Wendy’s offers nearly as many salad varieties as it does burgers. Is that little pigtailed girl—who’s a real person, by the way—trying to tell us something?
All the leafy options are tasty, but if you’re bypassing the burger lineup to save on calories, not every salad is a good choice. It’s hard to make the best choice when you’re buzzing through the drive-thru window, so we’ve listed the Wendy’s salads (from highest to lowest calorie counts) along with other nutritional content.
Pro Tip: The calorie counts include two packets of dressing for the full salads and one packet for the half salads and sides. Since the dressings all come on the side, you can cut the calories a bit on each salad by cutting down on the dressing.
Go all out and try our Wendy’s copycat recipes.
Comparing Calories in Wendy’s Favorites
To give you some points of reference, here are some other popular choices from the Wendy’s menu:
- Dave’s single burger: 570 calories
- Small chocolate Frosty: 350 calories
- Small fry: 320 calories
- Four-piece chicken nuggets: 170 calories
The Calories in Wendy’s Salads
Taco Salad
440 calories for the half, 620 for the full
If you’re getting the taco salad, you might as well go all the way and get the full size because half isn’t even close to half the calories. Along with the signature lettuce blend (iceberg and romaine lettuce, spinach and a bunch of other greens), the taco salad has shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips and chili. The half salad has 16 grams of protein and 19 grams of fat. The full salad has 28 grams of protein and 28 grams of fat.
Craving real tacos? Try these tasty recipes.
Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad
310 calories for the half, 610 for the full
The half size of the Southwest avocado chicken salad isn’t that much more than the side salads—and it comes with chicken! The protein is sitting pretty on the signature lettuce blend with pepper jack cheese, diced tomatoes, avocado, applewood smoked bacon and Southwest ranch dressing. The half salad has 22 grams of protein and 21 grams of fat. The full salad has 43 grams of protein and 41 grams of fat.
For a true taste of the Southwest, try these authentic recipes.
Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
340 calories for the half, 570 for the full
Here, they load on red and green apples, dried cranberries, chicken, roasted pecans, crumbled blue cheese and pomegranate vinaigrette. The half salad has 20 grams of protein and 17 grams of fat. The full salad has 39 grams of protein and 24 grams of fat. Can’t make it to the restaurant?
Try this “Wendy’s” Apple Pomegranate Salad—it has pecans and walnuts.
Harvest Chicken Salad
330 calories for the half, 570 for the full
You’ll notice the half size doesn’t always have exactly half the calories of the full. I’m not sure why, but if it means the half has extra brown sugar walnuts and cranberries, I’m not going to argue. Along with nuts and berries, you’ll get diced red and green apples, feta cheese, applewood smoked bacon and grilled chicken breast, all on the signature lettuce blend with apple cider vinaigrette. The half salad has 22 grams of protein and 15 grams of fat, while the full salad weighs in with 43 grams of protein and 24 grams of fat.
Parmesan Caesar Salad
320 calories for the half, 560 for the full
Like the caesar side salad, this meal has a blend of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, Italian cheeses, croutons and caesar dressing. But it also has grilled chicken breast. The half salad has 29 grams of protein and 20 grams of fat. The full salad has 51 grams of protein and 34 grams of fat.
Garden Side Salad
260 calories
The meatless garden side salad comes with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, croutons and ranch dressing on the signature lettuce blend. It has 7 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat.
Next, check out our best copycat recipes.
The post Here’s a Complete List of Wendy’s Salads, Ranked from Most Calories to Least appeared first on Taste of Home.
Cathryn Jakicic