Lard and Tallow: Where They Hide in Everyday Food

A plate of refried beans, a flaky pie crust, a basket of fries. None of them look like meat, but all three are classic hiding places for animal fat. Lard and tallow are cheap, heat-stable fats that give food a texture vegetable oil does not quite match, and that is exactly why they show up in foods that look vegetarian.

Key Takeaways

• Lard is rendered pig fat. Tallow is rendered beef or mutton fat.
• They hide in pie crusts, biscuits, refried beans, tortillas and some french fries.
• Neither lard nor tallow is vegetarian or vegan.
• Look for “lard,” “tallow,” “beef fat,” “pork fat” or “animal fat” on labels, and ask how food is fried.

TL;DR: Lard (pig fat) and tallow (beef fat) are animal fats that hide in baked goods, refried beans, tortillas and french fries. Neither is vegetarian or vegan.

Lard vs tallow

The two are close cousins, and a food outlet sums up the difference in one line: lard is rendered pig fat, and tallow is rendered beef or mutton fat (The Takeout, retrieved 2026-08-25). Both are solid at room temperature and prized for their high smoke point and rich flavor.

That is the whole distinction. “Pork fat” and “lard” mean the same thing, and “beef fat” and “tallow” mean the same thing.

Where they hide

• Pie crusts, biscuits and pastry: lard is the traditional fat for flaky, tender dough.
• Refried beans: the traditional Mexican method fries the beans in lard.
• Tortillas and tamales: some are made with lard for softness.
• French fries: beef tallow is the classic frying fat, and it is making a comeback.
• Doughnuts and fried snacks: historically lard-fried.

The pattern: anything flaky, crisp or deeply fried is worth a second look.

The McDonald’s fries lesson

The most famous example is McDonald’s fries. For decades they were cooked in beef tallow, which is a big part of why people remember them so fondly. The chain switched to vegetable oil in 1990, after the fact became a controversy among vegetarians who had assumed the fries were meat-free (Wikipedia, retrieved 2026-08-25). The lesson stuck: a fried food can be “just potatoes” and still be cooked in beef fat.

Some restaurants and fast-food chains have since returned to beef tallow for flavor, so “are these fries vegetarian?” is a question worth asking again.

How to spot them

1. Read the label for lard, tallow, beef fat, pork fat, or the vague “animal fat.”
2. On menus, ask how the beans, tortillas or fries are cooked.
3. Watch “vegetarian” refried beans: some use lard and still get called vegetarian, so check.
4. Scan the product. A scanner app flags animal fats against your diet automatically.

Animal fat is one of several hidden non-veg ingredients. See our E-numbers cheat sheet for the others, including gelatin, carmine and shellac.

The bottom line

Lard and tallow are animal fat in disguise, and they hide in the flakiest and crispiest foods. Neither is vegetarian or vegan. Read the label, ask how it is fried, or let a scanner check it.

Check before you eat. The Verify Veg app scans a barcode or reads an ingredient list from a photo and flags ingredients against your diet (vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher, Jain and more). Download on the App Store - Android is coming soon.

Written by Samir Narain, founder of Verify Veg. Verify Veg helps people check packaged food against their diet by scanning barcodes and reading ingredient lists from photos.

Note: Verify Veg provides ingredient-based compatibility checks, not certification. Ingredient sources can vary by manufacturer, so always confirm with the brand or vendor.