It’s no secret that fast food is packed with calories. That doesn’t mean you have to avoid your favorite drive-thru at all costs—everything in moderation, right!? It just means that knowledge is power when placing your order.
While calories aren’t the biggest indicator of health—registered dietitian Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, LD, CLEC, says we should worry more about saturated fat and sodium, especially when ordering fast food—you might have specific goals that require you to track the kcals, whether you’re bulking or trying to achieve a deficit.
Whether you’re counting cals or just curious to see how high those numbers can go at your fave drive-thru, we rounded up the highest calorie menu items in fast food. Do with this info what you will.
McDonald’s: Big Breakfast With Hotcakes
Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but it’s also the most caloric if you’re ordering at McDonald’s. The chain’s highest calorie item, at 1,340 cals, is the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes. The meal includes plenty of fuel though, including a warm biscuit, sausage, scrambled eggs, a hash brown, fluffy hotcakes, a side of real butter, maple syrup.
Burger King: Triple Whopper With Bacon & Cheese
Burger King’s iconic Whopper x three, a.k.a the Triple Whopper with Bacon and Cheese, is stacked with ingredients including three flame-grilled burger patties, cheese, bacon, pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomato, to bring its calorie total to 1,350.
Carl’s Jr.: Maxxl Double El Diablo Combo
This enormous double cheeseburger combo can reach over 2,200 calories thanks to its stacked bun (which has two burger patties, bacon, jalapeño poppers, pepper jack cheese, jalapeño coins, and a habanero ranch sauce) and included fries and Blood Orange Baller beverage.
Taco Bell: Caliente Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco Meal
After our last fast food health investigation, we found that much of Taco Bell’s menu is calorie deficit-friendly, meaning you can find tons of options under 500 kcal. However, that doesn’t mean the whole menu is low-cal. The new Caliente Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco Meal can run you anywhere from 900 to 1,180 calories.
Shake Shack: Double Down Fries
Shake Shack’s Double Down Fries feature the chain’s beloved crinkle-cut style fry topped with shack cheese sauce, spicy cherry peppers, and all-natural smoked Niman Ranch bacon. They clock in at 1,910 calories. That’s nearly 2,000 cals for your side alone.
Five Guys: Large Fries
Speaking of fries, even Five Guys’ classic version are over 1,000 calories. A large order will cost you 1,310 calories—whether you opt for classic or Cajun. This should hardly come as a surprise considering they earned the top spot for unhealthiest fries and burger.
Dairy Queen: Peanut Butter Puppy Chow Blizzard Treat
Dairy Queen’s all-new Peanut Butter Puppy Chow Blizzard Treat sounds insane (in the best way) but is also pretty insane when it comes to calorie content. A large is 1,360 calories.
Hardees: Double Hardee’s Frisco Combo
If you’re looking to bulk up, this Double Hardee’s Frisco Combo is a great way to do it. It has up to 2,160 calories thanks to its two quarter-pound Angus beef patties, crispy bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, and mayo on sourdough bread. The included fries and soda add to that hefty calorie count, too.
Wendy’s: Spicy Garlic Parm Nuggs Party Pack
If you opt for Wendy’s Nuggs Party Pack (which includes a whopping 50 chicken nuggets), that’s 3,530 calories — which is well over the daily recommended intake for men and women.
However, since you’re probably not ordering the entire party pack for yourself, the chain’s Triple Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger has the next highest calories in a single order: 1,350.
Megan Schaltegger is an NYC-based writer. She loves strong coffee, eating her way through the Manhattan food scene, and her dog, Murray. She promises not to talk about herself in third person IRL.
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