10 Fattening Restaurant Dishes With More Than a Full Day's Worth of Calories

Eating out has become a regular part of our lives, with nearly 60% of the average food budget spent on meals away from home. It's convenient, enjoyable, and a chance to try something new. Chain restaurants, in particular, are popular for their consistent and reliable meals that fit most palates and budgets. However, these meals often come with oversized portions packed with calories, far exceeding what you'd likely prepare at home. And if you're not careful, you can consume an entire day's worth of calories in one meal.

While calorie needs vary based on factors like age, size, and activity level, the standard guideline is 2,000 calories per day. Yet some restaurant dishes are so indulgent they pack in more than an entire day's worth of calories in just one meal. This isn't just due to their large portions; it's also the butter, deep-fried foods, and heavy use of cheese that make these meals nutritional landmines.

Curious about which menu items are the biggest calorie offenders? We've rounded up 10 dishes from popular chain restaurants that clock in at 1,900 calories or more—an entire day's worth of calories in a single meal. Read on to see which meals to watch out for the next time you're dining out, and for what to order instead, check out The Best Low-Calorie Dinners at 15 Major Restaurant Chains.

10 Restaurant Dishes With Over a Day's Worth of Calories

• Texas Roadhouse Ribeye 12 oz & Ribs with Baked Potato and Caesar Salad
• Applebee's Chicken Quesadilla Salad
• Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta
• Outback Style Prime Rib 16 oz with Baked Potato and Broccoli
• Chili's Bacon Rancher with Fries
• On The Border The Big Bordurrito Fajita Steak
• Olive Garden Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
• IHOP Big Breakfast Burrito with Side of Buttermilk Pancakes
• Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie with Corn Muffins
• Carrabba's Italian Grill Fettuccine Weesie

Texas Roadhouse Ribeye 12 oz & Ribs with Baked Potato and Caesar Salad

Texas Roadhouse is known for its hand-cut steaks and generous portions. Drawing inspiration from the state where bigger is better, the steakhouse's Texas Size Combo menu features meals that include two meats and two sides; more meat and more sides means more calories.

The 12-ounce ribeye and ribs combo with a baked potato and Caesar salad is the highest calorie meal on our list, clocking in at 2,340 calories. With a meal that features two high-fat cuts of meat, it's no surprise that more than 60% of calories come from fat, and provides nearly three days worth of saturated fat, the unhealthy fat linked to high cholesterol and heart disease.

You can enjoy a delicious steak without sacrificing an entire day's worth of calories. Instead of going big, try the 6-ounce sirloin and ribs and save about 800 calories.

 9 Steakhouse Chains With the Highest-Quality Meat In America

Applebee's Chicken Quesadilla Salad

Grilled chicken over fresh greens sounds like a healthy choice for a restaurant meal. But not the Chicken Quesadilla Salad at Applebee's. The seemingly healthy and harmless salad has 2,240 calories, supplying about 200 more calories than most people need in a day.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

How can a salad supply so many calories? The Applebee's salad is really two meals in one: a grilled chicken salad with cheese quesadillas. The salad is also topped with cheese, tortilla strips, black bean salsa, and Mexi-ranch dressing.

The salad not only blows through the 2000-daily calorie limit, it also has more saturated fat and sodium than the steak and rib meal from Texas Roadhouse. The Grilled Chicken Salad at Applebee's is a lower-calorie option with 1,030 calories per serving.

 13 'Healthy' Restaurant Salads That Are Loaded with Calories

Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta

The Cheesecake Factory has a large menu filled with options to satisfy any craving. But the extensive menu also comes with several meals (our team found about 10) that pack in more than 2,000 calories.

But the Louisiana Chicken Pasta tops the list with a whopping 2,270 calories with 52% of those calories coming from fat. This meal also supplies three day's worth of saturated fat and two day's worth of sodium. Not to mention a carb content equal to about 12 slices of bread.

Despite having several heavy calorie menu items, Cheesecake Factory has lower calorie meals with 600 calories or less, including burgers, tacos, and pasta dishes.

Outback Style Prime Rib 16 oz with Baked Potato and Broccoli

Prime rib is a rich and tender cut of meat, prized for its flavor and a popular choice at restaurants like Outback. However, its signature taste and texture come from its high fat content.

Outback's 16-ounce prime rib meal, served with a baked potato and broccoli, delivers a staggering 2,180 calories—more than most people need in a day. Over 70% of those calories come from fat, including 3.5 times the recommended daily limit for saturated fat. While the prime rib alone accounts for 1,700 calories, the sides can quickly add up. A seemingly light side of broccoli has 140 calories, while the decadent Brussels sprouts come in at a surprising 1,010 calories.

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends limiting red meat consumption to 12-18 ounces per week to reduce cancer risk. To enjoy prime rib without overindulging, opt for a smaller portion, or save half for another meal to keep your red meat intake balanced throughout the week.

 10 Healthiest Outback Steakhouse Menu Items—and What To Skip

Chili's Bacon Rancher with Fries

Burgers are a favorite choice for many diners. But, between the meat, cheese, and sauce, burgers can pack in a heavy dose of calories. The Bacon Rancher burger from Chili's fills your daily calorie quota and then some, with two beef patties, six slices of bacon, house-made ranch dressing, and American cheese on a toasted bun.

The burger itself has 1,690 calories, but it comes with a side of fries that add 420 calories to the total. All together, the meal has 2,110 calories and a hefty amount of fat, saturated fat, and sodium.

If you're craving a burger, Chili's Oldtimer® with cheese is a better option for calorie counters clocking in at 840 calories for the meal.

On The Border The Big Bordurrito Fajita Steak

On the Border is a Tex Mex restaurant known for its bold flavor and sizable portions, and the Big Bordurrito Fajita Steak doesn't disappoint. This meal is large, packed with flavor, and comes just over a day's worth of calories.

The signature dish features fajita steak, cheese, beans, peppers, and onions wrapped in a flour tortilla like a burrito. It's served with a side of rice and refried beans. The restaurant menu item is lower in fat and saturated fat than some of the other meals on our list and it meets nearly 60% of your daily fiber needs. But it has the highest sodium content—5,320 milligrams—packing in more than double the daily recommended amount of 2,300 milligrams.

Swapping out the steak for the chicken fajita or vegetarian version of The Big Bordurrito lowers the calorie count, but only by 120 calories.

Olive Garden Chicken Tortellini Alfredo

It's hard to resist Olive Garden's creamy and cheesy Chicken Tortellini Alfredo. But with 1,980 calories per serving, the meal alone comes close to maxing out the daily calorie quota. If you eat the two breadsticks and side salad (without dressing) that comes with the cheesy chicken and tortellini dish, calories jump to 2,330.

Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken is a lower calorie option at 1,570 calories.

 Every Single Olive Garden Pasta—Ranked by Nutrition

IHOP Big Breakfast Burrito with Side of Buttermilk Pancakes

If you're craving breakfast for dinner, then IHOP is the place to go. The house of pancakes has it all, including eggs, waffles, and French toast, along with burgers, sandwiches, and chicken platter meals.

IHOP has many high-calorie meals, but the Big Breakfast Burrito served with a side of buttermilk pancakes tops the list with 1,920 calories. IHOP fills the breakfast burrito with a number of high-calorie items like sausage, bacon, hash browns, cheese, and hollandaise sauce, all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

The high-calorie restaurant meal also comes with nearly twice the amount of saturated fat and sodium you need in a day. You can cut calories in the breakfast burrito by replacing the scrambled eggs with egg whites or omitting the meat.

Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie with Corn Muffins

Cracker Barrel is the place to go when you're craving comfort food. The Hashbrown Casserole Shepherd's Pie is a classic savory dish featuring pot roast mixed with gravy and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes and a hashbrown crust.

With a side of two corn muffins for 1,910 calories or two biscuits for 1,810 calories, the Cracker Barrel meal is packed with almost a day's worth of calories and an excessive amount of fat, saturated fat, and sodium.

For comfort food with fewer calories, consider Cracker Barrel's meatloaf with a side of steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes for about 700 calories.

 8 Best Low-Calorie Cracker Barrel Orders, According to a Dietitian

Carrabba's Italian Grill Fettuccine Weesie

Carrabba's Italian Grill's Fettuccine Weesie combines shrimp, scallions, and mushrooms in a rich white wine and lemon butter sauce. While the dish features low-calorie proteins and vegetables, the buttery pasta and sauce push it to a hefty 1,900 calories, with more than 300% of the daily value for saturated fat.

For a lighter option, consider the Spiedino di Mare. This dish also features shrimp and scallops in a lemon butter sauce but is served with a side of broccoli, keeping the calorie count to just 520.