5 High-Protein Meals To Order From Chick-Fil-A

It's no secret that fast food in general is probably not the best option if you're focusing on nutritious eating. But sometimes a prepared meal from the drive-thru is your most convenient choice, and, thankfully, many eateries offer options that are more nutritionally sound than the standard cheeseburger-and-fries option. If you're looking for a meal option with higher protein, consider Chick-fil-A, which, fortunately, is widely available. In fact, Vermont and Alaska are the only two U.S. states without a single restaurant. While most famously known for its classic fried chicken sandwich, this popular chain has a number of non-fried items on its menu with plenty of belly-filling, muscle-building protein.

We discovered five impressive options across social media channels of Chick-fil-A fans building scrumptious-looking dishes that contain 40 grams of protein or more. You'll notice that almost all of our picks contain the chain's juicy, marinated grilled nuggets, which alone contain 38 grams of protein per 12-piece serving. Truthfully, you could dine on these by themselves. But when you combine them with other sides and soups, you get high protein with a huge variety of flavors and textures. So, even if you eat at Chick-fil-A regularly, there's no need to order the same thing every time.

Chick-fil-A has some delicious salads on its menu, including its Cobb Salad. Loaded with greens, roasted corn, cheese, bacon, boiled eggs, and tomatoes, it's topped with regular fried chicken nuggets, so you'll need to request grilled nuggets instead. When you do, you get an entrée that contains 40 grams of protein. The restaurant recommends the Avocado Lime Ranch dressing; however, it is Chick-fil-A's unhealthiest dressing choice. Save yourself the calories and consider one of the lighter dressings, like fat-free honey mustard, light balsamic vinaigrette, or light Italian.

If you prefer one of Chick-fil-A's other entrée salads, you can still top these with the grilled nuggets for a protein boost. The Spicy Southwest Salad will give you 39 grams of protein, plus a kick of spice, and the Market Salad that comes with blue cheese, apples, and berries offers 32 grams of protein when you add the nuggets.

When we discovered an Instagram user's customized Chick-fil-A meal, we were impressed because she doesn't just combine the restaurant's Kale Crunch side salad with grilled nuggets, but gussies them up deliciously first. She creates a drool-worthy entrée that contains 42 grams of protein and just 395 calories. To put it together, order a Kale Crunch side salad, a 12-count order of grilled nuggets, and request one packet each of honey, Texas Pete hot sauce, and yellow mustard. Ask for a side of pickles as well.

Add all of the sauces to the container of grilled nuggets, plus torn pieces of the pickles, and shake up everything until the nuggets are fully coated. Dump everything onto your crunch salad (which is already dressed with an apple cider and Dijon mustard vinaigrette), add the package of included roasted almonds, and enjoy this flavorful salad that's full of textures and colors.

If you don't want the hassle of combining sauces, nuggets, and salads together in a DIY-style of dining, then you'll love the chain's popular cool wrap. You get a whopping 42 grams of protein with this entrée that is already completely assembled for you. Inside a flaxseed flour wrap, Chick-fil-A packs in sliced grilled chicken breast, lettuce, and two types of cheeses. This dish comes with a packet of Avocado Lime Ranch dressing, but (like the aforementioned Cobb salad), you can lighten the calorie count by opting for a lighter dressing—or go for a container of Buffalo or Sweet & Spicy Sriracha sauce instead.

Chick-fil-A introduced its line of cool wraps in 2001 and has introduced several versions since the Millennium, including a Chicken Caesar and Chargrilled Cool Wrap. Currently, you can also order a Spicy Cool Wrap, which contains 41 grams of protein, or go meat-free with the Southwest Veggie Wrap; however, this one has 27 grams of protein.

Although it's not on the menu year-round, the chicken tortilla soup at Chick-fil-A is incredibly flavorful and delicious, and worth stopping for in the cooler months when it's on the chain's menu. It's rich and creamy, with plenty of shredded chicken, hearty beans, and lots of spices, plus a package of tortilla strips to go on top for a crunchy texture. To turn it into a protein powerhouse, Instagram user @smaller_sam.pcos (yup, the same genius mentioned above) combines her soup with extra nuggets for a meal that packs in 50 grams of protein.

She orders a cup of chicken tortilla soup, an 8-count order of grilled nuggets, and Texas Pete hot sauce. First, she tears each nugget in half and douses them with two packets of hot sauce, and shakes everything up. In a larger bowl she's requested from the restaurant, she pours in the soup, dressed nuggets, and the included package of tortilla strips. The soup is bursting with chicken plus lots of texture from the strips. This is just one way to upgrade Chick-fil-A's excellent seasonal soup.

We've already discovered that combining Chick-fil-A's Kale Crunch salad with grilled nuggets is a winning move on your conquest to more protein, but one TikTok user shows us that even that formula can be improved. In a post he made about eating high-protein fast food, he builds a meal by adding a small mac and cheese side to the top of a Kale Crunch salad, then adds 12 grilled nuggets and two packets of Buffalo sauce for a whopping total of 54 grams of protein and 640 calories.

You get the crunchy salad with the tang of the vinaigrette dressing, then that creamy cheesiness from the pasta side, plus all that wonderful marinated chicken flavor topped with that zesty, spicy Buffalo sauce. It's a masterclass in flavor and texture, on top of the impressive protein amount. If you prefer, you could substitute Chick-fil-A's regular side salad for the Kale Crunch salad, but it won't come pre-dressed with vinaigrette, and the softer greens could wilt quicker under the heat of the mac and cheese and nuggets.