The 9 Healthiest Dishes to Order at Red Lobster—and 4 To Avoid

Red Lobster is a go-to spot for seafood lovers, offering a variety of dishes featuring lobster, shrimp, scallops, and salmon. But there's more to the menu than just great taste—depending on your order, you can also reap impressive health benefits. Seafood is rich in lean protein, iodine, selenium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids, making it a smart addition to a balanced diet that supports your heart, brain, and bones, and may even help you live longer. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines recommend eating 8 ounces of seafood a week. With its seafood-packed menu, making Red Lobster a regular part of your dining routine could be a win for your health.

However, dining at Red Lobster doesn't always guarantee a healthy choice. Many dishes are loaded with calories, fat, and sodium, which can offset the benefits of seafood. While navigating the menu can be tricky, there are still plenty of healthier options that won't derail your diet.

We've sifted through the Red Lobster menu to highlight the healthiest dishes to order—and a few you might want to skip.

How We Chose the Healthiest Red Lobster Menu Items

We considered the following criteria when choosing the healthiest Red Lobster menu items:

• Main protein: Most meals at Red Lobster revolve around protein, with seafood being the star of the menu. However, they also offer chicken and steak dishes. We focused on healthier choices by selecting dishes featuring nutrient-rich fish, healthy chicken, and lean cuts of meat.
• Preparation method: The way dishes are prepared plays a big role in their nutritional value. Many Red Lobster menu items are breaded, fried, or high in sodium. We prioritized healthier cooking methods like grilling, broiling, or steaming to keep calories, fat, and sodium levels in check.
• Lower fat content: , which should be limited to less than 10% of daily calories or no more than 22 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet. We selected dishes with lower levels of total and saturated fats, keeping in mind that side dishes often add extra fat and sodium to meals.
• A little less sodium: Some menu options at Red Lobster provide more than a day's worth of sodium—2,300 milligrams or more. Americans consume too much sodium, increasing risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. We selected dishes with lower amounts of sodium.

9 Healthy Red Lobster Menu Items To Order

Starters

Black Tiger Shrimp Cocktail

For a starter, Black Tiger Shrimp Cocktail is low in calories and fat, and a good source of protein. The dish is high in sodium, meeting nearly 50% of the daily value (DV). But about half the sodium (580 milligrams) comes from the cocktail sauce. Skipping the sauce lowers the sodium content to 600 milligrams. Instead, use fresh lemon to flavor your shrimp.

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Seafood-Stuffed Mushrooms

Starter dishes are shared, but the smaller portions make it a good lighter entree meal. Many starter dishes at Red Lobster are fried, loaded with cheese, or both. But the Seafood-Stuffed Mushrooms make a good option for diners looking for a smaller meal. Add a healthy side dish like a house salad or roasted asparagus to round out the meal and bump up the meal's nutritional value. As an entree, the stuffed mushrooms are lower in calories than many dishes at Red Lobster. However, we do want to point out that the meal is high in sodium (45% of DV) and saturated fat (60% of DV).

Chowders, Salads, and Bowls

New England Clam Chowder (cup)

As far as soups and sides go, a cup of the New England Clam Chowder makes a fairly decent choice. The smaller servingrams of soup is low in calories and carbs, and lower in sodium than many dishes at Red Lobster. But it will knock out almost half a day's worth of saturated fat, meeting 45% of the DV. We do caution against ordering the bowl of clam chowder since it doubles the calories, fat, and sodium.

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Classic Caesar Salad with Grilled Salmon

Eating more seafood improves your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, essential fats the body needs to form cell membranes and signaling molecules (eicosanoids) that may reduce inflammation. The Caesar Salad with Grilled Salmon isn't the lowest calorie salad at Red Lobster, but the salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, making this dish a healthier choice. The salad also meets more than 30% of the DV for fiber but packs 75% of the daily limit for saturated fat and sodium. Ask for the Ceasar dressing on the side so you have more control of the fat and sodium in your meal. One servingrams of the Ceasar dressing has 6 grams of saturated fat and 590 milligrams of sodium.

Entrees

Bourbon Bacon Chicken

If you're tired of seafood or prefer chicken, the Bourbon Bacon Chicken makes a good choice. It's low in calories and lower in saturated fat (15% of the DV) and sodium (36% of the DV) than many of the entree choices at Red Lobster. However, the nutrition information doesn't include the two side dishes that come with the meal. Vegetable sides make a better choice, but watch out for the plain baked potato, which has a whopping 1,730 milligrams of sodium. A side of mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus are good options, adding 300 calories, 18 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 1,080 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein to the meal.

Grilled Sea Scallops & Shrimp Skewers

Scallops and shrimp keep the shellfish skewers at Red Lobster low in calories and fat, but the meal is high in sodium, meeting 68% of the DV. Unlike many of the other meals, the nutrition information for the grilled sea scallops and shrimp skewers includes rice, but not the two side dishes that come with it. Since the skewers come with starch, choose a side salad and seasoned broccoli. These two side dishes add 300 calories, 25 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 630 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein to the meal's current nutrition. The side of broccoli is high in saturated fat, with 10 grams per serving. Ask for steamed and unseasoned broccoli to cut out some of the fat (and sodium).

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Steamed Lobster with Baked Potato and Broccoli (without butter)

Steamed Lobster from Red Lobster is a healthy choice, as long as you skip the melted butter. Lobster is naturally low in fat and saturated fat. Dipping your lobster meat in the melted butter adds 300 calories, 34 grams of total fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, and 290 milligrams of sodium. The baked potato and seasoned broccoli round out the meal and add health-promoting nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and fiber (35% of the DV). Unfortunately, the sides also bump up the sodium, packing in almost the entire daily limit into one meal.

6 oz Filet Mignon with Baked Potato and Broccoli

For steak lovers, the 6-ounce filet mignon with a baked potato and seasoned broccoli at Red Lobster is one of the better choices. It's an excellent source of protein and meets 40% of the daily value for fiber. Unfortunately the meal packs in more than a day's worth of sodium and meets 75% of the daily limit for saturated fat. Again, the side dishes are responsible for higher sodium and saturated fat counts. The filet mignon is one of the leanest cuts of beef, and the 6-ounce serving has only 4 grams of saturated fat to the meal.

Sides

Coleslaw

Red Lobster features a lot of vegetable side dishes including roasted asparagus, seasoned broccoli, and salads. However, the coleslaw is the lowest in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. If you're trying to minimize your intake of fat and sodium, coleslaw makes a better choice than broccoli (10 grams of saturated fat and 400 milligrams of sodium) and house salad (5 grams of saturated fat and 230 milligrams of sodium).

4 Unhealthy Red Lobster Menu Items To Avoid

Chicken Bacon Ranch Flatbread

This starter dish meets almost 100% of the daily limit for saturated fat and has 2 grams of trans fat, the unhealthiest fat of all that clogs arteries and increases the risk of heart disease. Trans fat is no longer used in processed food but is naturally found in meat. High intakes of saturated fat increase the risk of death by 34%. The starter dish from Red Lobster is also high in carbs and sugar and meets more than 130% of the daily limit for sodium.

Fish and Chips

Fish is a healthy protein unless it's battered and fried like the Fish & Chips from Red Lobster. Nearly 50% of the calories in the meal come from fat. It's also high in sodium, sugar, and carbs. However, the meal is lower in saturated fat than some of the healthier options but still meets 40% of the daily limit.

Lobster Linguini

The Lobster Linguini is another high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium dish at Red Lobster. One serving meets more than 165% of the daily limit for saturated fat and 131% of the daily limit for sodium. It also has 2 grams of trans fat.

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Crunch Fried Flounder Sandwich with Fries and Coleslaw

Crunch Fried Flounder Sandwich with Fries and Coleslaw packs in a day's worth of nutrition into one meal. This almost 1,800-calorie meal meets more than 150% of the daily limit for fat and sodium and 85% of the daily limit for saturated fat. It's also high in carbs, packing in 179 grams, which is about the same amount in 13 slices of bread.

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