15 Low-Calorie Wendy’s Meals, Picked By A Nutrition Coach

When you’re ordering from Wendy’s but you want to cut back on your calorie intake, it may not be obvious which menu items are low-calorie.

That’s why I’ve put together a list of the lowest-calorie options to order.

I’ll also share my top tips for reducing calories even further by customizing your meal.

Looking for a specific low-calorie meal? Use the quick links below:

• Low-calorie Wendy’s breakfast options
• Low-calorie Wendy’s salad options
• Low-calorie Wendy’s burger and sandwich options
• Low-calorie Wendy’s sides options

Low-Calorie Wendy’s Meals: At A Glance

Meals	Calories
Apple Bites	35
Jr. Natural-Cut Fries	210
Small Chili	240
Jr. Hamburger	250
Plain Baked Potato	270
Jr. Cheeseburger	290
Honey Butter Biscuit	310
Classic Bacon Egg & Cheese Sandwich	320
Homestyle French Toast Sticks	330
Crispy Chicken Sandwich	330
Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe	340
Grilled Chicken Sandwich	350
Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger	370
Parmesan Caesar Salad	440
Summer Strawberry Salad	470

The 3 Lowest Calorie Breakfast Options At Wendy’s

1. Honey Butter Biscuit (310 calories)

This fluffy buttermilk biscuit is a quick, low-calorie option if you’re looking for some morning comfort food. The honey butter biscuit is served with maple honey butter for a little sweetness.

Although the honey butter biscuit is low in calories, it is also low in protein (3g per serving), so I recommend adding a protein source, like white milk which has 90 calories and 7 grams of protein.

The honey butter biscuit and milk would be a total of 400 calories, with enough protein to keep you satisfied longer, helping you snack less often throughout the day and reducing your daily calorie intake.

2. Classic Bacon Egg & Cheese Sandwich (320 calories)

Another low-calorie breakfast option is the classic bacon, egg & cheese sandwich which has a freshly cracked egg, melted cheese, and applewood smoked bacon. This breakfast sandwich is loaded with flavor for only 320 calories.

Pro tip: Remove the bacon to save 60 calories per sandwich.  This will give you a Classic Egg & Cheese sandwich with only 260 calories. 

This breakfast sandwich is the perfect option to pair with a black coffee for only 5 extra calories, making it the perfect grab-and-go breakfast option when you’re trying to reduce your calorie intake.

3. Homestyle French Toast Sticks (330 calories)

Looking for a different option than a classic handheld breakfast sandwich, try the homestyle french toast sticks.  A four-piece serving size is only 330 calories and provides 11 grams of protein to help keep you full and satiated throughout the morning. 

However, this doesn’t include any syrup that you may want for dipping; the syrup packet is an additional 110 calories.

The 2 Lowest Calorie Salad Options At Wendy’s

1. Parmesan Caesar Salad (440 calories)

The Parmesan Caesar Salad is a great low calorie salad option from Wendy’s with only 440 calories. This salad includes lettuce, cheese, parmesan crisps, grilled chicken, and bacon.

The chicken and bacon in this salad will provide protein to keep you full, which is important because this salad would digest too quickly and leave you hungry without these proteins.

If you did want to reduce the calorie content of this salad, you could order this salad without dressing for 300 calories or use half the dressing packet for 370 calories.

2. Summer Strawberry Salad (470 calories)

Another salad option is Wendy’s Summer Strawberry Salad which is served with strawberries, cheese, candied almonds, grilled chicken breast, applewood smoked bacon, and topped with champagne vinaigrette.  

If you ordered this salad without dressing, then it would have 380 calories, or if you just use half the dressing packet, this salad would be 425 calories.

If you are looking to reduce calories further on this salad, you can order it without the applewood smoked bacon to reduce its calorie content by 60 calories.

The 6 Lowest Calorie Burger & Sandwich Options At Wendy’s

1. Jr. Hamburger (250 calories)

The Jr. Hamburger is the low calorie burger option from Wendy’s with only 250 calories. This burger is perfect if you want a classic hamburger to satisfy your cravings for fewer calories. 

Bonus, it tastes just like Dave’s Single (one of Wendy’s most popular burgers) without cheese but has less than half the calories (590 calories compared to 250 calories).

The Jr. Hamburger is served with pickles, onion, ketchup, and mayo on a toasted bun. 

This burger has 14 grams of protein on its own but you can easily increase the protein of this meal by adding milk, bringing this combo to 21 grams of protein and 340 calories.

2. Jr. Cheeseburger (290 calories)

If you prefer a cheeseburger to a hamburger then Wendy’s Jr. Cheeseburger is the one for you, with only 290 calories. This cheeseburger offers the same toppings as the Jr. Hamburger but also includes a slice of American Cheese for an additional 40 calories.

Pro tip: Make this cheeseburger a combo by pairing it with apple bites (35 calories) for additional nutrients and water for hydration to counteract the sodium content. You can get this combo for just 325 calories.

3. Crispy Chicken Sandwich (330 calories)

If you don’t want to give up breaded chicken but are still looking for a handheld sandwich for your meal, the crispy chicken sandwich is the way to go.  For only 330 calories, you can satisfy your crispy chicken craving.  Wendy’s keeps the toppings to a minimum by simply adding mayo and lettuce. 

4. Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe (340 calories)

The Jr. Cheeseburger is the best low calorie option for those who like a fully loaded burger with cheese, pickles, onions, tomato, lettuce, ketchup, and mayo but also want to reduce their calorie intake.

If you’re looking for a lower calorie alternative to the Wendy’s Dave’s Single Burger this is your best option because the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe has all the same toppings, but with a slightly smaller portion size of patty and bun reducing the calories from 590 to 340.

5. Grilled Chicken Sandwich (350 calories)

An herb-marinated grilled chicken breast topped with smoky honey mustard, lettuce, and tomato that tastes delicious and only has 350 calories. This chicken sandwich has a whopping 29 grams of protein, making it a fantastic low calorie option that will keep you full.  

Pro tip: Swap the premium burger bun for a sandwich bun to save yourself 50 calories.  This will bring the grilled chicken sandwich down to only 300 calories per serving.

6. Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger (370 calories)

A Wendy’s classic, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is the lowest calorie option if you want to also add a little bacon onto your burger. This burger contains a beef patty, American cheese, and applewood smoked bacon, and is topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

I would make this meal a combo by pairing it with apple slices for some additional nutrients for only 35 additional calories (405 calories total).

The 4 Lowest Calorie Sides Options At Wendy’s

1. Apple Bites (35 calories)

The apple bites are my favorite side option because adding them to your meal is a great way to increase your daily fruit intake and fiber intake too (1g per serving). Order a side of apple bites with your breakfast, lunch, or dinner for a low calorie nutrient boost.

2. Jr. Natural-Cut Fries (210 calories)

Ordering a junior size order of natural-cut fries is the best option for ordering fries when you’re trying to reduce your calorie intake.

The junior fry only has 210 calories, whereas a small fry has 260 calories, a medium has 350 calories, and a large fry has 470 calories.

It’s important to note that if you are ordering a meal, the default meal size is medium.  Be sure to specify that you want a junior size order of fries instead to save yourself 140 calories.

3. Small Chili (240 calories)

This protein-packed side is a great option to help keep you full and satisfied throughout the day with 16g of protein per small serving.

Although this is technically a side, its fiber and protein content is enough to make this a great meal option.

To help keep the calories down, skip the extras such as cheese and crackers and instead try a little hot sauce which only adds an additional 10 calories.

4. Plain Baked Potato (270 calories)

Another low calorie side is Wendy’s Plain Baked Potato, which could be served alongside the small chili for a combined total of 510 calories.

To add some extra flavor, try adding some light sour cream for an additional 40 calories or extra chives for no additional calories.

Tips For Ordering Low-Calorie Options at Wendy’s

To reduce your calorie intake when ordering at Wendy’s you should:

• Avoid double or triple patty burgers
• Order salad dressings and toppings on the side
• Choose Jr. Burger selections
• Choose grilled chicken instead of breaded
• Choose water or low-calorie drink options with your combo

Avoid Double Or Triple Patty Burgers

To lower your calorie intake when eating at Wendy’s you should avoid double or triple patty burgers because each patty has approximately 180 calories. 

Additionally, burgers with more than one patty typically have more than one cheese slice. A single cheese slice has 40 calories so if you’re ordering a double patty burger you can expect 80 calories from cheese and for triple patty burgers 120 calories from cheese.

Double and triple patty burgers will have larger serving sizes of sauces and dressing as well. 

For example, a Dave’s Single with all the toppings is 590 calories compared to a Dave’s Double at 850 calories and a Dave’s Triple at 1160 calories.

Therefore, it’s best to stick to single patty burgers to keep your calorie intake lower while eating at Wendy’s.

Order Salad Dressings And Toppings On The Side

Another tip for reducing your calorie intake at Wendy’s is to ask for salad dressing and toppings on the side. Most salads come with one packet of dressing and packets of roasted nuts or croutons but that doesn’t mean you have to use it all.

Dressings at Wendy’s vary from 90-140 calories per packet. By only having half the packet, you can reduce your calorie consumption by 45-70 calories per packet instead.  

Additionally, toppings for salads like roasted pecans (110 calories) and spicy roasted cashews (80 calories) increase the calorie count of an entree salad quickly.  

Rather than having these nuts already added to your salad, ask for them on the side and only use half the nuts to reduce your calorie intake.

By decreasing the amount of dressing and toppings used, you can save yourself 85-130 calories per entree salad.

Choose Jr. Burger Selections   

My pro tip for getting a lower calorie burger at Wendy’s is to choose a Jr. Burger rather than the regular size burgers, which are available without committing to a kid’s meal.

These Jr. burger selections include Jr. Hamburger (250 calories), Jr. Cheeseburger (290), Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe (340 calories), and Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger (370 calories).

For example, a Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe is nearly the same as a Dave’s Single but the Jr burger has a slightly smaller patty and less cheese. The Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe has 340 calories but the Dave’s Single has 590 calories. With a Jr. version, you can get the same taste and the same great flavor for 250 fewer calories.

Choose Grilled Chicken Instead Of Breaded

To reduce calories with chicken menu items at Wendy’s, opt for grilled chicken over breaded chicken breast.

Although both grilled chicken and breaded chicken breasts, which is a leaner cut of meat, the breading and the oil that is used for cooking breaded chicken are what dramatically increase its calorie content.

For example, the Classic Chicken Sandwich and Grilled Chicken Sandwich have similar toppings, but the grilled chicken sandwich has 350 calories and the classic chicken sandwich, which is breaded, has 490 calories.

Breaded chicken has approximately 140 calories more than grilled chicken, which may not be worth it for a little bit of crunch.  Instead, consider adding pickles to your grilled chicken sandwich to give it a little crunch without the calories.

Choose Water or A Low-Calorie Drink Option With Your Combo

If you are ordering a combo meal, choose a calorie-free drink like water, Coke Zero, Sprite Zero, or Diet Coke. Choosing lower-calorie beverages will help you consume fewer calories overall when eating at Wendy’s.

It’s much easier to overconsume calories when you’re drinking your calories compared to eating them, so it’s best to limit liquid calories when eating out. 

The only exception to this is milk which has 90 calories because adding milk to your meal is a great way to increase the protein content of a meal that’s low in protein to help keep you full for longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is The Lowest Calorie Sandwich At Wendy’s?

The lowest calorie sandwich at Wendy’s is a Jr. Hamburger (250 calories) which comes with a beef patty, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mayo on a toasted bun.

How Many Calories In A Wendy’s Burger Without The Bun?

The number of calories in a Wendy’s burger will depend on which burger you’re ordering; however, a premium bun at Wendy’s has 170 calories, so ordering a burger without a bun will reduce the burger’s calorie content by 170 calories. For example, a Dave’s Single without a bun is 420 calories.

What Is The Lowest Calorie Side At Wendy’s?

Apple Bites are the lowest calorie side at Wendy’s at 35 calories per serving, followed by a junior size fry for 210 calories, and a small size chili for 240 calories.

What Are The Best Under 500 Calorie Options At Wendy’s?

The best under 500 calorie options at Wendy’s are all junior sandwiches, the crispy chicken sandwich, the grilled chicken sandwich, and the bacon double stack burger.

What Are The Lowest Calorie Drinks At Wendy’s?

The lowest calorie drinks at Wendy’s are black coffee, Coke Zero, Sprite Zero, Diet Coke, Unsweetened Iced Tea, and bottled water.

Other Low Calorie Fast Food Options

• Low-Calorie Meals At Chick Fil A
• Low Calorie KFC Meals