What to Order at Outback Steakhouse: Every Item, Judged

Free avg · 370 cal

The best free bread at any national chain, and they'll bring more if you ask. A loaf with butter runs 370 calories, which only matters if you eat three.

$10.99 avg · 1,620 cal

An icon, and a group project. Outback's nutrition sheet puts it at 1,620 calories with 4,140mg of sodium, which is fine split five ways and grim solo. Order it once a year, with witnesses.

$11.99 avg · 2,620 cal

The most caloric item on Outback's published list: 2,620 calories and 7,490mg of sodium, before your entrée arrives. That's seven 6-oz sirloins' worth of calories in appetizer form. No plate of fries survives that math.

$15.49 avg · 1,740–2,170 cal

Solid wings in a building where $1.30 more buys a steak dinner. Mild runs 1,780 calories and hot runs 2,170, because the sauce is mostly butter. Fine to split while you wait; wrong as a plan.

$14.99 avg · 580 cal

Eight shrimp and a slice of toast for fifteen dollars. Reviewers keep calling them bland and they're right — butter, no char. If you want shrimp here, the sirloin-and-shrimp combo at $23.49 gets you both for about $8 less than ordering them separately.

$16.79 avg · 370 cal

The reason to come. An actual steak dinner at 370 calories and 46 grams of protein, priced identical to the chicken tender platter, which should end that debate at the table. Ask for medium rare; the thin cut overshoots fast.

$26.99 avg · 380 cal

Tender, mild, and a $10.20 jump over the 6-oz sirloin for ten extra calories. Filet is what you order when someone else is paying. On your own card, the sirloin plus a premium side still comes in cheaper.

$27.99 avg · 900+ cal

The most flavorful cut on the menu and the one that suffers most from Outback's thin-cut, flat-grill cooking. Outback published 900 calories for the old 12-oz version; the current cut is an ounce bigger. When it lands it beats the filet — the problem is the coin flip.

$20.99 avg · 780 cal

Chicken buried under bacon, melted cheese, and honey mustard sounds like a dare, but it's the most-defended non-steak Outback makes. 780 calories, 79 grams of protein — honest work for something this rich. If you're not ordering steak, order this.

$22.99 avg · 720 cal

Fall-apart tender, sauced with a heavy hand. The half rack at 720 calories is plenty next to a side; the full rack doubles both numbers for $7.50 more and most people stall out early. Texas Roadhouse does ribs better for similar money.

$16.79 avg · 1,000 cal

Hand-breaded tenders priced to the penny like the 6-oz sirloin. The breading runs heavy, the count runs light, and Outback lists the platter at 1,000 calories before you touch a sauce. You are in a steakhouse.

$10.79 avg · 1,520 cal

A warm pecan brownie under ice cream, still the best dessert in casual dining. Yes, 1,520 calories. It's built for the table, and split four ways it's the best $2.70 anyone spends all night.