What oil does El Taco Tote fry in?
El Taco Tote cooks with Lard for griddle cooking, refried/charro beans, and quesadilla tortillas (confirmed by multiple reviewer reports and okgourmet.com listing lard as cooking oil); canola/soybean blend presumed for deep-frying fish, shrimp, and fries (standard commercial fryer practice; no direct confirmation found).
The 5 cleanest things to order at El Taco Tote
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 |
|---|---|
| Aguas Frescas | 0.0g |
| Pico de Gallo | 0.0g |
| Flan | 1.0g |
| Baked Potato | 1.0g |
| Sirloin Taco | 3.0g |
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 El Taco Tote report card, or where it lands on the Seed Oil Index.
Frequently asked
Does El Taco Tote use beef tallow?
No. El Taco Tote cooks with Lard for griddle cooking, refried/charro beans, and quesadilla tortillas (confirmed by multiple reviewer reports and okgourmet.com listing lard as cooking oil); canola/soybean blend presumed for deep-frying fish, shrimp, and fries (standard commercial fryer practice; no direct confirmation found), not beef tallow. See which chains fry in real fats on Tallow Watch.