What are animal fats?
Animal fats are lipid ingredients derived from the tissues of animals, with a long history of use in traditional cooking and food preservation across virtually every culinary tradition. Common animal fats include butter, lard (from pigs), tallow (from cattle or sheep), schmaltz (from poultry), ghee (clarified butter), and duck fat. These fats have distinct flavor profiles and functional properties that differ significantly from vegetable oils, and they range from minimally processed rendered fats to industrially modified derivatives.
37,415 products in our database contain animal fats. 17,573 of them (47%) are Level 4, the most processed of our four levels.
Which foods contain animal fats?
Animal fats are used in baked goods, pastries, pie crusts, fried foods, traditional cooking, processed meats, sausages, confections, sauces, gravies, shortening blends, and many traditional and ethnic cuisine products.
Round Hawaiian Sweet Bread
Ben & Jerry's, Ice Cream, Peanut Butter World
Pasta Sides Creamy Chicken Flavor
Flapjacked, Mighty Muffin with Probiotics, Peanut Butter
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Mint Chip Swirl Low Fat Ice Cream Bars, Mint Chip Swirl
Sourdough Specials Pretzels
Oat Bars
Almond Cherry Protein Bar
Shrimp & Roasted Corn Chowder, Shrimp & Roasted
Milk Chocolate Assortment G Cubes, Milk Chocolate
Yum Yum Sauce
Makoto
Singles Fat Free Pasteurized Process Cheese Product
Great Value
Peanut Butter in Dark Chocolate Creme Filled Crispy Wafers, Peanut Butter
Little Secrets
Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers, Sea Salt
HighKey
Campbell's Cooking Sauces, Classic Roasted Chicken Sauce, 12 Oz Pouch
Campbells
Hammond's, Popcorn, Chocolate
Butter Caramels
Chocolate Premium Ice Cream Bars, Chocolate
Caramel Popcorn
Hammonds
Praline Pecans
Costco
Salted Caramel Flavored Popcorn, Salted Caramel
Wondershop
Buttery Caramel Corn, Buttery Caramel
Gold Emblem
Caramel Corn, Caramel
Schnucks
Caramel Corn, Caramel
Palo Popcorn
Vanilla Bean Premium Ice Cream, Vanilla Bean
Mayfield Creamery
Praline Pecans, Praline
Goodfields
Milk Chocolate Style Bar
Gatsby
Caramel Premium Old Fashioned Popcorn, Caramel
Wye River
Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar, Farm Favorites Frozen Veg
Pictsweet Farms
Glazed Pecans, Glazed
Good & Gather
Theo, 85 % Dark Chocolate
Newman's Own, Pop's Corn, Organic Microwave Popcorn, Butter
Alter Eco, Dark Blackout Organic Chocolate, Bittersweet Cocoa
Alter Eco, Deep Dark Sea Salt Organic Chocolate
Pure Butter Scottie Dogs
Dieffenbach's, Kettle Chips
Putre Butter Shortbread
Theo, Dark Chocolate Bar, Salted Almond
Theo, Dark Chocolate, Orange
Theo, Pure 70% Dark Chocolate
Walkers, Pure Butter, Shortbread
Grand Noir 85% Chocolate
Dark Chocolate with Marcona Almonds
Mini Festive Stars Shortbread
Organic Baby Lettuces
Snow Cap Lard
Pure Tallow Premium Cooking Oil
Original Recipe Ghee Butter
Glaser Organic Farms, Creamy Peanut Butter
100% Organic Ghee
Organic Ghee
100% Organic Ghee Grass-Fed
Ghee Butter
Rendered Duck Fat
Original Clarified Butter Ghee, Original
Grass-Fed Ghee
Organic Clarified Butter Ghee, Butter
Pasture-Raised Original Ghee Butter
Grass Fed Beef Tallow
Himalayan Pink Salt Ghee Butter, Himalayan Pink Salt
Also known as
Animal Fats can appear in ingredient lists under several names. If you see any of the following, this is the ingredient family you are looking at:
Function
Animal fats provide flavor, richness, and texture to food products. Butter contributes a characteristic dairy flavor and creates flaky layers in pastry through its solid-to-liquid transition during baking. Lard produces exceptionally tender pie crusts due to its crystal structure. Tallow provides high smoke points for deep frying, and ghee offers the flavor of butter with greater heat stability. In processed meats, animal fats contribute to mouthfeel, juiciness, and flavor release. The solid-at-room-temperature nature of many animal fats makes them useful for providing structure in confections and baked goods.
Sources
Animal fats are obtained through rendering — the process of melting fat from animal tissues using heat. Wet rendering uses steam or hot water, while dry rendering uses direct or indirect heat without added water. Butter is produced by churning cream to separate butterfat from buttermilk. Ghee is made by simmering butter to evaporate water and separate milk solids. Lard is rendered from pig adipose tissue, typically from the back fat (fatback) or the visceral fat surrounding the kidneys (leaf lard). Tallow is rendered from cattle or sheep fat. Industrial rendering operations process byproducts from meat processing facilities.
Health considerations
Animal fats are generally higher in saturated fat compared to most vegetable oils. Saturated fat and cholesterol content must be declared on the Nutrition Facts label. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide recommendations regarding saturated fat intake. Butter and dairy-derived fats contain milk proteins and must be declared as dairy allergens under FALCPA.
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
Regulatory
Animal fats are regulated by both the FDA and USDA depending on the source and product type. Butter has a specific FDA standard of identity requiring minimum 80% milkfat content. Lard has a standard of identity as the fat rendered from clean, sound tissues of swine. Saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol must be declared on the Nutrition Facts label. Rendering operations are subject to USDA inspection and safety requirements.