When you’re at Cracker Barrel, you feel like you’re right at home. This restaurant chain has locations scattered throughout the U.S. It’s a beloved haven for comfort foods, from Southern fried chicken to loaded steak fries to biscuits and grits to scrumptious breakfast staples. However, when you’re looking to lose weight and make healthier choices at a restaurant like Cracker Barrel, there are options to suit your needs as well. We have the best Cracker Barrel order for weight loss that’ll satisfy cravings and bring on the flavor without derailing your efforts.
The Build Your Own Homestyle Breakfast is the best breakfast to order at Cracker Barrel for weight loss.
Nutrition (Per order):
Calories: 460
Fat: 13.5 g (Saturated Fat: 3.5 g)
Sodium: 650 mg
Carbs: 41 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 18 g)
Protein: 42 g
The next time you treat yourself to a Cracker Barrel breakfast—which is served all day long!—consider ordering the Build Your Own Homestyle Breakfast. Regarding customization, Jordan Hill, MCD, RD, CSSD, a lead registered dietitian from Top Nutrition Coaching, recommends selecting grilled chicken tenders, two scrambled eggs, a fresh fruit cup, multigrain toast, and black coffee. This BYO breakfast is incredibly nutritious, filling, and packs in the protein.
“Keeping weight loss in mind, we want to aim for a balanced meal that incorporates a lean protein, whole grain, and fruit or vegetable,” explains Hill. “The build-your-own option at Cracker Barrel is a great way to pick what you want to eat while staying in the driver’s seat of your weight-loss journey. I recommend the grilled chicken tenders for your meat option because it’s a low-saturated fat option and will be filling. I added the fruit cup and swapped in whole-wheat toast for the biscuits and gravy to keep fiber up and saturated fat down.”
And, let’s be honest: What’s a classic breakfast without some eggs and coffee to round things out?
Consider the Grilled Chicken Tenders Meal for lunch.
Nutrition (Per order):
Calories: 460
Fat: 8 g (Saturated Fat: 1.5 g)
Sodium: 990 mg
Carbs: 45 g (Fiber: 10 g, Sugar: 21 g)
Protein: 56 g
If you’re at Cracker Barrel for lunch, Hill suggests selecting the Grilled Chicken Tenders meal, which comes complete with three sides.
“I recommend ordering vegetable soup, broccoli, and a fresh fruit cup,” Hill tells us. “Note that Cracker Barrel offers other vegetable options that you can mix and match. I chose to recommend this meal because of its lean protein source and high fiber and vitamin and mineral content. It’s a meal that will keep someone full and reduce cravings.”
General ordering tips when making healthy choices at Cracker Barrel:
Now that you have the best Cracker Barrel orders with weight loss in mind, Hill is here to share some general healthy ordering tips:
- Feel free to go “off menu” and create a meal that best optimizes your goals.
- Ask the waiter to hold certain ingredients or have items like sauces, gravies, and dressings on the side so you can control how much is put on your plate.
- When in doubt, opt for a lean protein. This will decrease the saturated fat content.
- Include a fruit or veggie in your order to bump up the fiber content and promote fullness.
- Don’t overeat, and be mindful of fullness. “You don’t have to finish your plate if you recognize you’re feeling full,” Hill says.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa
