Fast Food Tier List

25g protein for 130 calories and 3g fat — the leanest thing on any fast-food menu.

Unbreaded tenders — 37g protein for 210 calories, but 1020mg sodium.

Grilled chicken doing the work — 28g protein at 390 calories, though 765mg sodium rides along.

39g protein — the Colonel's most protein-efficient piece.

24g protein in tempura form — the sodium is the real cost.

Crispy potato lattice — 420 calories of fried carbs with 5g fiber as the consolation.

1085 calories — the 'healthy' fast food that out-eats a Big Mac twice over.

The world's most famous fries — 320 calories of fried potato and salt.

31g protein buried under 31g fat and 1330mg sodium — crispy comes at a cost.

27g protein in 250 calories — the macro profile is elite, the 1210mg sodium is the toll.

The lightest 6-inch on the menu — 320 calories, mostly bread and vegetables.

170 calories — the rare fast-food item that knows restraint.

220 calories for 13g protein — a decent snack, not a meal.

29g protein, real chicken breast — the sodium (1350mg) is the catch.

Tuna salad sub — 33g fat, the fattiest standard 6-inch on the menu.

480 calories of turkey sub — 26g protein buried under 1150mg sodium.

8g fiber — beans doing quiet work inside the tortilla.

Cheese-stuffed breadsticks that eat like a small pizza — 300 calories for two pieces.

A real egg and 17g protein — the best bad choice on the breakfast menu.

47g protein and a bag of fries you didn't order but got anyway.

Red beans and rice — 8g protein, 6g fiber, and 610mg sodium.

60g protein. Also 66g fat. The math is the warning label.

31g protein and a full garden — if you ignore the 911mg sodium.

The global benchmark of fast food — 25g protein wrapped in 1050mg sodium.

Battered and fried onion — 290 calories with 4g fiber, the vegetable content is theoretical.

The Whopper's smaller sibling — 340 calories and 15g protein, a reasonable burger as burgers go.

The baseline pizza slice — 11g protein riding on 595mg sodium.

Breaded and fried tenders — 390 calories, 35g protein, 1700mg sodium.

Three deli meats stacked — 530 calories and 1320mg sodium.

Teriyaki chicken with sweet onion sauce — 20g sugar, the sweetest 6-inch here.

34g protein with real heat, but 1890mg sodium — nearly a full day's worth in one sandwich.

Dessert breadsticks — 250 calories with a cinnamon-sugar crust and 6g sugar.

A meat avalanche on a slice — 16g protein and 900mg sodium in one eighth of a pizza.

22g protein per two slices — the serving size is the lie.

The cult burger — 37g protein, zero freezer, all sodium.

Two patties, 22g protein, 400 calories — the dollar-menu king punches above its price.

30g protein — the most defensible thing on the McDonald's burger menu.

Salami, pepperoni, ham — 610 calories and 1500mg sodium, the indulgent end of the menu.

Meatballs and marinara on a 6-inch — 570 calories, 27g protein, 1370mg sodium.

300 calories, 16g protein — the simplest thing on the BK menu and the numbers show it.

400 calories with 26g fat — the sausage does the heavy lifting and the damage.

Cajun-seasoned fries — 270 calories with 590mg sodium.

The sandwich that broke the internet — and possibly your sodium budget.

Flaky croissant, 34g fat, 1040mg sodium — breakfast that eats like a dare.

A side dish with 29g fat and 16g saturated fat — eats like a meal, salts like one too at 1190mg.

Espresso and steamed 2% milk — 190 calories, 13g protein, no surprises.

A buttery biscuit — 210 calories, 13g fat, zero cholesterol.

Creamy coleslaw — 140 calories, 9g sugar.

Flaky, buttery, 250 calories — the French knew what they were doing.

260 calories of fried dough and glaze — breakfast of champions is a lie.

230 calories, 14g sugar — a fried-pie legacy in a baked crust.

A 200-calorie brownie-cookie hybrid with 19g sugar doing most of the talking.

Mashed potatoes with Cajun gravy — 110 calories, 590mg sodium.

510 calories of ice cream and cookie — the protein (12g) doesn't save it.

Thick enough to need a spoon, sweet enough to need a dentist.