Sit-down restaurants under 800 calories: the best order at 21 chains

The best meal under 800 calories at 21 sit-down restaurants: one plate — a dish with a pick for each choice it comes with — and at most one drink, composed for the most protein from each restaurant's published nutrition figures. 17 of the 21 reach 60 g under 800; the top three are Cracker Barrel (107 g), Texas Roadhouse (104 g) and The Cheesecake Factory (92 g), and the spread from best to worst is 30–107 g. Outback Steakhouse is not ranked until the MinMax app builds its meals.

22 sit-down restaurants · every dish counted with its sides · each chain's nutrition guide or a labelled copy · Data refreshed October 24, 2026

21 restaurants ranked
17 reach 60 g protein
107g best full meal
19 restaurant pages under 800

This ranking covers the 22 sit-down restaurants. The 123 fast-food chains, where a meal is an entrée, up to two sides and a drink, have a ranking of their own.

As of October 2026, the best sit-down meal under 800 calories is at Cracker Barrel: 107 g of protein in 775 calories (A Steak & Chicken Combo (smokehouse grilled chicken) with turnip greens and steamed broccoli, no bread, and a Coca-Cola Zero).

The best meal under 800 calories at every sit-down restaurant, ranked by protein

One plate — a dish with a valid pick for each choice it comes with, never the same row twice — and at most one drink: the MinMax app's meal and the best under the cap, drink included. Click a restaurant for every one of its plates under 800.

Best sit-down meal under 800 calories, by restaurant
#	Restaurant	Order	Calories	Protein
1	Cracker Barrel	A Steak & Chicken Combo (smokehouse grilled chicken) with turnip greens and steamed broccoli, no bread, and a Coca-Cola Zero	775	107g
2	Texas Roadhouse	An 11 oz USDA Choice Sirloin with a house side salad (no dressing) and green beans, and a Diet Coke	790	104g
3	The Cheesecake Factory	A Tuscan Chicken, plus sliced tomatoes, and a Cafe Latte	755	92g
4	LongHorn Steakhouse	A 12 oz Lemon Garlic Chicken with steamed asparagus and steamed broccoli, and a Milk	790	92g
5	Carrabba's Italian Grill	A Chicken Trio	750	89g
6	Ruby Tuesday	A T-Bone Steak with a baked potato and whipped butter	720	81g
7	First Watch	A Healthy Turkey, plus a smoked ham, and a small Reduced-Fat Milk	760	77g
8	TGI Fridays	12 Traditional wings tossed in Dragon-Glaze, and a 12-ounce Coca-Cola Zero Sugar	700	76g
9	Olive Garden	A Grilled Chicken Margherita, no soup or salad, and a Cappuccino	800	74g
10	Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen	Grilled Pork Chops with buttered off-the-cob corn and sweet baby carrots, and a Coffee	795	73g
11	P.F. Chang's	A Chicken with Broccoli, plus a Thai Peanut Salad for one	760	72g
12	Logan's Roadhouse	A Shrimp Stacked Salmon with corn and green beans, and a 20-ounce Diet Coke	798	72g
13	BJ's Brewhouse	An Enlightened Strawberry Fields Salad and a Milk	760	65g
14	Red Lobster	A 7 oz Sirloin Steak with lobster-topped mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus, and a Coffee	760	65g
15	IHOP	A 10 oz T-Bone Steak with two buttermilk pancakes and steamed fresh broccoli	710	61g
16	Applebee's	A Crispy Chicken Tender Salad with Grilled Chicken, and a Bottled Water	640	60g
17	Beef 'O' Brady's	6 Plain Traditional Wings with Celery, nothing else	780	60g
18	Denny's	A BBQ Bacon Chicken Sandwich with broccoli, and a Coca-Cola Zero Sugar	795	58g
19	Red Robin	A Santa Fe Salmon with bottomless garlic fries, and a Coke Zero	800	54g
20	California Pizza Kitchen	A Cedar Plank Salmon and a Pacific Thyme	760	53g
21	Captain D's	A 2-piece Batter Dipped Fish with mac & cheese and broccoli, plus 2 hush puppies, and a large Diet Pepsi	780	30g

Eat out without blowing your cap

MinMax finds the best meal under your calorie goal at the restaurants nearest you — sit-down or fast food — and lets you swap a side to hit your protein. Free on iPhone.

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Every sit-down restaurant under 800 calories

19 restaurants have enough dishes under 800, counted with their sides, for a page of their own; Denny's, Outback Steakhouse and Captain D's do not.

Other rankings

Every figure is from the restaurant's published nutrition guide or a cited copy of it; sources are linked on each restaurant's page and on the sources page. Read how the data is gathered and checked.