{"id":179553,"date":"2025-09-24T23:05:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T23:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/179553\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T23:05:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T23:05:20","slug":"7-chain-appetizers-with-more-calories-than-a-full-meal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/179553\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Chain Appetizers With More Calories Than a Full Meal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who doesn\u2019t love appetizers? Sometimes I go to restaurants and skip the main entree and order a few apps instead. After all, they allow you to try many different things instead of investing in a big meal. While it might seem like a healthier option to order a few \u201clight\u201d bites instead of a meal, be forewarned: many of your favorite chain restaurant apps actually have more calories<\/a> than a meal. Here are 7 chain appetizers with more calories than most meals.<\/p>\n

\tTGI Fridays Loaded Potato Skins<\/p>\n

\"tgiTGI Fridays<\/a><\/p>\n

TGI Fridays Loaded Potato Skins are one of the chain\u2019s trademark dishes. But they have over 900 calories per serving plus loads of fat, saturated fat, and sodium. \u201cThis appetizer<\/a> contains deep-fried potato skins filled with melted cheese, bacon, and sour cream,\u201d Mary Sabat MS, RDN, LD<\/a>, previously told ETNT.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

\tCracker Barrel Fried Pickles<\/p>\n

\"CountryCracker Barrel<\/p>\n

Fried pickles are a delicacy in southern fare, and Cracker Barrel does them justice. However, Sabat says the appetizer<\/a> is \u201chigh in calories, saturated fat, and sodium.\u201d Sodium alone comes to almost 7,000 milligrams. The daily recommended limit? 2,300.<\/p>\n

\tApplebee\u2019s Spinach & Artichoke Dip<\/p>\n

\"\"Applebee\u2019s<\/p>\n

I am a sucker for Applebee\u2019s Spinach & Artichoke Dip, a creamy dip of spinach, artichokes, and parmesan cheese, which I eat with tortilla chips and salsa. The calorie count? A whopping 980. And, unfortunately, the app isn\u2019t exactly filling.<\/p>\n

5 Unhealthiest Chain Restaurant Meals in America Right Now<\/a><\/p>\n

\tOutback Steakhouse Bloomin\u2019 Onion<\/p>\n

\"plateOutback Steakhouse<\/p>\n

How can you go to Outback Steakhouse without ordering the chain\u2019s legendary app, the Bloomin\u2019 Onion? Unsurprisingly, the deep-fried onion served with a creamy sauce is nearly 2,000 calories. \u201cThis popular appetizer<\/a> features a deep-fried onion that is sliced to resemble a flower and is served with a dipping sauce, and it contains around 1,620 calories and over 120 grams of fat, making it one of the unhealthiest appetizers on any menu,\u201d says Sabat.<\/p>\n

\tBuffalo Wild Wings Ultimate Nachos<\/p>\n

\"\"Buffalo Wild Wings<\/p>\n

Nachos might be a favorite app anywhere you go, but they are rarely good for you. At Buffalo Wild Wings the Ultimate Nachos is a plate of loaded chips piled high with toppings, including queso, cheddar-jack cheese, pickled hot peppers, crema, and pico. The total calorie count is much higher than a full meal, at 1770 calories.<\/p>\n

\tTexas Roadhouse Cactus Blossom<\/p>\n

\"texasCourtesy of Texas Roadhouse<\/a><\/p>\n

The Texas Roadhouse Cactus Blossom is similar to the Bloomin\u2019 Onion in more ways than one. The fried onion appetizer is clocking in at entr\u00e9e-level calories, a staggering 2,250 calories,135 g fat (26 g saturated fat), and 5,000 mg sodium.<\/p>\n

\tOlive Garden Lasagna Fritta<\/p>\n

\"\"Olive Garden<\/p>\n

It is no surprise that deep-fried lasagne isn\u2019t good for you. Olive Garden Lasagna Fritta is basically fried pasta bites layered with cheese and sauce, and very calorie-dense. \u201cThe Lasagna Fritta<\/a> features small portions of lasagna that are breaded and deep-fried,\u201d says Sabat. \u201cIt contains over 1,100 calories and over 75 grams of fat, making it a very unhealthy choice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who doesn\u2019t love appetizers? Sometimes I go to restaurants and skip the main entree and order a few…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,304,269,4322],"class_list":{"0":"post-179553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthy-eating","10":"tag-nutrition","11":"tag-restaurants"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}