinctive...

Ottogi Premium Roasted Sesame Oil

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Ottogi is one of the most well-known food brands in Korea, with roots going as far back as 1969. Though mostly popular for its high-quality ready-to-eat meals, its condiments and oils have received praise across the globe—and the Ottogi Premium Sesame Oil is no exception. 

Made from triple-filtered sesame seeds to preserve quality, the Ottogi Sesame Oil adds an irresistibly rich aroma and flavor to the dish. It’s 100% natural, with zero preservatives, additives, and artificial coloring. It’s packaged in a fully-sealed tin that can resist oil-spoiling light. 

[OTTOGI] Premium Roasted Sesame Oil, 100% Pure...
  • "AWARD WINNING: “The Best Sesame Oil You Can Buy” – Business Insider 2018 ""Best Toasted...
  • Quality: Ottogi Sesame oil is made from 100% whole sesame seeds not from sesame seed powder. Made to...
  • FLAVOR: Well developed rich, deep toasted sesame flavor and aroma. Can be used for variety of use...

Kavala Extra Virgin Organic Sesame Oil 

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The Kavala Sesame Oil is clean, mild, and subtly sweet, perfect for roasting, baking, grilling, sautéing, and healthy frying. 

Unlike toasted sesame oils, this sesame oil is extracted without applying heat to preserve its nutritional quality and flavor. It’s rich in sesamol, sesamin, and antioxidants, making it a good addition to your everyday diet. 

Just be sure to store it correctly and use it within a few months as untoasted oil has a shorter shelf-life than toasted oil. 

Kevala Extra Virgin Organic Sesame Oil, 8 Fl Oz
  • Organic Extra Virgin Sesame Oil · Cold Pressed · Unrefined · Non-GMO Project Verified · Kosher
  • Our Sesame Oil is made from the finest organic sesame seeds. These are carefully selected and cold...
  • HIGH SMOKE POINT. Perfect for grilling, baking, sautéing, roasting, and healthy frying

365 by Whole Foods Market Toasted Sesame Seed

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The 365 Sesame Oil is made from expeller-pressed unrefined toasted sesame oil. It cooks evenly and doesn’t leave an unpleasant aftertaste, making it suitable for frying, baking, dressing, and marinating. 

With a medium-high smoke point of up to 445°F, the 365 Sesame Oil is a healthier (and tastier) alternative to canola oil. You can use it in almost any type of cooking, including stir-fries, pasta dishes, soups, and chicken recipes. 

If you’re searching for something mild yet flavorful with a hint of toastiness, you won’t be disappointed with this one. 

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365 by Whole Foods Market, Toasted Sesame Seed...
  • Medium Heat Up To 320°F
  • Unrefined Expeller Pressed
  • 365 by Whole Foods Market products give you that dance-down-the-aisles feeling, virtual aisles too!...

Dynasty Sesame Oil

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The Dynasty Sesame Oil is deeply flavorful and fragrant, so it works better as a finishing oil or flavor enhancer than cooking oil. It adds a savory, sweet, and nutty kick to your dish, making it suitable as a seasoning or dressing. It’s an umami flavor bomb that reveals hints of light smokiness and a lingering finish.  

Though mostly used in savory dishes, the Dynasty Sesame Oil works impressively well with sweet desserts like cakes, bread, and pastries. It adds a deep, nutty, and toasty flavor to the dessert, making it a good alternative to recipes that call for several tablespoons of butter.

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Dynasty Sesame Oil, 12 oz
  • Premium sesame oil.
  • Great to use as seasoning or salad dressing.
  • Product of Japan.

Foods Alive Organic Black Sesame Seed Oil 

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Similar to its raw form, black sesame seed oil has a nuttier, smokier taste than white sesame seed oil. It has a slightly bitter, more potent taste with higher nutrient content and more medicinal properties. A single tablespoon of black sesame seed oil contains more calcium, copper, potassium, and iron than a tablespoon of white sesame seed oil.  

The Foods Alive Organic Black sesame seed oil is best suited for oriental dishes, like Japanese sushi, Japanese soba noodles, Chinese Tong Sui, and the like. It’s organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, and kosher, plus it’s cold-pressed and unrefined, making it one of the highest-quality oils you can get.

Foods Alive Organic, Artisan Cold-Pressed Oil,...
  • Artisan Cold-Pressed in small batches in the USA!
  • Extra Virgin and Unrefined
  • Omega Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

What is Sesame Oil & How is it Used In Cooking?

Sesame oil is made from the oils released by sesame seeds. It comes in toasted and untoasted varieties and is most popular in East Asian, South Asian, South Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisine. 

Toasted sesame oil is rich and dark, whereas non-toasted sesame oil is mild and light—similar to peanut or vegetable oil. 

The toasted kind has a strong, nutty flavor and aroma, making it a staple ingredient in hundreds of Asian and Chinese cooking. It’s valued for its flavor and fragrance and is therefore used as a flavoring rather than cooking oil. 

Toasted sesame oil is usually added at the end of the recipe as it can develop a burnt flavor in a hot wok. It’s commonly added to sauces, dressings, and marinades. 

Non-toasted sesame oil has a more subtle flavor and is mostly used in sautéing. It can be used as cooking oil or as a flavoring.