The 30 Worst Sandwiches in America

When it comes to sandwiches, remember this: With the power to create comes the power to inflate. Want proof? Scroll through this jaw-dropping list of the 30 Worst Sandwiches in America for a lineup of disastrous hand-held mega-meals that'll bloat your belly and call for a loosening of belt buckles. It's not all disastrous, though - for a bit of relief, we've also listed the reasonable alternatives you should eat instead.

30. WORST LUNCH SANDWICH FROM ARBY’S
Ultimate BLT Market Fresh Sandwich
779 calories
45 g fat (11g saturated)
1,571 mg sodium

This isn’t even the worst of the Market Fresh Sandwiches; the Pecan Chicken Salad weighs in at a hefty 870 calories. The lesson? Trust the ingredients, not the name. “Market Fresh” is little more than a marketing ploy to persuade consumers to indulge without guilt. Opt for the Bacon Cheddar Roastburger instead. Arby’s roast beef sandwiches are all relatively safe, and unless you order double meat, not one of the Roastburgers exceeds 500 calories.

Eat This Instead: Bacon Cheddar Roastburger
440 calories
18 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,427 mg sodium


29. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH FROM ARBY’S
Ham, Egg & Cheese Wrap
575 calories
31 g fat (10 g saturated)
2,005 mg sodium

Ever since wraps became erroneously associated with healthy eating, restaurants have been slowly beefing up the amount of cheese and sauce they stuff inside. The reasoning is simple: The perception of health might make you test it out, but the surreptitious loads of fat and salt will keep you coming back for more. Opt for a croissant instead. Croissants make a surprisingly decent foundation for a breakfast sandwich, but the same rules still apply: Keep the bacon to garnishlike levels, and avoid sausage when possible.

Eat This Instead: Bacon, Egg & Cheese Croissant
378 calories
25 g fat (12 g saturated)
850 mg sodium


28. WORST SANDWICH FROM ATLANTA BREAD COMPANY
Bistro Chicken Press Sandwich
780 calories
41 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

This sandwich is lined with pesto, which ordinarily we approve of for its load of healthy fats. Unfortunately, here that pesto is muddled with an aggressive application of mayo, bloating this into the fattiest chicken sandwich on the menu. To contrast, ABC’s Chicken Waldorf is what chicken salad would be if it were dreamed up by a nutritionist. This version uses a minimal amount of mayonnaise and leans on antioxidant-rich fillers like cranberries, apples, and walnuts.

Eat this instead: Chicken Waldorf Sandwich
450 calories
29 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
510 mg sodium


27. WORST SANDWICH FROM AU BON PAIN
Prosciutto Mozzarella Sandwich
780 calories
40 g fat (16 g saturated)
2,270 mg sodium

Au Bon Pain’s sandwiches tend to suffer from serious sodium overload, so adding übersalty prosciutto only exacerbates the problem. Even sans sides, this thing eats through almost your entire day’s sodium requirement. Go for the Thai Chicken Wrap. Most of Au Bon’s sandwiches hover around 700 calories (including a number of their meat-free options), but you’ll beat the average every time with this one.

Eat This Instead: Thai Peanut Chicken Wrap
530 calories
15 g fat (2 g saturated)
1,340 mg sodium


26. WORST SANDWICH FROM BAJA FRESH
Chicken Quesadilla
1,330 calories
80 g fat (27 g saturated)
2,590 mg sodium

Quesadillas are second only to nachos in terms of belt-breaking potential. There’s not one on the menu—not even the veggie quesadilla—with fewer than 1,200 calories. Try a torta. Tortas are Mexican sandwiches loaded with grilled or braised meat, avocado, salsa, and other fresh fixings. At Baja, it’s one of your best bets for a decent entrée. Order this one without the side of chips, and you’ll cut 240 calories off your meal.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Torta
620 calories
23 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,330 mg sodium


25. WORST SANDWICH FROM BLIMPIE
Roast Beef & Cheddar Wrap
684 calories
36 g fat (12 g saturated)
1,928 mg sodium

Here’s a secret most sandwich shops would rather not tell you: Wraps carry more starchy carbohydrates than regular breads do. Guess that puts an end to the myth of the “healthy wrap.” Roast beef doesn’t have the same lean reputation as turkey and chicken, but in truth, most cuts are nearly as reliable as either of those poultry choices. Feel free to make it the anchor of any sandwich you order.

Eat This Instead: Roast Beef and Provolone (6” wheat)
385 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated)
990 mg sodium


24. WORST SANDWICH FROM BOSTON MARKET
Classic Chicken Sandwich
800 calories
41 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,900 mg sodium

It’s not surprising to find a load of fat in a chicken salad sandwich. It’s built around a deluge of sticky mayonnaise, after all. What’s shocking is the egregious load of trans fat. We still can’t figure out how they managed to squeeze twice the daily limit into one little sandwich. The Dark Chicken Individual Meal makes for a pretty well-balanced meal by providing a load of protein with relatively few carbohydrates. Just take it easy with the saltshaker—sodium is the one area where Boston Market’s chicken falls flat.

Eat This Instead: Dark Chicken Individual Meal
580 calories
30 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,850 mg sodium


23. WORST LUNCH SANDWICH FROM BURGER KING
Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
800 calories
46 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,640 mg sodium

Don’t let trifling terms like “tender” distract you from more telling terms like “crisp,” which is a fast-food euphemism for deep-fried. Not even the Whopper with cheese has this many calories. Go straight for the tenders themselves; these are some of the lowest-calorie fried chicken pieces in the treacherous world of fast food. Their only decent rivals are the nuggets at Chick-fil-A.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Tenders
400 calories
21 g fat (4 g saturated)
920 mg sodium


22. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH FROM BURGER KING
Sausage and Cheese BK Breakfast Shots
420 calories
31 g fat (10 g saturated)
910 mg sodium

Sausage is the clear loser in the battle of the breakfast meats. The sooner you learn to skip it, the sooner you can start dropping pounds. Go straight for the Ham Omelet Sandwich. You won’t find a better breakfast sandwich at any fast-food window in the country.

Eat This Instead: Ham Omelet Sandwich
290 calories
12 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
870 mg sodium


21. WORST SANDWICH FROM THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY
Grilled Chicken and Avocado Club
1,752 calories
28 g saturated fat
2,309 mg sodium

Who would have guessed that a dish with a name like this could pack more calories than 11 scoops of Breyers All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip? Skip sandwiches entirely. The “lightest” on the menu is the 1,052-calorie Grilled Cheese. Go for the Factory Burger. Surprisingly, this is one of the best burgers offered at any sit-down restaurant in America, and so long as you swap out the fries for something healthier, it’s also one of the safest entrées you’ll find on Cheesecake Factory’s misguided menu.

Eat This Instead: The Factory Burger
737 calories
15 g saturated fat
1,018 mg sodium


20. WORST SANDWICH FROM CHICK-FIL-A
Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
480 calories
16 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,810 mg sodium

Chick-fil-A joins two of the most overrated “health” foods—wraps and Caesar salad—into one handheld package. At some establishments, it would still be a “this,” but at Chick-fil-A, it's one of the worst items on the menu. Most chicken clubs suffer from at least one of three major blights: mayonnaise, breading, or bacon overload. Thankfully the Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich avoids all, making it the only club sandwich we've seen with fewer than 500 calories.

Eat This Instead: Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich
380 calories
11 g fat (5 g saturated)
1,560 mg sodium


19. WORST SANDWICH FROM COSI
Chicken TBM Sandwich
722 calories
40 g fat
845 mg sodium

This version of three classic flavors—tomatoes, basil, and chicken—will saddle you with an extra 212 calories and more than double the fat of its pesto-paved relative. The Tuscan Pesto Chicken Sandwich harnesses the powers of pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, which collectively bring big flavor and plenty of healthy fat to the table. Both ingredients rely on olive oil, an excellent source of blood- and brain-boosting monounsaturated fats.

Eat This Instead: Tuscan Pesto Chicken Sandwich
510 calories
18 g fat
452 mg sodium


18. WORST SANDWICH FROM CULVER’S
North Atlantic Cod Fillet Sandwich
663 calories
41 g fat (7 g saturated)
979 mg sodium

Here’s a new rule to live by: Fish stops being seafood as soon as it gets battered and fried. After that, it’s no better than the grease it was cooked in. However, the burgers at Culver’s are some of the best you’ll find anywhere. Any single burger you order—so long as it doesn’t have bacon on it—will have fewer than 500 calories. Now if only they could figure out how to cut the gram of trans fat from their patties.

Eat This Instead: Mushroom & Swiss Burger
431 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
551 mg sodium


17. WORST SANDWICH FROM DUNKIN’ DONUTS
Chicken Parmesan Flatbread
480 calories
22 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,220 mg sodium

What's the point of using low-calorie flatbread if you're just going to stuff it with fried chicken and cheese? Sadly, Dunkin's chicken sandwiches only get worse from here. The flatbread cohort offers some pretty reliable options. All of them come with a hefty dose of protein, and only one—the Chicken Parm—has more than 400 calories.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Cheddar & Bacon Flatbread
390 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,090 mg sodium


16. WORST SANDWICH FROM HARDEE’S
Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich
560 calories
30 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,430 mg sodium

What goes into a club at Hardee’s? Cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise—the unholy trinity of sandwich toppings. Try the Little Thick Cheeseburger, instead. With this burger, Hardee’s has achieved what so many other restaurants fail to do: Create a quarter-pound cheeseburger with fewer than 500 calories. Remember this the next time you have a hankering for red meat.

Eat This Instead: Little Thick Cheeseburger
450 calories
23 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,180 mg sodium


15. WORST SANDWICH FROM HOOTERS
Smothered Chicken Sandwich
800 calories

It’s not just fried and “crispy” chicken you need to watch for; even the straight grilled stuff often comes at an unexpectedly high caloric price. Truth is, this is nothing more than a chicken cheese steak with 200 mystery calories tacked on. Go for the Philly Cheese Steak instead. Yes, it’s hard to believe that a steak sandwich beats out a chicken sandwich, but we’ve seen stranger things at chain restaurants. Truth is, nearly half of this sandwich’s heft comes from a rewarding trio of onions, peppers and mushrooms, and if Hooters is using sirloin here (as many cheesesteak slingers do), then they’ve nailed the recipe for a solid sandwich.

Eat This Instead: Philly Cheese Steak
600 calories


14. WORST SANDWICH FROM JIMMY JOHN’S
Italian Night Club
951 calories
51 g fat (12 g saturated)
2,166 mg sodium

Most traditional cured Italian meats (think salami, pepperoni, and capicola) are utterly packed with fat and salt. Stick to the more common toppers—turkey, ham, chicken, and roast beef—and avoid exotic-sounding meats. Try a Big John with grey poupon (instead of the traditional bread-buckling load of mayonnaise) to bring the sandwich to an even more admirable 349 calories.

Eat This Instead: Big John
533 calories
24 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,014 mg sodium


13. WORST SANDWICH AT KFC
Crispy Twister
580 calories
30 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,250 mg sodium

The crispy chicken is not the only problem here—there’s also a heft of carbs in the tortilla and a load of fat in the “pepper mayo sauce” to worry about. Not even Original Recipe chicken can drop this thing below 500 calories. Opt for the KFC Snackers Honey BBQ instead, which is the leanest of all KFC’s Snackers.

Eat This Instead: KFC Snackers Honey BBQ
420 calories
6 g fat (2 g saturated)
940 mg sodium


12. WORST SANDWICH AT LONG JOHN SILVER’S
Fish Sandwich
470 calories
23 f fat (5 g saturated)
1,210 mg sodium

The American Heart Association recommends keeping your trans fat intake below 1 percent of your total calories. How does this sandwich fare? Not well: 9 percent of its calories come in the form of the dangerous oil. The rule at Long John Silver’s is that if the fish isn’t grilled, it just isn’t safe. Go for the Grilled Pacific Salmon instead. Salmon has more omega-3 fats than any other fish in the sea, and it hasn’t been dipped in LSJ’s trans-fatty frying oil. That means you’re swapping out the world’s worst fats for the world’s best.

Eat This Instead: Grilled Pacific Salmon
245 calories
8 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
440 mg sodium


11. THE WORST LUNCH SANDWICH AT MCDONALD’S
Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich
530 calories
17 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,410 mg sodium

Mayonnaise and bacon destroy any benefit you might have earned by ordering this sandwich grilled instead of crispy. Go for the McDouble instead. This new addition to the Dollar Menu is the best double burger we’ve encountered, and even if you decide to add extra cheese, you’re only looking at a 50-calorie tariff.

Eat This Instead: McDouble
390 calories
19 g fat (8 g saturated)
920 mg sodium


10. THE WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT MCDONALD’S
McSkillet Burrito with Sausage
610 calories
36 g fat (14 g saturated)
1,390 mg sodium

Outside of the disastrous Deluxe Breakfasts, this is the single worst item on the morning menu. Start your day this way and you’ll have just 6 grams of saturated fat and 1,000 milligrams of sodium to negotiate with the rest of the day. Go for the Egg McMuffin with hash browns and coffee, instead. A nice balance of protein, fats, and carbs makes the McMuffin one of our all-time favorite breakfast sandwiches.

Eat This Instead: Egg McMuffin (with hash browns and coffee)
450 calories
21 g fat (6.5 g saturated)
1,130 mg sodium


9. THE WORST SANDWICH AT PANERA
Chipotle Chicken on Artisan French Bread
1,020 calories
57 g fat (20.5 g saturated)
1,900 mg sodium

Panera’s Signature Sandwich menu houses some of the biggest gutbombs in the entire restaurant, so minimize the damage by sticking to the Café sandwiches. With the bulk of Panera’s sandwiches floating in the 700- to 900- calorie range, the Chicken Bacon Dijon on French Bread emerges in the lead as the clear winner. Just be sure to watch your sodium intake for the rest of the day.

Eat This Instead: Chicken Bacon Dijon on French Bread
650 calories
24 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,140 mg sodium


8. THE WORST SANDWICH AT QUIZNOS
Prime Rib Cheesesteak Sandwich
670 calories
41 g fat (10 g saturated)
1,085 mg sodium

Quiznos relies heavily on bottled sauces, which creates a wide discrepancy between the best and worst subs on their sandwich menu. This fat-laden faux-Philly sub is officially the worst on offer. For a leaner option, try the Roadhouse Steak Sammie. At a mere 195 calories, it’s the best, but none of them stray beyond the 300-calorie range.

Eat This Instead: Roadhouse Steak Sammie (and a cup of chili with crackers)
380 calories
12 g fat (3 g saturated)
1,335 mg sodium


7. THE WORST SANDWICH AT RUBY TUESDAY
Turkey Minis
1,058 calories
58 g fat
79 g carbohydrates

Generally, you can count on sandwiches to outperform wraps in the battle for nutritional honors, but Ruby’s Minis are the exception to the rule. If you must have Minis, order them as double. You’ll get two burgers instead of four, but you’ll also save a couple hundred calories. A better option is the Turkey Burger Wrap, which takes a rare (and nutritionally savvy) approach by using mustard in place of fatty mayonnaise. This move puts it hundreds of calories ahead of most other wraps in the country.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Burger Wrap>
551 calories
19 g fat
44 g carbohydrates


6. THE WORST SANDWICH AT SCHLOTZSKY’S
Original-Style Turkey Sandwich
831 calories
35 g fat (14 g saturated)
2,529 mg sodium

Half the medium subs on the menu break the 700-calorie barrier, and few sound as harmless as this one. The problem is the salami and three types of cheese. Eat a Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich, instead. It has no secrets. Or, you can save nearly 300 calories and eat a delicious Mediterranean Pizza. Even with two types of cheese, this pizza competes with the best medium-size subs on the menu. Just be sure to keep your sodium in check for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Schlotzsky’s has a bad habit of lacing their items with more salt than you should eat in one sitting.

Eat This Instead: Mediterranean Pizza
560 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,581 mg sodium


5. THE WORST SANDWICH AT SONIC
Chicken Club Toaster Sandwich
740 calories
46 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,740 mg sodium

This sandwich suffers from a gut-bloating trio of cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise. You’re better off with any other Toaster Sandwich on the menu. That includes both the Bacon Cheeseburger and Country Fried Steak versions. Try the BLT Toaster instead. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are far better than you’ve probably given them credit for. It has 170 fewer calories than any other Toaster Sandwich, making it one of the best sandwiches on Sonic’s menu.

Eat This Instead: BLT Toaster Sandwich
500 calories
29 g fat (7 g saturated)
950 mg sodium


4. THE WORST SANDWICH AT STARBUCK’S
Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich (with Grande Berry Chai Infusion)
740 calories
12 g fat (2 g saturated)
73 g sugar
1,335 mg sodium

We applaud Starbucks for using light mayo in their chicken salad, but it’s not enough to keep this sandwich from being the worst lunch option on the menu. What’s worse is the Berry Chai Infusion: It has more sugar than three Twinkies. Choose, instead, a sandwich prepared with pesto instead of mayonnaise. It decreases the quantity while increasing the quality of fats in your lunch—just be sure you don’t wash it down with a sugar-loaded beverage bomb. A cloyingly sweet drink is the fastest route to lunchtime disaster at Starbucks.

Eat This Instead: Turkey Cranberry Pesto (with Grande Green Shaken Iced Tea)
480 calories
19 g fat (2 g saturated)
26 g sugars
990 mg sodium


3. THE WORST LUNCH SANDWICH AT SUBWAY
Meatball Marinara
580 calories
23 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

Subway’s fat-loaded meatballs make this the biggest blemish on the restaurant’s menu. Go for a footlong, and you’re facing more than half your day’s calories, nearly the entire day’s saturated fat, and well over a day’s worth of sodium. Opt for the Steak and Cheese instead. This particular sub didn’t make the cut for the roundup of Jared’s Favorites, but that doesn’t make it a bad lunch option. In fact, crafting your sandwich with steak instead of chicken breast adds only 22 calories to your sub. That’s a manageable tariff for such a generous upgrade. Now pile on the produce.

Eat This Instead: Steak and Cheese
390 calories
10 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,670 mg sodium


2. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT SUBWAY
Sausage & Cheese Flatbread Breakfast Sandwich
740 calories
25 g fat (11 g saturated)
1,210 mg sodium

So you really love sausage? Okay, fine, but are you willing to gain 13 pounds a year over it? That’s exactly what you’re looking at if you make a choice like this three times a week. We’ll take the ham and pocket the calories every time. Go for the Black Forest Ham & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich. You won’t find a breakfast sandwich with fewer than 400 calories at Subway, and this one is you best option. But what gives these sandwiches good A.M. potential is the option to load them up with lunchtime fixings. Pile on the spinach, peppers, onions and anything else from the produce department.

Eat This Instead: Black Forest Ham & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
450 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,450 mg sodium


1. WORST BREAKFAST SANDWICH AT WENDY’S
Chicken Club Sandwich
550 calories
26 g fat (8 g saturated)
1,290 mg sodium

The three strips of bacon, Swiss cheese, and a load of mayo are basically three types of fat on top of a piece of chicken that’s already been fried in fat. Any other chicken sandwich or wrap on the menu will save you at least 100 calories. Try, for example, the Spicy Chicken Fillet Sandwich. It’s a truly rare specimen; crispy fried chicken, slathered with mayo, with fewer than 500 calories. Wendy’s has somehow managed to pull off this feat of culinary craftsmanship, so if you want to indulge, this is the best way to do so without inflicting any waistline destruction.

Eat This Instead: Spicy Chicken Fillet Sandwich
440 calories
16 g fat (3 g saturated fat)
1,200 mg sodium

Source: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/30-worst-sandwiches-america