Fast-food chains get a bad rap for their not-so-healthy options, but if you're a salad lover like me and you're sometimes willing to go the extra mile, you can find some pretty great salads for lunch. While there's nothing wrong with getting your burger or french fry fix, eating a salad can be just the thing, especially when the weather warms up, and you're looking for a filling yet hydrating and refreshing meal.
Salads at fast-food restaurants aren't always up to par, especially with the specialty salad chains that are now more prevalent, but if you find yourself at one of these places, you should know that there are still some great greens to try. I decided to order the most popular salads from each of the following fast-food chains and rank them based on how fresh, yummy, and filling they are as a lunch option. I tried each salad exactly the way it came, with the suggested dressings and toppings, and made no modifications.
There were a few that I already knew about and liked and a few that surprised me. Here are six popular fast-food salads, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the best one, which you should absolutely try for lunch this week.
Dairy Queen Crispy Chicken Strips Salad
Nutrition: (Per Serving)
CALORIES: 380
FAT: 20 g (Saturated Fat: 5 g)
SODIUM: 1110 mg
CARBS: 27 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 5 g)
PROTEIN: 26 g
This Dairy Queen salad combines 100% white meat tenderloin crispy chicken strips on a bed of lettuce with diced tomatoes, bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese. It cost me $7.49.
The look: I'll preface this by saying that I love DQ for ice cream and had pretty low expectations for a good salad at the same place that sells a Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Party Blizzard Treat. This salad looked like some unhealthy breaded chicken and cheese were dumped on top of lettuce.
The taste: Like a salad prepared by a little kid. There were chicken strips, yellow cheese, and some really gristly bacon. None of the ingredients melded together at all, and I felt like I might as well have just eaten a burger or chicken sandwich.
Subway Grilled Chicken Salad
Nutrition:
Calories: 130
Fat: 3 g (Saturated Fat: 1 g)
Sodium: 280 mg
Carbs: 10 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 5 g)
Protein: 19 g
This salad is described on the Subway website as "tender grilled chicken on a bed of fresh lettuce topped with tomatoes, red onions, baby spinach, cucumbers, green peppers and black olives." But when I visited my local restaurant, there were no salads on the menu and I had to DIY it by ordering every ingredient individually. It cost me $10.89.
The look: Picture every topping you would put on a footlong sub, but dumped into a bowl, and that's this "salad." None of the ingredients were salad-sized (there were giant sliced tomatoes and cucumber wheels tossed in). When I asked for grilled chicken, the so-called Subway Sandwich Artist microwaved it before I could stop him.
The taste: While this salad didn't taste bad, and it was a filling and healthy lunch option, there was nothing intentional about it, and it just tasted like eating a bunch of vegetable toppings. In a great salad, the meat, cheese, and veggies are selected to complement each other. Here it was just everything that's a vegetable thrown together with chicken and cheese. Next time, I would just get a six-inch sandwich instead of this!
Chipotle
Nutrition:
Salad with Chicken Al Pastor (As Ordered Below)
Calories: 1,000
Fat: 60 g (Saturated Fat: 14 g)
Sodium: 3,320 mg
Carbs: 74 g (Fiber: 19 g, Sugar: 22 g)
Protein: 43 g
Like everything at Chipotle, the salad is highly customizable. You get your choice of meat (or plant-based sofritas), beans, and a wide variety of toppings, such as fresh lettuce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese. Then it's all dressed in Chipotle's signature Honey Vinaigrette. I ordered mine with the limited-time chicken al pastor, black beans, mild salsa, guacamole, corn, and cheese. The salad itself cost me $10.60, plus an extra $2.50 for the guac, for a total of $13.5o.
The look: I'm no "Chipotle bro" but I do love a good bowl or burrito. The salad option here basically just means that greens are the base of your bowl. This salad looked like a giant burrito bowl with some greens buried underneath.
The taste: This meal was yummy and filling but didn't taste much like a salad. It was a big heap of food and more akin to a burrito bowl. It was flavorful and spicy but if what I really wanted was a salad, I'd go elsewhere.
What Happened to Chipotle?
Wendy's Apple Pecan Salad
Nutrition:
Apple Pecan Salad With Dressing (Per 1 Packet)
CALORIES: 540
FAT: 27 g (Saturated Fat: 10 g)
SODIUM: 1,360 mg
CARBS: 44 g (Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 34 g)
PROTEIN: 31 g
One of four fresh-made salads on the current Wendy's menu, the Apple Pecan Salad starts with the chain's signature lettuce blend, then piles on red and green apples, dried cranberries, roasted pecans, crumbled blue cheese, and grilled chicken, all topped with Pomegranate Vinaigrette dressing. It cost me $8.59.
The look: This salad was handed to me immediately when I paid, so it was definitely prepackaged and ready to go. It actually looked promising with lots of visible chicken and cheese and nice bright greens.
The taste: This was an okay salad except for the dressing, which made the whole thing overly sweet. I enjoyed the crunch of the pecans and apples. If I got it again, I'd omit the dressing or bring my own. Still, I was surprised that Wendy's had a salad with such a thoughtful blend of ingredients.
10 Healthiest Wendy's Orders, According to Dietitians
Panera Bread Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad
Nutrition: (Per Serving)
CALORIES: 370
FAT: 14 g (Saturated Fat: 2 g)
SODIUM: 710 mg
CARBS: 26 g (Fiber: 8 g, Sugar: 25 g)
PROTEIN: 29 g
One of 14 salad options currently on the menu at Panera, this old favorite—now "enhanced" as part of the chain's massive "menu transformation" earlier this year—is made with romaine tossed in poppyseed dressing and topped with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and toasted pecan pieces. A half-order of this salad cost me $9.49.
The look: This was a very colorful, fruit-forward salad and looked like summer in a bowl. I was excited to try it, though a little unsure about the poppyseed dressing, which looked like lots of tiny black dots all over the salad (not the most appealing).
The taste: This was a fresh, sweet, filling salad. I liked the addition of strawberry and orange, though again, the dressing was so overly sweet that it lost a few points here. The chicken tasted a little processed. Still, this is a decent summer salad that I might order again (without the dressing).
Chick-fil-A Market Salad
Nutrition: (Per Serving)
CALORIES: 550
FAT: 31 g (Saturated Fat: 6 g)
SODIUM: 1010 mg
CARBS: 42 g (Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 26 g)
PROTEIN: 28 g
This salad features sliced grilled chicken breast served on a fresh bed of mixed greens, topped with crumbled blue cheese and a mix of red and green apples, strawberries and blueberries. It's served with Harvest Nut Granola, roasted almond, and a Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette. This salad cost me $10.15.
The look: This is a salad I've had several times in the past and loved. But sometimes the chicken on top looks like nice, big white pieces of meat, but other times it looks shredded, like it did on this occasion, and that makes it slightly less appetizing.
The taste: Chick-fil-A's salad is a great example of thoughtfully combined ingredients adding up to one big salad taste explosion. You've got the good, savory chicken, nice cheese, the sweetness of the cranberries and the tartness of the apple and the dressing. Then the granola and almonds come in to provide the crunch. This is one delicious and filing salad.
Salads should be intentional and just because you're eating fast food doesn't mean you need to forgo one! Chick-fil-A's offering is worthy even next to the specialty salad chains—so next lunch break, give it a try.
Sign up for our newsletter!
