How Long Olive Oil Should Last—and How to Tell if It's Gone Bad

With its yellow or green hue, balance of fruity and savory flavors, and versatility—we use it in nearly everything we cook—olive oil is a prized ingredient. Whether you're holding onto a large jug or using a bottle of small-batch olive oil purchased at a boutique food store, it's important to properly store your olive oil to preserve its quality. But how long does olive oil last, exactly—and does olive oil go bad? Ahead, we're sharing a few ways to understand your olive oil, plus tips for extending its shelf life.

Check the Harvest Date

If a bottle of olive oil lists the harvest date, choose the most recent date available to ensure that it will be good for many months to come. The harvest date is paramount, says Aishwarya Iyer, founder and CEO of Brightland, a California-based olive oil company. This tells consumers exactly when the olives were harvested, and therefore, how long the oil will be good for.

How Long Olive Oil Lasts

Unopened

Generally, olive oil has an 18-month shelf life from the time of harvest, so it's important to make note of that date. Olives are harvested once a year in the fall, generally between the months of October through December. "The new harvest oil will be introduced in the winter, so a bottle that was harvested in November 2020 would expire by May 2022," says Iyer.

Opened

Once opened, a bottle of olive oil should be used within three to four months, per the North American Olive Oil Association.

How to Store Olive Oil

To get the most out of your olive oil, store it properly. "Olive oil's three natural enemies are light, heat, and air," says Iyer. That means storing it in a cool, dark place such as a pantry or kitchen cabinet and keeping it sealed with a cap or cork.

Signs Olive Oil Is Fresh

Before pouring it into a skillet or rubbing it onto vegetables for roasting, the first thing you should always do with a bottle of olive oil is to taste it to make sure that it's still good. "Take a second to taste and think about what you're tasting. Fresh olive oil should taste herbaceous and grassy. Even if it has a fruity profile, it will still have this sense of tasting fresh versus something that tastes greasy," says Iyer.

A lively, sharp taste generally indicates that the olives were harvested early, which results in a very green, grassy-tasting oil. "When you taste great olive oil, you'll feel a super peppery sensation at the back of your throat, which are two signs of quality and freshness," Iyer says.

Does Olive Oil Go Bad?

Olive oil can spoil—and if it does, it won't have the fresh herbaceous and grassy flavor that it's known for. Color and aroma are not reliable indicators that olive oil has expired; the best way to tell if olive oil has expired is by tasting it. If it doesn't taste strong and sharp—and it tastes rancid and stale—it's most likely past its peak.

Though you will most likely not get sick from consuming expired olive oil, and its health benefits are the same, rancid olive oil will not offer the same rich, fruity flavor to your food as fresh olive oil.