What this guide covers: Seed oil usage in Sonic's Tots and French Fries, based on Sonic's own allergen and ingredient documentation.
Sonic cooks its Tots and fries in a vegetable oil shortening its own documentation confirms contains soy. Almost the entire hot menu runs through that fryer or is a manufactured item, so the seed-oil-free order is narrow: a bunless burger and a drink.
Ordering around the seed oil
Order this
A burger patty with no bun and no mayo, with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle, plus mustard or ketchup. Cherry limeades, slushes, and plain ice cream have no oil.
Skip this
The Tots, fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, and all fried chicken (cooked in the soy shortening), plus the bun and the mayo.
Ask for this
Your burger "no bun," which Sonic can do. The patty is the only hot item on the menu not built around the fryer.
What can't be made clean
The Tots, which are Sonic's signature side. They are cooked in the soy shortening and there is no alternative preparation.
What oil Sonic uses
Sonic doesn't publish a full retail-style ingredient statement for its Tots and Fries the way some chains do, but its own allergen guidance confirms the fryer shortening is a vegetable oil that contains soy. Tots and Fries are cooked in the same fryer and the same oil.
Contains seed oil: per Sonic's own allergen documentation
Fryer shortening: vegetable oil confirmed to contain soy. Applies to both Tots and French Fries.
Shared fryer, shared cross-contact
Sonic's own allergen guidance notes the same fryer handles corn dogs (wheat batter), breaded chicken, and onion rings (milk), alongside Tots and Fries. That means potential cross-contact with other allergens beyond the seed-oil content of the shortening itself.
Our Pick
Ancestral Supplements Grass-Fed Tallow
Beef tallow is a traditional animal fat with a high smoke point, historically used in commercial cooking before the widespread adoption of seed oils. For at-home cooking reference.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sonic use seed oils?
Yes. Sonic's Tots and French Fries are cooked in a vegetable oil fryer shortening that Sonic's own documentation confirms contains soy. Soybean oil is a seed oil.
What oil does Sonic use for its Tots?
Sonic's Tots and French Fries share the same fryer and the same vegetable oil shortening, which Sonic's own allergen documentation notes contains soy.
Is Sonic's fryer shared with other menu items?
Yes. Sonic's own allergen guidance notes the fryer also handles items like corn dogs (wheat batter), breaded chicken, and onion rings (milk), so cross-contact is possible beyond the oil itself.
Sources
- Frypedia -- Sonic Drive-In fries: ingredients, oil, dietary verdicts -- Cites Sonic's own allergen documentation on the soy-containing fryer shortening
- Sonic -- Nutrition & Allergy Information -- Sonic's official nutrition and allergen portal
What to keep at home instead
Sonic's fried items and many of its sauces are soybean-oil based. Rebuild the burger with tallow, the tots with avocado oil, and the dips with a clean mayo.
Best Cooking Fats to Replace Seed Oils: the full ranked list →
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