Sonic Drive In

3,908 locations · 2 ratings

7/100Avoid

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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× weight50
NOVA0.5× weight30

Full methodology: how we score restaurants.

What reviewers said

@jacorn4d ago

Some plastic contact · Some premade food

Most food made fresh, other than tots and fries. Food touches plastic, but most cookware is metal that stays plastic free.

@Fable_X_Tallow1mo ago

Sonic's own Summer 2026 ingredient guide shows the fryer shortening and the bun oil are both soybean oil, and even the beef patties carry hydrogenated soybean oil, so seed oil is essentially unavoidable here. 92 of 106 food items also carry an additive, and the only 13 items clean of both are condiments, fruit add-ins and plain produce.

Sonic publishes a real per-item ingredient statement guide (SUM26, 7 pages), and it settles the question. The Fryer Shortening is listed outright as "Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ", and there is a separate Bun Oil, also soybean oil with TBHQ, that goes on the buns - so a burger and an order of tots are both seed oil before you add a single topping. All three beef patties (Burger Patty, Jr Burger Patty, SONIC Smasher) carry hydrogenated soybean oil inside their encapsulated salt. Of the 106 non-drink items, 43 name a seed oil outright and 92 carry an additive. Only 13 are free of both, and every one is a condiment, a fruit add-in or plain produce - mustard, honey, apple sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, diced onion. Dyes reach past the slushes into the food: the Brioche Bun lists Red #40, Yellow #5 and Yellow #6, and both the Zesty and Signature Cheese Sauces list Yellow #5 and #6.

Common questions

What is in Sonic Drive In's food?

Tallow reviewers check Sonic Drive In 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 Sonic Drive In use seed oils?

Yes. Sonic Drive In scores 0/100 here — reviewers report heavy seed oil use.

Does Sonic Drive In use artificial additives?

Yes. Sonic Drive In scores 0/100 here — reviewers report a lot of artificial additives.

Is Sonic Drive In healthy?

Not really — Sonic Drive In scores 7/100, a poor score. Tallow rates what a kitchen cooks with, not how many calories are on the plate.

Does Sonic Drive In serve premade or ultra-processed food?

Yes. Sonic Drive In scores 30/100 here — reviewers report mostly premade or ultra-processed food.

Sonic Drive In locations

Showing 40 of 3,908

Hwy 227, Carrollton
1262 N Emerson Ave, Greenwood
2030 N National Rd, Columbus
1089 W McClain Ave, Scottsburg
3433 N Green River Rd, Evansville
2110 Fort Harrison Rd, Terre Haute
2149 S State Road 46, Terre Haute
2200 Covert Ave, Evansville
881 S Green River Rd, Evansville
723 W 6th St, Jasper
3960 N Newton St, Jasper
1479 Elizabethtown Rd, Leitchfield
1580 N Main St, Beaver Dam
111 S 2nd St, Central City
2510 W Parrish Ave, Owensboro
3107 Frederica St, Owensboro
815 S Main St, Madisonville
960 N Main St, Madisonville
2150 US Highway 60 E, Henderson
610 S Commercial St, Harrisburg
2840 W Broadway St, Princeton
601 Lake Land Blvd, Mattoon
107 W Lincoln Ave, Charleston
1615 N 8th St, Vandalia
4851 E Prosperity Place, Decatur
2000 N Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield
1312 Wabash Ave, Jerome
3001 W Iles Ave, Springfield
12591 State Route 143, Highland
1017 Plummer Dr, Edwardsville
1402 Vandalia St, Collinsville
745 W Highway 50, O Fallon
1001 W Broadway, Centralia
4801 Broadway St, Mt. Vernon
500 W Main St, Benton
2 Howellman Dr, Du Quoin
950 E Main St, Carbondale
721 N Park Ave, Herrin
407 W Main St, West Frankfort
2710 Walton Way, Marion

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