Highest-Protein Cracker Barrel Orders Under 800 Calories

Cracker Barrel is not a restaurant. It is a rocking-chair museum attached to a breakfast maze where biscuits multiply like folklore and every entrée arrives with the emotional density of a family reunion nobody prepared for.

But yes, Cracker Barrel can work if your goal is high protein under 800 calories.

You just have to order like you understand that “comes with biscuits or cornbread” is not a gift from the nutrition gods. It is a trap wearing gingham. The protein is there: steak, grilled chicken, eggs, ham, trout, chicken tenders, and even pinto beans. The problem is everything orbiting the protein like little calorie moons: biscuits, cornbread, butter, gravy, hashbrown casserole, fried apples, pancakes, ranch, cheese bites, and sauces that appear to have taken out loans.

Cracker Barrel’s nutrition guide says its nutrition information is applicable as of 10/22/24, and the guide lists calories, fiber, sugars, and protein for menu items and add-ons separately. That matters because many Cracker Barrel meals list the entrée first, then the sides and bread separately, because apparently dinner has become modular furniture with gravy.

For this article, under 800 calories means 799 calories or less. Not 800. Not “basically.” Not “but the biscuit was free.” Free food still has calories. This is very rude of biology, but here we are.

The Cracker Barrel Rule: Protein First, Smart Sides, No Biscuit Nonsense

The best Cracker Barrel order starts with steak or grilled chicken.

Then choose sides that help instead of sides that behave like tiny casseroles with a grudge. The best protein-friendly sides are pinto beans, turnip greens, steamed broccoli, and country green beans. Pinto beans are especially useful at 170 calories and 12g protein, while turnip greens bring 80 calories and 7g protein. Steamed broccoli is only 35 calories, and country green beans are 80 calories, so they are good filler sides that do not immediately burn the calorie budget to the ground.

The big rule: skip the biscuits, cornbread, and butter if you care about staying under 800. One biscuit has 140 calories and 3g protein, one cornbread has 190 calories and 3g protein, and each butter packet adds 35 calories and 0g protein. That is not protein strategy. That is bread wearing a charming little calorie hat.

Best Overall Highest-Protein Cracker Barrel Order Under 800 Calories

Buy this:

New York Strip Steak + Grilled Chicken Tenders half portion + Turnip Greens + Steamed Broccoli

This is the protein monster order. It gives you about 745 calories and 104g protein.

The New York Strip Steak has 470 calories and 67g protein. The grilled chicken tenders half portion adds 160 calories and 28g protein. Turnip greens add 80 calories and 7g protein, and steamed broccoli adds 35 calories and 2g protein. Add it up and you get a ridiculous amount of protein under 800 calories, assuming you skip the biscuits, cornbread, butter, and any sauce trying to sneak onto the plate with a tiny fake ID.

This is the order for someone who came to Cracker Barrel to win. It is not delicate. It is not cozy. It is steak plus grilled chicken plus vegetables, which sounds less like a country dinner and more like a linebacker wrote a grocery list on a napkin.

Avoid this instead:

New York Strip Steak with fried sides, biscuits, cornbread, and butter

The steak is great. The problem is when the side dishes start behaving like unpaid interns in a calorie fraud department. Steak plus hashbrown casserole, fried apples, cornbread, and butter is how a clean order gets buried under Southern hospitality and starch-based betrayal.

Best Normal Dinner Order Under 800 Calories

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New York Strip Steak + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens

This is the best normal Cracker Barrel dinner under 800 calories. It gives about 720 calories and 86g protein.

The New York Strip brings 67g protein, pinto beans add 12g protein, and turnip greens add 7g protein. This is the cleanest “real meal” version because it includes the steak and two actual sides, not just a lonely piece of meat sitting on a plate like it is waiting for a bus.

This order works because the sides are not decorative little carb disasters. Pinto beans and turnip greens actually contribute protein. This is rare behavior from side dishes, which usually show up at Cracker Barrel carrying butter, sugar, or a secret casserole agenda.

Avoid this instead:

New York Strip Steak + loaded baked potato + cornbread

The loaded baked potato has 580 calories and 15g protein by itself. Add that to steak and congratulations, your side dish has eaten the calorie limit like a raccoon in a pie shop.

Best Breakfast Order Under 800 Calories

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New York Strip Steak n’ Eggs + Tomato Slices

This gives about 630 calories and 81g protein.

The New York Strip Steak n’ Eggs includes the New York Strip at 470 calories and 67g protein, plus two eggs at 150 calories and 14g protein. Add tomato slices for 10 calories, and you have a brutally efficient breakfast that does not need pancakes, biscuits, gravy, or hashbrown casserole trying to become architecture.

This is the best breakfast pick because it keeps the protein high and the nonsense low. Steak and eggs are doing the work. Tomato slices are there mostly to prove a plant was consulted.

Avoid this instead:

Steak n’ Egg Hashbrown Casserole

The Steak n’ Egg Hashbrown Casserole is listed at 1,030 calories and 57g protein, which is a lot of calories for less protein than the steak-and-eggs order. Hashbrown casserole has once again entered the meeting and immediately started rearranging the furniture.

Best Grilled Chicken Dinner Under 800 Calories

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Smoky Southern Grilled Chicken + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens

This order gives about 630 calories and 77g protein.

The Smoky Southern Grilled Chicken has 380 calories and 58g protein. Add pinto beans and turnip greens, and you get a high-protein plate that still feels like a Cracker Barrel meal instead of a gym cafeteria punishment ritual.

This is the best chicken order for people who do not want steak. It is also much more flexible than the maple bacon version, because it leaves room for sides without needing a legal team to argue with the calorie cap.

Avoid this instead:

Homestyle Chicken

Homestyle Chicken has 1,060 calories and 71g protein before the side situation even starts flapping around the table. Yes, it has protein. It also has the calorie profile of chicken that has been through a fryer and come out with ambitions.

Best “Big Protein, Still Under 800” Chicken Order

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Maple Bacon Grilled Chicken + Steamed Broccoli

This lands at about 755 calories and 72g protein.

The Maple Bacon Grilled Chicken has 720 calories and 70g protein, which is a lot of protein, but it is already crowding the calorie limit like it brought luggage. Add steamed broccoli for 35 calories and 2g protein, and that is basically all the room you have.

This is a good order if you want maximum grilled chicken protein and do not care about having two full sides. It is not the most balanced plate, but it does the protein job.

Avoid this instead:

Maple Bacon Grilled Chicken with two regular sides and bread

The entrée is already 720 calories. The second you add cornbread, biscuits, hashbrown casserole, fried apples, mac and cheese, or any side dish with a casserole surname, the under-800 dream collapses into a syrup-glazed chicken crater.

Best Lower-Calorie High-Protein Dinner

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New York Strip Steak + Turnip Greens + Steamed Broccoli

This gives about 585 calories and 76g protein.

It is simple: steak, greens, broccoli. Very high protein, very controlled calories, very little room for Southern nonsense to break into the house through a biscuit window.

This is the best pick if you want a steak dinner and still want plenty of calorie room left in the day. It is less protein than the pinto-bean version, but it is also lighter.

Avoid this instead:

New York Strip Steak with steak fries

Steak fries have 380 calories and only 5g protein. Yes, they have fiber. No, they are not the reason we came here. They are potatoes wearing ridges and acting like they have a career.

Best Fish Order Under 800 Calories

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Lemon Pepper Grilled Rainbow Trout + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens

This gives about 660 calories and 58g protein.

The Lemon Pepper Grilled Rainbow Trout has 410 calories and 39g protein. Pinto beans add 12g protein, and turnip greens add 7g protein. This is a solid lighter dinner that does not involve fried fish, hushpuppies, or tartar sauce trying to become a main character.

This is the best seafood pick because the trout is grilled and still leaves room for sides with actual protein. Fish plus beans plus greens is shockingly sensible for a place that also sells biscuit beignets.

Avoid this instead:

Country Fried Shrimp

Country Fried Shrimp has 720 calories and 28g protein before sides. The protein is fine, but the calories are already too close to the ceiling, and hushpuppies are lurking nearby with the confidence of tiny fried doorstops.

Best Salad Order Under 800 Calories

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Homestyle Grilled Chicken Salad, no dressing or light dressing

The Homestyle Grilled Chicken Salad has 440 calories and 40g protein before dressing. That is a strong salad base. The problem is dressing, because Cracker Barrel’s entrée salad dressings are not shy little vinaigrettes; they are calorie events in a cup. Buttermilk Ranch adds 240 calories, Blue Cheese adds 340 calories, and Dijon Honey Mustard adds 310 calories.

If you use dressing lightly, this salad can stay under 800 and still be a useful high-protein order. If you dump the whole dressing cup on it, the salad stops being strategy and becomes lettuce taking a ranch bath.

Avoid this instead:

Homestyle Fried Chicken Salad with full dressing

The fried chicken salad starts at 700 calories and 46g protein before dressing. Add most dressings and it rockets past 800, because apparently salad dressing saw lettuce being responsible and took that personally.

Best Small High-Protein Order

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Build Your Own Homestyle Breakfast with two eggs, Grilled Chicken Tenders, and Tomato Slices

This gives about 320 calories and 42g protein.

Two eggs are 150 calories and 14g protein, grilled chicken tenders are 160 calories and 28g protein, and tomato slices add just 10 calories. It is not a giant meal, but it is wildly efficient.

This is the order for people who want high protein without treating breakfast like an agricultural festival. It is eggs, grilled chicken, tomato. Done. No pancakes trying to drag syrup into the room.

Avoid this instead:

Biscuit Beignets

Biscuit Beignets have 480 calories and 7g protein, and the Butter Pecan Sauce adds 210 calories and 0g protein. That is not breakfast. That is dessert doing a country accent.

Best Side Choices for Protein Under 800 Calories

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Pinto Beans
Best protein side. 170 calories and 12g protein.

Turnip Greens
Best low-calorie protein side. 80 calories and 7g protein.

Steamed Broccoli
Best low-calorie filler. 35 calories and 2g protein.

Country Green Beans
Decent light side. 80 calories and 2g protein.

Fresh Fruit
Fine if you want something light, but it has almost no protein. Useful for not becoming a gravy sculpture, not useful for protein math.

Avoid these as protein sides:

Macaroni n’ Cheese
It has 260 calories and 9g protein, which is not useless, but it is not efficient.

Loaded Baked Potato
It has 580 calories and 15g protein, which is a side dish behaving like it owns property.

Steak Fries
They have 380 calories and 5g protein. That is not a protein side. That is a potato wearing confidence like a leather jacket.

Hashbrown Casserole Tots
They have 280 calories and 5g protein, which is exactly the kind of potato-based trickery Cracker Barrel excels at.

Ranked: Highest-Protein Cracker Barrel Orders Under 800 Calories

1. New York Strip Steak + Grilled Chicken Tenders half portion + Turnip Greens + Steamed Broccoli
About 745 calories and 104g protein. Best overall if your location will ring the grilled chicken tender add-on. This is not dinner; this is a protein heist with vegetables as witnesses.

2. New York Strip Steak + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens
About 720 calories and 86g protein. Best normal dinner order. Steak does the heavy lifting, beans and greens actually help, and biscuits are not allowed near the calculator.

3. New York Strip Steak n’ Eggs + Tomato Slices
About 630 calories and 81g protein. Best breakfast order. Steak and eggs remain undefeated because sometimes old ideas are old for a reason.

4. Smoky Southern Grilled Chicken + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens
About 630 calories and 77g protein. Best grilled chicken dinner. Very strong, very reasonable, suspiciously adult.

5. New York Strip Steak + Turnip Greens + Steamed Broccoli
About 585 calories and 76g protein. Best lower-calorie steak order. A clean plate in a restaurant that keeps trying to hand you bread like it is legally required.

6. Maple Bacon Grilled Chicken + Steamed Broccoli
About 755 calories and 72g protein. Best high-protein chicken entrée if you keep the sides nearly nonexistent. The chicken is strong; the toppings are dramatic.

7. Build Your Own Homestyle Breakfast with two eggs, Grilled Chicken Tenders, and Tomato Slices
About 320 calories and 42g protein. Best light high-protein breakfast. Not fancy, not huge, but excellent protein-per-calorie.

8. Homestyle Grilled Chicken Salad, light dressing
Starts at 440 calories and 40g protein before dressing. Best salad. The dressing decides whether this stays sensible or becomes lettuce wearing a fat suit.

9. Lemon Pepper Grilled Rainbow Trout + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens
About 660 calories and 58g protein. Best seafood order. Not the highest protein, but clean and useful.

10. Hamburger Steak + Pinto Beans + Turnip Greens
About 730 calories and 52g protein. A decent beef option, but the New York Strip absolutely body-slams it in protein efficiency.

What You Should Buy at Cracker Barrel

Buy these if your goal is the most protein under 800 calories:

New York Strip Steak
This is the king. 470 calories and 67g protein before sides. It is the obvious winner unless you personally invite biscuits to wreck the math.

Smoky Southern Grilled Chicken
Excellent chicken pick at 380 calories and 58g protein. Add pinto beans and turnip greens if you want a real plate.

Steak n’ Eggs
The best breakfast move. Steak plus two eggs gives huge protein and still leaves calorie room for a tiny side.

Pinto Beans and Turnip Greens
These are the side dishes that actually help. Most sides are just casseroles practicing deception.

Grilled Chicken Tenders
A half portion has 160 calories and 28g protein, which is almost offensively efficient. Add it when available.

What You Should Avoid at Cracker Barrel

Avoid these if your goal is highest protein under 800 calories:

Biscuits, cornbread, and butter
One biscuit is 140 calories, cornbread is 190 calories, and butter is 35 calories with no protein. Cute? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely not.

Homestyle Chicken
It has 71g protein, but also 1,060 calories. Protein did not save it. The fryer won.

Southern Fried Chicken
At 1,640 calories and 108g protein, this is not an under-800 order. This is a poultry infrastructure project.

Country Fried Shrimp
It starts at 720 calories before the sides start causing property damage.

Loaded potatoes
Loaded baked potatoes and loaded sweet potatoes are basically side dishes trying to become entrees through paperwork and cheese.

Full salad dressing cups
Entrée salad dressings can add 240 to 340 calories. That is not dressing. That is an oil-based ambush with a lid.

Biscuit Beignets
High in delight, low in protein. The sauce has 0g protein, because obviously dessert sauce did not train for this.

The Highest-Protein Cracker Barrel Order Under 800 Calories

The highest-protein Cracker Barrel order under 800 calories is the New York Strip Steak with a half portion of Grilled Chicken Tenders, Turnip Greens, and Steamed Broccoli. It gives about 104g protein for 745 calories, assuming you skip biscuits, cornbread, butter, and sauce nonsense.

The best normal dinner order is New York Strip Steak with Pinto Beans and Turnip Greens, at about 86g protein for 720 calories. The best breakfast order is New York Strip Steak n’ Eggs with Tomato Slices, at about 81g protein for 630 calories. The best grilled chicken order is Smoky Southern Grilled Chicken with Pinto Beans and Turnip Greens, at about 77g protein for 630 calories.

The rule is painfully simple:

Buy steak or grilled chicken. Add pinto beans, turnip greens, or broccoli. Skip biscuits, cornbread, butter, loaded sides, gravy, fried chicken, and dressing cups that think they are entrees.

Cracker Barrel can do very high protein under 800 calories.

But only if you keep the biscuit basket from making eye contact.