Sweetgreen has cooked its proteins, vegetables, and grains in extra virgin olive oil since 2023, so the base of most bowls is clean. The seed oil is concentrated in four dressings (Balsamic Vinaigrette, Caesar, Hot Honey Mustard, Spicy Cashew) and the crispy toppings, all of which list sunflower or canola oil. Which oil you get comes down to which dressing you pick.
The cleanest order
Order this
Any bowl or salad with a warm protein (blackened or roasted chicken, roasted tofu, caramelized garlic steak) and one of the avocado-oil or olive-oil dressings: Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce, or Garlic Aioli. The vegetables and grains are roasted in olive oil.
Skip this
Balsamic Vinaigrette, Caesar dressing, Hot Honey Mustard Sauce, and Spicy Cashew Dressing (all list sunflower oil), plus the crispy noodle, crispy rice, and tortilla-chip toppings (sunflower or canola oil).
Ask for this
Dressing on the side so you can gauge the amount, or just olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper, which the line can do. Sweetgreen's ingredient guide is the place to confirm a specific dressing before you commit to it.
What can't be made clean
Nothing structural. Sweetgreen is one of the few chains where a full, satisfying order can be built entirely on olive-oil and avocado-oil ingredients, as long as you avoid the four sunflower-oil dressings.
What oil Sweetgreen uses, by item
Sweetgreen links a "Nutrition + Allergens Guide" PDF from the footer of sweetgreen.com (the older sweetgreen.com/ingredients URL now returns a 404). That PDF's full ingredient breakdown, not the allergen chart, is the source for what's below. It confirms the four dressings that carry sunflower oil; everything else is cooked in olive oil or built on an avocado-oil base.
The Balsamic Vinaigrette lists sunflower oil as its first ingredient. The Caesar dressing lists sunflower oil too, right after water and lemon juice, no olive oil appears in its ingredient list at all. Hot Honey Mustard Sauce and the Spicy Cashew Dressing (already flagged as uncertain in an earlier version of this page) both list sunflower oil as well. Separately, the warm bowl proteins, blackened chicken, roasted chicken, roasted tofu, and caramelized garlic steak, use avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil. Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce, and Garlic Aioli are avocado-oil based.
Contains seed oil
✗ = names sunflower oil (or another seed oil) per Sweetgreen's own Nutrition + Allergens Guide.
- ✗Balsamic Vinaigrette Sunflower oil is the first listed ingredient.
- ✗Caesar dressing Sunflower oil, not olive oil. No olive oil appears in its ingredient list.
- ✗Hot Honey Mustard Sauce Lists sunflower oil.
- ✗Spicy Cashew Dressing Lists sunflower oil.
- ✗Crispy Noodles (topping) Lists sunflower oil.
- ✗Crispy Rice, Tortilla Chips (toppings) List canola oil; the chips also carry a "may contain" note for safflower, sunflower, soybean, or cottonseed oil from shared fryer equipment.
Confirmed no seed oil
✓ = olive oil or avocado oil documented as the fat per Sweetgreen's own Nutrition + Allergens Guide.
- ✓Blackened chicken, roasted chicken, roasted tofu Avocado oil.
- ✓Caramelized Garlic Steak, Warm Portobello Mix, Warm Roasted Sweet Potatoes Extra virgin olive oil.
- ✓Pesto Vinaigrette, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce Avocado oil.
- ✓Green Goddess Ranch, Garlic Aioli, Charred Jalapeño Ranch Made with a mayonnaise base that itself lists avocado oil.
- ✓Base greens and grains No oil added to the raw bases.
Why this is more mixed than Sweetgreen's reputation suggests
Sweetgreen's proteins, vegetables, and grains are cooked in extra virgin olive oil or an avocado-oil base, higher-cost fats that most fast-casual chains skip in favor of cheaper canola or soybean oil. That part of the reputation holds up. But the two dressings most people put on a Sweetgreen order, Balsamic Vinaigrette and Caesar, are both sunflower-oil based per Sweetgreen's own ingredient guide, not olive oil.
If you're specifically avoiding seed oils, the fix is simple: order a warm bowl protein with Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce, or Garlic Aioli, and skip Balsamic, Caesar, Hot Honey Mustard, and Spicy Cashew.
Our Pick
Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil (Chosen Foods)
Avocado oil for home cooking, the same oil Sweetgreen uses in its chicken, tofu, and several dressings. For salad dressings, roasting vegetables, or high-heat cooking. Cold-pressed, no seed oil adulterants.
Seasonal and limited-time items to check
Sweetgreen's menu changes seasonally, and this page only covers the standard, year-round items in their published ingredient guide. Before ordering a new or seasonal item, check the current Nutrition + Allergens Guide PDF linked from the footer of sweetgreen.com, they update it when menu items change.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sweetgreen use seed oils?
It's mixed, more than this page previously said. Sweetgreen's own published ingredient guide names sunflower oil as an ingredient in two of its most-ordered dressings, Balsamic Vinaigrette and Caesar, plus Hot Honey Mustard Sauce and the Spicy Cashew Dressing. Separately, the warm bowl proteins (chicken, steak, tofu) and several other dressings (Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce) are avocado oil or olive oil based, per the same document. There's no single answer for "the Sweetgreen menu."
What oil does Sweetgreen use?
Depends on the item. Per Sweetgreen's own published Nutrition + Allergens Guide: Balsamic Vinaigrette and Caesar dressing both list sunflower oil (Caesar's is not olive-oil based, despite what this page previously claimed). Hot Honey Mustard Sauce and Spicy Cashew Dressing also list sunflower oil. The warm bowl proteins (blackened chicken, roasted chicken, roasted tofu, caramelized garlic steak) use avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil. Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce, and Garlic Aioli are avocado-oil based (several via a mayonnaise base that itself lists avocado oil).
Is Sweetgreen actually seed oil free?
No, not chain-wide. Sweetgreen's own ingredient guide names sunflower oil in Balsamic Vinaigrette, Caesar dressing, Hot Honey Mustard Sauce, and Spicy Cashew Dressing. The proteins and several other dressings are olive oil or avocado oil based, so the menu supports a seed-oil-conscious order, but only if you know which specific dressing to pick.
What Sweetgreen items should I order if I'm avoiding seed oils?
Per Sweetgreen's own ingredient guide, warm bowl proteins (chicken, tofu, steak) and Pesto Vinaigrette, Green Goddess Ranch, Lime Cilantro Jalapeño Sauce, or Garlic Aioli as your dressing are the confirmed avocado-oil or olive-oil options. Skip the Balsamic Vinaigrette, Caesar dressing, Hot Honey Mustard Sauce, and Spicy Cashew Dressing, all four list sunflower oil.
Where can I find Sweetgreen's ingredient list?
Sweetgreen links a "Nutrition + Allergens Guide" PDF from the footer of sweetgreen.com (the old sweetgreen.com/ingredients URL this page used to cite is dead). Their menu rotates, so check the current PDF for any specific item.
Sources
- Sweetgreen -- Nutrition + Allergens Guide (linked from sweetgreen.com footer) -- Full ingredient breakdown by dressing, protein, and topping; source for the sunflower oil and avocado oil claims above
What to keep at home instead
Sweetgreen uses olive and avocado oil for most items, with some dressings varying. Recreating a bowl at home is mostly a dressing exercise: olive-oil vinaigrette or a clean avocado-oil dressing.
More Chain Guides