Which Restaurant Chains Use Seed Oils? The List You Need to Know

You swapped your cooking oil at home. You read ingredient labels at the grocery store. Then you eat out three times this week and undo most of it — because nearly every restaurant in America defaults to cheap refined seed oils for cooking. Here's the chain-by-chain breakdown.

Restaurants have a financial incentive to use seed oils. Canola oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil are cheap, have a high smoke point, and have an extremely long shelf life. They're the industrial default, and unless a chain has specifically committed to something different, you can assume seed oils are in the fryer and on the flat-top.

This guide goes chain by chain so you're not guessing.

Why Restaurants Defaulted to Seed Oils

Before the 1990s, McDonald's famously fried in beef tallow. The food tasted better and the fat profile was actually more stable under heat. Then activist pressure over saturated fat forced fast food chains to switch to vegetable oils.

Beef tallow is expensive, has a shorter shelf life, and requires more careful handling. Refined canola or soybean oil costs a fraction of the price, never goes visibly rancid on the shelf, and performs consistently across high-volume fry operations. Once McDonald's switched, the entire industry followed.

The result: nearly every chain in the country now cooks in the same class of refined, high-polyunsaturated fatty acid oils that metabolic health researchers have increasingly questioned over the past decade.

The Chain-by-Chain Breakdown

McDonald's — Seed Oils: Yes

McDonald's uses a canola oil blend for nearly all frying. Their fries, chicken sandwiches, hash browns, and breakfast items all go through the same canola-corn-soybean oil mix. This was the same company that cooked in beef tallow until 1990. The switch was widely covered as a health win at the time. The research since has complicated that narrative significantly.

Chick-fil-A — Seed Oils: Technically Yes (Peanut Oil)

Chick-fil-A is frequently cited as the "healthy fast food" option among seed oil–aware eaters. The reality is nuanced. Chick-fil-A uses 100% refined peanut oil for frying their chicken — and peanut oil is technically derived from a seed (or legume, depending on how you classify it).

However, refined peanut oil has a very different fatty acid profile from canola or soybean. It's predominantly monounsaturated (oleic acid) — similar to olive oil — rather than high in linoleic acid the way canola and soybean are. The oxidation concern that drives the seed oil conversation is primarily about polyunsaturated fat content and heat stability. Peanut oil is more stable under heat than canola or soybean.

That said, many Chick-fil-A menu items beyond the core fried chicken — sauces, dressings, the mac and cheese — contain canola or soybean oil in the ingredient list. The fried chicken itself: peanut oil. Everything else: check the allergen menu.

Culver's — Seed Oils: Yes

Culver's uses liquid shortening for frying, which is soybean-based. Their ButterBurgers are cooked on a flat-top with butter — one of the few genuinely butter-cooked items at a major fast food chain — but the fries, cheese curds, and chicken go into soybean oil fryers.

Nando's — Seed Oils: Yes

Nando's uses sunflower oil as their primary cooking oil. Sunflower oil is high in linoleic acid (omega-6 polyunsaturated fat) and is one of the more discussed seed oils in the metabolic health conversation. Their PERi-PERi sauces also contain sunflower oil. If you're ordering at Nando's and trying to minimize seed oil exposure, your best option is the grilled chicken with no sauce or a sauce you've confirmed the ingredients of.

Shake Shack — Seed Oils: Yes

Shake Shack uses canola oil. Their ShackSauce, which goes on nearly every burger, is canola-based. The patties are cooked on a flat-top in canola oil. They've positioned themselves as premium fast casual, but the oil is standard.

Five Guys — Seed Oils: Peanut Oil

Five Guys is one of the cleaner choices for seed oil–conscious eaters. They fry exclusively in peanut oil, and they're transparent about it — you'll see the peanut oil jugs stacked in every location. Same caveat as Chick-fil-A: peanut oil has a more favorable fatty acid profile than canola or soybean, though it's still a refined vegetable oil.

Their burgers are cooked on a flat-top but they don't add additional oil to the patties — the natural fat from the meat does the cooking. The fries go in peanut oil. Their sauces and toppings are where seed oils can sneak back in — mayo is typically soybean or canola based.

In-N-Out Burger — Seed Oils: Yes (Sunflower Oil)

In-N-Out uses sunflower oil for frying. Their spread (the signature sauce) contains soybean oil. For a chain beloved by health-conscious Californians, this is a common surprise. The protein style burger (lettuce wrap, no bun) at least removes the bread, which is typically soybean-oil-containing.

Chipotle — Seed Oils: Mostly No

Chipotle is one of the better major chain options. They cook with rice bran oil, which has a different profile from the high-linoleic seed oils. Their website specifies rice bran oil as their cooking oil. Some of their dressings and prepared items contain sunflower or canola oil — always check the allergen/ingredient PDF on their site, which is publicly available and updated regularly.

Their black beans, rice, fajita vegetables, and proteins are the safest menu items from a seed oil standpoint.

Sweetgreen — Seed Oils: No

Sweetgreen is explicitly committed to cooking with 100% extra virgin olive oil. They've made this a brand differentiator and have held to it publicly. If you're eating at a fast casual salad chain and want to minimize seed oil exposure, Sweetgreen is the clearest answer in the market.

Note: their dressings are house-made, but some contain tahini or other seed-derived fats. Check the ingredient list on their app for the specific dressing you're ordering.

Panera Bread — Seed Oils: Yes

Panera uses canola oil across most of their cooking. Their bread, which is their core product, contains canola oil in the dough. Their soups often use canola or soybean oil. Their salad dressings are canola-based. Despite their "You Pick Two" health positioning, Panera is a significant seed oil source for people who eat there regularly.

Subway — Seed Oils: Yes

Subway's bread contains soybean oil. Most of their sauces — mayo, honey mustard, ranch — are soybean or canola-based. The meats themselves don't have seed oils added, but between the bread and sauces, a typical Subway meal involves multiple seed oil sources. The least-bad option is a salad bowl with olive oil and vinegar as the only dressing.

Starbucks — Seed Oils: Yes (in food items)

Starbucks beverages — plain coffee, espresso, plain milk — don't involve seed oils. Their food case is a different story. Sandwiches, egg bites, pastries, and most packaged food items in the display case contain canola oil. If you're eating at Starbucks, the drinks are generally fine; the food is not.

Chains That Use Better Oils (Short List)

| Chain | Oil Used | Notes | |-------|----------|-------| | Sweetgreen | Extra virgin olive oil | Best option in fast casual | | Five Guys | Peanut oil | Better fatty acid profile than canola/soybean | | Chick-fil-A | Refined peanut oil | Core chicken only; check sauces | | Chipotle | Rice bran oil | Dressings may vary |

How to Navigate Any Restaurant

Ask about the cooking oil. Most front-of-house staff won't know, but asking puts the question on record and sometimes gets you to a manager who does. Chains with intentional oil sourcing will have an answer. Chains that don't will tell you they'll "check."

Default to grilled over fried. Fried items go through fryer oil at high heat — the most oxidation-prone application. Grilled items at most chains use less cooking oil overall, and sometimes butter on the flat-top rather than vegetable oil.

Assume the sauces contain seed oils. This is almost universally true. Mayonnaise, ranch, honey mustard, most vinaigrettes — soybean or canola oil base. Olive oil, lemon, or vinegar are the lowest-risk choices.

The safest meal at almost any chain: Grilled protein, steamed or roasted vegetables without sauce, olive oil or vinegar on the side if available.

The Bigger Picture

Avoiding seed oils at restaurants entirely is nearly impossible unless you're eating at a small number of specifically committed fast-casual spots. The practical goal for most people isn't perfection — it's reducing frequency and load.

If you're eating out once a week, seed oil exposure from restaurants is probably not your biggest lever. If you're eating out daily, the cumulative load from restaurant seed oils starts to matter more than what you're cooking with at home.

Knowing which chains are better and worse lets you make better default choices without having to opt out of eating out entirely.

For a full breakdown of where seed oils hide in packaged grocery foods, read Seed Oils in 'Healthy' Foods You're Probably Still Eating.