Salads That Are Shockingly Worse Than a Cheeseburger

Published: January 3, 2024 by 24/7 Tempo Staff

Salads are thought of as some of the more healthy items on many menus. They typically come with items that are great for you – vegetables that add essential fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and oftentimes protein in various forms, as well as good fats should you add avocado. Many of us often opt for the salad instead of our first choice, whether a cheeseburger, a chicken sandwich, pasta, or even falafel. We decide that it’s better for us without checking to see what exactly it is we are getting with our greens.

Unfortunately, if you’re watching your intake of calories and sodium, this can be the incorrect option. Not all aspects of items found in salads are beneficial. One of the top culprits of harmful additions is dressing, which can contain an unnecessary amount of sugar, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Many chain-restaurant salads, whether from fast food places or sit-down establishments, are loaded with salt and packed with extra calories in the form of crispy noodles, croutons, fried chicken, cheese, sugary dressings, and other dietary dangers.

The average restaurant cheeseburger has 535 calories and 1,121 mg of sodium, according to the nutrition database Nutritionix. Fast-food burgers have even less of both. A standard McDonald’s cheeseburger, for instance, weighs in at 300 calories and 720 mg of sodium. (Some examples are worse, of course. You won’t believe the calories in some of your favorite fast food cheeseburgers.)

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of salads that have more calories or salt than some burgers by consulting the official nutritional information on the company websites of some 33 prominent fast food and sit-down restaurant operations. Four salads we found had more than twice the calories of the average restaurant burger, and one had over 2,000 calories, exceeding the Food and Drug Administration’s recommended basic caloric intake for an entire day.

The numbers only get worse when you look at the sodium content. The American Heart Association recommends that we consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily. One-third of the salads on this list exceed 2,000 mg, with four of them accounting for more than the AHA maximum.

Salads can be healthy, and lower in both calories and sodium than even a McDonald’s burger. It’s the fried foods, the carb-heavy additions, and the sugary dressings that do the damage, and most of the restaurants on this list offer, in addition to their calorie-and-salt bombs, ample salad choices that turn out to be healthy after all. If you want one of the less healthy examples, consider asking if a half-portion is available, or share it with a friend. (Here are some healthy eating habits that will change your life.)

Here are salads that are shockingly worse than a cheeseburger

Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad

Source: ablokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse
Calories: 590
Sodium: 1,260 mg

Fire-Grilled Steak Salad

Source: JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Restaurant: Dave & Buster’s
Calories: 595
Sodium: 1,301 mg

Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado and Caesar Dressing

Source: Phil Manker / Flickr

Au Bon Pain Menu Panels (CC BY 2.0 DEED) by Phil Manker

Restaurant: Au Bon Pain
Calories: 650
Sodium: 1,430 mg

Waldorf Chicken Salad

Source: mizoula / Getty Images

Restaurant: California Pizza Kitchen
Calories: 660
Sodium: 1,010 mg

Garden Cobb

Source: ablokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Restaurant: Sweetgreen
Calories: 675
Sodium: 815 mg

Capital Grille “Cobb” Salad with Tenderloin

Source: scaredykat / Flickr

Get the full scoop

capital grille vault (CC BY 2.0) by Krista

Restaurant: The Capital Grille
Calories: 680
Sodium: 1,200 mg

Mandarin Crunch Salad

P.F. Chang's | P.F. Chang's Restaurant Chain Announces Credit Card Security Breach

Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images

SCHAUMBURG, IL - AUGUST 04: A statue of a horse stands at the entrance to a P.F. Chang's restaurant on August 4, 2014 in Schaumburg, Illinois. P.F. Chang's China Bistro Ltd. said today that the company experienced a data breach involving customers' credit and debit card information which affected 33 restaurants in 16 states, including the Schaumburg, Illinois location. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Source: Scott Olson / Getty Images News via Getty Images

SCHAUMBURG, IL – AUGUST 04: A statue of a horse stands at the entrance to a P.F. Chang’s restaurant on August 4, 2014 in Schaumburg, Illinois. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Ltd. said today that the company experienced a data breach involving customers’ credit and debit card information which affected 33 restaurants in 16 states, including the Schaumburg, Illinois location. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)