Low-Calorie, High-Protein Options at Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse is a funny place to look for a “light” meal, mostly because the menu opens with a fried onion the size of a small wedding centerpiece. This is not a restaurant designed by monks. This is a restaurant where butter, cheese, fries, steak, ribs, bread, and ranch dressing gather in a conference room and ask, “How can we make dinner require a nap and possibly a notarized apology?”
But here’s the good news: Outback is also a steakhouse, which means there are real high protein options hiding in plain sight. Steak. Grilled chicken. Lobster. Shrimp. Ahi tuna. Actual protein, not some sad “protein bowl” where the protein is three beans and a motivational quote.
For this guide, “low calorie” means roughly 650 calories or less, and “high-protein” means around 30 grams of protein or more. The nutrition numbers below use Outback’s U.S. nutrition PDF, which is marked Created: May 2026. Outback notes that nutrition values are based on standard recipes, supplier data, USDA data, and lab analysis, but menu items are hand-prepared, so values can vary. Translation: the kitchen is staffed by humans, not laser-guided steak robots, so your broccoli may not emerge from a federal calorie laboratory.
Best Low-Calorie, High-Protein Outback Steakhouse Orders
The best low-calorie, high-protein orders at Outback are the ones that keep the protein simple and stop the sides from turning dinner into a carb hostage situation. The nutrition guide lists steaks, entrées, sides, dressings, and add-ons separately, so the smartest move is to build your meal instead of blindly accepting whatever default plate arrives looking like a suburban garage sale.
Outback Center-Cut Sirloin, 6 oz: 330 calories and 35 grams of protein. This is one of the best clean protein options on the menu. It is lean, direct, and not trying to distract you with melted cheese, fried petals, or some sauce that looks like it was invented during a blackout in a mayonnaise factory.
Outback Center-Cut Sirloin, 8 oz: 400 calories and 47 grams of protein. This is probably the best steak pick if you want more protein but still want to stay reasonable. Add asparagus and green beans, and you’re around 590 calories and 52 grams of protein. That is a steakhouse meal with actual restraint, which feels illegal but apparently is not.
Victoria’s Filet Mignon, 6 oz: 470 calories and 47 grams of protein. It’s higher in calories than the sirloin, but still a strong option if you want steak that tastes a little more like luxury and a little less like you’re trying to win a bodybuilding coupon contest.
Grilled Chicken on the Barbie, 8 oz: 500 calories and 62 grams of protein. This is the high-protein chicken move. It is not the lowest-calorie item once you add two sides, but as a main protein, it performs beautifully. Chicken rarely gets to be exciting, so let it have this one small trophy.
Lunch Grilled Chicken on the Barbie, 5 oz: 330 calories and 38 grams of protein. If you’re ordering lunch, this is one of the best low-calorie, high-protein options at Outback. Add asparagus and green beans, and the meal lands around 520 calories and 43 grams of protein. That’s not dinner theater. That’s useful food.
Lobster Tails Entrée: 490 calories and 60 grams of protein. This is a surprisingly strong seafood choice, because lobster is basically protein wearing a tuxedo. Add asparagus and you’re around 540 calories and 63 grams of protein, assuming you don’t invite a butter lake to the party.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich: 520 calories and 36 grams of protein. This is a solid forkless option if you want something handheld without ordering a burger that has apparently been training for a strongman competition.
Chicken Caesar Wrap: 610 calories and 41 grams of protein. It fits the low-calorie, high-protein target, but it does have wrap energy, meaning a tortilla has entered the room and begun quietly adding calories like a beige little accountant.
Outback Ribs, 1/3 Rack: 480 calories and 32 grams of protein, where available. This is one of the few rib options that can work for a lower-calorie meal. A half rack jumps to 720 calories, because ribs are delicious little meat bones with a deep commitment to calorie escalation.
Caramel Mustard Glaze Pork Chop, one chop: 540 calories and 42 grams of protein, where available. This is regional, but if your location has it, it’s a good protein-heavy option before sides start barging in with their mashed-potato nonsense.
Outback Center-Cut Sirloin: The Best Lean Steak Option
The 6 oz Outback Center-Cut Sirloin is the cleanest steak choice for most people trying to stay low-calorie and high-protein. At 330 calories and 35 grams of protein, it gives you the steakhouse experience without forcing your calorie tracker to call emergency services.
The 8 oz Center-Cut Sirloin is even better if you want more protein and have room for the calories. At 400 calories and 47 grams of protein, it is still very reasonable, especially compared with ribeye options that swagger in with enough fat to make your meal feel like it has a trust fund.
A smart meal build would be the 6 oz sirloin with asparagus and broccoli, which comes to about 520 calories and 42 grams of protein. The 8 oz sirloin with asparagus and green beans lands around 590 calories and 52 grams of protein. This is how you order steak without letting the side dishes form a tiny coup.
Victoria’s Filet Mignon: Fancy, Protein-Rich, Still Manageable
The 6 oz Victoria’s Filet Mignon is 470 calories and 47 grams of protein, which is excellent if you want a softer, richer steak without immediately wandering into ribeye country, where calories go to buy leather jackets.
The 8 oz Victoria’s Filet Mignon is 570 calories and 62 grams of protein, which is still technically under 650 calories before sides. Add asparagus, and you’re around 620 calories and 65 grams of protein. That is a strong order if protein is the mission and you’re willing to keep the side situation disciplined.
The danger is not the filet. The danger is turning the filet into a luxury construction project with loaded mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, butter toppings, sauces, and a cocktail that tastes like dessert got a driver’s license.
Grilled Chicken on the Barbie: The High-Protein Chicken Move
The 8 oz Grilled Chicken on the Barbie has 500 calories and 62 grams of protein, which makes it one of the highest-protein main dishes under 650 calories before you add sides. It does have 22 grams of carbs and 17 grams of sugar, likely from sauce or seasoning, so it is not just a naked slab of chicken staring sadly at the wall.
For lunch, the 5 oz Grilled Chicken on the Barbie is even easier to fit into a lower-calorie meal at 330 calories and 38 grams of protein. Add asparagus and green beans, and you still sit around 520 calories and 43 grams of protein. That is the kind of lunch that says, “I came to Outback, but I did not let the cheese fries steal my identity.”
This is also where Outback’s own smart-dining advice comes in handy. Their nutrition page says you can ask for changes like dressing on the side or veggies instead of fries, which is basically the restaurant politely saying, “Please stop acting like the default side is legally binding.”
Lobster Tails: The Surprise Protein Flex
The Lobster Tails Entrée is 490 calories and 60 grams of protein, which is shockingly useful. Lobster sounds indulgent because it comes with the social energy of a yacht brochure, but nutritionally, it can be one of the better protein choices if you don’t drown it in butter like you’re trying to preserve it for winter.
Pair lobster with asparagus and you’re around 540 calories and 63 grams of protein. Add a heavier side like loaded baked potato or mac and cheese, and now we’re back to building a meal that needs scaffolding.
The lobster order is ideal when you want something that feels restaurant-level special without falling face-first into the fried-appetizer swamp.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Caesar Wrap: Good Forkless Options
The Grilled Chicken Sandwich has 520 calories and 36 grams of protein, making it one of the better handheld choices. It is not as lean as sirloin or grilled chicken by itself, because bread exists and bread is always standing nearby with a clipboard, asking if it can add 40 grams of carbs.
The Chicken Caesar Wrap has 610 calories and 41 grams of protein, which also works if you want something portable. Is it the leanest option? No. But compared with the Bloomin’ Burger at 1,440 calories, it is practically a meditation retreat wrapped in a tortilla.
The trick with sandwiches and wraps is simple: do not automatically add fries. Outback’s Aussie Fries are 500 calories and only 7 grams of protein, which is a protein-to-calorie ratio so tragic it should be read aloud in a courtroom.
Fresh Sydney Salad: The Salad That Might Actually Help
The Fresh Sydney Salad is listed at 330 calories and 21 grams of protein. That’s not quite high-protein by itself, but it becomes very useful when you add a lean protein. Add seared ahi tuna, and you’re looking at about 580 calories and 55 grams of protein. Add grilled chicken, and it’s about 630 calories and 59 grams of protein. That is a salad doing actual labor instead of just posing for a wellness brochure.
Be careful with entrée salad dressings, because some of them are basically oil wearing a tiny nametag. Outback lists entrée-size ranch at 420 calories, Caesar at 400 calories, honey mustard at 450 calories, creamy blue cheese at 460 calories, and mustard vinaigrette at 470 calories. Light balsamic is much better at 140 calories, while tangy tomato is 120 calories. Salad dressing is where “I’m being healthy” goes to get quietly robbed in the parking lot.
Ask for dressing on the side. Use what you need. Do not let a 470-calorie vinaigrette cannonball into your salad and then pretend the lettuce can fix it.
Best Outback Sides for Low Calories and Protein
The best lower-calorie sides are asparagus, broccoli, and green beans. Asparagus is 50 calories and 3 grams of protein, broccoli is 140 calories and 4 grams of protein, and green beans are 140 calories and 2 grams of protein. They are not exciting, unless you are the kind of person who describes vegetables as “fun,” in which case please enjoy your thriving porch herb garden and emotional stability.
Garlic mashed potatoes are 160 calories and 3 grams of protein, which is actually not terrible if available as listed on the current guide. Loaded baked potato is 340 calories and 9 grams of protein, loaded sweet potato is 250 calories and 4 grams of protein, and seasoned rice is 250 calories and 4 grams of protein. These can fit, but they spend calories faster than asparagus, because potatoes and rice are not here to be your macro accountant.
The big side to avoid is Steakhouse Mac & Cheese, which is listed at 790 calories and 26 grams of protein as a side. A side. Seven hundred ninety calories. That is not a side dish; that is a casserole with boundary issues.
Sauces, Toppings, and Add-Ons: The Tiny Extras That Start Bar Fights With Your Calories
Sauces and toppings are where steakhouse meals get sneaky. A small roasted garlic butter topping is 80 calories, bacon blue cheese butter is 80 calories, creamy horseradish is 45 calories, and chimichurri can be 190 calories depending on the entry. None of these are automatically evil, but they count. Butter does not become invisible because it arrived in a charming ramekin.
The seafood add-ons can be protein-rich but calorie-heavy. A 4 oz lobster tail add-on is 360 calories and 30 grams of protein, while some grilled shrimp add-ons are much higher in calories depending on preparation. This is where you need to read carefully, because “grilled shrimp” sounds lean until garlic butter enters the room swinging a calorie bat.
If you want extra flavor, use sauces like accessories, not structural beams. Your steak does not need to be buried under toppings like it owes money to a dairy cartel.
What to Avoid at Outback When You Want Low Calories and High Protein
The Bloomin’ Onion is 1,920 calories and 17 grams of protein. That is not an appetizer. That is a fried onion-based group project with the protein efficiency of a decorative pillow.
The Aussie Cheese Fries are 2,860 calories and 80 grams of protein as an appetizer. Yes, 80 grams of protein sounds impressive, but 2,860 calories is not “high-protein.” That is a cheese-covered potato landslide with a protein footnote.
The pasta dishes are protein-rich but absolutely not low-calorie. Kingsland Pasta is 1,790 calories, Queensland Pasta with chicken and shrimp is 1,660 calories, and Queensland Chicken Pasta is 1,410 calories. These meals have protein, sure, but so does a Thanksgiving table if you eat the centerpiece.
The Bloomin’ Fried Chicken is 990 calories and 53 grams of protein, while the Alice Springs Chicken Entrée is 900 calories and 79 grams of protein. Both are high-protein, but they are not low-calorie. They are the menu equivalent of showing up to a 5K in cowboy boots and insisting you’re “athletic-adjacent.”
Drinks: Do Not Add a Sugar Parade to Your Steak
The easiest drink move is water, unsweet tea, Diet Coke, or Coke Zero. Outback lists Coke Zero, Diet Coke, unsweet tea, bottled water, Aqua Panna, and San Pellegrino at 0 calories. This is boring, which is exactly why it works.
Sugary drinks add up fast. Regular Coca-Cola is 170 calories, Minute Maid lemonade is 140 calories, Kiwi Strawberry Lemonade is 200 calories, and the booze-free Strawberries & Cream drink is 200 calories. None of that is catastrophic, but if you are already navigating steak, sides, and sauce, maybe don’t invite liquid sugar to sit on your lap.
How to Order Outback Steakhouse Without Letting Dinner Become a Calorie Rodeo
The best strategy is simple: pick a lean protein, choose vegetable sides, control sauces, and skip the fried appetizer circus unless you planned for it. Outback itself says guests can ask for changes like dressing on the side or vegetables over fries, so use that freedom like an adult instead of acting like fries are assigned by federal law.
For steak, order the 6 oz Center-Cut Sirloin with asparagus and broccoli if you want a very clean meal. Order the 8 oz Center-Cut Sirloin with asparagus and green beans if you want more protein while still staying under about 600 calories. For chicken, the lunch 5 oz Grilled Chicken on the Barbie is excellent when available, while the 8 oz dinner version is great if you keep sides light. For seafood, the Lobster Tails Entrée is surprisingly strong if you don’t treat melted butter like a beverage.
Outback can absolutely work for a low-calorie, high-protein meal. You just have to remember the hierarchy: sirloin is your friend, filet is fancy but manageable, grilled chicken is useful, lobster is shockingly efficient, asparagus is boring but loyal, mac and cheese is a trap in a ramekin, and the Bloomin’ Onion is a fried decorative weapon pretending to be food.
