RANKINGS

The MAHA fry report card.

Four MAHA-adjacent criteria — seed oils vs. traditional fats, dedicated fryer, ingredient-list length, clean label — scored 0 to 10 across all 60 chains. The chain the movement crowned (Steak 'n Shake, 7/10) doesn't top the list. Elevation Burger does, with a perfect 10. Full methodology, per-chain breakdowns, and the honest caveats below.

The scoring system.

Each chain earns 0–10 points across four categories derived from the Make America Healthy Again movement's stated food-system complaints. The categories are what the movement actually names, scored as neutrally as we can manage. See The MAHA fry report card essay for the longer discussion.

01
Fry oil — Beef tallow or olive oil: 3. Peanut, sunflower, rice bran: 2. Canola: 1. Soybean/corn/vegetable blend: 0.
0–3
02
Dedicated fryer — Fry oil not shared with any other menu item: 2. Shared with anything: 0.
0–2
03
Ingredient-list length — 3 ingredients: 3. 4: 2. 5–6: 1. 7+: 0.
0–3
04
Clean label — No synthetic additives (TBHQ, DMPS, natural beef flavor, artificial colorings): 2. One: 1. Multiple: 0.
0–2

Scoreboard: top 12 chains.

# Chain Oil Oil Fryer Ing. Clean Total
01 Elevation Burger Olive 3232 10
02 In-N-Out Sunflower 2232 9
03 Five Guys Peanut 2232 9
04 Dick's Drive-In Sunflower 2232 9
05 Hopdoddy Burger Bar Rice bran 2232 9
06 P. Terry's Burger Stand Canola 1232 8
07 Mission BBQ Soybean 0232 7
08 Chick-fil-A Canola 1222 7
09 Steak 'n Shake Tallow 3031 7
10 Buffalo Wild Wings Beef shortening 3022 7
11 Smashburger Tallow/canola 2022 6
12 Bojangles Canola + beef fat 2022 6
13 Outback Steakhouse Beef tallow 3011 5
14 Portillo's Veg + tallow 2011 4
The highlighted rows Green row (Elevation Burger) marks the perfect 10 — the only chain scoring full points on every category. Orange row (Steak 'n Shake) marks the chain the MAHA movement publicly crowned — which scores 7, below three competitors that didn't ask for the attention. These two rows together are the story.

The lower tier: chains scoring 3 or below.

Chain Primary fail Total
Wendy's Soybean/canola/corn blend; shared fryer; dextrose + 1 additive 3
Burger King (US) Soybean oil; shared fryer; rice-flour coating adds ingredients 1
McDonald's (US) Veg blend; shared fryer; 11 ingredients incl. natural beef flavor, TBHQ, DMPS 0
Taco Bell Nacho Fries Veg blend; shared fryer; wheat-coated seasoning blend with sugars + flavors 0
KFC Secret Recipe Fries Vegetable oil blend; shared fryer; wheat-flour-coated with multiple seasonings 0
Arby's Curly Fries Vegetable blend; shared fryer; wheat-coated multi-ingredient seasoning 0

The honest caveat.

A high MAHA score and a nutritionally better fry are not necessarily the same thing. The movement's central claim about seed oils is scientifically contested; the American Heart Association's current position is that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated plant oils is associated with better cardiovascular outcomes, not worse. A beef tallow fry is high in saturated fat regardless of what MAHA says about seed oils; a sunflower-oil fry is low in saturated fat regardless of its seed-oil classification.

This ranking measures how closely each chain aligns with the criteria the movement publicly uses, not whether the criteria themselves map to improved health outcomes. We think the distinction matters. We also think it's interesting that the strongest-aligned chains are a tiny olive-oil operation that nobody's heard of and three regional classics that have been doing this since before World War Two.

FAQ

What is MAHA?
Make America Healthy Again — a health-policy framework associated with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and allied figures. In the food-system context, MAHA centers on removing synthetic additives (artificial dyes, preservatives like TBHQ), eliminating or reducing seed oils (soybean, canola, corn), encouraging shorter ingredient lists, and favoring whole-food preparations over highly processed foods.
Why did Steak 'n Shake score 7 and not higher?
Steak 'n Shake earns full marks on fry oil (beef tallow, 3) and ingredient list (potato + tallow + salt, 3). It loses points on the dedicated-fryer criterion (fries share oil with the chain's crispy chicken sandwich coating) and one point on clean label (the chain acknowledged on its website that some fries are pre-cooked in seed oils before the final tallow fry). Both are operational realities that limit the chain's MAHA score even as its brand positioning aligns with the movement.
Why did Elevation Burger score 10?
Elevation Burger has been using olive oil in a dedicated fryer with a potato + oil + salt recipe since its founding in 2005. The chain also committed to gluten-free breading across its entire fryer, which means the fryer never contains wheat-coated items that could introduce additives. Perfect scores on all four categories.
Does this ranking endorse the MAHA criteria?
No. The ranking measures alignment with the MAHA movement's stated food-system criteria. It does not evaluate whether those criteria are scientifically well-supported. The seed-oil-as-villain argument is scientifically contested; the clean-label and ingredient-count arguments are better supported but still involve value judgments. We built the scorecard to answer the specific question "if you take the movement's stated criteria at face value, which chains score highest?" — which is a different question than "which fries are healthiest."
Does the MAHA movement actually endorse any specific chain?
Publicly, Kennedy has only named Steak 'n Shake directly, calling the chain's tallow switch "RFK'ing the french fries." No other QSR has been formally endorsed as of October 2026. Several Cold Eight chains align with the criteria without having asked for or received movement attention. Whether that changes depends on whether those chains (particularly In-N-Out, which has stated it is researching new fry oils) choose to publicly engage.
Is beef tallow actually healthier than seed oils?
The current scientific consensus doesn't support that framing. Peer-reviewed meta-analyses generally find that replacing saturated animal fats (including beef tallow) with polyunsaturated plant oils (including soybean, canola, and sunflower) is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk, not higher. The "seed oils are inflammatory" argument the MAHA movement makes draws from mechanistic studies and functional-medicine clinicians rather than outcomes evidence. People with specific metabolic conditions (certain autoimmune or inflammatory contexts) sometimes report individual benefits from reducing seed oil intake; population-level evidence for dietary swap-outs still favors the heart-health framework.

Related reads

See all rankings: Rankings hub · Full chain directory: Browse all 60 chains