This Classic Hostess Snack Is Made With Beef Fat

Beef fat, also known as beef tallow, has been making headlines in recent months. In October 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the now-Secretary of Health and Human Services, posted to X that he hopes to "Make Frying Oil Tallow Again." As a result, several restaurants, like Steak 'N Shake, have begun to "RFK" their fries by using this rendered animal fat. Even before beef tallow began flooding your news feed, chances are it was already sitting quietly in your snack drawer, as one of America's most beloved snack cakes, Twinkies, contain the popular fat in its ingredients list. 

As per the official Hostess website, Twinkies are made with both your run-of-the-mill beef tallow and hydrogenated tallow, which is beef fat that's been processed using hydrogen. Unfortunately, this means that Twinkies are decidedly not fit for vegetarian or vegan diets. We wouldn't be surprised if most Twinkies fans were unaware of this as the fats are buried within the middle of the snack cake's list of nearly 40 ingredients. Thankfully, beef tallow is mostly flavorless, so it doesn't give your sweet treat any unwanted flavors or textures. While we aren't sure why Twinkies specifically contain beef tallow, the fat is commonly used in baking recipes. One of our pro tips for cooking with beef tallow is using it as a 1:1 substitute for butter or shortening, creating a beautiful and light texture.

It might be surprising that Twinkies contain beef tallow, but they're not the only Hostess product containing the ingredient. For starters, Twinkies flavor variants, such as Banana, Chocolate Lovers, and the limited-edition Strawberry, contain beef tallow as well. 

Outside of Twinkies, several classic Hostess snacks are also made with beef fat, making them unsuitable for vegetarians or vegans. Zingers, an iced snack cake with a similar creamy filling to Twinkies, have the ingredient in all three of its staple flavors, those being Iced Vanilla, Raspberry, and Iced Devil's Food Cake. Hostess Cupcakes are also made with tallow. Since they likely use the same base, you can be sure to find tallow in most of the different Hostess Cupcakes flavors, from the iconic Frosted Chocolate Cake, to the festive Birthday Cake and citrusy Frosted Orange Cake. Interestingly, the adorable, bite-size Mini Hostess Cupcakes don't contain tallow. 

Amongst the snack company's breakfast selections, Hostess's Coffee Cakes, the delightful cinnamon-flavored and streusel-topped treats, also contain tallow and hydrogenated beef tallow. While this list of products might seem expansive, not every Hostess product contains beef fat, but if you're sensitive to animal products, or if you're following a vegetarian or vegan diet, we highly suggest reading ingredients beforehand.