The #1 Unhealthiest Texas Roadhouse Order (and What to Eat Instead)

Hand-cut steaks, fall-off-the-bone ribs, and Texas-sized combo meals are a few of the featured menu categories at Texas Roadhouse. The meat-heavy menu and large portions mean that many of the meals at the popular restaurant chain are loaded with calories, unhealthy fats, and sodium.

With so many unhealthy options on the menu, identifying the No. 1 unhealthiest Texas Roadhouse order is much more complicated than you might think. That's because the menu's most unhealthy item is deceiving—it looks like a healthy meal, but instead, it's my choice for the unhealthiest Texas Roadhouse meal you can order. Find out why I recommend avoiding this menu item, along with my pick for a healthier alternative at the popular steakhouse chain.

The Unhealthiest Texas Roadhouse Order Is… Steakhouse Filet Salad with Bacon and Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Like any salad, the Steakhouse Filet Salad comes with a generous portion of fresh, crisp greens, tomatoes, and diced onions. The veggie part of this salad has only 60 calories, 13 grams of carbs, 3 grams of protein, 35 grams of sodium, and less than 1 gram of fat. It's what the restaurant places on top of the vegetables that make it an unhealthy choice, including strips of filet, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon bits, croutons, Italian dressing, and bleu cheese dressing, boosting total calories to a staggering 1,340. If you follow a 2,000-calorie diet, the Steakhouse Salad meets 68% of your daily needs.

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Surprisingly—or maybe not, given the meat, cheese, and dressings—68% of the calories in the salad come from fat. Beyond the total fat, this salad is high in saturated fat, with 25 grams per serving. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat intake to 5 to 6% of total calories or no more than 13 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet. Texas Roadhouse's Steakhouse Filet Salad provides two days' worth of saturated fat. High intakes of saturated fat from red meat and cheese increase bad cholesterol levels—low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol that sticks to artery walls, narrowing or blocking blood flow—and the risk of heart disease.

This salad contains 2,870 milligrams of sodium, more than the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams. Too much sodium in the diet is a risk factor for high blood pressure, the leading cause of strokes in the United States.

The salad provides 8 grams of fiber, meeting 32% of the daily value thanks to the veggies. However, the calories, fat, and sodium negate any benefits from the fiber.

You can modify the salad to make it a little healthier, like asking for dressings on the side and removing the bacon and bleu cheese crumbles.

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A Healthier Option Is… 6-ounce Sirloin Steak with Green Beans and a Baked Sweet Potato

One of the features of the Texas Roadhouse menu is that you can create your own meal, selecting sauces and sides that give you more control over the nutrition in your meal. Sirloin is one of the hand-cut steak options on the Texas Steakhouse menu and one of the leaner cuts of beef. The sirloin comes in varying sizes, and the 6-ounce steak is the smallest but still a generous portion. The steak comes with two sides, and I selected green beans and a sweet potato to balance the meal and improve overall nutrition.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

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By itself, the 6-ounce sirloin steak has 250 calories; the green beans add 110 calories; and the sweet potato adds 340 calories (not the fully loaded sweet potato). The green beans are also the main source of sodium, adding more than 1,000 milligrams to the meal. Though the veggies tack on calories and sodium, they boost the meal's nutritional value by adding fiber, vitamins A and C, and potassium.

The baked potato, steamed broccoli, and house salad are other healthy side options for your steak. Smother options and sidekicks are also available. To keep your steak on the healthier side, smother your steak with onions or mushrooms. Charred jalapeno peppers make the best sidekick option.

The sirloin steak is a good source of protein, zinc, and iron, but it also has unhealthy saturated fat. Though not all health authorities agree on how much red meat is safe to eat for health, the American Heart Association recommends limiting the intake of red meat to 7 ounces a week. If you have high cholesterol, heart disease, or concerns about heart health, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian for personalized guidance on how much red meat you can eat a week based on your health and goals.