What oil does Whole Foods Market fry in?
Whole Foods Market cooks with Expeller-pressed canola oil in the kitchens and fryers, by Whole Foods Market's own older statement, with soybean, sunflower, safflower, palm and olive oils also named in many current dishes. The chain's article "Canola Oil at Whole Foods Market" (May 23, 2014, updated 2/23/15) says "We only use non-GMO, expeller pressed canola oil in all of our in-house Prepared Foods" (wholefoodsmarket.com, read 2026-10-21). Its current product pages agree for the wings, "Fried Chicken Wings (chicken wings, expeller pressed canola oil, salt)", but its own ingredient statements also name soybean oil (chicken, tuna and egg salads, the breading on chicken bites and strips), sunflower and safflower oil (soups, empanadas, breakfast wraps), palm oil (quiche and pot pie crusts, cake shortening) and olive oil (grilled chicken and salmon, sweet potatoes) (wholefoodsmarket.com product pages, read 2026-10-21). The hot bar, BBQ hot bar, salad bar, bakery hot bar, pizza slice and soup bar pages print no ingredients, so the oil in those dishes is not disclosed and our figures for them are estimated..
The 5 cleanest things to order at Whole Foods Market
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 |
|---|---|
| Old School Vegetable Soup | 0.0g |
| Mom's Chicken Soup | 0.3g |
| Nana's Chicken Noodle Soup | 0.3g |
| Thai-Inspired Chicken Soup | 0.3g |
| Garlic Herb Sweet Potato Wedges | 0.4g |
Lower PUFA is cleaner. These are estimates from published nutrition data and disclosed oils; preparation varies by location.
Build your Whole Foods Market order
Pick your meal, sides, sauces and drink in the app and see your seed oil total before you order. It logs to your day in one tap. Free on iPhone and Android.
Build my orderWhy 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 Whole Foods Market report card, or where it lands on the Seed Oil Index.
Frequently asked
Does Whole Foods Market use beef tallow?
No. Whole Foods Market cooks with Expeller-pressed canola oil in the kitchens and fryers, by Whole Foods Market's own older statement, with soybean, sunflower, safflower, palm and olive oils also named in many current dishes. The chain's article "Canola Oil at Whole Foods Market" (May 23, 2014, updated 2/23/15) says "We only use non-GMO, expeller pressed canola oil in all of our in-house Prepared Foods" (wholefoodsmarket.com, read 2026-10-21). Its current product pages agree for the wings, "Fried Chicken Wings (chicken wings, expeller pressed canola oil, salt)", but its own ingredient statements also name soybean oil (chicken, tuna and egg salads, the breading on chicken bites and strips), sunflower and safflower oil (soups, empanadas, breakfast wraps), palm oil (quiche and pot pie crusts, cake shortening) and olive oil (grilled chicken and salmon, sweet potatoes) (wholefoodsmarket.com product pages, read 2026-10-21). The hot bar, BBQ hot bar, salad bar, bakery hot bar, pizza slice and soup bar pages print no ingredients, so the oil in those dishes is not disclosed and our figures for them are estimated., not beef tallow. See which chains fry in real fats on Tallow Watch.