What oil does Cold Stone Creamery fry in?
Cold Stone Creamery cooks with dairy fat (ice cream base, ~0.04 PUFA fraction); mix-ins vary: nuts use their own native fats; the OREO cookie mix-in lists palm and/or canola oil; chocolate chips carry no added oil (cocoa butter and milk fat only); the waffle cone/bowl lists palm and soybean oil, no canola (chain ingredient statements CSC-REF006/007, Apr 2026 editions).
The 5 cleanest things to order at Cold Stone Creamery
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 |
|---|---|
| Sprinkles Mix-In | 0.0g |
| Strawberry Mix-In | 0.0g |
| Banana Mix-In | 0.0g |
| Hot Fudge | 0.1g |
| Oreo Mix-In | 0.8g |
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 Cold Stone Creamery report card, or where it lands on the Seed Oil Index.
Frequently asked
Does Cold Stone Creamery use beef tallow?
No. Cold Stone Creamery cooks with dairy fat (ice cream base, ~0.04 PUFA fraction); mix-ins vary: nuts use their own native fats; the OREO cookie mix-in lists palm and/or canola oil; chocolate chips carry no added oil (cocoa butter and milk fat only); the waffle cone/bowl lists palm and soybean oil, no canola (chain ingredient statements CSC-REF006/007, Apr 2026 editions), not beef tallow. See which chains fry in real fats on Tallow Watch.