“Healthy fast-food option” was once an oxymoron, but no longer. As the demand for convenience has become universal, fast- and fast-casual food chains have made concerted efforts to capture the business of health-conscious demographics.
While each chain has a varying standard for “healthy,” these menu items prove that you don't have to abandon your diet in exchange for a speedy meal.
1. In-N-Out (Least Healthy): 4×4 Burger
A not-so-secret member of the Secret Menu, In-N-Out's 4×4 burger packs four thick burger patties into two buns. Add a layer of cheese between each patty, and you get more than 1,000 calories in total. You will further increase the calorie and carbohydrate count if you go Animal Style, which means adding high-calorie, high-fat secret sauce to the already massive burger.
Once a year, max. If that.
2. In-N-Out (Most Healthy): Protein-Style Hamburger
Do you count a burger as a burger if it doesn't have a bun? If you do, consider In-N-Out's Protein-Style burger, which says “in” to lettuce and “out” to the bun. You still get the delicious In-N-Out patty, cheese, fresh tomato, sauce, and onions at only 240 calories. That's not bad.
3. Boston Market (Least Healthy): Chicken Pot Pie
While other high-calorie menu items come and go, the chicken pot pie remains a Boston Market staple. The doughy dome over the pot of gravy negates the healthy benefits of the chicken and veggies. This 750-calorie bowl of deliciousness has long been one of Boston Market's most popular and least healthy offerings.
4. Boston Market (Most Healthy): Roasted Turkey Breast
Boston Market has always stood out from other fast-food chains, offering a robust menu of rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and other offerings uncommon at drive-thrus. However, the Boston Market menu is full of dietary landmines, including the chicken pot pie and sweet potato casserole. The roasted turkey breast bowl, however, has only 330 calories and will be ready before you can say “New Year's resolution.”
The question is, are you really going to be able to visit the Market without ordering a large macaroni and cheese? The devil is in the sides, after all.
5. Chick-fil-A (Least Healthy): Hash Brown Scramble Burrito With Nuggets
Those who customize their Hash Brown Scramble Burrito to include fried nuggets will pay the price at weigh-in time. This 700-calorie concoction will weigh you down the rest of the day, but will undeniably taste delicious.
6. Chick-fil-A (Most Healthy): Salads and the Egg White Grill
As difficult as the fried chicken sandwich is to resist, many customers have maintained their weight-loss goals without abandoning the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. The cheesy Egg White Grill has only 290 calories, while the four-piece Chick-n-Minis, Market Salad, and grilled nuggets all come in around 300 calories.
7. Panera Bread (Least Healthy): Pepperoni Mozzarella Melt
The pepperoni mozzarella melt is basically a super doughy pizza — and it looks scrumptious. Fresh mozzarella on a toasted French baguette is to die for. If you eat this 1,010 calorie, 115g carb delight more than once a month, you risk making “to die for” literal.
8. Panera Bread (Most Healthy): Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad
Strawberries, poppy seeds, chicken, and lettuce? No, you're not at some fancy restaurant in Portland. You're at your local Panera Bread, which has made a concerted effort to break the stigma that fast food must be unhealthy.
This ultra-light salad also incorporates blueberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and toasted pecans. When your meal is made up entirely of items you could grow in your own backyard (including the chicken), you're in extraordinarily healthy territory.
9. Chipotle (Least Healthy): Steak Burrito
A steak burrito sounds like a protein-packed lunch item perfect for an on-the-go Americano. Look at the nutrition facts, though, and you'll find that Chipotle's steak burrito (with all the fixings, including sour cream and queso) packs 1,430 calories, 68.5 grams of fat, and 137g carbs. We love a fully loaded burrito just as much as the next Chipotle head, but try to make it a once-a-month cheat meal.
10. Chipotle (Most Healthy): Lifestyle Bowl
You've seen the television commercials touting its never-frozen ingredients. Chipotle has gone far to set itself apart from other fast-casual chains where “quality” ends at not serving items that have fallen on the floor. With no added colors, flavors, or preservatives in its food, you're already playing with house money when you choose Chipotle over most other fast-food chains.
Chipotle sells several Lifestyle Bowls aimed at its health-conscious customers. Whether you're keto, protein-seeking, or aiming at other health targets, the Lifestyle Bowls should keep you on track.
11. Subway (Least Healthy): The Beast Sub
Notorious criminal Jared Fogle helped Subway forge an image of a health-conscious sub shop. However, like many things about Jared Fogle, this promise has always been somewhat deceiving. Eating anything on a large loaf of bread has never been the path to weight loss, and The Beast Sub does away with all pretenses of healthiness.
730 calories. 44 grams of fat. 45 grams carbohydrates. Layers of pepperoni, salami, turkey, ham, roast beef, and cheese. Endless regret. That's The Beast.
12. Subway (Most Healthy): Oven Roasted Turkey
Subway has not been the coolest sub shop on the block for quite some time, but they still offer fast meals that are far healthier than a greasy cheeseburger. Subway sells wraps, but let's assume you're only going to the ‘Way for a sub. If so, the Oven Roasted Turkey on whole grain bread ranks as the healthiest, weighing in at 260 calories while packing 19 grams of protein.
13. Dunkin' (Least Healthy): Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant
The most health-destroying items on Dunkin's menu tend to be drinks. The Caramel Swirl Frozen Coffee (with cream) has 1,120 calories, 180 grams carbs, and 172 grams of sugar. If you don't want mandatory Ozempic in your future, you'll be wise to avoid this sugar shake.
When it comes to food, you can't do much worse than the sausage, egg, and cheese croissant. 720 calories, 42 grams carbs, and 52 grams of fat defy the light and fluffy ideations of a fresh croissant.
14. Dunkin' (Most Healthy): Wake-up Wrap
Wraps are usually a safe bet for the carb avoidant. Dunkin's Wake-Up Wraps have a stated calorie count of 180, which looks miniscule compared to the counts for various other offerings loaded with bread, sugar, or both.
15. Qdoba Mexican Eats (Least Healthy): Steak Fajita Quesadilla
Cheese and steak on a fresh flour tortilla is muy bueno, but also mas caloric. The Qdoba Steak Fajita Quesadilla is as fattening as it is tasty, with 1,130 calories and 72 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
16. Qdoba Mexican Eats (Most Healthy): Various Lifestyle-Based Options
Qdoba, like its competitor Chipotle, has crafted a health-conscious menu for those who want Mexican Light. The Citrus Lime Chicken Salad, keto-friendly bowls, rice-free salads (for the keto diners), and Chicken Protein Bowl are among Qdoba's most waistline-friendly offerings.
17. Burger King (Least Healthy): Double Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan'Wich
Burger King is not exactly known for its early-morning offerings, but many a weary soul has found themselves in the Burger King drive-thru line seeking greasy relief. The Double Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissan'wich may temporarily cease your misery, but the long-term effects are heavy. With nearly 883 calories and more than 33 grams carbs, this is a put-you-to-sleep kind of sandwich.
18. Burger King (Most Healthy): Hamburger
A single-patty Burger King hamburger has 260 calories and a tolerable 26 grams of carbs. The average American considers a single-patty hamburger an appetizer, though. If you must eat more (you are “having it your way,” after all), the 256-calorie Chicken Fries aren't the worst thing to order.
How many well-meaning customers have ordered the Burger King side salad, not realizing it had far more calories than a hamburger? Too many.
19. Taco Bell (Least Healthy): Cinnabon Delights, Breakfast Crunchwrap Sausage
The delicious Cinnabon Delights are the worst caloric offender on the Taco Bell menu, clocking in at 1,010 calories and 88 grams of carbs for a serving of 12. If you're looking for real food, though, the Breakfast Crunchwrap Sausage is the heaviest. At 750 calories and 53 grams of carbs, it will make your stomach (taco) swell.
20. Taco Bell (Most Healthy): Soft Taco Supreme
Excluding side dishes, you'll be hard-pressed to find a filling meal at Taco Bell that doesn't eat up your daily caloric quota. The Soft Taco Supreme has 210 calories, making it among the lightest offerings on the T-Bell menu.
21. Starbucks (Least Healthy): Most Drinks
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was the dental industry's best friend as he grew the brand into an international addiction. The grande-sized Salted Caramel Mocha, Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, and Pumpkin Spice Latte each have 380 calories or more.
As far as food, avoid the sausage, egg, and cheddar breakfast sandwich. The tiny sandwich packs a near-500-calorie punch, which makes it not worth the consequences.
22. Starbucks (Most Healthy): Turkey, Bacon, Cheddar, and Egg White Sandwich
If you are determined to spend a modest fortune on Starbucks, you may as well not blow your fitness goals while you're there. The turkey, bacon, cheddar, and egg white sandwich is among Starbucks' healthiest, most filling offerings. Clocking in at only 230 calories, you'll only feel guilty about the money (not the nutritional decision) when you order this hand-held snack.
23. Domino's (Least Healthy): Handmade Pan Pizza
Pan pizza has the most dough of any crust type, and Domino's estimates that the average slice of a 12″ pan pizza contains 290 calories. That's before accounting for add-ons, meaning you're ingesting a heavy dose of calories if you house a pan pie alone.
24. Domino's (Most Healthy): Thin-Crust Veggie Pizza
Domino's refers those looking for a “healthy pizza” to a handful of options, with the thin-crust veggie pizza having the least calories. Even so, a slice has 135 calories, so you can do the math and realize that flour-based pizza is rarely healthy.
25. Popeyes (Least Healthy): Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Yes, the item you crave most at Popeyes is among the least healthy you can order. In addition to the breaded and fried chicken, you tack on two savory bread buns to the calorie and carb count. This amounts to 700 calories and 50 grams of carbs, a heavy load that will prompt an immediate insulin spike.
26. Popeyes (Most Healthy): Blackened Chicken Tenders
We know grilling chicken is healthier than frying chicken, but Popeyes is not in the business of grilling chicken. Even so, the three-piece Blackened Chicken Tenders have only 170 calories and two grams of carbohydrates. That makes the blackened tenders among the lowest-calorie meals you'll find in the fast-food space.
27. Wendy's (Least Healthy): Big Bacon Classic Triple Burger
Three beef patties, a handful of bacon, and a couple of buns add up to 1,220 calories and 86 grams of fat. You would need to run for 117 minutes (nearly two hours) just to work off this massive burger.
28. Wendy's (Most Healthy): Junior Cheeseburger
Remember, this list is all relative. You'll probably avoid Wendy's if you're only looking for the healthiest fast-food restaurant. If you find yourself staring at the logo of the pigtailed redhead, you may as well mitigate the damages as much as possible.
A single junior cheeseburger has only 280 calories (and 25 grams carbs). It's not a bad choice if you've already entered the Wendy's drive-thru line and can't get out.
29. Sonic (Least Healthy): Supersonic Bacon Double Cheeseburger
If you're looking for the least healthy item on most burger chains' menus, look for bacon and beef. Sonic's Bacon Double Cheeseburger packs 54 grams carbs and 680 calories from fat into the confines of its buns. The more layers of beef you add, the more unhealthy this burger becomes.
30. Sonic (Most Healthy): Jr. Burger
When it comes to losing weight, portion size is the difference between hitting your goals and backsliding. If you're craving a Sonic burger, the Jr. Burger contains a relatively modest 330 calories, which is far less than the full-sized big-boy burger.
Remember, you aren't the one skating around slinging burgers, so go with the calorie-light burger.
31. McDonald's (Least Healthy): Big Mac
McDonald's signature item is also among its least healthy. Three buns, two patties, cheese, and sauce make 590 calories. If you have ever seen the epic documentary Super Size Me, you know that a McDonald's diet is a fast track to heart palpitations and nutritional dysfunction.
We didn't lead with the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes because it's a multi-item order. The pancakes, sausage, hash browns, eggs, and biscuit total a whopping 1,340 calories. Eaten regularly, this becomes a heart-stopping start to the day.
32. McDonald's (Most Healthy): Chicken McNuggets
It would be a federal offense to leave McDonald's off any fast-food-related list, even one centered upon healthy eats. We know that the typical McDonald's customer says “Mc-no thanks” to the healthier menu items, but they're there.
Four Chicken McNuggets have 170 calories, which is manageable (if you can limit yourself to four). A hamburger has 250 calories, while an Egg McMuffin has 310 calories. If you aren't satisfied with apple slices, low-calorie options are hard to find at Mickey D's. Even a small fry has 230 calories and 31 grams carbs.
33. Pizza Hut (Least Healthy): 18″ Meat Lover's Pizza
The 18-inch Pizza Hut Meat Lover's Pizza may as well be re-named the Calorie Lover's pizza because there is an artery-clogging 500 calories per slice. You simply can't sustain yourself eating such a calorie-rich meal on a regular basis.
34. Pizza Hut (Most Healthy): Veggie Lover's Thin ‘n Crispy Pizza
With only 130 calories per slice, you can sleep at night knowing that you only ingested between 260 and 390 calories on pizza night. It's not grilled chicken breast or salad with balsamic vinegar, but it's not the end of the world, either.
35. Panda Express (Least Healthy): Orange Chicken
Orange chicken is fried chicken coated in sweet orange sauce. Predictably, this is a high-calorie situation, with Panda Express' version totaling 490 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 51 grams of carbs. Usually, when anything is as good as Panda's orange chicken, there's a catch. Now you know what the catch is.
36. Panda Express (Most Healthy): Broccoli Beef
Beef and broccoli is a staple of Asian cuisine, and it turns out it's pretty healthy. George H.W. Bush may have hated broccoli, but your nutritionist loves it. This 150-calorie dish also delivers antioxidants, protein, and plenty of flavor.
37. Raising Cane's (Least Healthy): Caniac Combo
Does 1,860 calories seem reasonable for a single meal? There's a reason they call them Caniacs, as they are genuinely maniacal for Raising Cane's, cardiovascular health be darned. We know six succulent chicken tenders, a handful of fries, a slice of Texas toast, coleslaw, and a couple of Cane's sauces are not a dietician's dreams. 1,860 calories, though?!
That's just Caniacal.
38. Raising Cane's (Most Healthy): Chicken Finger(s)
Raising Cane's is a fried chicken practitioner with an emphasis on fried. Therefore, you will want to stick to standalone items and eat as few as possible. A Cane's fried chicken finger packs 130 calories, so avoid the fries and Texas toast and order the fingers sparingly.
39. Culver's (Least Healthy): Culver's CurderBurger
I was surprised to find out that Culver's had infused its beloved fried cheese curds into its equally beloved burgers. The CurderBurger is a patty-shaped fried cheese curd sandwiched on top of a hamburger patty and veggies. Weighing in at 920 calories and surely taking years off your life, can you remind us what the point of the veggies is?
40. Culver's (Most Healthy): Chicken Tenders
We want to identify meals that could actually fill you up at Culver's, so we chose chicken tenders. A couple of Culver's chicken tenders will cost you 270 calories. You might also consider soups with less than 150 calories, including stuffed green pepper, tomato florentine, and chicken noodle.
41. Five Guys (Least Healthy): Double Bacon Cheeseburger
Five Guys' lists the caloric information for the ingredients in a double bacon cheeseburger. Those counts are two pieces of bacon (80 calories), two buns (240 calories), two hamburger patties (604 calories), and two slices of cheese (140 calories). That is a total of 1,064 calories, give or take a couple hundred calories for potential misinterpretation of quantities. In a word, a 1,064-calorie intake is what you'd expect among five guys, not one.
42. Five Guys (Most Healthy): Veggie Sandwich
I would usually roll my eyes at the thought of a “veggie sandwich” (what's next, tofu?). However, Five Guys does the veggie sandwich right, grilling the onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms with lettuce and tomato on a sesame seed bun. Many add cheese, but the non-cheese sandwich amounts to a reasonable 280 calories.
43. Jersey Mike's (Least Healthy): Club Supreme
We're not sure which club the sandwich-namers were referring to, but if you eat enough Club Supremes, the club will be Weight Watchers. This is a 1,130 calorie meat fest built for the likes of Tony Soprano, Vito Spatafore, and other voracious Jerseyites.
44. Jersey Mike's (Most Healthy): Turkey and Provolone Wheat Wrap
Ordering a wrap at Jersey Mike's feels like ordering a Shirley Temple at the bar, but here we are. If you are looking to keep your waistline as small as possible, the 780-calorie turkey and provolone wrap is your best bet. The fact that the “healthy” option is 780 calories speaks to Jersey Mike's commitment to hefty sandwiches.
45. Zaxby's (Least Healthy): Buffalo Traditional Wings & Things Meal
Zaxby's Buffalo Traditional Wings & Things meal tops the restaurant's caloric chart, amassing 1,450 calories in a single order. Fries, three chicken fingers, five wings, a slice of Texas toast, and a small drink are all high-calorie offerings (unless the drink is water). This is a can't-order for anyone watching their weight.
46. Zaxby's (Most Healthy): Grilled Chicken Sandwich
If you are a Zaxaholic, odds are that you want some chicken when you pull up to Zaxby's. Rather than ordering the Grilled House Zalad (which has a tolerable 410 calories), how about you skip the batter and have a grilled chicken sandwich? At 470 calories, you can get both your bread and chicken fixes without kicking your pancreas into hyperdrive.
47. Whataburger (Least Healthy): Mushroom Swiss Burger
Many diners at Whataburger simply look at the per-item calorie count and ask, “What about it?” If you are counting though, the Mushroom Swiss Burger has 1,110 calories and 70 grams of fat.
48. Whataburger (Most Healthy): Egg Sandwich
If you are looking for a quick Whataburger breakfast with the lowest possible calorie count, the egg sandwich has only 310. If it's lunchtime, the Grilled Veggie Wrap has only 330 calories, while two Whatachick'n Strips have a modest 300 calories.
49. Jimmy John's (Least Healthy): J.J. Gargantuan
As the name suggests, the J.J. Gargantuan is a sandwich that even a hungry lion might consider excessive. The massive, meat-filled sub comes with salami, capicola, roast beef, ham, provolone, and a few veggies (which feel wholly out of place amongst all this meat). The small version has 1,080 calories, while the large has 2,160 calories.
50. Jimmy John's (Most Healthy): Turkey Breast Sandwich (Slim 4)
The appropriately titled menu item Slim 4 is a turkey breast sub with nothing else but bread. The smallest version of this sandwich packs 420 calories, but the lettuce-wrapped version has a mere 70 calories. That's a sandwich for the Freaky Fit diner.
