Chick-fil-A nutrition facts: what to order and avoid (2024)

Most nutritious option

For the most nutritious option at Chick-fil-A, order the popular grilled chicken sandwich, which provides 28 g of protein for just 320 calories and 680 mg of sodium.

Breakfast

Chick-fil-A offers a variety of breakfast items, although many are made with fried chicken, cheese and high-carb crackers andbagels. Some of the lighter choices on the breakfast menu, such asGreek yoghurtparfaits, can be made even more nutritious with a few simple swaps.

✓ Protein grill

Chick-fil-A's most nutritious breakfast option isprotein grillsandwich. Featuring a piece of grilled chicken, egg whites and American cheese, served on an English multigrain muffin, this filling breakfast selection provides 290 calories, 8 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 30 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein and 980 mg sodium.

✗ Hash Brown Scramble-burrito

Featuring Chick-fil-A's signature nuggets, hash browns, scrambled eggs and cheese, all rolled up in a flour tortilla,hash brown scramble-burritoprovides 700 calories, 40 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 51 g carbohydrates, 34 g protein and 1,750 mg sodium.

Chicken can be excellentlean protein sourcewith every meal. But when it's fried, the nutritional benefits can be overshadowed by added calories and fat. Grilled chicken is a healthier choice, so consider ordering the scramble burrito with a grilled fillet.

When it comes to making sandwiches (whether breakfast or lunch), you have a choiceBroodcan make a big difference to a meal's calories and carbohydrates. Instead ofhigh carbohydrate contentchoices like cookies and bagels, try making a breakfast sandwich at Chick-fil-A on aEnglish muffin. At just 150 calories, it can be a sensible and satisfying high-protein snackno.

Appetizer

Chick-fil-A is known for its chicken sandwiches. Although most are breaded and fried, the menu also offers several grilled options. These choices contain less fat and fewer calories than classic crispy chicken. They also contain less sodium, which can be helpful if you try thatreduce your salt intake.

✓ Grilled chicken sandwich

Ofgrilled chicken sandwichprovides 380 calories, 11 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 44 g carbohydrates, 28 g protein and 755 mg sodium. Featuring a marinated boneless chicken breast, lettuce and tomato, served on a multi-grain bun, this sandwich is overall the most nutritious menu option.

✗ Spicy Deluxe Sandwich

Ofspicy luxury sandwichprovides 550 calories, 25 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 47 g carbohydrates, 33 g protein and 1,810 mg sodium.

To lower the carb count, grab a chicken wrap instead of a sandwich on a bun. Considering what kindostyou get on your sandwich, you can make your choice low-fat. The easiest way is to skip the cheese altogether.

Salads

The three salad options at Chick-fil-A are standard fast food style. Whilesaladscan be a nutritious meal, larger portions topped with fried chicken, crunchy extras such as croutons and solesalatdressingcan make these options high in calories and fat.

✓ Market salad

Ofmarket saladat Chick-fil-A, it's served with mixed greens, blue cheese, apples, strawberries, blueberries and toasted almonds, and is topped with grilled chicken breast (you can also opt for nuggets, fried chicken or fried chicken strips).

With apple cider vinaigrette dressing, the salad provides 540 calories, 31 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 41 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein and 1,020 mg sodium. Of these, the dressing is responsible for calories, 19 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 16 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein and 460 mg sodium.

The lessside salah(available in the side menu) contains 160 calories, 10 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 13 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein and 170 mg sodium when ordered without dressing.

✗ Spicy Southwestern Salad with Chick-n-Strips

Ofspicy southwestern salad with chick-n-stripscomes with tomatoes, cheese, corn, black beans, chili, peppers, all on a bed of mixed vegetables and topped with tortilla strips, pepitas, fried chicken strips and a creamy salsa dressing. It contains 890 calories, 61 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 44 g carbohydrates, 43 g protein and 1,710 mg sodium.

Nastyreduce calories and fat on a salad, go for grilled chicken and skip the extra fat or high calorie content. If you don't want to skip the salad dressing altogether, avoid creamy options, which are often high in calories and fat.

If you want to watch your sugar intake, remember that condiments like salad dressing can be a source of added sugarhidden sugarin your diet. Chick-fil-A's fat-free honey mustard dressing contains 19 g of sugar per serving. serving, and the juicy apple cider vinaigrette has 14 g and 230 calories.

A single serving of Light Italian Dressing adds only 25 calories and 1 g of fat to your salad, while a serving of Chick-fil-A's Creamy Salsa Dressing adds 290 calories and 31 g of fat.

Toppings such asblack beansand corn, crispy tortilla strips and pepitas can easily add 100 calories each to a salad (but beans also add fiber, and beans and pepitas contribute protein). Extras like bacon, which may have some protein added, also tend to be high in sodium. In addition to grilled chicken, a chopped hard-boiled egg is another good source of protein.

If you're making a salad at Chick-fil-A, stock up on produce like crunchy veggies, high-fiber fruits like apples, and evenantioxidant-rich blueberries.

Silk

Chick-fil-A's side dish menu complements the main menu in terms of taste, but can add a lot of calories, fat and sodium to your order.

✓ Kale Crunch side

Ofkale crunch side- a bowl ofKaleand cabbage topped with almonds and a vinaigrette made from apple cider and Dijon mustard – provides 120 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 8 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein and 140 mg sodium.

If you're looking for alternative flavors, you can also get fruit as a side dish. You can opt for a yogurt parfait without cookie crumble and granola or a simple fruit cupincrease your intake of fruits and vegetablesfor the day without adding fat, calories and sodium.

✗ Wafelaardappelfriet

A large part of the restaurant's signaturewaffle friescontains 600 calories, 35 g fat, 5 g fat, 65 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein and 340 mg sodium.

For a potato side with fewer calories, consider waffle chips. One order provides 220 calories, 13 g fat, 3.5 g fat, 25 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein and 250 mg sodium.

Children's meals

Chick-fil-A's kids menu has just three options: smaller portion sizes of the franchise's most popular dishes. Choose between waffle fries, apple sauce or a fruit cup as a side dish. The meals also come with milk or juice.

✓ Grilled Nuggets Kids Meal

Ofgrilled nuggets kids mealincluding five grilled chicken nuggets. Without sides, nuggets provide 80 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 1 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein and 270 mg sodium.

✗ Chick-n-Strips kids meal

OfChick-n-strips kids mealcontains two pieces of breaded and fried chicken strips and contains 200 calories, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 11 g carbohydrates, 19 g protein and 580 mg sodium.

To make the children's meal as nutritious as possible, choose the fruit cup and a low-calorie and low-sugar drink such as milk or water.

Treats

Chick-fil-A's dessert menu features a number of fast food favorites, such ascookies, milkshakes and ice cream. You can avoid added calories, fat, and sugar by skipping dessert altogether, but that goes for sweets, tooenjoyed in moderation.

✓ Icedream cup

Chick-fil-A offers a simple vanilla ice cream cone calledIce Dream Cup- it is both delicious and sweet. The cup serving provides 140 calories, 3.5 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 24 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein and 70 mg sodium. For an additional 40 calories, 8 g of carbohydrates and 20 mg of sodium, you can have this ice cream served in a cone.

✗ Cookies & Cream Milkshake

INcookies and cream milkshakeprovides 630 calories, 25 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 90 g carbohydrates, 13 g protein, 410 mg sodium and 84 g sugar.

Although blended coffee drinks may be among the highest calorie fast food choices, a small amountfrozen coffee(mixed with vanilla ice cream) at Chick-fil-A has fewer calories and less sugar thanchocolate chunk cookie: 250 calories, 43 g carbohydrates and 39 g sugar.

You can also order a slightly sweet treat from the side menu: thePerfect Greek yogurtwith chocolate chip cookies has 240 calories, 8 g fat and 26 g sugar.

Drinks

Wateris always a good choice with your meal, but depending on your specific tastes and nutritional needs, there are other options. Like most fast food restaurants, Chick-fil-A offers a variety of fountainsSoft drink, bottled drinks, lemonade, iced tea and coffee.

✓ Unsweetened iced tea

For 0 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g carbs, 0 g sugar, 0 g protein and 5 mg sodium, order the smallunsweetened iced tea. This is a low-calorie and low-sodium alternative to other soft drinks and sugary drinks.

✗ Lemonade

A great signatureChick-fil-A limonadehas 300 calories, 0 g fat, 78 g carbohydrates, 74 g sugar, 0 g protein and 15 mg sodium. A small diet version of Chick-fil-A's classic lemonade contains 30 calories and 6 g of sugar, but is sweetened withSplenda. If you tryavoid calorie-free sweeteners, it may not be the right choice for you.

If you're looking for options other than water, look beyond the regular drinks menu. WhilemilkInSapIf you can add calories and sugar to your meal, you can often find smaller, pre-portioned sizes of these drinks on the kids' menu.

Dipping sauces

Dishadd calories and can be high in sodium and sugar. The nutritional profiles of Chick-fil-A's offerings vary widely.

✓ Barbecuesaus

If you're craving a spicy dip, order thisbarbecuesaus, which gives a peppery kick to your chicken dish. Enjoy it for 45 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 11 g carbs, 0 g protein, 9 g sugar and 200 mg sodium.

Another option is the fresh buffalo sauce, which has fewer calories and sugar than the barbecue sauce, but more fat and sodium: 25 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 0 g sugar and 570 mg sodium.

✗ Garden herb farm sauce

If you're trying to avoid adding calories and sodium to your meal, skip this onehaveurte ranchsaus. It contains 140 calories, 15 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 1 g carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 1 g protein and 210 mg sodium. It also contains the highest amount of cholesterol of all dips, at 15 grams.

Diet-specific options

If you are on a special diet or have certain dietary considerations, it can be difficult to eat out, especially if you don't have the option to customize your meal.

Compared to other fast food chains, Chick-fil-A isn't the most customizable, but it does offer options that may suit people on gluten-free, low-carb, low-FODMAP, diabetes-friendly, low-fat, low-sodium, vegetarian and vegan diets.

Gluten free

Chick-fil-A offers gluten-free buns that can be added to breakfast and chicken sandwiches. While the sandwich is the only onecertified gluten-freeAt Chick-fil-A, a number of menu items are offered in sealed packages to reduce the risk of cross-contact: applesauce and waffle chips.

If you are gluten sensitive or have celiac disease, remember that even menu items that are not made with gluten- or wheat-containing ingredients may be produced, transported, stored or prepared with ingredients that do. Chick-fil-A suggests the followingfree from gluten ingredients(but not certified gluten-free):

• Grated fried potatoes
• Hash Browns scramble bowl
• Sausage patty
• Grilled chicken fillet (no bun or gluten-free bun)
• Grilled nuggets
• Market salad with grilled chicken
• Cobb salad with grilled chicken
• Spicy southwestern salad with grilled chicken
• Waffle fries
• Fruit bowl
• Side salad
• Kale crunch side
• Perfect Greek yogurt
• Dipping sauces except garden herbs and sweet and spicy sriracha
• All salad dressings
  

For a tasty, nutritious gluten-free meal, order the grilled chicken sandwich on a gluten-free bun with kale crunch.

Few carbohydrates

You'll want to skip the breaded chicken options at Chick-fil-A if you're on a low-carb diet. But many menu items can be ordered with grilled chicken, a source of lean protein. You can also order a chicken sandwich without the bun to limit the carbs.

• Grilled nuggets
• Filetgrill
• Sausage patty
• Kale crunch side
  
• Scramble bowl with grilled fillet or sausage and no hash browns

For a low-carb meal, order a 5-pack of Chick-fil-A nuggets (1 g carbs) with fresh buffalo dip (1 g carbs) and a kale crunch (8 g carbs) for a total of 10 grams of carbs.

Low-FODMAP

If you stick to onelow FODMAP dietEating out can be a challenge, especially when it comes to fast food. Chick-fil-A offers a number of options that may be suitable for a low-FODMAP diet, depending on your individual tolerances.

• Waffle fries
• Grated fried potatoes
• Eggs (side dish)
• Grilled chicken plain (fillet or nuggets - do not ask for marinade or cheese)
• Gluten-free bun (if tolerated – contains molasses and raisins)
• Grilled market salad (without cheese, nuts, black beans, dressing or spicy toppings) or pure salad

For a complete meal, order the regular grilled chicken, and make sure you request it plain, without marinades or cheese and with waffle fries.

Diabetes friendly

If you have diabetes, you probably want to cut down on carbohydrates, sugar and fat while eating enough protein. There are a few ways to do that at Chick-fil-A.

• Hash brown scramble bowl
• Kale crunch side
• Chick-fil-A dumplings
• Grilled chicken sandwich (omit the sandwich)

Create a diabetes-friendly meal by ordering Chick-fil-A nuggets and a kale crunch.

Thin

Although breaded and fried foods are often high in fat, Chick-fil-A has some lean proteins and fresh fruits or vegetables that may be suitable for alow fat diet.

• Perfect Greek yogurt
• Protein grill
• English muffin
• Fruit bowl
• Market salad with grilled chicken (no cheese; choose honey-mustard dressing)
• Grilled chicken sandwich
• Grilled nuggets
• Chicken noodle soup
• Kale crunch side (without dressing)

A grilled chicken sandwich with a fruit bowl has a total fat content of 11 grams (and 4 grams of fiber).

Low sodium content

Many restaurant offerings are high in sodium. If you need to limit the salt in your diet, you have a few options at Chick-fil-A, but chicken isn't one of them.

• Fruit bowl
• Perfect Greek yogurt
• Kale crunch side

For a low-sodium meal, enjoy the Greek yogurt parfait, which contains only 80 mg of sodium.

Vegetarian

Chick-fil-A's menu focuses on meat and uses various animal products to compose the menu. But if you eat onevegetarian diet, you still have more things to choose from, especially if youchange some offers.

• Biscuit
• English muffin
• Perfect Greek yogurt
• Protein grill (omit chicken fillet)
• Cobb salad (omit the bacon and chicken)
• Spicy southwestern salad (without chicken)
• Market salad (without chicken)
• Waffle fries
• Fruit bowl
• Side salad
• Mac & ost
• Kale crunch side
• Waffle chips
  
• Go desserts

For a complete meal, all salads are a nutritious vegetarian option; just order without the chicken top.

Vegan

Some vegetarian products contain milk or eggs, making them unsuitable for:vegan diet. There are a few options on the Chick-fil-A menu that are free of animal products. But please note that because the kitchen contains animal products, your meal may be prepared by staff who have worked with meat, even if it does not contain animal products.

• Grated fried potatoes
• Fruit bowl
• English muffin
  
• Spicy Southwestern salad, market salad, or side salad (no meat or cheese; avoid creamy dressings)
• Grilled Cool Wrap (no chicken or cheese)
• Kale crunch side
• Waffle fries

For a complete vegan meal, try a Spicy Southwest Salad (ordered without the chicken and cheese) with a fruit bowl.

Food allergies and safety

Chick-fil-A provides information on severalpotential allergens(dairy, eggs, fish, soy, nuts and wheat) on its website. You can also view an ingredient list for each menu item to help you make your choices.

Chick-fil-A uses 100% refined peanut oil in cooking (although not specifically stated for individual menu items). The Food and Drug Administration does not consider it an allergen,and most people with a peanut allergy can safely consume peanut oil, as long as it is highly refined.

A word from Verywell

Whether you're following a special diet to accommodate food allergies or to support your overall health goals, Chick-fil-A's menu gives you more options to create a nutritionally balanced fast food meal.

The chain's grilled chicken options let you get classic fast-food dishes without all the extra calories, fat and sodium typical of fried chicken. You can also request pure meat without marinade.

By keeping track of portion sizes and portions, learning the nutritional information and ingredients of different menu options before ordering, and considering calorie-saving swaps, you can create a satisfying meal without too many extra calories, fat, carbs, sodium, or sugar to add. for your daily intake.