What oil does Bartaco fry in?
Bartaco cooks with Canola oil in the fryer (chips, crispy items, churros); Bartaco runs a dedicated gluten-free fryer for chips and corn tortillas kept separate from the fryer used for gluten items like churros, and keeps fish/shellfish and soy out of the fryer and off the grill. No single official oil-name document turned up (bartaco.com/nutrition just links out to an EveryBite widget with no oil listed); canola is reported consistently across independent crowdsourced allergen sites, and an official bartaco press recipe for its fried avocado tacos calls for generic "vegetable oil.".
The 5 cleanest things to order at Bartaco
Learn this once: a salad with grilled protein and the dressing left off is nearly always the lowest seed oil order anywhere. So the list below sticks to real meals, salads included, never just a water.
| Item | PUFA |
|---|---|
| Crispy Oyster Taco | 1.1g |
| Tres Leches | 1.2g |
| Mushroom Taco | 1.6g |
| Seared Chorizo Taco | 1.7g |
| Roasted Duck Taco | 1.8g |
Lower PUFA is cleaner. These are estimates from published nutrition data and disclosed oils; preparation varies by location.
Why the frying oil matters
Most fast-food chains fry in seed oils like soybean, canola, corn, or a blend of them, which are high in polyunsaturated fat (PUFA). A handful still use beef tallow or other stable fats, which are far lower in PUFA. The oil a kitchen fries in is the single biggest driver of how much seed oil ends up on your plate. See the full breakdown on the Bartaco report card, or where it lands on the Seed Oil Index.
Frequently asked
Does Bartaco use beef tallow?
No. Bartaco cooks with Canola oil in the fryer (chips, crispy items, churros); Bartaco runs a dedicated gluten-free fryer for chips and corn tortillas kept separate from the fryer used for gluten items like churros, and keeps fish/shellfish and soy out of the fryer and off the grill. No single official oil-name document turned up (bartaco.com/nutrition just links out to an EveryBite widget with no oil listed); canola is reported consistently across independent crowdsourced allergen sites, and an official bartaco press recipe for its fried avocado tacos calls for generic "vegetable oil.", not beef tallow. See which chains fry in real fats on Tallow Watch.