Seed oils in Spain
Of the 23 chains we track in Spain, 1 uses real fats in the fryer and 14 use seed oils. That leaves 8 with something in between, no fryer or no answer. Below: what they fry in, how people cook there, how to read a label and what to say to ask about the oil.
What the chains fry in
These are the 23 chains we track in Spain, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.
- Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
- In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
- Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
- No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
- Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.
(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.
Cleanest picks
Chains that fry in real fats come first. After them come chains that mix real fats with other oils or fry in palm or peanut oil.
- 100 Montaditos Olive oil (estimated)
- Burger King High-oleic sunflower and palm oil
- Five Guys Peanut oil
- Goiko High-oleic oil (estimated)
- Granier Vegetable oil blend and palm oil (estimated)
- Popeyes High-oleic sunflower oil
- Tim Hortons Palm oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated)
All 23 chains
| Chain | Fryer oil |
|---|---|
| 100 Montaditos | Olive oil (estimated) |
| Burger King | High-oleic sunflower and palm oil |
| Domino's | Vegetable oil blend and sunflower oil (estimated) |
| Five Guys | Peanut oil |
| Foster's Hollywood | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Ginos | Sunflower oil (estimated) |
| Goiko | High-oleic oil (estimated) |
| Granier | Vegetable oil blend and palm oil (estimated) |
| KFC | Sunflower oil |
| La Tagliatella | Sunflower oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Lizarran | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Sunflower oil (estimated) |
| Pans & Company | No fryer |
| Papa John's | Soybean oil (estimated) |
| Popeyes | High-oleic sunflower oil |
| Rodilla | Sunflower oil and vegetable oil blend |
| Starbucks | No fryer |
| Taco Bell | Sunflower and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
| Telepizza | Sunflower oil (estimated) |
| TGB | Sunflower oil (estimated) |
| Tim Hortons | Palm oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| UDON | Sunflower oil and vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| VIPS | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
Same chain, different oil
A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. Of the 9 chains we can compare with the U.S., 6 show a different fryer oil in Spain. Rows where the color changes come first. 3 more chains list the same oil in both places.
| Chain | In the U.S. | In Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Burger King | Vegetable oil blend and soybean oil | High-oleic sunflower and palm oil |
| Popeyes | Beef tallow | High-oleic sunflower oil |
| Domino's | Soybean and canola oil | Vegetable oil blend and sunflower oil (estimated) |
| KFC | Canola and soybean oil | Sunflower oil |
| McDonald's | Canola and soybean oil | Sunflower oil (estimated) |
| Taco Bell | Canola oil | Sunflower and rapeseed oil (estimated) |
The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.
How people cook in Spain
Olive oil is still the main oil in Spanish homes: household panel figures for the 12 months to March 2024, reported by Vozpopuli, show about 5.9 liters of olive oil per person per year against 3.4 liters of sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is cheaper, and the Spanish sunflower association links its recent growth to bars and restaurants, which use a lot of it.
So fried tapas, croquetas, patatas bravas and churros may be fried in sunflower oil (regular or high oleic) or in olive oil depending on the place, and it is worth asking. Pork lard (manteca de cerdo) is traditional in some sweets such as polvorones, mantecados and ensaimadas, and in some regional dishes.
Fast food chains differ, so check each chain on its own.
Reading labels
Spanish packaging follows EU Regulation 1169/2011: refined vegetable oils may be grouped as 'aceites vegetales' only if the plants (for example girasol, palma, colza, soja) are listed right after, and the same rule covers 'grasas vegetales'.
Hydrogenated oils and fats must say 'totalmente hidrogenado' (fully hydrogenated) or 'parcialmente hidrogenado' (partly hydrogenated). So labels name the plant instead of a bare 'vegetable oil'.
Say it in Spanish
Read these out loud or show your phone to your server. The first two rows are the questions to ask. The rest are the oil names you will see on menus and labels.
| You want to say | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| Ask the kitchen | |
| What oil do you fry with? | ¿Con qué aceite fríen esto? |
| Can you cook it in butter or olive oil? | ¿Pueden cocinarlo con mantequilla o con aceite de oliva? |
| Seed oils to watch for | |
| Sunflower oil | aceite de girasol |
| Canola oil | aceite de colza |
| Soybean oil | aceite de soja |
| Vegetable oil (often a seed oil blend) | aceite vegetal / aceite de semillas |
| Fats to ask for | |
| Olive oil | aceite de oliva (extra virgin: aceite de oliva virgen extra, AOVE) |
| Butter | mantequilla |
| Lard | manteca de cerdo |
| Beef tallow | sebo de vaca |
| In between | |
| Palm oil | aceite de palma |
Tips for eating out in Spain
- Ask '¿Con qué aceite fríen esto?' at bars and restaurants, because they use a lot of sunflower oil; the answer can differ by place and by dish.
- Choose dishes that are not fried: 'a la plancha' (griddled), 'a la brasa' (grilled over coals), 'al horno' (baked) or 'guisado' (stewed), and ask for them 'con aceite de oliva' (with olive oil).
- Gazpacho and salmorejo are traditionally made with olive oil, and pan con tomate and salads are usually dressed with it; ask for aceite de oliva virgen extra (AOVE).
- On packaged snacks and pastries, look for 'aceite de girasol', 'aceite de colza', 'aceite de soja', 'aceite de palma' or 'grasa vegetal' in the ingredient list; 'alto oleico' (high oleic) sunflower oil is much lower in polyunsaturated fat than plain sunflower oil.
Use the app on your trip
Seed Oil Tracker has local menus for 23 chains in Spain. Switch your country in Settings before you go.
Download for iPhone Get it on Google Play
Free to download. Want the full tour first? See what the app does.
Sources
The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.
- Vozpopuli: sunflower oil consumption rises without displacing olive oil (household panel data to March 2024)
- Spanish Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) study on oil use in hospitality (older data; the PDF would not open here, figures taken from a search summary)
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex VII, Part A (text checked on legislation.gov.uk)
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on EUR-Lex (official EU text)
More countries
Menus, recipes and rules change, so treat this page as a starting point and check the label or ask in the moment. Need a refresher on what counts? See what seed oils are and the full list. Back home, the eating out playbook covers restaurants in the U.S.