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The Foods With the Highest Amounts of Saturated Fat

Many of the foods we enjoy the most are high in saturated fat. Eating too much saturated fat is associated with high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), more commonly known as bad cholesterol. If you want to keep an eye on how much saturated fat you consume on a daily basis, it is helpful to know which foods contain the highest levels of saturated fat.

  1. What Are Saturated Fats?

    • Saturated fat is fat composed of carbon atoms that are fully saturated with hydrogen atoms. According to the American Heart Association, your saturated fat intake should not exceed 7 percent of the total calories you consume each day.

    Saturated Fats From Animals

    • Butter is the animal product containing the highest amount of saturated fat. After butter, rendered animal fats such as tallow, suet, lard and shortening are the animal-based foods with the highest levels. Cheese also has high amounts of saturated fat. However, some cheeses have more saturated fat than others; for example, hard goat cheese has more than muenster. Among meats, sausage and pate have the highest amounts. Fish oil is another food that is high in saturated fat. Whipped cream, which tops many of our desserts, is also high in this form of fat, as is dark chocolate (which is not always an animal-based product, as some dark chocolates are vegan).

    Saturated Fats From Plants

    • Generally, hydrogenated oils have the highest amounts of saturated fat. Palm and coconut oil are the most common examples of hydrogenated oils and contain about 93% saturated fat. Dried coconut also contains high amounts. Nuts and seeds are other plant products that rank high. The nut or seed that contains the highest amount of saturated fat is the pili nut, followed by Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, watermelon seeds, cashews, pine nuts and sesame seeds, in descending order. Vegetable shortenings are also high in saturated fat.

    How to Find Out Levels in Foods

    • The best way to determine how much saturated fat a food contains is to look at the Nutrition Facts label on the package. Underneath the "Total Fat" heading is the subheading "Saturated Fat," which lists both the amount of saturated fat the food contains in grams and the Percent of Daily Value. Many foods high in saturated fat are high in other nutrients, like dark chocolate, nuts and fish oil; but it is still wise to consume these foods in moderation because of their saturated fat content.

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