Top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants to Crave Ever

Top 10 Healthiest Fast-Food Restaurants That Serve Healthy Foods

Jennifer Michele

92 2024-12-24 11:18:25

Healthy fast food may sound like an irony, but it's now easier than ever to eat nutritious, quick-serve food. Many restaurants offer plant-based options, while others serve healthful breakfasts, strong rice bowls, or protein-packed snacks. However, differentiating between the nutritious and the non-nutritious can be difficult, especially when most fast food restaurants provide predominantly unhealthy fare.

There is growing pressure on fast-food restaurants to provide healthier menu items as they attempt to compete with more health-conscious fast casuals. Many restaurants provide healthy foods, so know about some of the top healthy fast food restaurants.

Here are the healthiest fast food options to select the next time you're hungry and craving something healthful.

Top 10 Healthy Fast Foods Restaurants

1. Chipotle

Among the nearly endless combinations, dietitian Kimberley Wiemann, MS, RDN, of Long Island, NY, states, "My favorite fast-food restaurant is Chipotle because they deliver a nice assortment of meal options with fresh ingredients." Wiemann states that a salad with vegetables and beans should be packed, and a protein option should be added, such as chicken or steak, or keeping it vegetarian with soffrito or beans with rice.

Some dietitian-approved options you can identify on Chipotle's menu include:

Corn tacos
Salads or bowls are topped with any of Chipotle's fresh ingredients, including brown rice, beans, a protein choice like steak, chicken, salsa, tofu, and veggies.

2. MOD Pizza

A pizza joint may not initially seem like a healthy fast-food ingredient, but it's all about the toppings. Melissa Altman-Traub MS, LDN, RDN, recommends MOD Pizza. "They have a ton of vegetable toppings all contained and vegan cheese on a thin crust," she claims.

You can also make your artisan-style pizza any way you like and enjoy one of the various tasty salads they deliver. Order from MOD Pizza and enjoy healthy fast food.

Among the options on MOD Pizza's menu that dietitians have endorsed are:

Pizza with various vegetables and proteins on top, either on the original crust or a cauliflower crust.
Greek salad
The salad in the garden
The chopped salad in Italian

3. Starbucks

At your preferred coffee shop, there's more than just sweet pastries to go with your coffee. As claimed by Toby Smithson, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist, author of Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies, and founder of Diabetes EveryDay, "Starbucks delivers various food options that include both carbohydrates and protein, which is part of the combination to support keep blood sugar levels steady, especially for people with diabetes." You will find the best healthy fast food at Starbucks.

A few dietitian-approved options you can find at Starbucks include:

Oatmeal
Protein boxes
Jerky
String cheese
Perfect Bars
The spinach, feta, and egg white wrap
Sous-vide egg bites

4. Jason's Deli

"Jason's Deli is the best option for individuals looking for a quick, healthy food to enjoy," claims Mandy Tyler, M.Ed., RD, CSSD, and LD. For a sandwich full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, she recommends the Wild Salmon-wich or the Mediterranean Bowl, loaded with quinoa, hummus, chicken, and an abundance of fresh vegetables.

If you are craving healthy fast food and look the best restaurant, go to Jason’s Deli to enjoy the best food ever.

Some other dietitian-approved suggestions you can get at Jason's Deli such as:

The Modern Mediterranean bowl
The Greek chicken wrap
The Wild Salmon-wich
The Mesa Chicken salad

5. Panera Bread

According to Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, creator of NutritionStarringYOU.com and author of The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook, "Most fast-food restaurants lack make, but Panera delivers a treasure trove of veggie-packed soups, salads, and grain bowls with major customization option available for every taste preference or allergy need."

Locating a nutritious breakfast or lunch at Panera is easy with its inventory of salads, soups, warm bowls, sandwiches, and seasonal alternatives.

A few dietitian-approved options you can get on Panera's menu include:

Turkey chili
Fresh fruit cups
Autumn squash soup
The Mediterranean Bowl with chicken
A Fuji apple salad with chicken
The Mediterranean Veggie sandwich
Greek yogurt with mixed berries

6. Cava

Greek and Mediterranean-inspired dishes packed with vegetables are easy to make on the fly at this Mediterranean-style fast-food restaurant. "You can customize a bowl or pita to accommodate a plant-based diet and can adjust carbs if needed by swapping super greens and amping up the protein with RightRice," states Alexandria Hardy, RDN and LDN.

For a nourishing and nutrient-dense supper, the majority of bowls are around 800 calories and may be packed with many veggies and lean proteins. If you crave healthy fast foods and do not know which you should select for the best food, order through Cava and enjoy healthy food.

A few dietitian-approved options you can order from Cava such as:

A Greek salad
Roasted eggplant dip
The Lentil Avocado bowl
A Tahini Cesear salad
A chicken and RightRice bowl

7. Chick-fil-A

There are many healthy food options at Chick-fil-A, even if not everything at this fried chicken restaurant is loaded with healthful components. "If you go out and become too hungry, the Chick-fil-A Cool Wrap for a quick lunch or even a big snack is the best option for craving at that time.

It is nutrient-dense, with the wrap offering an impressive 43 g of protein and 14 g of fiber! "When I'm in a pinch, I can feel good about getting that fast food," claims Caroline Thomason, RD, CDCES, a dietitian from Virginia who assists women in quitting dieting and discovering their eating confidence.

A few dietitian-approved options you can order at Chick-fil-A include:

Fruit cups
The Cobb Salad
The Cool Wrap
Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Greek yogurt parfait
The Egg White Grill
The Kale Crunch Salad
The grilled chicken sandwich

8. Taco Bell

Did you know that Taco Bell allows you to customize your order? This further modifies the process of selecting a healthy option. Begin with the veggie bowl and omit the sour cream and cheese. According to Rachel Lustgarten, a clinical dietician at Weill-Cornell Medicine's integrated Weight Control Center, "Those are two significant areas of high fat and high calories."

Another way to lighten things up is to utilize more lettuce instead of rice. This vegetarian dish will satisfy with plenty of vegetables, guacamole, beans, and pico de gallo.

A few dietitian-approved options you can order at Taco Bell include:

Chicken Quesadilla
Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos
Chalupa Supreme,
Black Bean Chalupa Supreme
Cheesy Gordita Crunch,
Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch
Mexican Pizza
vegetarian options

9. Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut's Veggie Lover's Pizza with Thin & Crispy Crust is the best healthy fast food option, even though this pizza business is famous for its loaded crust and gooey cheese sticks. Evans adds that adding veggies to pizza is a way to enhance the nutrient value of a classic dish.

Fortunately, the Veggie Lover's pizza has black olives, green bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. That’s a lot of vegetables! Additionally, each slice of a medium-sized piece has 170 calories.

A few dietitian-approved options you can order at Pizza Hut include:

Naked Wings
Classic Caesar Salad
Veggie Lovers Personal Pan Pizza
Hawaiian Chicken Thin 'N Crispy Pizza
Thin Crust Veggie Topping Pizza

10. Panda Express

Panda Express's Broccoli Beef choice is outstanding, flavorful, and calorie-efficient. According to Copula, "The beef offers iron as well as protein for staying power, and the broccoli delivers calcium, fiber, and all the nutrients for which broccoli is famous."

Given how low in calories this dish is, you might want to add a side of their mixed veggies and combine it into the broccoli beef dish for a more balanced and filling supper. "They also deliver steamed brown rice, which you could add as a side if you're finding more carbohydrates," she claims.

A few dietitian-approved options you can order at Panda Express include:

Broccoli beef
Grilled teriyaki chicken
String bean chicken breast
Black pepper Angus steak
Mushroom chicken
Black pepper chicken
Honey walnut shrimp
Grilled teriyaki cub meal
Firecracker shrimp

Tips for Eating Healthy at Fast Food Restaurants

To make the healthiest choices when ordering a meal at a fast food restaurant, think about these three tactics before you place your order.

Focus on Protein: Pay particular attention to the protein. Studies have indicated that eating foods high in protein can support you to lose weight and feel fuller for longer. However, it isn't very easy to balance calorie and protein intake. For example, Wendy's Big Bacon Classic Triple Burger is rich in protein fast food sandwiches, but it's far from healthy, with 1,220 calories and 4.5 grams of trans fat.

Check for Trans Fat: Because trans fat is not good for health and has no nutritional value, its use is harmful. You have lots of options to ignore trans fat because 56 out of 106 of the sandwiches we determined have no trans fat at all.

Swap A Soda For Water: Replace the water with a soda. Water consumption on a regular basis can result in weight loss because it raises metabolism and breaks down fat.

Bottom Line

Nearly all fast-food restaurants now contain healthful options. If not, the meals can occasionally be changed to meet your dietary needs or tastes. Whole, high-protein foods like steak or fish, eaten with a side of vegetables and maybe a baked potato, are considered by most people.

Vegetarian alternatives are usually available in fast-food restaurants as well. Go through the menu list at your own pace. You'll certainly find something that's nutritious, or that can be made healthier with a few little changes.