TallowTallow

McAlister's

33 locations · 1 rating

4/100Avoid
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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× weight50

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

McAlister's publishes a genuine per-item ingredient statement, and it shows seed oils in nine of their ten breads, in the mayo and in every single dressing, so almost any sandwich you order carries soybean or canola oil twice over. 113 of the 162 food entries also carry an additive, mostly bread conditioners, gums and preservatives.

McAlister s Deli publishes real per-item ingredient statements - their own site links them at mcalistersdeli.com/nutrition/ingredient-search, which frames the Nutritionix mcalisters-deli ingredient search. Read 22 August 2026: 202 entries, 162 once drinks are removed. 88 of the 162 name a seed oil, but that count understates it, because the clean entries are plain deli meats and cheeses rather than dishes. Nine of the ten breads list soybean or canola oil - only Marbled Rye does not - and so do Mayo, Buttermilk Ranch, Caesar, Chipotle Ranch, Green Goddess, Honey Mustard, Sherry Shallot and every bag of chips. Soybean oil appears in 46 entries, canola in 26, vegetable oil in 22, sunflower in 13, corn in 6, cottonseed in 4. 113 of the 162 carry an additive; the breads alone add calcium propionate, DATEM and ethoxylated mono and diglycerides. A normal sandwich here is seed oil twice over, in the bread and in the dressing.

Common questions

What is in McAlister's's food?

Tallow reviewers check McAlister's 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 McAlister's use seed oils?

Yes. McAlister's scores 0/100 here — reviewers report heavy seed oil use.

Does McAlister's use artificial additives?

Yes. McAlister's scores 0/100 here — reviewers report a lot of artificial additives.

Is McAlister's healthy?

Not really — McAlister's scores 4/100, a poor score. Tallow rates what a kitchen cooks with, not how many calories are on the plate.

Does McAlister's serve premade or ultra-processed food?

Sometimes. McAlister's scores 50/100 here, so reports are mixed.

McAlister's locations

Showing 33 of 33

  • College Mall Rd, Bloomington
  • 7710 Poplar Ave, Germantown
  • Memphis
  • Tuscaloosa
  • Oxford
  • McAlister's
  • Ocean Springs
  • Lake City
  • Hwy 96, Warner Robins
  • 1247-1259 Marks Church Rd, Augusta
  • 5505-104 oak forest, Raleigh
  • McAlisters
  • MCALISTERS
  • Auburn
  • Siegan, Baton Rouge
  • Cameron
  • Lindbergh, Texarkana
  • Poplar Bluff
  • 2102 SW H K Dodgen Loop, Temple
  • Broken Arrow
  • Owasso
  • Salina
  • 9700 N Rodney Parham Rd, Little Rock
  • McAlisters
  • St. Charles
  • 600 E McGalliard Rd, Muncie
  • North Olmsted
  • Lexington
  • ASU Student Union, Boone
  • Greensboro
  • Lebanon
  • Jeffersontown
  • Evansville

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