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Chik-fil-A

59 locations · 1 rating

0/100Avoid
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What the score is made of

Four categories, weighted. Seed oils count three times as much as plastics or ultra-processing, so a poor seed-oil score pulls the overall number down hardest.

  • Seed oil3× weight0
  • Additives2× weight0
  • Plastics0.5× weight
  • NOVA0.5× weight0

Plastics has no ratings yet and count as 0 toward the overall score — an unproven category isn’t a free pass.

Full methodology: how we score restaurants.

What reviewers said

@Fable_X_Tallow3w ago

Chick-fil-A's peanut-oil reputation is real only for the pressure-cooked chicken; the breading, bun, sauces and waffle fries all carry soybean or canola oil, and 337 of 479 ingredient statements contain a seed oil while 414 of 479 contain an additive. Its no-artificial-dye reputation is also overstated, with dyes in 67 statements including the Spicy Filet and every milkshake.

Chick-fil-A's peanut-oil reputation does not survive its own ingredient statements. The chicken is pressure-cooked in "fully refined, heat-processed peanut oil", but the same filet and nugget breading also lists soybean oil, the bun lists soybean oil plus a buttered flavored oil of soybean and palm kernel oil, and the waffle fries are "canola oil (high oleic canola oil with dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent), vegetable oil (canola, palm, soy)" while their own FAQ says "Chick-fil-A uses highly refined soybean oil in our Waffle Fries." 337 of 479 statements contain a seed oil, and of the 142 that don't, 122 are beverages; only 20 food items are clean and all are sides or sauces. 414 of 479 carry an additive: dimethylpolysiloxane 228, sodium benzoate 205, maltodextrin 188, modified starch 181, mono-and-diglycerides 173. Dyes appear in 67 statements including Spicy Filet (yellow #6), tortilla strips (red 40, blue 1) and all five milkshakes.

Common questions

What is in Chik-fil-A's food?

Tallow reviewers check Chik-fil-A on four things: whether it cooks in seed oils, whether the menu carries artificial additives, whether food touches plastic on the way out, and how much of it arrives premade rather than made in the kitchen. The answers to each are scored below.

Does Chik-fil-A use seed oils?

Yes. Chik-fil-A scores 0/100 here — reviewers report heavy seed oil use.

Does Chik-fil-A use artificial additives?

Yes. Chik-fil-A scores 0/100 here — reviewers report a lot of artificial additives.

Is Chik-fil-A healthy?

Not really — Chik-fil-A scores 0/100, a poor score. Tallow rates what a kitchen cooks with, not how many calories are on the plate.

Does Chik-fil-A serve premade or ultra-processed food?

Yes. Chik-fil-A scores 0/100 here — reviewers report mostly premade or ultra-processed food.

Chik-fil-A locations

Showing 40 of 59

  • Hayti
  • Northport
  • Niceville
  • Slidell
  • Northlake blvd, Miami
  • Fort Myers
  • Port Saint Lucie
  • 1420, Jacksonville
  • Apopka
  • Orlando
  • Orlando
  • Capital Circle, Tallahassee
  • Chik-fil-a
  • Race Ave, Lancaster
  • chikfila
  • Allentown
  • Towson
  • 286 State Rd, Dartmouth
  • 13025 Bothell Everett Hwy, Everett
  • 416 University St, Seattle
  • 40 Manor Cir, Sharpsburg
  • Hammond Drive, Atlanta
  • 3156 Lawrenceville Suwanee Rd, Suwanee
  • Chik-fil-a
  • North Charleston
  • Mt. Pleasant
  • 907 Floyd Ave, Richmond
  • Midlothian
  • Manassas
  • Fair Oaks Mall, Random Hills
  • Catonsville
  • 2802 Gilmer Rd, Longview
  • Houston
  • 290, Houston
  • Harlingen
  • Tucson
  • 9111 E 40th Ave, Denver
  • 10503 East Arizona Place, Aurora
  • Cheyenne
  • Yum, Yuma

Rating and reporting happen in the app so submissions can be verified and moderated. Browse more on the restaurant map, or check packaged groceries with the product finder.