The 10 Highest-Calorie Fast-Food Meals & 10 That Are Surprisingly Low Cal
Whether You're Splurging Or Saving, Here's Fast Food's Full-Calorie Spectrum
Fast food can be your greatest friend when it comes to convenience and affordability but it can also be your waistline's biggest enemy. While it's often associated with indulgent, greasy, calorie bombs, it doesn't have to be that way. There's absolutely no shame in indulging in a fat-laden combo meal every now and then, but you may not want that every time you step foot into a KFC. Luckily, most fast-food restaurants offer low-calorie options side-by-side with their ridiculous gut busters, the choice you make is in your hands. Here are the 10 highest-calorie fast-food items and 10 surprisingly low-calorie options.
1. Carl's Jr.'s Monster Angus Thickburger Combo
The Monster Angus Thickburger is just one example of a notoriously massive burger on the Carl's Jr. menu, packing anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 calories for the burger alone. In a combo with fries and a drink, that number can easily exceed 2,100 calories.
2. Wendy's Loaded Nacho Triple Cheeseburger Combo
Wendy's Loaded Nacho Triple Cheeseburger was featured on their "Made to Crave" menu, thankfully for a limited time given the number of calories in this sucker. The burger consisted of a jalapeño cheddar bun, three beef patties, tortilla strips, and an abundance of cheese. It was tasty, but it was also over 1,500 calories not including fries and a drink.
3. Five Guys' Double Bacon Cheeseburger with Large Fries
What makes this combo so impressively high-cal is not the burger which packs 1,060 calories, but the fries which are famously massive and add another 1,300 calories. Add a drink and you have more calories than is recommended for an entire day, let alone a single meal.
4. Sonic's SuperSonic Bacon Double Cheeseburger Combo
The SuperSonic Bacon Double Cheeseburger consists of two beef patties layered with cheese, bacon, mayo, a brioche-style bun, and 1,280 calories. Make it a combo with a shake and onion rings and you could have an over 3,000-calorie meal on your hands.
5. Burger King's Triple Whopper with Cheese Meal
Burger King's Triple Whopper with Cheese layers not two but three beef patties on top of each other with cheese, mayo, and typical burger toppings like tomato, pickle, and onion. The fat-laden sandwich alone packs 1,260 calories, but if you make it a "meal" with large fries and a shake, it could easily become over 2,400 calories.
Beau96080 at English Wikipedia on Wikimedia
6. Sonic's Peanut Butter Caramel Pie Master Blast
It may surprise you to know that the highest-calorie single menu item on this list is not a fatty, greasy burger, but an ice cream dessert. A large Peanut Butter Caramel Pie Master Blast at Sonic is around 2,090 calories.
Kevin from Oklahoma, USA on Wikimedia
7. Dairy Queen's Chicken Strip Basket
Shockingly, the highest-calorie menu item at Dairy Queen is not ice cream or beef, but chicken. The chicken strip basket which consists of fried chicken, toast, fries, and a dipping sauce is around 1,600 calories.
8. Jimmy John's J.J. Gargantuan Sandwich
Don't be fooled into thinking that because it's a cold sandwich and not a burger, it's healthier in any way. Jimmy John's Gargantuan Sandwich is a foot-long sub filled to the brim with a ridiculous amount of deli meat, packing in upwards of 2,160 calories, without a side or drink.
9. Arby's Half Pound Beef 'n Cheddar Max Combo
You better believe a whole half pound of beef is going to pack in some calories. This sandwich has that plus cheese and bread, but the real shock happens when you make it into a combo. The sandwich alone is around 900 calories but with a shake and curly fries, the meal becomes a 2,200-calorie feast.
10. Chipotle's Loaded Burrito
Chipotle is touted as being a healthier fast-food option. Even so, you can definitely overdo it on calories here, especially if you really load up your burrito. A beef burrito with the works added can easily exceed 1,800 calories by itself.
Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France on Wikimedia
Now that we've gone over some of the astonishingly gut-bursting fast-food menu items, let's talk about what you should order instead if you're watching your calorie count.
1. McDonald's Hamburger
You may automatically associate McDonald's with high-calorie, greasy fast food, but you can actually do pretty well here if you just stick to the basics. Their classic hamburger without any cheese or special sauces is only around 250 calories.
Filippos Fragkogiannis on Wikimedia
2. Taco Bell's Crunchy Taco
If you think about what's in a taco: corn or flour tortilla, meat, vegetables, and sometimes cheese, you'll realize it's actually not a half-bad choice in a pinch. Taco Bell's Crunchy Taco which consists of beef, lettuce, and cheese on a crispy corn tortilla is only around 170 calories.
3. Wendy's Jr. Cheeseburger
Wendy's Jr. Cheeseburger is the perfect low-calorie answer to your burger craving. It packs all the flavor of a regular Wendy's cheeseburger into a miniature format, and the best part is, it's only 290 calories.
4. Chick-fil-A's Grilled Nuggets
Chick-fil-A's Grilled Nuggets are a leaner alternative to their fried counterparts. At around 180 calories, they're a fantastic and healthy source of protein, and definitely one of the most nutritious things offered at any fast-food chain.
5. Subway's Turkey Breast Sub (Six-Inch)
When it comes to calories and nutrition, Subway is one of those places where you can do really well or really poorly, depending on what you choose. This turkey sub is probably the sandwich it built its healthy image off of. Lean smoked turkey offers a good source of protein, and especially when you go with the nine-grain wheat bread and plenty of veggies, it's a nutritious option at around just 250 calories.
7. Burger King's Whopper Jr.
This miniature version of Burger King's classic Whopper will satisfy your burger craving without all those added calories. It's only around 240 calories without mayo.
8. Arby's Classic Roast Beef Sandwich
The sandwich that made Arby's famous is surprisingly low-calorie, at just 360 calories. What's more, it offers a good amount of protein for its calorie count.
Lenin and McCarthy
on Wikimedia
9. KFC's Grilled Chicken Drumstick
If you find yourself at KFC, it's nice to know that there's a healthy alternative to all that deep-fried trans fat. The grilled chicken drumstick is only around 90 to 100 calories and is an excellent source of protein.
10. Dunkin's Egg & Cheese Wake-Up Wrap
Next time you're at Dunkin's, try to resist the temptation of those deep-fried pastries and go for this Egg & Cheese Wake-Up Wrap instead. It's only around 180 calories and is a surprisingly protein and nutrient-dense way to start your day.
