What oil does Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory fry in?
Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory cooks with Frying oil NEVER named by the chain (no allergen or ingredient statement published; rosascafe.com nutrition guide, May 2017 edition, + live HTML tables) - vegetable oil, type undisclosed, for chips, crispy shells and sopapillas. Flour tortillas are a LARD-type fat, not a bakery blend: Rosa's own add-on panel for one Flour Tortilla is 3.5 g fat / 1.5 g sat = 43% saturated, matching commodity lard (39%), not a vegetable shortening blend (20%); the chicken tamale masa and the cakes print real trans fat (5 g on the #50 Chicken Tamale plate, 7 g on the Chocolate Cake slice), i.e. a partially hydrogenated shortening. Dairy fat for queso and cheese; minimal oil on grilled fajita meat..
The 5 cleanest things to order at Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory
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 |
|---|---|
| Pico de Gallo (1/2 Pint) | 0.0g |
| Sour Cream | 0.5g |
| Pico de Gallo (Pint) | 0.5g |
| Pico de Gallo (22 oz) | 0.7g |
| Red Enchilada Sauce | 1.0g |
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 Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory report card, or where it lands on the Seed Oil Index.
Frequently asked
Does Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory use beef tallow?
No. Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory cooks with Frying oil NEVER named by the chain (no allergen or ingredient statement published; rosascafe.com nutrition guide, May 2017 edition, + live HTML tables) - vegetable oil, type undisclosed, for chips, crispy shells and sopapillas. Flour tortillas are a LARD-type fat, not a bakery blend: Rosa's own add-on panel for one Flour Tortilla is 3.5 g fat / 1.5 g sat = 43% saturated, matching commodity lard (39%), not a vegetable shortening blend (20%); the chicken tamale masa and the cakes print real trans fat (5 g on the #50 Chicken Tamale plate, 7 g on the Chocolate Cake slice), i.e. a partially hydrogenated shortening. Dairy fat for queso and cheese; minimal oil on grilled fajita meat., not beef tallow. See which chains fry in real fats on Tallow Watch.