Hidden Animal Ingredients in Mexican Food (Lard, Stock and Manteca)

Mexican food looks vegetarian-friendly at first glance: beans, rice, tortillas, salsa, avocado. But the animal products are in the cooking fat and the stock, which is why the same dish can be vegan at one restaurant and full of pork fat at another.

Key Takeaways

• Lard (manteca) is the traditional cooking fat, and it is in refried beans, tortillas and tamales.
• Chicken or beef stock is the usual liquid in Mexican rice and some moles.
• Cheese (queso) and cream (crema) are dairy, so they are vegetarian but not vegan.
• Ask whether beans and rice are cooked in lard or oil, and whether the stock is vegetable-based.

TL;DR: Mexican food hides animal products in lard, stock and dairy. Refried beans and rice are the two dishes most likely to be cooked with animal fat or stock, even when they look vegetarian.

Lard: the big one

Lard, called manteca in Spanish, is the traditional Mexican cooking fat, and it is the reason so many “vegetarian-looking” dishes are not vegetarian. PETA’s guide to vegan Mexican food flags lard as the ingredient to watch, especially in the beans (PETA, retrieved 2026-08-25).

• Refried beans (frijoles refritos) are traditionally fried in lard.
• Tortillas and tamales are sometimes made with lard for softness.
• Pastries and some fried snacks use lard.

The word “refried” is the tell: refried beans are cooked twice, once in fat, and that fat is often pork.

Stock: the hidden liquid

Mexican rice (arroz rojo or arroz mexicano) is usually cooked in chicken or beef stock, not water, which gives it the savory flavor and the color. Some moles (the complex sauce) also use meat stock. A travel guide to eating vegetarian in Mexico calls this the “lard and stock dilemma” and recommends asking about both explicitly (Mexico Handbook, retrieved 2026-08-25).

Dairy: vegetarian but not vegan

For vegans, cheese and cream are the second layer:

• Queso (cheese) on tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and beans.
• Crema (sour cream) drizzled on top.
• Queso fresco crumbled over everything.

These are vegetarian, but they make a dish non-vegan.

How to order

1. Ask if the beans are cooked in lard or oil: “¿Los frijoles llevan manteca o aceite?”
2. Ask if the rice is cooked in chicken stock or water.
3. For vegan, request no cheese and no crema.
4. Choose corn tortillas (often vegan) and check whether they are made with lard.

See our Mexico common-ingredients guide for a fuller list.

The bottom line

Mexican food’s hidden animal ingredients are lard and stock, plus dairy for vegans. Refried beans and rice are the two dishes to question, and the fix is simple: ask about the fat and the stock.

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. Recipes and preparations vary by restaurant, region and cook, so always confirm with the restaurant, brand or vendor.