The 7 Healthiest Menu Items at Freddy's—and 4 To Skip

With 400 locations across the country to date, you may find yourself at the Freddy's drive-thru or counter trying to decide on a delicious order that fits your health goals. While Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers prioritizes quality and hospitality, it can be rather tricky to find something on the menu that's healthy, too.

Known for their steakburgers made with thin-pressed 100% lean ground beef and frozen custard desserts, we found a handful of healthier Freddy's menu items to leave you satisfied without endless amounts of sodium, saturated and trans fats, or added sugars and a few unhealthier items you may want to steer clear from. After all, even on a healthy journey, you can still enjoy the occasional fast-food treat, and Freddy's is no exception.

How We Chose the Healthiest Freddy's Orders

To find the healthiest menu items at Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, we looked for:

• Lower sodium: With fast-food entrees, it's all but impossible to find a low-sodium option. But in the name of health, we chose options that are lower in sodium than the rest of the menu. While sodium is an essential nutrient, The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends a sodium limit of 2,300 milligrams daily to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease.
• Lower in saturated and trans fats: Fried chicken, burgers, french fries, and frozen custard all have one thing in common: plenty of fat. The healthiest options at Freddy's have lower amounts of saturated fats and trans fats. Trans fats are found naturally in ruminants like cows and sheep, and while natural trans fats may be less harmful than artificially produced trans fats found in some processed foods, they should still be limited to reduce effects like inflammation, risk of heart disease, and cancer risk.
• Lower in added sugars: With a dessert menu full of frozen custards, you won't find an option free from added sugars, but you can find some frozen treats that will satisfy your sweet tooth without overdoing it on the sugars. The Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting added sugars to no more than 50 grams per day to help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and dental disease.

Read on to see the 7 healthiest Freddy's menu items, plus 4 unhealthy items to skip. Then, check out these 25 Healthy Fast-Food Orders.

7 Healthiest Freddy's Menu Options

Best: Veggie Burger

For a vegetarian option, try the Veggie Burger, which is made from a black bean burger instead of beef. You'll get the added benefit of 4 grams of fiber, less than 1,000 milligrams of sodium, and will still be satisfied with 24 grams of protein. 

 17 Healthiest Vegetarian Fast-Food Orders

Best: Grilled Chicken Club

The Grilled Chicken Club may have a little more sodium than we'd like to see, with 61% of the daily value (DV), but you can easily save 500 milligrams of sodium by ordering it as a lettuce wrap instead. Or, save 270 milligrams by leaving off the bacon. Regardless of the sodium, the grilled chicken club has 35 grams of protein to leave you feeling full and satisfied and less saturated fat and calories than the other chicken sandwich options at Freddy's. 

 8 Healthiest Fast-Food Chicken Sandwiches

Best: Freddy's Fries

A single serving of Regular Freddy's Fries may have as many calories as a sandwich, but if you're looking for a lower sodium option, this is it. Each order has just 260 milligrams of sodium, or 11% of the DV, and only 15% of the DV of saturated fat. Enjoy them with a chicken sandwich, or burger served in a lettuce wrap for a complete, balanced meal. 

Best: Applesauce

It's not easy to find a serving of fruit at a fast-food joint, but at Freddy's, you can order a side of Applesauce to go with your meal. Unfortunately, it's not the no-added-sugar kind, meaning each cup gives you 7 grams of added sugars, but you'll also get 10% of the DV of vitamin C and enjoy a low-calorie, fat-free, sodium-free, sweet treat with your meal. 

Best: Regular Chicken Tenders

A Regular Chicken Tenders order has three battered fried chicken strips providing 35 grams of protein and just 3 grams of saturated fat, or 15% of the DV. Keep in mind that the sodium is a little higher in this order, with 57% of the recommended DV, so be mindful of the sauce you choose to pair with them. Lower sodium sauce options include ketchup, honey mustard, or ranch, while the fry sauce and jalapeno fry sauce have over 300 milligrams of sodium per packet. 

 8 Best & Worst Fast-Food Chicken Tenders

Best: Patty Melt Single

If you want to enjoy a satisfying beef steakburger patty with a lot less sodium than the regular steakburger, try the Patty Melt Single. You'll get a steakburger patty, flavorful grilled onions, and Swiss cheese, all sandwiched between two slices of toasted rye bread. With just 38% DV of sodium, you save 380 milligrams of sodium and still get to enjoy satisfying bread and burger patties. 

Best: Vanilla Oreo Sandwich

As the healthiest frozen treat on the menu, the Vanilla Oreo Sandwich includes a big dollop of frozen custard sandwiched between two Oreo cookies. With just 20 grams of sugar and 260 calories, this frozen treat is satisfying while still helping you stay within the recommended added sugar limits for the day. 

 14 Healthiest Fast-Food Desserts

4 Unhealthiest Menu Options to Skip

Worst: Bacon and Cheese Triple

The single Bacon and Cheeseburger didn't make the list of the healthiest menu options, but multiplying it by three got it on the list of foods to skip. The Bacon & Cheese Triple includes three times the beef, bacon, and cheese for over 102% DV of sodium and 159% DV of saturated fat. 

 25 Fast-Food Burgers, Ranked by Calories

Worst: Large Cheese Curds

Frying battered chunks of white cheddar cheese makes the Large Cheese Curds an order to skip. Not only do they have 1,180 milligrams of sodium, but each order is over 1,000 calories and has 205% of the recommended limit for saturated fat. 6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Worst: Jalapeno Pepper Jack Triple

The Jalapeno Pepper Jack Triple has over 1,000 calories, 72% DV of sodium, and 155% DV of saturated fat. Not only that, but each sandwich has 1.5 grams of trans fats. While naturally occurring trans fats may not be as detrimental to health as industrially produced trans fats, the World Health Organization recommends limiting trans fats to less than 1% of your total daily calories, or 2.2 grams of a 2,000-calorie diet. 

 The #1 Unhealthiest Burger at Every Major Fast-Food Chain

Worst: Chocolate Brownie Delight Concrete

You can't beat a frozen custard treat from Freddy's, but you'll want to skip the Large Chocolate Brownie Delight Concrete. The combination of custard, hot fudge, and brownie brings this dessert up to 1,740 calories and 172 grams of sugar, most of which are added. 

 10 Worst Fast-Food Desserts on the Planet