Texas Roadhouse, known for its line-dancing servers, will make your tastebuds dance. At the Roadhouse, many popular meals are heavy in saturated fat, fried, calorie-dense, and sodium-laden, making it difficult to make balanced choices. These are normal steakhouse menu items, but this renowned chain has some exceptionally harmful ones. Dietitians identified the worst Texas Roadhouse offenders for your next visit.
We considered these parameters when choosing Texas Roadhouse’s unhealthiest menu items:
- Total Calories: Deep-frying, oils, and sauces provide empty calories with no nutritional value.
- Total Fat: Texas Roadhouse’s delectable food contains a lot of fat from butter, oil, fatty meats, and deep frying, which can add 100 calories or more per tablespoon. We adore honey cinnamon rolls, but using a lot of butter can add up in fat calories.
- Sodium: Many restaurants add salt to their dishes, which can quickly exceed the daily recommended maximum of 2,300 milligrams.
While the odd Texas Roadhouse meal isn’t harmful, routinely choosing from this list may be. Here are Texas Roadhouse menu items dietitians advise against for health.
Cactus Bloom
- FAT: 26 g (Saturated fat: 26 g)
- CALORIES: 2,250
- SODIUM: 5,000 mg
- CARBS: 236 g (Fiber: 19, Sugar: 36)
- PROTEIN: 25g
- This starter’s 2,250 calories will leave you stuffed before you order your main course. Kelsey Sackmann, MS, RD, says, “This crispy fried onion contains more calories than most people may need in a day.” “Not to mention it provides 130% of your recommended daily intake for saturated fat and double your sodium intake,” she says.
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Cheese Fries
- CALORIES: 1,240
- FAT: 65 g (Saturated fat: 25 g)
- SODIUM: 5,400 mg
- CARBS: 126 g (14 g fiber, 2 g sugar)
- PROTEIN: 38g
- The regular size provides 5,400 mg of extra sodium per day, approximately 200% of your daily intake. “The cheese fries at Texas Roadhouse are one of the least healthy, with 1,240 calories and 65 grams of fat,” says Nutrition Resolution owner Alyssa Simpson, RDN, CGN, CLT. “Adding chili adds 1,460 calories and 80 grams of fat, making it hard to fit into a balanced diet. If this is a favorite, share it with friends and serve it with a lighter salad like the house salad “Simpson adds.
Country-fried sirloin steak
- CALORIES: 1,170
- FAT: 75 g (Saturated fat: 22 g)
- SODIUM: 2,220 mg
- CARBS: 72 g (2 g fiber, 9 g sugar)
- PROTEIN: 52g
- The Country-Fried Sirloin Steak is heavy in sodium and saturated fat, which is bad for cholesterol and blood pressure. This meal has 1,170 calories, 22 grams of saturated fat, and 2,220 milligrams of salt. The American Heart Association advises reducing salt to 2,300 mg per day. This steak alone contains almost a day’s salt max. Try Texas Roadhouse’s grilled sirloin steak for a healthier option.” M.Ed., RD, CSSD, LD Mandy Tyler explains.
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Texas Roadhouse Tater Skins
- CALORIES: 1,320
- FAT: 88 g (Saturated fat: 49 g)
- SODIUM: 2,470 mg
- CARBS: 63 g (7 g fiber, 5 g sugar)
- PROTEIN: 63g
- “Texas Roadhouse’s Tater Skins is one of the worst menu items, with 1,320 calories and 88 grams of fat per order,” says Atlanta-based registered dietitian and Health Down South author Jessie Winstead, RD, LD. “Consuming such a high-fat, calorie-dense appetizer is not an ideal way to begin a meal, as it can lead to eating beyond your needs and may hinder weight management efforts,” warns.
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Fried chicken
- CALORIES: 770
- Fat: 44 g (16 g saturated).
- SODIUM: 1,460 mg
- 45 g carbs (1 g fiber, 9 g sugar)
- PROTEIN: 48g
- “The Country Fried Chicken from Texas Roadhouse is essentially a large fried chicken tender smothered in calorie-laden cream gravy,” says Actors Fund dietitian Michelle Rauch, MSc, RDN. According to The American Heart Association, this order provides more than half of the recommended daily sodium consumption for most persons or almost 100% for those with heart disease, high blood pressure, or kidney disease.
Salad Filet Steak
- CALORIES: 1,340
- FAT: 103 g (25 g saturated).
- 2,870 mg SODIUM
- CARBS: 42 g (8 g fiber, 21 g sugar)
- PROTEIN: 71g
- This salad appears balanced, but it exceeds the daily saturated fat and salt limits and almost reaches the added sugar limit. Rauch: “The beef filet, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon, and dressing provide 103 grams of fat to this salad. The 103 grams of fat contain 25 grams of saturated fat and 2.5 grams of trans fat. High saturated and trans fat intake raises ‘bad’ cholesterol, which increases heart disease and stroke risk.”
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Conclusion
Avoid Texas Roadhouse’s unhealthiest menu items like the Cactus Bloom, Cheese Fries, Country-fried sirloin steak, Tater Skins, Fried Chicken, and Salad Filet Steak, which are high in calories, fat, sodium, and saturated fat. Opt for healthier options to maintain a balanced diet and support better health outcomes.