Best Organic Olive Oils Available in UK Supermarkets [2026 Guide]

I'll start with a confession: I spent three months last year trying to use up a bottle of cheap olive oil that tasted like it had been sitting in someone's shed since 2019. Every salad was an exercise in disappointment. Every drizzle made me wince. That experience—and the subsequent revelation when I finally invested in a proper organic extra virgin olive oil—is exactly why I'm writing this guide.

The thing is, olive oil has become genuinely confusing. Walk into any Sainsbury's or Tesco, and you'll find shelves groaning with bottles making all sorts of claims. "Extra virgin." "Cold pressed." "First press." "From the sun-drenched groves of..." somewhere that sounds lovely. But which ones are actually organic? And more importantly, which ones are worth your money?

Why Choose Organic Olive Oil?

Before I get into the specifics—and trust me, I've tested more olive oils than is probably healthy for one person—let me explain why organic matters in the first place.

The good news is that olive trees are naturally pretty hardy. They don't require as many pesticides as some other crops. But "not as many" isn't the same as "none." Conventional olive farming still uses synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers that can linger in the final product and certainly affect the environment where these trees grow.

Organic olive oil, on the other hand, comes from olives grown without synthetic chemicals. The trees are managed using natural pest control methods, and the soil is nurtured rather than depleted. For me, there's something brilliant about knowing that the oil drizzled over my morning toast didn't come at the expense of someone else's ecosystem.

But here's what I didn't fully appreciate until recently: organic certification also tends to correlate with smaller-scale, more careful production. These aren't industrial operations churning out millions of litres. They're often family farms that actually care about the quality of what they're producing. Which leads to better-tasting oil. Win-win.

The Health Benefit Question

I know some of you are thinking: "Sophie, is organic olive oil actually healthier?" This is where I have to be honest—the science isn't entirely settled. What we do know is that high-quality extra virgin olive oil is packed with polyphenols, those lovely antioxidant compounds that may help protect your heart and reduce inflammation.

The research suggests you need around 250mg of polyphenols per kilogram of oil to get meaningful health benefits. Some studies have found that organic oils, particularly those from early-harvest olives, tend to have higher polyphenol levels—but this isn't always the case. What matters more is how fresh the oil is and how it was processed.

My view? Buy organic for the environmental benefits and the quality. The potential health advantages are a bonus, not a guarantee.

Best Organic Olive Oils in UK Supermarkets

Right, let's get to what you actually came here for. I've tried organic olive oils from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and several specialist brands available in UK supermarkets. Here's how they stack up.

Citizens of Soil Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If you haven't heard of Citizens of Soil yet, you will. This B Corp certified brand has been making waves since launching in 2021, and honestly? The hype is deserved.

The Good: This is proper single-estate olive oil with complete traceability. You can actually see where your olives came from—which farm, which community. The flavour is grassy and peppery with a lovely bitter finish that tells you those polyphenols are doing their thing. They're also pioneers in the refill model, offering lower-carbon pouches that you can use to top up your bottle.

The Not-So-Good: It's not cheap. At around £18 for 500ml, this is firmly in the "special occasion" category for most budgets. And it's not available everywhere—you'll find it in Waitrose, Ocado, and Booths, but not Tesco or Asda.

The Verdict: Brilliant if you can afford it. This is the oil I use for finishing dishes, drizzling over good bread, and impressing dinner guests. Not the one for frying onions on a Tuesday evening.

Biona Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Biona has been doing organic food since before it was fashionable, and their olive oil doesn't disappoint.

The Good: Widely available across UK supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Waitrose. The flavour is fruity and mild—not as intense as Citizens of Soil, but still recognisably good quality. The price point (around £8-10 for 500ml) makes it a realistic everyday option.

The Not-So-Good: It lacks the complexity of more premium options. If you're someone who gets excited about peppery notes and grassy finishes, you might find it a bit... safe.

The Verdict: Excellent all-rounder. This is what I keep in the cupboard for general cooking when I want organic but don't want to think too hard about it.

Tesco Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The supermarket own-brand option that surprised me more than I expected.

The Good: Sainsbury's olive oil gets a lot of attention, but Tesco's organic offering is genuinely decent. It meets EU Organic and Soil Association standards, the flavour is clean if unremarkable, and at around £8.95 for 500ml, it's comparable to Biona.

The Not-So-Good: The packaging is distinctly uninspiring—clear plastic that does the oil no favours for storage. And unlike the premium brands, there's no information about where specifically the olives came from. "A blend of oils from European Union origin" doesn't exactly inspire confidence in traceability.

The Verdict: Fine. Not exciting, but fine. Suitable for cooking with olive oil where the subtleties get lost anyway.

Waitrose Duchy Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Waitrose's premium organic range, from the Duchy Originals line that Prince Charles started back in the '90s.

The Good: This has a lovely, well-balanced flavour—peppery without being aggressive, fruity without being overwhelming. The packaging (dark glass) actually protects the oil properly. And there's something satisfying about the royal warrant on the bottle, even if I feel slightly ridiculous admitting that.

The Not-So-Good: At around £12 for 500ml, you're paying a premium for the Duchy name. Whether that premium is justified by the quality... I'm not entirely convinced.

The Verdict: A solid choice if you shop at Waitrose anyway. But if you're making a special trip, I'd probably stretch to Citizens of Soil for a few pounds more.

Terra Delyssa Organic Olive Oil

A newer entrant that's been gaining shelf space across multiple UK supermarkets.

The Good: Terra Delyssa comes from Tunisia, which is interesting—we don't see many North African oils in UK supermarkets. The flavour profile is different from the Spanish and Italian oils that dominate: slightly sweeter, less bitter. They also have strong sustainability credentials and support women's farming cooperatives.

The Not-So-Good: The milder flavour won't suit everyone. If you're used to robust Italian oils, this might feel a bit subdued.

The Verdict: Worth trying, especially if you're bored of the usual Spanish and Italian options. The ethical story is compelling.

How to Choose the Best Organic Olive Oil

Okay, so you've read my reviews and you're still not sure what to buy. Fair enough—there are a lot of options. Here's what I've learned from my (possibly excessive) olive oil exploration.

Look for the Harvest Date

This is the single most important thing, and it's frustrating how few bottles display it clearly. Olive oil is at its best within 18 months of harvest. After that, the flavour degrades and the polyphenol content drops. If you can find a bottle with a harvest date (not just a "best before" date), and it's from the current or previous season, you're onto a winner.

Check the Packaging

Good olive oil comes in dark glass or tins. Full stop. That lovely clear bottle that shows off the golden colour? It's actively damaging the oil. Light is the enemy of freshness. I know clear bottles look prettier on Instagram. I don't care. Dark glass or tins.

Understand the Labels

"Extra virgin" means the oil was extracted without heat or chemicals and meets certain quality standards. All the oils I've recommended above are extra virgin. "Cold pressed" and "first cold pressed" are essentially marketing terms—all extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed by definition.

The organic certification is what you're really looking for. In the UK, look for the EU Organic logo (that green leaf) or the Soil Association logo. These mean the oil has been independently verified as organic.

Taste It (If You Can)

A good quality extra virgin olive oil should taste peppery, slightly bitter, and leave a slight catch in your throat. That peppery sensation—sometimes described as a "cough"—indicates high polyphenol content. If your olive oil tastes bland, greasy, or vaguely rancid, it's not good quality, regardless of what the label says.

Cooking with Organic Olive Oil: The Great Debate

Now for the question that generates surprisingly heated arguments at dinner parties. Can you cook with extra virgin olive oil for cooking? Or should you save it for drizzling and use something else for the frying pan?

Here's my take: you absolutely can cook with extra virgin olive oil, including organic varieties. The smoke point is around 190-210°C, which is higher than most home cooking requires. The myth that it becomes "toxic" when heated has been largely debunked.

But—and here's where I catch myself getting preachy—if you're doing high-heat frying, you're wasting your money using premium organic oil. Those delicate flavours and health-boosting polyphenols? They'll be destroyed by the heat anyway.

My approach: I keep two bottles. A decent but not expensive organic oil for cooking (the Tesco organic or Biona), and something special like Citizens of Soil for finishing. Yes, this means I have multiple olive oils on the go at once. My partner thinks I've become one of those people. He's probably right.

What About the Price?

I'd be remiss not to address the elephant in the room. Organic olive oil costs more than conventional olive oil. Sometimes significantly more. The supermarket comparison shows conventional extra virgin olive oil at around £3-5 for 500ml, while organic options start at £8 and go up from there.

Is it worth the extra money? That depends entirely on your priorities. If you're buying olive oil primarily for cooking where the flavour gets lost, conventional might make more financial sense. But if you're using it for dressings, drizzling, and finishing dishes where you can actually taste it—and if environmental impact matters to you—then yes, I think the premium is justified.

What I'd discourage is buying the cheapest possible oil and expecting it to perform like the premium stuff. You'll be disappointed, and you might end up like me with that shed-tasting bottle, grimly working through it one sad salad at a time.

The Sustainability Angle

I promised myself I wouldn't get too preachy in this article—I can hear myself starting to sound like a poster in a health food shop—but the sustainability credentials of different brands are worth considering.

Citizens of Soil stands out here. They're a certified B Corp, they've measured and offset their Scope 3 carbon emissions, they support regenerative farming practices, and their refill model dramatically reduces packaging waste. They also pay farmers at least 20% above commodity rates, which matters when you think about the livelihoods of the people producing your food.

Biona and Terra Delyssa also have strong ethical stories. Supermarket own-brands... less so. The transparency simply isn't there. We don't know what farmers were paid, we don't know the environmental practices used, we just know it's "organic" according to the certification.

Does this mean you should never buy supermarket organic olive oil? No. We all have to make choices based on budget and availability. But if you have the option, supporting brands that go beyond minimum standards feels good. And that counts for something.

My Top Picks for Different Budgets

Let me wrap up with some practical recommendations based on what you're willing to spend.

Budget Option (Under £10): Tesco Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's not exciting, but it does the job and it's genuinely organic. Use it for cooking.

Mid-Range Option (£10-15): Biona Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Better flavour, wider availability, still affordable enough for everyday use. This is probably what most people should buy.

Premium Option (£15+): Citizens of Soil Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Save this for special occasions, finishing dishes, and impressing people. The quality is genuinely noticeable.

Best Value Overall: Waitrose Duchy Organic when it's on offer. They run promotions fairly regularly, and at a reduced price, it's brilliant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the health benefits of olive oil?

Extra virgin olive oil contains polyphenols—antioxidant compounds that may help reduce inflammation and protect heart health. Research suggests consuming around 20g daily of oil with at least 250mg/kg of polyphenols could offer cardiovascular benefits. Organic oils, particularly early-harvest varieties, often have higher polyphenol levels, though freshness and quality matter more than organic certification alone.

Is extra virgin olive oil good for cooking?

Yes, extra virgin olive oil is suitable for most cooking methods including sautéing and roasting. Its smoke point (190-210°C) is higher than most home cooking requires. However, high-heat frying will destroy the delicate flavours and some health benefits, so consider using a less expensive oil for deep frying and saving premium organic oils for lower-heat cooking and finishing.

Which olive oil has the most polyphenols?

Early-harvest olive oils generally have the highest polyphenol content—sometimes exceeding 1000mg/kg. Look for oils described as "early harvest" or with a notably peppery, bitter taste (this indicates polyphenol presence). Brands like Citizens of Soil and some high-polyphenol specialist oils are lab-tested for polyphenol content. Premium organic oils typically contain 300-700mg/kg.

Can you use olive oil for frying?

You can fry with olive oil, including extra virgin varieties. The myth that olive oil becomes harmful when heated has been debunked by research. However, for high-temperature deep frying (above 200°C), you may prefer oils with higher smoke points like rapeseed oil. For pan-frying and sautéing, olive oil works perfectly well.

How do you choose a good olive oil?

Look for a harvest date (not just best-before date)—oil should be from the current or previous season. Choose dark glass or tin packaging to protect from light damage. Check for EU Organic or Soil Association certification if buying organic. Taste-wise, good extra virgin olive oil should be peppery, slightly bitter, and leave a mild catch in your throat.

How should I store olive oil?

Store olive oil in a cool, dark place away from heat sources like the cooker. Keep the bottle sealed when not in use to minimise air exposure. Use within 3-4 months of opening for best quality. If buying large bottles, consider decanting into smaller containers to reduce the amount of oil exposed to air each time you use it.

What does cold pressed olive oil mean?

All genuine extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed by definition—the olives are processed without heat or chemicals to preserve flavour and nutrients. The term "cold pressed" on labels is largely marketing, as it describes the standard production method for quality olive oil. It does indicate the oil wasn't refined or chemically treated.

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Looking for more ways to make sustainable choices in your shopping? Explore our for ingredients that pair beautifully with good olive oil, or to find the best deals on organic products.Mediterranean food section for ingredients that pair beautifully with good olive oil, or compare prices across UK supermarkets to find the best deals on organic products.*