I’m a fan of Subway and think it’s one of the healthier fast food options out there (maybe that’s not saying much!).
But is Subway really healthy? And what does healthy fast food even mean?
I guess it all depends on your diet goals: low calorie, low carb, low fat, etc…but most people look at calories first, so I made this guide to the Subway menu to quickly find the lowest calorie options.
Skip to a section:
- Subway Bread Calories
- Subway Flatbread Calories
- Subway Flatbread Carbs
- Subway Salad Calories
- Subway Breakfast Calories
- Subway Cookie Calories
- Calories in Subway Condiments and Sauces
Lowest Calorie Subway Sandwiches:
Subway offered mini subs for a time, which were of course the lowest calorie options on the menu (never mind that they were never going to be enough food for an adult!) but those have been phased out now.
Subway now lists “sliders” under the sandwiches nutrition info but I’m going to assume those are too small to care about and will continue to focus on how many calories are in the 6-inch subs (just double the numbers if you fancy a footlong!). So, as of 5/21/21, the lowest calorie Subway sandwich is still the 6″ Veggie Delite®, at 190 calories. If you want meat on your sandwich—of course you do, this is America after all—the 6″ Turkey Breast has 250 calories and is the lowest calorie sandwich with meat.
Important note about the nutrition info from Subway:
Subway Fresh Fit® refers to subs prepared to standard recipe on 9-grain wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and cucumbers. Nutrition information for all other subs are based on “chef-recommended recipes”. Tap the subs with links to see those.
| Subway Sandwich | Calories | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|
| 6″ Veggie Delite® | 190 | 39 |
| 6″ Turkey Breast | 250 | 41 |
| 6″ Black Forest Ham | 260 | 42 |
| 6″ Turkey Breast & Black Forest Ham | 260 | 41 |
| 6″ Oven Roasted Chicken | 270 | 41 |
| 6″ Chicken Tikka | 290 | 39 |
| 6″ Cold Cut Combo | 310 | 38 |
| 6″ Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki | 320 | 52 |
| 6″ BBQ Chicken | 330 | 50 |
| 6″ Chicken Mango Curry | 330 | 43 |
| 6″ Turkey & Bacon | 330 | 40 |
| 6″ Chicken Vindaloo | 340 | 42 |
| 6″ Steak and Cheese | 340 | 39 |
| 6″ Buffalo Chicken | 360 | 39 |
| 6″ Italian B.M.T.® | 380 | 40 |
| 6″ Meatball Marinara | 420 | 47 |
| 6″ Spicy Italian | 450 | 40 |
| 6″ Tuna | 450 | 38 |
| 6″ | 490 | 47 |
| 6″ Chicken & Bacon Ranch | 530 | 41 |
| 6″ Paneer Tikka | 570 | 48 |
| 6″ Turkey & Bacon Guacamole | 800 | 86 |
| Source: https://www.subway.com/en-US/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/NutritionGrid | ||
Lowest Calorie Subway Bread:
The most important part of a sandwich—the thing that separates a sandwich from a salad—is the bread. Sadly, the bread is also where most of the sandwich calories come from.
If your goal is to save calories, start with this list. The lowest calorie Subway bread is a tie between the standard 6″ white and wheat (Italian white or 9-Grain Wheat) at 180 calories each. Note that this is lower than the flatbread.
| Subway Sandwich Bread | Calories | Carbohydrate |
|---|---|---|
| 6″ Italian (White) | 180 | 34 |
| 6″ 9-Grain Wheat | 180 | 36 |
| 6″ Italian Herbs & Cheese | 220 | 37 |
| 6″ Artisan Flatbread | 230 | 43 |
| Spinach Wrap | 290 | 48 |
| Tomato Basil Wrap | 290 | 49 |
| nutrition information source | ||
Lowest Calorie Subway Salads
Subway salads are basically the sandwiches, minus the bread. Of course this means far fewer calories and carbohydrates.
But will a salad be as filling?
I think that will depend on the amount of veggies, extras, and dressing you choose.
Also, be aware that a couple of the salads have just as many calories and carbs as a sandwich. The Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Salad and Ensalada – Autumn Carved Turkey Salad are the worst offenders.
| Salad | Calories | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Veggie Delite® Salad | 50 | 9 |
| Black Forest Ham Salad | 110 | 11 |
| Turkey Breast Salad | 110 | 11 |
| Oven Roasted Chicken Salad | 130 | 9 |
| Roast Beef Salad | 140 | 10 |
| Subway Club® Salad | 140 | 11 |
| Carved Turkey Salad | 160 | 10 |
| Rotisserie-Style Chicken Salad | 170 | 10 |
| Cold Cut Combo Salad | 180 | 11 |
| Steak & Cheese Salad | 210 | 14 |
| Italian B.M.T.® Salad | 230 | 11 |
| Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Salad | 230 | 32 |
| Ensalada – Autumn Carved Turkey Salad | 300 | 26 |
| Spicy Italian Salad | 300 | 11 |
| Meatball Marinara Salad | 310 | 25 |
| Tuna | 310 | 9 |
| Chicken & Bacon Ranch Salad | 540 | 13 |
Lowest Calorie Subway Breakfast
| Breakfast Sandwich | Calories | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egg & Cheese | 370 | 13 | 44 | 4 |
| Black Forest Ham, Egg & Cheese | 400 | 14 | 45 | 4 |
| Steak, Egg & Cheese | 440 | 15 | 46 | 4 |
| Bacon, Egg & Cheese | 450 | 18 | 44 | 4 |
How many calories in Subway cookies?
In general, Subway cookies have between 200 and 230 calories
| Cookie | Calories |
|---|---|
| Apple Pie Cookie | 200 |
| Chocolate Chip | 200 |
| Oatmeal Raisin | 200 |
| Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie | 200 |
| Chocolate Chunk | 210 |
| Double Chocolate Chip | 210 |
| M & M Cookie | 210 |
| Pumpkin Spice Cookie | 210 |
| Peanut Butter Cookie | 220 |
| White Chip Macadamia Nut | 220 |
| Sugar Cookie | 230 |
A Few More Tips for Saving Calories at Subway
- Load up your sandwich with vegetables. The fiber will help with feeling hunger and the calories are minimal.
- Mustard and vinegar are the lowest calorie condiments. Vinegar is 0 calories per serving. Yellow and Deli Brown Mustard are 10 calories each.
- Mayo and ranch dressing are the highest calorie condiments at 110 calories each.
- The lowest calorie sandwiches are the 6-inch Veggie Delite®, at 230 calories, and the 6-inch Turkey Breast, at 280 calories (*note that these values don’t include cheese or condiments)
- The highest calorie Subway sandwich is the 610 calorie 6″ Chicken Bacon Ranch.
- Note that the nutrition values for the sandwiches on the ‘6 grams of fat or less‘ menu do not include cheese or condiments.
- The lowest calorie Subway bread is the 6-inch sourdough** at 190 calories, followed by the 6-inch Italian (white) at 200 calories.
- The highest calorie Subway breads are the Italian Herbs & Cheese and Monterey Cheddar** at 240 calories each.
- Flatbreads must be healthier, right? Surprisingly, the lowest calorie Subway flatbread is the 220 calorie 6” Flatbread, Multigrain**, which is actually higher than the lowest calorie regular bread.
**Available at participating locations
nutrition information source
How To Build The Lowest Calorie Subway Sandwich
Subway bread choices: Sourdough is the lowest calorie Subway sandwich bread (6″ is 190 calories). But it’s only available at select locations. Italian (white) bread is the lowest calorie choice available at all locations (6″ is 200 calories).
Subway cheese options: Be aware that cheese isn’t included in Subway’s default nutrition info! The lowest calorie choices are American and Mozzarella (40 calories) and the rest range between 50 and 60 calories.
Veggies: vegetables don’t tend to have a lot of calories (most don’t make a difference when using Subway’s nutrition calculator), so load up on vegetables to feel more full while keeping calories low.
Sauces: choosing sauces will make a huge difference in the total calories for your sandwich. Vinegar is the best condiment choice at 0 calories, followed by yellow or brown mustard at 10. The highest calorie condiments are ranch and mayonnaise at 110 calories each.
List of Subway condiments by lowest calories:
- Vinegar: 0 calories
- Yellow or Deli Brown Mustard: 10 calories
- Honey Mustard: 30 calories
- Subway® Vinaigrette: 40 calories
- Sweet Onion: 40 calories
- Light Mayonnaise: 50 calories
- Olive Oil Blend: 50 calories
- Chipotle Southwest Sauce: 100 calories
- Ranch: 110 calories
- Regular Mayonnaise: 110 calories
Extras: Obviously, these are all going to increase the total calories. Whether they are worth adding for flavor and/or just feeling more full is up to you.
- Avocado: 60 calories
- Bacon: 80 calories
- Pepperoni: 80 calories
So, the lowest calorie ‘typical sandwich’ (includes cheese and a sauce) I could build is the 6-inch Veggie Delite on Italian bread, with American Cheese, all the vegetable options, and mustard.
- Choose Italian Bread (saves 10 calories over the default whole wheat)
- Choose American Cheese (adds 40 calories)
- Add all the vegetables you like (calories are negligible and don’t make a difference on Subway’s nutrition calculator)
- Choose mustard (add 10 calories); optionally add vinegar (0 calories) too if you like
- Skip the extras
Following these steps brought the calorie total to 270:
If you like some meat on your sandwich (I sure do!), follow the above steps but start with the 6″ turkey breast sandwich—the lowest calorie meat option—with just 50 calories more than the Veggie Delite.
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