CAVA Nutrition Calculator: The Short Answer
The Grilled Chicken has 30g of protein — the most of any item at CAVA — for 240 calories, with 3g of carbs and 12g of fat. For most adults that is roughly a third to a half of a day's protein in one menu item.
Total grams are only half the story, though. Measured as protein per 100 calories — the number that matters when protein has to fit inside a calorie target — the menu's winner is the Grilled Chicken at 12.5g per 100 calories (30g protein for 240 calories). The ranking below shows both measures side by side.
The Highest-Protein CAVA Items, Ranked
Every figure is taken from the CAVA calculator. Read the protein-per-100-calories column if you are fitting protein into a deficit; read total protein if you simply need the biggest single hit.
| Item | Calories | Protein | Protein / 100 cal | Fat | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grilled Chicken | 240 | 30g | 12.5g | 12g | 640mg |
| Harissa Honey Chicken | 280 | 28g | 10g | 13g | 680mg |
| Braised Lamb | 290 | 26g | 9g | 18g | 620mg |
| Grilled Meatballs (Beef) | 300 | 25g | 8.3g | 19g | 690mg |
| Lamb Meatballs | 320 | 24g | 7.5g | 21g | 700mg |
| Spicy Lamb Meatballs | 330 | 24g | 7.3g | 22g | 740mg |
| Black Lentils | 180 | 11g | 6.1g | 1g | 390mg |
| Falafel | 280 | 10g | 3.6g | 12g | 580mg |
The Trade-Off Nobody Mentions: Sodium
High-protein fast food usually bills you in sodium rather than calories. The saltiest item here, the Spicy Lamb Meatballs, carries 740mg, and several top-protein items sit above 1,000mg. That does not disqualify them — it means the rest of the day should run lighter on salt, and water should be the default drink beside them.
If you are combining two high-protein items to build a 60g-plus meal, run the pair through the calculator first: protein adds up exactly as you hope, but so does sodium, and the total is the number worth knowing before you order.
- Most protein: Grilled Chicken — 30g (240 cal)
- Most efficient: Grilled Chicken — 12.5g protein per 100 cal
- Highest fibre among protein picks: Black Lentils — 9g fibre
CAVA Nutrition Calculator: Full Nutrition Table
For reference, here is the wider CAVA picture in one table — the highest-protein items and the lightest items from the CAVA Nutrition Calculator, side by side. Every figure matches the calculator exactly, so you can cross-check any row by building it above.
| Item | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grilled Chicken | 240 | 30g | 3g | 12g | 640mg |
| Harissa Honey Chicken | 280 | 28g | 11g | 13g | 680mg |
| Braised Lamb | 290 | 26g | 4g | 18g | 620mg |
| Grilled Meatballs (Beef) | 300 | 25g | 7g | 19g | 690mg |
| Lamb Meatballs | 320 | 24g | 8g | 21g | 700mg |
| Spicy Lamb Meatballs | 330 | 24g | 9g | 22g | 740mg |
| Baby Spinach | 10 | 1g | 1g | 0g | 25mg |
| Pickled Onions | 10 | 0g | 2g | 0g | 85mg |
| Persian Cucumber | 10 | 0g | 2g | 0g | 40mg |
| Arugula | 15 | 1g | 2g | 0g | 20mg |
| Tomato & Cucumber | 15 | 1g | 3g | 0g | 60mg |
| Splendid Greens | 20 | 2g | 3g | 0g | 30mg |
Inside the CAVA Nutrition Calculator: Category by Category
Menus make more sense category by category than item by item, because each section of the CAVA menu plays a different role in the meal. Here is what each part contributes, with the numbers that define it.
Bases: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 8 items in this category, averaging about 126 calories each. The lightest is the Baby Spinach at 10 calories, and the protein pick is the Black Lentils with 11g of protein for 180 calories. If you only remember one number from this category, remember the average — it is what an unplanned pick will cost you.
Proteins: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 9 items in this category, averaging about 269 calories each. The lightest is the Roasted Vegetables at 170 calories, and the protein pick is the Grilled Chicken with 30g of protein for 240 calories. The gap between the lightest and the typical pick here is where most of the day's quiet calories hide.
Dips & Spreads: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 6 items in this category, averaging about 103 calories each. The lightest is the Roasted Eggplant Dip at 70 calories, and the protein pick is the Hummus with 4g of protein for 120 calories. Treat the lightest item as the default and the richer items as deliberate upgrades, not accidents.
Toppings: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 9 items in this category, averaging about 48 calories each. The lightest is the Pickled Onions at 10 calories, and the protein pick is the Crumbled Feta with 4g of protein for 70 calories. This is also the category where portion choices matter most, because the calculator's portion buttons scale these figures directly.
Dressings: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 6 items in this category, averaging about 123 calories each. The lightest is the Yogurt Dill Dressing at 90 calories, and the protein pick is the Tahini Caesar with 3g of protein for 140 calories. If you only remember one number from this category, remember the average — it is what an unplanned pick will cost you.
Sides: the CAVA Nutrition Calculator tracks 3 items in this category, averaging about 237 calories each. The lightest is the Turmeric Rice Soup (cup) at 160 calories, and the protein pick is the Side Pita with 8g of protein for 290 calories. The gap between the lightest and the typical pick here is where most of the day's quiet calories hide.
Lightest vs Heaviest: The Real Gap
Put the two ends of the CAVA menu next to each other and the stakes become obvious. The Baby Spinach is 10 calories; the Spicy Lamb Meatballs is 330 — a gap of 320 calories, wider than many entire meals. Neither number makes the other wrong: the lightest item is a tool for light days, the heaviest is a tool for hungry ones, and most people get into trouble only when they pick the second while planning for the first.
Sodium shows the same spread. The Avocado carries 5mg while the Spicy Lamb Meatballs carries 740mg, and sugar runs from almost nothing in the savoury core of the menu to 9g in the Harissa Honey Chicken. A balanced CAVA order is mostly an exercise in mixing the ends deliberately instead of stacking one end by default.
The Ordering Playbook
Everything in this guide condenses into a four-step routine that works at the counter, in the drive-thru and in a delivery app. It takes about twenty seconds once it is a habit, and it uses the same numbers the calculator uses, so what you plan is what you get.
- Step 1 — Anchor on protein: start with the Grilled Chicken (30g protein, 240 calories) or another top protein-per-calorie pick.
- Step 2 — Add volume before calories: the Black Lentils (9g fibre) and the menu's vegetables and salads fill the tray cheapest.
- Step 3 — Spend extras deliberately: one sauce, cheese or dessert — chosen, not accumulated. Remember the Harissa Honey Chicken alone is 9g of sugar.
- Step 4 — Check sodium before you commit: if the build passes roughly 1,500mg, swap one component for a lighter one — the Avocado shows how low the floor is at 5mg.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Most disappointing CAVA orders fail in predictable ways, and none of them is the main item. The first is judging by the headline item alone: an average main is about 145 calories, but the tray is the sum, and sides, sauces and drinks regularly add half as much again. The second is assuming "grilled", "fresh" or "house" wording means light — the table above, not the adjective, is the evidence.
- Mistake: ordering the Spicy Lamb Meatballs (330 cal) on a day planned around 500-calorie meals.
- Mistake: pairing two mid-sodium items and discovering the total passes 1,800mg — the Spicy Lamb Meatballs effect, doubled.
- Mistake: skipping the protein anchor and wondering why a light order left you hungry within the hour.
- Mistake: never rechecking — menus and portion habits drift, and a 60-second calculator check catches it.
Planning a Full Day Around a CAVA Order
A restaurant meal does not happen in isolation, and the healthiest way to use these numbers is at the level of the day. If CAVA is the big meal — say a build in the 700–900 calorie range — the rest of the day simply runs lighter and more protein-led: eggs or yogurt at breakfast, a salad or soup at the other meal, water as the default drink. Nothing needs banning, and the CAVA order itself does not need shrinking; the day absorbs it by design.
The reverse also holds. On a day when the other meals are the occasion, CAVA can be the light one: the Baby Spinach at 10 calories plus a high-fibre side is a genuinely satisfying small meal, and knowing it exists — with its exact numbers — is what makes the plan stick instead of collapsing into guesswork.