The Type Of Oil Long John Silver's Uses For All Its Fried Menu Items

Let's face it: If you're going to grab a bite at Long John Silver's, you're going for the fried stuff. You can't really avoid it, considering almost everything on its menu is fried (aside from a few sides and the occasional grilled shrimp). And if you're a pescatarian avoiding certain ingredients, you might be wondering if there's any chance that Long John Silver's might use animal products such as lard or beef tallow to fry its food, considering some chains use beef tallow as a frying ingredient.

It may come as a relief to know that Long John Silver's only uses 100% canola oil to fry its dishes. The chain has previously made sure to let customers know this via social media, as the use of beef tallow as a frying oil isn't always disclosed in some locations. This might be a bit of info you want to keep in your back pocket during Lent if you're avoiding beef products. If you observe the season, you're good — the grease on your fingers from your fish filets is all canola oil.

Long John Silver's has had a bit of a rough ride when it comes to its reputation, at least in terms of healthy eating. It's previously been called out for using frying oil with trans fats in it, which eventually led to a change to soybean oil in 2014, and then the canola oil transition came some years after that. The chain, however, dipped its seafaring toes into plant-based territory in 2021, when it began offering fish-free filets and crab-free cakes as a limited-time test run. 

Considering that was four years ago, and that the plant-based items are nowhere to be seen on Long John Silver's menu now, there must not have been enough support to justify adding the plant-based products as permanent menu items. And in retrospect, it's best that animal-based frying oils are far from Long John Silver's menu, as these plant-based seafood items would have become non-vegan, much in the way that McDonald's fries used to be made in beef tallow. So if you happen to be munching on hush puppies for lunch, you now know that Long John Silver's uses one of the industry standards, canola oil, to fry the food in.