The 20 Worst Grilled Foods in America

At the heart of the grill lies the key to a powerful convergence of flavor and nutrition, a fire that melts fat and delivers heaping quantities of smoke and sizzle, the world's greatest zero-calorie ingredients.

But a scorching Weber isn't always the weight-loss weapon we want it to be. Consider this: there are dozens of grilled dishes in the restaurant world with more than 1,000 calories per serving, from salads with nutritional numbers that make double cheeseburgers seem healthy, to racks of ribs that pack more calories than 11 Krispy Kreme Original Doughnuts. Yes, it is possible to screw up food on the grill, as the biggest restaurants in the country continue to prove every day by choosing bad cuts of meat, coating them with sugary sauces, and serving them with a lousy supporting cast of side dishes—all tactics that compromise the inherent goodness of the grill.

To keep you from getting scorched next time you head out to dinner, here are the 20 worst flame-broiled foods in America.  

20. WORST GRILLED HOT DOG

Five Guys’ Bacon Cheese Dog

695 calories
48 g fat (22 g saturated)
1,700 mg sodium

 Five Guys doesn't give you many options. Not in the mood for a burger? There's grilled cheese, a 1,474-calorie bag of French fries, or a hot dog with more than a full day's worth of saturated fat. You could eat two fully loaded dogs from a New York street vendor and still take in fewer calories and fat. Our favorite alternative, a BLT, isn’t technically listed on the menu, but gives you all the decadence you need for less than half the calories.
 

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BLT

520 calories
22 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,300 mg sodium

19. WORST GRILLED WHITE FISH

IHOP Tilapia Hollandaise

810 calories
46 g fat (13 g saturated)
1,890 mg sodium

An 8-ounce fillet of grilled tilapia contains just 6 grams of fat, so you know the calories in this dish aren't coming from the fish. For a better explanation of how one of the leanest pieces of protein ends up with more calories than a Wendy's Baconator, look no further than the sauce. Hollandaise is a butter-and egg yolk-based emulsion that clings to food like a blanket of molten fat. Along with packing an astounding 40 grams of fat, it also has the unique ability to make all food taste exactly the same.

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Simple & Fit Grilled Tilapia

490 calories
23 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,270 mg sodium

18. WORST GRILLED LAMB

Outback Steakhouse New Zealand Rack of Lamb

1,007 calories
59 g fat (31 g saturated)
2,350 mg sodium

We applaud Outback for being one of the only chain restaurants to serve lamb. In its best iteration, lamb is a lean, tender, tasty alternative to a steak. The rack is normally among the healthiest cuts of lamb, too—yet still, somehow, Outback manages to get this dish wrong, injecting their version with more than a full day's worth of saturated fat. Don't blame it on the lamb; blame it on the huge portion size and the rich red wine sauce poured liberally over the top.
 

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Grilled Chicken on the Barbie

401 calories
7 g fat (2 g saturated)
1,045 mg sodium

17. WORST GRILLED STEAK

Ruby Tuesday Rib Eye (no sides)

912 calories
71 g fat
1,040 mg sodium

When it comes to a grilled steak, the cut of meat is everything. Opt for a sirloin, flank, or skirt steak and you're looking at a piece of beef that is predominantly protein, buffered by just enough fat to keep things interesting. On the flip side of the coin, rib eyes come from the most heavily marbled part of the cow, which means that along with rivers of fat, you also get a steak dense with calories. We're not sure where Ruby Tuesday gets its beef from, but its rib eye easily qualifies as the worst steak in the business. The good news? The chain’s ribs are some of the leanest racks around.

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Classic Barbecue Half-Rack of Ribs

500 calories
24 g fat
500 mg sodium

16. WORST GRILLED FISH TACOS

Chevys Fresh Mex’s Mesquite Grilled Fresh Fish Tacos

920 calories
27 g fat (8 g saturated)
2,400 mg sodium

There are tacos that are worse (though not many), but these land on the list by virtue of the gaping chasm between perception and reality. "Grilled fresh fish"—three healthier words have never lived together in the same menu blurb, and yet, Chevys nevertheless finds a way to deliver a plate that provides more than half of your day's calories and fat and nearly two full days' worth of sodium.

NUTRITION 101: Did you know that potato chips and french fries are the two most waist-widening foods you can consume, according to Harvard University.

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Salsa Chicken Enchiladas (2)

420 calories
22 g fat (8 g saturated)
940 mg sodium

15. WORST TURKEY BURGER

Ruby Tuesday’s Avocado Turkey Burger

968 calories
61 g fat
1,601 mg sodium

This burger may sound like a nutritionist's dream dinner, but the truth is that it packs more calories than Ruby Tuesday's Classic Cheeseburger. Why? Because turkey alone does not a healthy burger make, especially when you consider that ground dark-meat turkey can contain as many calories as ground beef. Add to that the aggressive condiment treatment turkey burgers tend to receive and you start to see why it's not always the healthy alternative it pretends to be.

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Chicken Fresco

397 calories
19 g fat
1,268 mg sodium

14. WORST DRESSED-UP GRILLED STEAK

Outback Steakhouse New York Strip (14 oz) with Blue Cheese Crumb Crust

989 calories
70 g fat (34 g saturated)
857 mg sodium

In an effort to squeeze a few extra bucks out of its customers, Outback offers diners the option of adding items like sauteed mushrooms, grilled scallops, and, worst of all, this blanket of bread crumbs and blue cheese. It turns an already hefty steak into a punishing proposition. Outback does offer a number of lean options (like this pork tenderloin), so go in with a game plan and you'll escape relatively unscathed.
 

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Sweet Glazed Pork Tenderloin

303 calories
9 g fat (3 g saturated)
788 mg sodium

13. WORST BARBECUE

T.G.I. Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Pulled Pork Sandwich (no sides)

990 calories
35 g fat (11 g saturated)
2,710 mg sodium

A real pulled pork sandwich, like the kind they dish out in the barbecue shacks of eastern North Carolina, is a simple construction: steamed bun, a splash of vinegar-based sauce, maybe a bit of coleslaw. Friday's defies that formula by starting with a butter-packed brioche, then drowning the pork in sugary barbecue sauce and topping it all with fried onion strings. Somewhere out there a pitmaster is shuddering at the thought of this bastardized barbecue.

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Flat Iron Steak (no sides)

400 calories
27 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,950 mg sodium

12. WORST GRILLED SALMON

Red Lobster’s Cedar Plank Salmon

1,050 calories
40 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,780 mg sodium

Red Lobster's fresh fish menu is one of the most admirable menu sections in the country: dozens of different types of seasonal fish, cooked over an open flame and served with an admirable selection of healthy sides. With that in mind, it's hard to figure out how they got this one so wrong. Sure, salmon is naturally loaded with health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids, but with a quadruple-digit calorie count and a full day's worth of sodium, you'd find a leaner meal in a 20-pack of Chicken McNuggets.
 

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Wood-Grilled Salmon (Full portion) with broccoli

490 calories
17 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
440 mg sodium

11. WORST GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH

T.G.I. Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Chicken Sandwich

1,140 calories
58 g fat (18 g saturated)
2,780 mg sodium

Jack Daniel's real name was Jasper Newton Daniel and he was a 5-foot, 2-inch pioneer of American distillery. He made a mean whiskey, but it's hard to imagine ol' Jasper being excited to know that his creation adorns some of America's worst grilled dishes, from steak to pork to chicken. He'd probably go on a bender if he ever found out that the Jack Daniel's Chicken Sandwich packs more calories than 17 shots of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.

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Jack Daniel’s Chicken & Shrimp

570 calories
11 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
2,630 mg sodium

10. WORST GRILLED CHICKEN

Romano’s Macaroni Grill Chicken Under a Brick

1,440 calories
115 g fat (23 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,640 mg sodium

Macaroni Grill was smart to bring the long-held Tuscan tradition of cooking chicken under a brick to the shores of America. Unfortunately, the chicken put on about 700 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 2,000 milligrams of sodium on the journey. Save this one for your own backyard and stick with the far leaner Pollo Caprese when dining out.
 

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Pollo Caprese

560 calories
22 g fat (7 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,530 mg sodium

9. WORST GRILLED SALAD

Chevys Fresh Mex’s Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad

1,220 calories
90 g fat (23 g saturated)
1,480 mg sodium

Mexican-style salads are invariably clobbered with a blizzard of high-calorie add-ons such as sour cream and grated cheese. Don't be distracted by the words "grilled chicken"—this baby packs as much fat as 18 scoops of Breyers Original Strawberry ice cream. Chicken tacos and beans deliver a load of hunger-defeating protein and fiber for fewer than half the calories.

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Crispy Chicken Tacos (2) with black beans

560 calories
23.5 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,420 mg sodium

8. WORST GRILLED SAUSAGE

Olive Garden’s Grilled Sausage and Peppers Rustica

1,320 calories
80 g fat (30 g saturated)
2,860 mg sodium

Olive Garden normally opts for the stovetop over the grill to concoct its line of pseudo-Italian fare, but here the chain proves that it's just as dangerous with a spatula as it is with a saute pan. This dish boasts a solid foundation of grilled meat, fresh veggies, and antioxidant-rich marinara, but a huge pile of carb-heavy penne and an indecent amount of fatty pork sausage sabotage any shot for nutritional prudence. If it's sausage you seek, make sure it's chicken or turkey.
 

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Steak Toscano

590 calories
20 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,460 mg sodium

7. WORST FAJITAS

Applebee’s Sizzling Steak Fajitas

1,410 calories
55 g fat (25 g saturated)
5,630 mg sodium

Picking this loser was no easy task; there are at least half a dozen viable candidates for the title of Worst Fajitas (Chili's, Chevys, and Baja Fresh among them), a reflection of just how easily corrupted an inherently good recipe can be when placed in the wrong hands. Applebee's comes out at the bottom of the pack not just because its sizzling platter edges out the others in the calorie department, but because it contains more salt than you'd find in 33 small bags of Lay's Potato Chips.

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Sizzling Chicken with Spicy Queso Blanco

570 calories
22 g fat (8 g saturated)
2,530 mg sodium

6. WORST SKEWERS

T.G.I. Friday’s Mediterranean Black Angus Sirloin Fusion Skewers

1,440 calories
77 g fat (19 g saturated)
3,220 mg sodium

We're huge fans of the skewer—it’s a perfect vehicle for protein and vegetables, and you're all but assured of a lean, tasty meal. Unfortunately, thanks to overblown restaurant portions, skewers can more closely resemble weapons than the means to a healthy dinner. Friday's Fusion Skewer meal is a perfect example: The elephantine “dinner” portion contains more fat than 8.5 McDonalds’ hamburgers. Opt instead for the more modest appetizer portion, and you’ll manage to survive your meal with your waistline intact.
 

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Mediterranean Black Angus Sirloin Tapa-tizer Skewers


620 calories

27 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,360 mg sodium

5. WORST GRILLED PORK

Cheesecake Factory’s Grilled Pork Chops

1,500 calories
52 g saturated fat
2,441 mg sodium

Pork chops rule. Just ask Homer Simpson. Besides being drool-inducingly delicious, a loin chop can be surprisingly lean, containing a modest 5 grams of saturated fat per average serving. Unfortunately, Cheesecake Factory's servings are anything but average; they tend to feed their diners as if they were on the eve of a hunger strike. Through the combination of monstrous portion sizes and reckless cooking habits, this plate ends up with more than three times the saturated fat of the chain’s tenderloin.

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Petite Grilled Tenderloin of Beef

590 calories
15 g saturated fat
1,024 mg sodium

4. WORST GRILLED SHRIMP

Cheesecake Factory’s Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Club Sandwich

1,740 calories
22 g saturated fat
2,608 mg sodium

Not only is this the worst shrimp dish we've seen, it's also America's worst sandwich. You'd think the latter would be reserved for a hulking cheese-steak or a foot-long submarine of sinful excess, but the diabolical minds responsible for Cheesecake Factory's menu manage to put two slices of bread around one of the world's leanest proteins and create a sandwich that contains as many calories as you'd find in nearly 4 pounds of cocktail shrimp.
 

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Skinnylicious Turkey & Avocado Sandwich

580 calories
8 g saturated
1,651 mg sodium

3. WORST GRILLED APPETIZER

Baja Fresh’s Charbroiled Steak Nachos

2,120 calories
118 g fat (44 g saturated)
2,990 mg sodium

People don't always look to the grill when they think about appetizers, but as a toaster of bread, a melter of cheese, and a crisper of lean proteins, it is well suited for the task of kicking off a meal. But even genius devices can be used for dubious ends when left in the wrong hands. Baja Fresh, for all of its talk about fresh ingredients, is responsible for some of America's most caloric Mexican food: bulging burritos, catastrophic salads and fajitas, and nacho platters that would be dangerous if shared among an entire room full of eaters.

Eat This Instead!

Original Baja Steak Tacos (2)

460 calories
16 g fat (4 g saturated)
520 mg sodium

2. WORST BURGER

Chili’s Southern Smokehouse Burger with Ancho Chile BBQ

2,290 calories
139 g fat (46 g saturated)
6,500 mg sodium

The average American eats 150 burgers a year. That's an eye-popping reminder that for most people, burgers aren't an occasional indulgence, but a lifestyle. We stand by America's love affair with the burger, just as long as most of those burgers are coming from your backyard and not some dubious restaurant griddle glazed in a sea of molten beef fat. Even the most basic Chili's option—the plain Oldtimer—will saddle you with more than 1,300 calories. But what's most shocking about this burger—America's worst by a long shot—is that it alone will add two-thirds of a pound of pure body fat to anyone crazy enough to eat it.
 

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Margarita Grilled Chicken

550 calories
14 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
1,870 mg sodium

1. WORST GRILLED DISH IN AMERICA

Chili’s Shiner Bock BBQ Ribs

2,310 calories
123 g fat (44 g saturated)
6,340 mg sodium

Eating ribs at a sit-down restaurant is risky business no matter where you've chosen to eat. The problem begins with the fact that baby back ribs are a naturally fatty cut. The danger is only compounded by portion distortion and reckless sauce application, a killer combination that leaves even the "leanest" ribs packing quadruple-digit calorie counts. That's why the biggest restaurants in America—Applebee's, Friday's, Outback—all serve ribs with more than 1,500 calories per serving.
 

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Lighter Choice Classic Sirloin (6 oz)

260 calories
7 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
1,630 mg sodium