Eating out

Seed oil free restaurants in Iowa

Short answer

34 places in Iowa are reported to cook without seed oils: 25 cook with animal fats or fruit oils — beef tallow, lard, duck fat, ghee, butter, olive, avocado or coconut oil, 9 fry in peanut oil. Each entry reflects what the venue has been reported to use rather than an inspection, so call ahead before you rely on it.

Cities in Iowa

Elsewhere in Iowa

Towns with fewer than 3 venues do not get their own page, so their entries are listed here.

  • Liberty Street Kitchen

    705 W 1st St, Pella, IA

    beef tallowolive oil

  • The Spire

    112 1st St NE, Waverly, IA

    beef tallowlardduck fatgheebutterolive oilavocado oilcoconut oil

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    400 S Duff Ave, Ames, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    6406 University Ave, Cedar Falls, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    2805 NW Arterial, Dubuque, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    5001 Sergeant Rd, Sioux City, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    1053 Lawrence Dr, Burlington, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    2900 S 25th St, Clinton, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    3701 Metro Dr, Council Bluffs, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    2909 5th Ave S, Fort Dodge, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Buffalo Wild Wings

    201 S Clinton St, Iowa City, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Outback Steakhouse

    4500 Southern Hills Dr, Sioux City, IA

    beef tallowchain

  • Outback Steakhouse

    10901 University Ave, Clive, IA

    beef tallowchain

Frying in peanut oil

Peanut is a legume rather than a seed, so peanut-oil fryers appear on most seed-oil-free lists. The oil is still roughly a third linoleic acid, and opinion in the seed-oil-free community is genuinely split on it — which is why these venues are counted separately here rather than folded into the number above.

  • Five Guys

    535 S Duff Ave #101, Ames, IA

    peanut oilchain

  • Five Guys

    6406 University Ave Ste. C, Cedar Falls, IA

    peanut oilchain

  • Five Guys

    3450 Dodge St b, Dubuque, IA

    peanut oilchain

What to ask before you order

A kitchen can change supplier without changing its menu, and a venue that roasts in tallow may still fry in something else. Four questions settle it in about ten seconds:

  • What do you fry in? — the fryer is where the volume is, and it is often a different fat from the grill.
  • Is the dressing or sauce made in house? — bought-in dressings and mayo are almost always canola or soybean.
  • Are the buns or tortillas baked here? — bakery goods are a common hidden source.
  • Do you cook the vegetables in butter or oil? — the answer is frequently a blend.

How to read this list. Each entry reflects what the venue has been reported to cook with. It is not a certification, nobody has inspected these kitchens on your behalf, and menus and suppliers change — treat it as a shortlist to call, not a guarantee. The four questions above are worth asking even when a place is listed here.

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