Healthy Options at Chick-Fil-A

A few years back, my friend Ame told me that Chick-fil-A served healthful food. I scoffed, and she clarified her statement to say that it’s healthier than other fast food options. I scoffed again.

Nevertheless, my interest was piqued, so several days later we stopped in for lunch. As a vegetarian, I was rather disappointed in the options. Everything had chicken, including all of the salads (and I didn’t think to order one sans meat). If memory serves, I ended up with a fruit cup — which was excellent, actually — and an order of waffle fries.

Now, after having pored through all their nutrition information (thanks to readers Laya and Kristy for the suggestion!), I have to admit that Ame was right: Chick-fil-A isn’t the healthiest of food, but it’s better than most fast food joints.

Only a few of their sandwiches hit or break the 500-calorie mark. Their wraps are higher in fiber than any other fast food entrée I think I’ve ever encountered, and any wrap or salad can be ordered without chicken.

Their food is still way too high in sodium, with nearly everything in the four-digits — which seems to be par for the course these days at any restaurant. In their defense, however, there also aren’t the heinous two-days’-worth-of-this and three-days’-worth-of-that offenses like you’d find at any other chain.

They also offer a few “healthy lifestyle” tips on their site, which are certainly reasonable — and here are my suggestions to help you take more control over your meal:

• If you get a salad, and must have dressing, try the Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette or the Fat-Free Honey Mustard.  The rest are overloaded with way too much fat and/or salt.
• Get a fruit cup instead of fries.
• Skip the sauces.  (All of them are in the “Worst” category. Sorry.)
• If you get a sandwich, ask for them not to butter the bread.  That’ll save you 30 calories without making much of a difference on the flavor.
• Finally, even if you’re not a vegetarian, consider skipping the chicken entirely. The seasonings are loaded with sodium (and in several cases MSG), so if you get a meatless wrap or salad, you’ll knock out much of the salt.  (I know, it’s kind of ridiculous to suggest this, since it’s a chicken restaurant, but hey, I have to try, right?).

Wraps – All Better Choices

All the wraps are good fast-food choices (they’re still too high in sodium, but they’re better than most other fast-food options out there!).  Though they have more calories and sodium than most of the salads (if you don’t count salad dressing), they also have about twice the fiber.  My guess is that a wrap will help keep you fuller, longer — which is certainly a big consideration.

Vegetarians can order any of these wraps without chicken, of course.

Chargrilled Chicken Cool Wrap
410 cal, 4g sat fat, 12g total fat, 1,300mg sodium, 50g carbs, 8g sugars, 9g fiber, 33g protein

Spicy Chicken Cool Wrap
410 cal, 4g sat fat, 12g total fat, 1,380mg sodium, 48g carbs,  5g sugars, 8g fiber, 35g protein

Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
460 cal, 6g sat fat, 15g total fat, 1,520mg sodium, 47g carbs, 7g sugars, 8g fiber, 39g protein

Salads – Better Choices

Don’t ruin your salad by dousing it with dressing.  (See dressing recommendations below).

Vegetarians can order any of these salads without chicken, of course.

Chargrilled & Fruit Salad
230 cal, 3.5g sat fat, 6g total fat, 650mg sodium, 23g carbs, 17g sugars, 4g fiber, 22g protein

Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad
180 cal, 3.5g sat fat, 6g total fat, 650mg sodium, 11g carbs, 6g sugars, 4g fiber, 22g protein

Southwest Chargrilled Salad
240 cal, 4g sat fat, 9g total fat, 820mg sodium, 18g carbs, 6g sugars, 5g fiber, 26g protein

Salads – Not As Good Choice

This salad is still better than most fast food options, but with several other great salad choices, it seems silly to get this one (which has about twice the calories and sodium as the other salads).

Chick-n-Strips Salad
470 cal, 6g sat fat, 23g total fat, 1,340mg sodium, 27g carbs, 7g sugars,  4g fiber, 41g protein

Salad Toppings – Better Choices

Not sure why you need to top your salad with any of these, but if you do, at least please avoid the tortilla strips.

Honey Roasted Sunflower Kernels
90 cal, 7g total fat, 4g carbs, 1g sugars, 1g fiber, 2g protein

Harvest Nut Granola
60 cal, 3g total fat, 8g carbs, 3g sugars, 1g fiber, 1g protein

Salad Toppings – Worst Choice

Tortilla Strips
80 cal, 4g total fat, 8g carbs, 1g sugars, 1g fiber, 1g protein

Salad Dressings – Better Choices

As with most salad dressings, the choices are pretty lousy.  Only one dressing is reasonable for calories and sodium, so I hope you like Berry Balsamic!  The Fat-Free Honey Mustard deserves an honorable mention, since it’s one of the lowest in calories, and is better on the sodium than most.

Reduced Fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette
70 cal, 2g total fat, 150mg sodium, 12g carbs, 9g sugars

Fat-Free Honey Mustard Dressing
60 cal, no fat, 220mg sodium, 14g carbs, 12g sugars

Salad Dressings – Worst Choices

Blue Cheese Dressing
150 cal, 3g sat fat, 16g total fat, 300mg sodium

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
160 cal, 2.5g sat fat, 17g total fat, 280mg sodium

Caesar Dressing
160 cal, 2.5g sat fat, 17g total fat, 240mg sodium

Spicy Dressing
140 cal, 2g sat fat, 14g total fat, 130mg sodium

Thousand Island Dressing
150 cal, 2g sat fat, 14g total fat, 250mg sodium

Light Italian Dressing
15 calories, 580mg sodium (!)

“Classics” – Better Choices

Ask them not to butter the bread, and you’ll save 30 nutritionally-devoid calories — and I bet you’ll hardly notice the difference.

Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich
300 cal, 1g sat fat, 3.5g total fat, 1,120mg sodium, 38g carbs, 10g sugars, 3g fiber, 29g protein

Chicken Sandwich
430 cal, 3.5g sat fat, 17g total fat, 1,370mg sodium, 39g carbs, 7g sugars, 3g fiber, 31g protein

Chicken Salad Sandwich
500 cal, 3.5g sat fat, 20g total fat, 1,240mg sodium, 52g carbs, 12g sugars, 4g fiber, 29g protein
Tough call on this one — it’s higher in calories, but lower in sodium than most of the other sandwiches.

“Classics” – Worst Choices

Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich
410 cal, 5g sat fat, 12g total fat, 1,460mg sodium, 39g carbs, 10g sugars, 3g fiber, 37g protein

Chick-n-Strips (4-Count)
500 cal, 4.5g sat fat, 24g total fat, 1,630mg sodium, 24g carbs, 3g sugars, 1g fiber, 47g protein

Chicken Sandwich Deluxe
490 cal, 6g sat fat, 21g total fat, 1,620mg sodium, 43g carbs, 9g sugars, 3g fiber, 35g protein

Nuggets (12-Count)
400 cal, 3.5g sat fat, 17g total fat, 1,480mg sodium, 18g carbs, 3g sugars, 1g fiber, 42g protein

Spicy Chicken Sandwich
490 cal, 4g sat fat, 20g total fat, 1,730mg sodium, 46g carbs, 8g sugars, 4g fiber, 31g protein

Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe
580 cal, 8g sat fat, 27g total fat, 1,880mg sodium, 48g carbs, 9g sugars, 4g fiber, 36g protein
As usual, it’s best to avoid food that has the word “Deluxe” in the name.

Sauces – Avoid

These are a totally extraneous addition to your meal, with no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever. They’re all either high in sugar, fat, or sodium, or worse — all three.

Honey Mustard Sauce
45 cal, no fat,  150mg sodium, 10g sugars

Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce
60 cal, 5g total fat, 70mg sodium, 2g sugars

Barbecue Sauce
45 calories, 180mg sodium, 9g sugars

Buffalo Sauce
10 cal, 420mg sodium

Buttermilk Ranch Sauce
110 cal, 2g sat fat, 12g total fat, 230mg sodium

Chick-fil-A Sauce
140 cal, 2g sat fat, 13g total fat, 170mg sodium

Polynesian Sauce
110 cal, 6g total fat, 210mg sodium , 5g sugars

Side Items – Better Choices

Fruit Cup (large)
110 cal, no fat, 5mg sodium, 27g carbs, 23g sugars, 3g fiber, 1g protein
Probably the most healthful thing on the menu, so treat yourself to a large!

Side Salad
70 cal, 3g sat fat, 4.5g total fat, 110mg sodium, 5g carbs, 2g sugars, 2g fiber, 5g protein
A great option — as long as you don’t douse it with high-fat, high-sodium dressing!

Yogurt Parfait
230 cal, 3g total fat, 60mg sodium, 35g sugars, 6g protein
They add a fair amount of sugar to the yogurt, but at least the strawberries are real. The granola adds 60 calories (lots of sugar but only 1 gram of fiber), and the chocolate cookie crumbs add 10 calories (but no fiber).

Side Items – Worst Choices

Carrot & Raisin Salad (small)
260 cal, 2g sat fat, 12g total fat, 160mg sodium, 40g carbs, 32g sugars, 4g fiber
In theory this would be a good choice, since it’s primarily carrots and pineapple — but, there’s also more sugar and more mayonnaise than raisins.  Their mayo also contains HFCS, oddly.

Cole Slaw (medium)
360 cal, 5g sat fat, 31g total fat,  280mg sodium, 19g carbs, 16g sugars, 3g fiber, 2g protein

Chicken Salad Cup
350 cal, 4g sat fat, 24g total fat, 1,100mg sodium, 6g carbs, 6g sugars, 1g fiber, 27g protein

Hearty Breast of Chicken Soup (small)
140 cal, 1g sat fat, 4g total fat, 1,110mg sodium, 19g carbs, 3g sugars, 2g fiber, 7g protein

Waffle Potato Fries (medium)
380 cal, 4g sat fat, 21g total fat, 190mg sodium, 45g carbs, no sugars, 4g fiber, 4g protein
At least these are lower in sodium than a medium fries from nearly any other fast food chain… but they’re still fries.

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Menu Mondays are my recommendations for the most healthful options at chain restaurants. Although it may be tough to find “perfect” options when eating out, it’s important to choose “better” whenever possible, and I hope these guides will help make that easier for you.

indicates the “best-of-the-best,” and indicates the “worst-of-the-worst,” more or less.

Chick-fil-A Menu & Nutrition Information

Photo by Eric J. Lubbers