This Major Chain May Sell One Of The Unhealthiest Chicken Sandwiches Around

Chicken is often seen as a healthier protein option, especially compared with red meat. Despite the kernels of truth in this perception, it doesn't guarantee your next chicken-based meal will be healthy, especially if you choose one specific sandwich from the ever-growing number of chicken handhelds at popular restaurants. Even among our roundup of the most unhealthy chicken sandwiches at major chains, the Cheesecake Factory's chicken parmesan sandwich is particularly rough from a health and nutrition standpoint.

The sandwich consists of chicken coated in parmesan breadcrumbs, then topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese, and served on a grilled roll. That may sound tantalizing to your taste buds, but it also creates a troubling meal from a health perspective. Each sandwich contains 1,830 calories, nearly matching the oft-cited 2,000-calorie daily benchmark. A total of 1,090 of those calories are from fat, which tracks considering the sandwich's 121 grams of fat (including 3.5 grams of trans fat). These numbers are far higher than the 20% to 35% of daily calories health experts recommend should come from fat. Breaded chicken parm between bread isn't masquerading as a low-carb meal — the sandwich's carbohydrate count comes in at 100 grams.

The biggest health red flag, however, is sodium. The sandwich has 3,600 milligrams, more than one-and-a-half times the suggested amount for a single day (2,300 milligrams). Over time, excessive amounts of sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke risk.

Perhaps most concerning is that these nutrition stats are for the chicken parmesan sandwich alone. Common Cheesecake Factory sides like fries can range from 300 calories and 870 milligrams of sodium for a kids' size to 1,060 calories and 2,500 milligrams of sodium for a standard portion. This simple combo makes it relatively easy to consume more than your daily recommended calories and over two-and-a-half times your daily sodium in one meal. From a dietary perspective, that doesn't leave room for any of the chain's many cheesecake flavors, which can also be quite indulgent in their own right.

As anyone who's dined at the restaurant knows, the Cheesecake Factory's menu has always been substantial, and has only gotten bigger and better in recent years. That leaves plenty of tasty options that are somewhat healthier than the chicken parm sandwich, including an orange cauliflower bowl or even meatball sliders for those craving an Italian-inspired alternative.

Of course, Cheesecake Factory isn't alone in offering a chicken sandwich with questionable nutrition details. Other less-than-honorable mentions include Popeyes classic bacon & cheese chicken sandwich, Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo ranch chicken sandwich, and around a dozen others. Yet in terms of calorie and fat content, the Cheesecake Factory's chicken parmesan sandwich far exceeds them.