Seed Oil Free Hawaiian Recipes — Authentic Island Cooking in Coconut Oil and Tallow

By Savannah Ryan — The Foodie Kitchen

Hawaiian food is one of the most underappreciated culinary traditions in American cooking. Kalua pig slow-cooked in the imu. Garlic shrimp in butter. Haupia set in full-fat coconut cream. Hawaiian saimin built on rich pork broth. None of these dishes have ever needed canola oil — they were built on coconut oil, rendered pork fat and butter. This is the complete guide to authentic seed oil free Hawaiian cooking from The Foodie Kitchen.

Find all recipes in the hawaiian recipes collection and the MAHA recipes collection. For the complete cookbook — Savor Hawaiian by Savannah Ryan.

All Hawaiian Recipes Posts on The Foodie Kitchen

Every recipe below is cooked in ancestral fats with zero seed oils. Click any title to read the full recipe.

• Hawaiian Meatballs in Tallow
• Savor Hawaiian Cookbook Spotlight

Frequently Asked Questions

What fat is used in traditional Hawaiian cooking?
Traditional Hawaiian cooking uses coconut oil, rendered pork fat (lard) and the natural fat of whatever protein is being cooked. Kalua pig is cooked in the imu and basted by its own rendered fat. Haupia uses full-fat coconut cream. None of the traditional Hawaiian dishes use canola or seed oils.

What is kalua pig?
Kalua pig is Hawaii's most iconic dish — pork shoulder slow-cooked in an underground imu pit over heated lava rocks and kiawe wood for 12 to 16 hours. The pork renders in its own fat and smoke, producing fall-apart tender meat with a distinctive smoky flavour that defines Hawaiian cuisine.

What is haupia?
Haupia is a traditional Hawaiian coconut pudding made from full-fat coconut cream thickened with arrowroot or cornstarch. It is set firm enough to cut into squares and is served at every traditional Hawaiian celebration. It contains no seed oils — only coconut cream, sweetener and starch.

Is Hawaiian food seed oil free?
Traditional Hawaiian food is entirely seed oil free — it was developed using coconut oil, pork fat and the rendered fat of slow-cooked proteins. Industrial seed oils only entered Hawaiian cooking through mainland American food industry influence. The authentic tradition uses only ancestral fats.

How many recipes are in the Savor Hawaiian cookbook?
Savor Hawaiian by Savannah Ryan contains 20 iconic Hawaiian recipes cooked in coconut oil, butter, lard and tallow — covering kalua pig, garlic shrimp, haupia, saimin, lomi salmon, spam musubi and more. Zero seed oils throughout.

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