34 Restaurant Chains That Cook in Peanut Oil (2026)
Peanut oil sits in the middle of the seed oil debate. It is not technically a seed oil (peanuts are legumes) and it runs about 33% PUFA, well under soybean oil at roughly 58%. These tracked chains mention peanut oil in their cooking oil information.
| Chain | What we know | Grade · avg |
|---|---|---|
| Pinkberry | no deep fryer, this is a self-serve frozen yogurt and smoothie bar with no fried items on the menu at all. The fat in their food comes from the dairy frozen yogurt base and… | A 0.9g avg |
| Red Mango | No deep fryer. Red Mango is a frozen yogurt, smoothie, and fresh-juice bar; the small "Cafe" side menu (cold salads, PB&J, panini-style flatbread sandwiches) is toasted, not… | A 1.1g avg |
| Rita's Italian Ice | no deep fryer anywhere in the concept; the entire menu is frozen treats (Italian ice, frozen custard, gelati, shakes, concretes) plus baked waffle cones. Fat comes from dairy in… | A 1.3g avg |
| 16 Handles | No deep fryer. 16 Handles is a self-serve frozen yogurt chain (customers dispense their own yogurt and pay by weight) with no hot kitchen at all, just a toppings bar. Fat comes… | A 1.4g avg |
| Handel's Homemade Ice Cream | No cooking/frying oil — fat source is exclusively milk fat (butterfat ~14-16%) from heavy cream and whole milk base; nut mix-ins (pecans, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter)… | A 1.6g avg |
| Juice It Up | no deep fryer, this is a juice/smoothie/acai bowl bar; the fat in the food menu comes from dairy (cream cheese, coconut whip, butter on waffles and pretzel bites), peanut butter… | A 1.7g avg |
| Jamba | smoothies are near-zero PUFA unless peanut butter or almond butter added; bowls topped with granola (soybean/sunflower oil); açaí base has minimal PUFA | A 1.7g avg |
| Planet Smoothie | no frying oil; PUFA from peanut butter (0.22), granola/oats, flaxseed add-in; fruit-only smoothies near zero | A 1.7g avg |
| Clean Juice | no deep fryer; menu is smoothies, juices, and acai bowls plus toasts and wraps (wraps only pressed on a grill, never fried). The fat comes from coconut oil/cream and dairy (milk,… | A 1.8g avg |
| Robeks | no deep fryer, no grill, and no hood system in Robeks stores at all (their own franchise site says the format runs under 1,000 sq ft specifically because it skips… | A 1.9g avg |
| Kilwins | Butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and palm oil are the primary fats in fudge, chocolates, and caramels (all low-PUFA); ice cream base is dairy-only; peanuts and pecans are the… | A 2.2g avg |
| Smoothie King | none (whole-food fats: peanut butter, almond butter, coconut, flax) | A 2.3g avg |
| The Original Pancake House | clarified/rendered butter on the griddle for Apple Pancake, Dutch Baby, potato pancakes, French toast, crepes and GF pancakes (no peanut oil); standard buttermilk pancake and… | A 2.6g avg |
| Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams | no deep fryer; this is a scoop shop. Ice cream base is dairy/cream, and their buttercrisp waffle cones are a butter-based batter cooked on a hot iron, not fried. Any PUFA exposure… | A 2.6g avg |
| Nekter Juice Bar | no deep fryer; this is a juice, smoothie, and acai bowl concept with nothing cooked on a fry line. Fat comes from housemade cashew milk, peanut and almond butter, coconut (water,… | A 2.8g avg |
| Mission BBQ | Fryer oil undisclosed by name, but it contains soy and is NOT plain soybean oil. Mission BBQ's own documents (mission-bbq.com/wp-content/uploads: Nutritional Info 'Updated… | A 3.0g avg |
| Sheridan's Frozen Custard | No frying oil — custard base is dairy fat (cream, milk, egg yolks); waffle cones likely use soybean/cottonseed shortening (standard industry formulation); peanut butter mix-ins… | A 3.2g avg |
| Zankou Chicken | Canola oil (garlic sauce/toum); peanut oil (falafel frying); tahini/sesame (hummus, mutabbal, tahini sauce); chicken fat (rotisserie) | A 3.3g avg |
| Playa Bowls | no deep fryer in stores; the menu is cold-blended acai/pitaya bowls, smoothies and juices with nothing cooked. Fat comes from toppings and mix-ins: coconut (flakes and… | A 3.4g avg |
| Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store | No frying oil used; the ice cream and dairy items are made with 18% butterfat. Not all of the menu is dairy fat, though: nut-topped sundaes and the peanut-butter shakes and malts… | B 4.2g avg |
| Frutta Bowls | no deep fryer; this is an acai/smoothie bowl and toast concept, so the fat in the food comes from toppings like peanut butter, almond butter, coconut, Nutella, and Greek yogurt or… | B 4.5g avg |
| Chick-fil-A | 100% refined peanut oil (fried chicken); canola oil in dedicated fryers (waffle fries, hash browns) | B 4.8g avg |
| Five Guys | 100% refined peanut oil (all fried items; dedicated fry-only fryers) | B 5.0g avg |
| Insomnia Cookies | Cookie dough is margarine (vegetable oil blend: palm fruit, soybean and olive oils, palm listed first) plus butter, per the chain's own product PDFs' ingredient statements; vegan… | B 5.7g avg |
| Dirty Dough | Butter and vegetable shortening blend in cookie/bar/roll dough base (ratio undisclosed); waffle bites likely fried in vegetable oil (soybean or canola — unconfirmed); peanut… | C 6.1g avg |
| Tokyo Joe's | Soybean oil for sautéing and most sauces; sesame oil in dressings and poke; peanut sauce contains peanuts; sushi rice plain | C 6.2g avg |
| Penn Station East Coast Subs | Peanut oil blend (contains soy) for the fresh-cut fries ("the peanut oil we utilize for our fries", official nutrition FAQ). The grill "butter" is not dairy butter: the chain's… | C 6.2g avg |
| Legal Sea Foods | No official allergen/ingredient document names the house fryer oil (their allergen page 404s and no FDD exists since they're corporate-owned, not franchised). They deep-fry… | C 6.3g avg |
| The Habit Burger Grill | soybean oil (confirmed via allergen disclosures; no peanut oil used) | C 6.7g avg |
| Just Salad | canola oil (primary, confirmed in Caesar dressing and house dressings); peanut oil component in Thai Peanut dressing; miso-ginger vinaigrette likely soybean/sesame blend | C 7.9g avg |
| Cheeburger Cheeburger | peanut oil (frying — confirmed for hand-cut fries, onion rings, and all fried items; multiple sources including Houston Press review and menupages listing; current file… | D 8.0g avg |
| Super Chix | 100% refined peanut oil (frying); soybean oil base in mayo-based sauces and coleslaw | D 8.9g avg |
| Hooters | Fries in a peanut oil blend, with employee/allergen reports of soybean oil mixed in at many locations; buffalo-style sauces are soybean-oil margarine based. | D 11.1g avg |
| Angry Chickz | Soybean and peanut oil, as a blend - the chain's own words. Angry Chickz's July 2026 nutrition sheet (angrychickz.com/nutrition-and-allergen-information) states "Our kitchens use… | F 21.7g avg |
See also
Other oils: Canola Oil · Soybean Oil · Butter or Olive Oil · Chains frying in beef tallow live on Tallow Watch · Why undisclosed means soybean: the distributor oils page · Full grades: the Seed Oil Index.