PDQ menu calories and nutrition guide for 2026: chicken tenders, sandwiches, sauces and sides with official calorie counts.
PDQ Menu Calories & Nutrition 2026
PDQ menu calories run from about 86 for a single grilled chicken tender up to 830 for a loaded PDQ salad, with most sandwiches landing between 460 and 700. PDQ publishes official calorie counts for nearly every item, so you can actually plan your meal before you order. Here is the full breakdown.
I will be honest, I did not expect PDQ to be this transparent about nutrition. A lot of chains bury this stuff, but PDQ lists calorie counts right on their official menu, and the app shows full nutrition and allergen info for every item. If you are trying to watch your intake (or you just want to know what that Honey Butter sandwich is really doing to your day), this guide has you covered. And if you are still deciding what to order, our PDQ menu with prices breaks down every item by cost.
How Many Calories Are in PDQ Chicken Tenders?
The big calorie swing at PDQ comes down to one choice: grilled or crispy. Grilled chicken tenders start around 86 calories each, while hand-breaded crispy tenders run about 107 each. That does not sound like a huge gap per tender, but over a 5-piece it adds up to roughly 225-315 for grilled versus 225-525 for crispy, depending on size.
Nuggets follow the same pattern. An 8-piece of classic grilled nuggets is 120-180 calories, while the crispy version climbs higher. Here’s the full tenders and nuggets breakdown from PDQ’s official menu:
| Item | Details | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Tenders, 3-Piece | Grilled, crispy or spicy | 135-315 |
| Classic Tenders, 4-Piece | Grilled, crispy or spicy | 180-420 |
| Classic Tenders, 5-Piece | Grilled, crispy or spicy | 225-525 |
| Sauced Tenders, 3-Piece | Sweet Teriyaki, Hot Honey, Garlic Buffalo, Garlic Parmesan | 135-315 |
| Classic Nuggets, 8-Piece | Grilled, crispy or spicy | 120-180 |
| Classic Nuggets, 12-Piece | Grilled, crispy or spicy | 280-420 |
The sauce you pick matters too. Buffalo and Honey BBQ are the lightweights at 80 calories a cup, while PDQ Sauce, Honey Mustard and Bleu Cheese sit at 150 each and Sweet Sriracha at 160. If calories are the concern, Buffalo is your friend.
Which PDQ Sandwich Has the Most (and Least) Calories?
The heaviest hitter on the PDQ sandwich board is the OG Deluxe at 700 calories, followed closely by the OG Classic and Spicy Classic at 695 each and the Honey Butter at 690. The lightest sandwich is the Buffy Bleu at just 460 calories, since it is built on tenders instead of a full chicken breast.
| Sandwich | Details | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| OG Classic | Crispy breast, mayo, pickles | 695 |
| OG Deluxe | Crispy breast, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles | 700 |
| Spicy Classic | Spicy breast, mayo, pickles | 695 |
| Spicy Deluxe | Spicy breast, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles | 700 |
| Buffy Bleu | Crispy tenders tossed in buffalo bleu, lettuce | 460 |
| Honey Butter | Crispy breast, honey butter, pickles | 690 |
| Grilled Chicken | Grilled breast, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles | 495 |
Surprised the grilled chicken sandwich is still 495? Mayo and a brioche bun do real work there. Skip the mayo and you shave off a meaningful chunk.
Sides, Shakes and Salads
Sides are where a “light” meal quietly stops being light. Waffle fries run 360-540 calories depending on size, and the zucchini fries are a full 740. On the friendlier end, parmesan broccoli is 300 and the garden salad is 120-420 before toppings. Shakes are 400 across the board, and the chocolate chunk cookie is another 400 on its own.
Where Can I Find the Official PDQ Nutrition PDF?
PDQ puts full nutrition and allergen information in its official app and on the PDQ website’s menu pages. The chain does not publish one single static PDF the way some brands do, but the app’s menu lets you view nutrition per item, which is honestly more useful since you can filter by what you actually plan to order.
If you want to double-check anything in this guide, start with PDQ’s official menu page, which lists calorie counts for every category. One caveat: exact numbers can shift when locations adjust recipes or when limited-time items roll in and out, so treat third-party nutrition databases as estimates and the official menu as the source of truth.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories are in 3 PDQ crispy chicken tenders?
About 321 calories for 3 hand-breaded crispy tenders, according to published nutrition data. Choosing the 2-piece drops that to roughly 214, and switching to grilled brings 3 tenders down to about 130.
What is the lowest calorie meal at PDQ?
Grilled chicken tenders with a garden salad. Three grilled tenders run about 135 calories and the garden salad is 120-420 depending on your dressing choice, so a full light meal can stay well under 500 calories.
Are PDQ waffle fries high in calories?
They are on the higher side: 360-540 calories depending on size. If you want fries without the hit, note the zucchini fries are actually heavier at 740, so waffle fries are the better pick of the two.
Does PDQ publish nutrition information officially?
Yes. PDQ lists calorie counts on its official menu and shows full nutrition and allergen info in the PDQ app. That is the source this PDQ menu calories guide is based on.
🔗 Related Reading
Honestly, PDQ menu calories are pretty manageable if you know where to look. Grilled protein, light sauce, and a broccoli or salad side keep things reasonable, and you still get that fresh, never-frozen flavor PDQ is known for. Just don’t let a 460-calorie sandwich turn into a 1,200-calorie meal with fries, a shake and a cookie, as tempting as that combination is.
