Organic vs. Conventional Produce: What’s Actually Worth the Upgrade

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Is organic actually worth it?

I get asked this constantly, and as a Certified Precision Nutrition Coach I’m supposed to have a tidy answer. I don’t. I have “it depends” — true, and satisfying to absolutely nobody.

So I’ve started bringing in people who’ve had to solve this for real and not just on paper: chefs, dietitians, medical professionals. Chef Deb Oxman is the second professional to contribute an article here. I put the organic question to her because she’s spent two decades cooking for clients with serious dietary restrictions and actual budgets.

Here’s where I’ve landed. I feed six people, which means I shop strategically or I don’t shop at all — and at these prices, buying organic takes a plan, not good intentions. When I can find it, regenerative beats organic, but finding it is the whole problem. And a good chunk of our organic produce comes from BJ’s and Costco. Not glamorous. The math just works.

Deb gets at it from the professional-kitchen side. Here’s her take, in her own words:

For years, there has been so much guilt surrounding organic vs. conventional produce. After spending more than two decades shopping and cooking for clients at Savor Culinary Services who have severe allergies, various illnesses, and busy lives, I have landed somewhere far less dramatic. We all want easy. So let’s make this easy.

What the “organic” label actually tells you

It really depends upon your budget, the produce itself and what you are actually trying to solve. Where current research points is that organic certification governs how a crop is grown but says nothing about a farm’s soil health practices, how far it traveled or how ripe it was when picked. All of these things affect flavor and nutrition as much as the “organic” labeling does.

The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen

Every year, the Environmental Working Group publishes its “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen,” ranking produce by pesticide residue detected in USDA testing. The 2026 Dirty Dozen: spinach, kale, collard, and mustard greens, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, cherries, apples, blackberries, pears, potatoes, and blueberries. The Clean Fifteen which is produce that tests cleanest includes pineapple, sweet corn, avocados, papaya, onions, frozen peas, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, watermelon, mangoes, bananas, carrots, mushrooms, and kiwi. This is a great shopping tool and a new chart is provided every year with a simple Google search. However, while no one wants to eat pesticides, many of the items such as spinach in the dirty dozen can be a bit misleading. The amount of spinach you would have to eat for the pesticide to actually affect you is huge. I would rather someone eat any kind of spinach than none at all.

Where to spend, where to save

Practically, I find that for Dirty Dozen items you eat with the skin on, in bulk, or feed to kids daily—such as berries, leafy greens, and apples—organic is a worthwhile place to spend the extra few dollars if your budget allows. For Clean Fifteen items such as thick-skinned or peeled produce like avocados, onions, bananas, and corn, conventional is a reasonable place to save. The more consistent thread in the research isn’t “organic vs. conventional” but instead soil health as mentioned above. Crops grown in biologically rich, well-managed soil appear to be more nutrient-dense, and organic farms are more likely, though not guaranteed, to practice that kind of soil management. A local, seasonal, thoughtfully farmed conventional tomato can easily out-nutrition an organic one that was shipped across the country and picked green.

The honest takeaway

There’s no single right way to shop. The honest takeaway is that both organic and conventional produce are dramatically better for you than skipping produce altogether. Start with the categories where the upgrade matters most, wash well, and buy what’s fresh and in season.

What I actually cook with the Dirty Dozen

Deb’s list tells you where to spend. This is what I actually do with the stuff once it’s home.

• Spinach — Ground Turkey Spinach Meatballs
• Kale, collard and mustard greens — Creamy Kale Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Beans
• Strawberries — Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding
• Peaches — Easy and Quick Peach and Pecan Smoothie
• Cherries — Cherry Gorgonzola Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
• Apples — Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Blackberries — Blackberry Mint Lemonade
• Pears — Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Spinach and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Potatoes — Healthy Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Blueberries — Blueberry Kale Smoothie

Grapes and nectarines I’ve got nothing for yet. Give me a season.

Browse all my recipes →

Chef Deb Oxman is the founder of Savor Culinary Services, a personal chef company in Dallas/Fort Worth.