Wendy's Vs Chick-Fil-A Cobb Salad: Which Is Healthier?

When you think of a salad, you generally think of a healthy meal. However, that's not always the case, and the Cobb salad isn't as healthy as you think — it's one of the unhealthiest restaurant salads you can order . But when comparing the Cobb salads from Wendy's and Chick-fil-A, we found that Wendy's is the clear winner if you're looking for the healthier option.

Both chains' salads are made with a blend of greens or lettuce with chicken, bacon, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and tomatoes. These ingredients create a similar nutrient profile with calcium, fiber, iron, potassium, and vitamins A, B, C, and K, as well as other vitamins and minerals. However, Wendy's Cobb with dressing has 670 calories, 49 grams of fat, 270 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,270 milligrams of sodium.



By comparison, the Chick-fil-A Cobb with dressing has 830 calories, 60 grams of fat, 230 milligrams of cholesterol, and 2,220 milligrams of sodium. Despite having more cholesterol, the Wendy's salad has a better overall nutrition profile. The Chick-fil-A version has more fat and a stunning amount of sodium.

The gaps in these values lie in the types of chicken and dressing included with each standard Cobb salad: The Wendy's version has grilled chicken with ranch, while the Chick-fil-A salad has breaded, pressure-cooked chicken nuggets with avocado lime ranch. Getting too much fat, cholesterol, and sodium in your diet can raise your risk for heart disease, but making some substitutions can bring these salads more in line with recommended daily values. Substitutions for the Wendy's Cobb salad Since the classic Cobb salad was originally improvised , it's only natural to swap out the ingredients based on your own preferences.

Just bear in mind, though, that doing so will change the nutritional values for better or worse. At Wendy's, you could make the Cobb healthier from a nutrition facts standpoint by foregoing the crispy onions, which contain 90 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 30 milligrams of sodium. Choosing a different dressing will make a difference, too, especially in the fat content.

The Cobb at Wendy's comes standard with ranch dressing, which accounts for 250 calories, 26 grams of fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, and 310 milligrams of sodium. Instead, you could try the salad with the creamy salsa or pomegranate vinaigrette dressings, which have lower amounts. On the other hand, you can ask the staff to substitute the grilled chicken for crispy chicken nuggets, but you'll no longer be getting the healthier Cobb salad.

The grilled chicken has just 110 calories, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, and 520 milligrams of sodium. Meanwhile, eight crispy chicken nuggets (the same number in the Chick-fil-A Cobb) have 360 calories, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, and 760 milligrams of sodium. That's still less cholesterol and sodium than the counterpart, though, and you could even opt for spicy nuggets.

Blue cheese crumbles are also available but will raise the fat, cholesterol, and sodium content quite a bit. Chick-fil-A Cobb substitution options While the Cobb salad is one thing you might want to reconsider ordering at Chick-fil-A as it comes standard, you can change the ingredients to essentially turn it into a healthier dining option. The substitution that makes the biggest difference is swapping the breaded chicken nuggets — which contain 250 calories, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,210 milligrams of sodium — for one of the grilled chicken options.

For instance, the plain grilled fillet has 140 calories, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, and 830 milligrams of sodium. The spicy fillet is another alternative with similar values except for the sodium, which is only 480 milligrams. However, you can reduce your calorie intake even more by choosing grilled nuggets, which have just 120 calories.

Another change that can make the Chick-fil-A Cobb salad healthier in terms of the nutrition facts is the dressing. It comes with avocado lime ranch, accounting for 310 calories, 32 grams of fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, and 520 milligrams of sodium in the standard salad. The fat-free honey mustard, light balsamic vinaigrette, and light Italian dressings are fantastic alternatives because each has little to no fat or cholesterol, as well as lower sodium content.

Of course, these aren't the only changes you can make to the Cobb at Chick-fil-A. You can add blue cheese crumbles, chili lime pepitas, and a roasted nut blend. Keep in mind, though, that adding these salad toppings will raise the amount of fat, cholesterol, and/or sodium in your meal.

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