The Unhealthiest Sandwiches You Can Order At Arby's

When you're eating at Arby's, you're not necessarily expecting healthy food, but some of the sandwiches are notably unhealthier than others. Quite a few have more sodium than is recommended to consume in a day, and several get more than half their calories from fat, much of which is saturated. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), consuming too much sodium can lead to a variety of health problems, including high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, and more. The AHA notes that saturated fat can also put you at risk for heart disease as it changes your cholesterol levels and makeup.  

Interestingly, some of the unhealthiest sandwiches you can order from Arby's are ones that you probably thought were on the healthier side, including several wraps. So, it pays to take a look at the nutritional stats for your sandwich before you order, especially if you have specific concerns like sodium content.

The sandwiches on our list start at 540 calories and go all the way up to 880. While we've listed them from the lowest amount of calories to the highest, it's often more than just the calorie amount that might make you pause and consider whether you want to purchase it or not. Other nutritional values like high fat, sodium, or sugar levels might be of concern, too. If you're looking to make healthier choices and are curious about the unhealthiest sandwiches among Arby's menu items, read on.

Our list of unhealthy Arby's sandwiches starts with the Classic French Dip & Swiss. The meat on this French dip sandwich is regular roast beef, and there's a lot of it since it comes on a long sub roll. Plus, you get two slices of Swiss cheese and savory au jus sauce for dipping. It's the sodium content you have to watch for most with this menu item.

The Classic French Dip & Swiss might be at the bottom of our list, but it still has 530 calories, which is just over a quarter of your daily intake if you follow a 2,000-calorie diet. While it has a relatively low 21 grams of fat, the type of fat it has matters. Of the 21 grams, 10 are saturated (which is not as high as most of the others on our list). It also has 1 gram of trans fat, which is naturally-occurring in some meats. 

The nutritional value that turns this sandwich into one of the unhealthiest on our list is its sodium content. A Classic French Dip & Swiss sandwich contains 2,540 milligrams of sodium, which is 240 milligrams above the suggested daily maximum of 2,300 milligrams for a 2,000-calorie diet. That means with this sandwich alone, you're already above the sodium amount you should have for the day.

The Smokehouse Brisket contains all sorts of tasty ingredients that collectively bring it to this list. It starts with a sweet brioche bun with smoked beef brisket. The brisket is topped with a smokey BBQ sauce, crispy fried onion strings, and a slice of melty cheddar cheese. While its nutritional makeup is one of the least concerning on our list, it's still not completely healthy.

The Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich comes in at 585 calories, with 29 grams of fat, 11 of which are saturated, as well as 1 gram of trans fat. According to the AHA, the recommended daily amount of saturated fat for a 2,000-calorie diet is 13 grams or less, so even though 11 grams of fat is low for our list, it's teetering toward the limit. The sodium level is comparatively low too at only 1,200 milligrams. Meanwhile, the sugar content (12 grams) isn't as high as you might expect considering it contains BBQ sauce. 

Consuming a half pound of roast beef might sound appealing, but it's not necessarily healthy. The Half Pound Roast Beef sandwich comes on a sesame seed bun and is stacked so high with roast beef that you might have difficulty getting your mouth around it. More importantly for our purposes, the trans fat content is worth noting.

Deciding to get a half pound of roast beef on your sandwich will put you back 610 calories. It contains 30 grams of fat, including 12 grams of saturated fat and 2 of trans fats. This sandwich is one of just two on our list with this much trans fat. The sodium level is creeping upward to the recommended daily limit, at 2,040 milligrams.

Of course, most of us drench our roast beef in sauce when we visit Arby's. Just realize that, for each packet of Arby's sauce you add to this sandwich, you gain 15 calories and 180 milligrams of sodium. So, it will only take you two packets of sauce to bring the sodium level past the recommended maximum. Other sauces can change the nutritional content as well. For example, a single packet of Horsey sauce adds 60 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 150 milligrams of sodium.

Double the beef of a regular Classic Roast Beef sandwich and add two helpings of cheddar sauce, and you aren't looking at the healthiest sandwich choice. The Double Beef 'N Cheddar comes on a yummy onion roll with not only the roast beef and cheddar sauce you'd expect, but red ranch sauce as well. You'll probably be most interested in noting the overall fat and trans fat amounts in this menu item.

The caloric count is edging right on up there with 630 calories. It also has 32 grams of fat, with 11 being saturated and 1.5 being trans fat. The sodium is high too, at 2,100 milligrams, which might not exceed the recommended amount but still comes within 200 milligrams of the daily maximum. That order of curly fries you plan to dip into the cheese dripping off your sandwich will certainly put you over the line.

The Chicken Bacon Swiss Sandwich isn't just unhealthy because it contains a crispy, fried chicken filet; it also has some other ingredients that stack up the numbers. It comes on a sweet brioche bun with several slices of bacon, a slice of Swiss cheese, and honey mustard sauce. It also has lettuce and tomatoes to help balance out the more calorific ingredients.

Honestly, the Chicken Bacon Swiss Sandwich is one of the healthier unhealthy menu items we've listed. However, all those ingredients bring this sandwich up to 650 calories, which is about a third of your intake on a 2,000-calorie diet. Additionally, it has 30 grams of fat, but the good news is that it only has 9.5 grams of saturated fat (fairly low for this list) and is one of few meat items at Arby's with no trans fats. Still, it has 1,760 milligrams of sodium. Pairing it with any size of curly fries or large crinkle fries will take you beyond the recommended daily value of sodium for the day.

When you order the Corned Beef Reuben, you're getting all kinds of lovely ingredients on your sandwich, but together they add up to something that's not exactly healthy. The sandwich starts with two large slices of marble rye bread stacked high with several layers of fresh corned beef. Then, it's topped with a fermented sauerkraut topping, creamy Thousand Island salad dressing, and melted Swiss cheese. It's big enough that it needs to be cut in half to even manage it. 

Eating this whole sandwich will provide you with 680 calories to fuel your day. Within the 31 grams of fat listed, there are 8 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans fats. Both corned beef and sauerkraut are big sources of sodium. Consequently, the Corned Beef Reuben is among the most sodium-laden sandwiches at Arby's, with 2,420 milligrams. With 120 milligrams more than the daily recommended amount, it might not be a bad idea to just eat half of this sandwich since it already comes cut in two. Your future self will thank you for the Reuben leftovers in the fridge.

Burgers aren't always on the menu at Arby's. However, if you want to give these limited time menu items a try, or if they're successful enough to make a return to the menu, you'll want to know just how unhealthy they really are. Arby's Deluxe Burger has pretty much all the ingredients you'd expect on a deluxe cheeseburger. Along with a thick beef hamburger patty, the burger comes with a slice of classic American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onion, and burger sauce on a brioche bun. The main concern with this item is its fat content. 

The stats are pretty much what you'd expect from a deluxe cheeseburger, especially in the fat category. This burger will set you back 690 calories for the day. It owes its juiciness to having over 50% of its calories come from fat (40 grams). Furthermore, the fat count is comprised of 17 grams of saturated fat and 1 gram of trans fat, which puts it over the daily recommended limit for saturated fat by 4 grams. It also has 1,490 milligrams of sodium to consider when pairing it with sides.

It's nice being able to get a Greek Gyro at Arby's now, especially if there aren't a lot of other places in your area to find one. It's got all the ingredients you crave in a gyro: seasoned gyro meat and tzatziki sauce, along with tomatoes, lettuce, and red onions folded into a pillowy piece of pita bread. However, using gyro meat makes this fairly fatty, turning this fresh-tasting sandwich into an option that's less healthy than you initially thought.

First of all, you should know the sandwich comes in at 700 calories, which is more than a third of calories for your day if your goal is 2,000. Over 50% of the calories in this gyro come from fat, with 44 grams. While it contains no trans fat, it's right at the daily limit for saturated fat at 13 grams. Luckily, it's on the lower end of the sodium scale for our list with 1,370 milligrams. So, there are some slight positives mixed in with all that fat.

Among the limited time items you might find at Arby's, the Bourbon BBQ Brisket Sandwich is similar to the Smokehouse Brisket sandwich. However, the few changes create some nutritional differences that make this one more calorie-laden, with especially unhealthy nutritional stats in every category. Both Bourbon BBQ sandwiches include smoked beef brisket on a brioche bun, topped with crispy fried onion strings and a slice of melty cheddar cheese. However, this one uses sweet bourbon BBQ sauce instead of smokey BBQ sauce. Plus it has several slices of brown sugar bacon, whereas the other sandwich has no bacon. So, you can imagine how that change in ingredients might affect nutrition.

The Bourbon BBQ Brisket Sandwich has 700 calories, which is 110 more than the other. It also has 34 grams of fat (5 grams more), which includes 13 grams of saturated fat and 1 gram of trans fat. Plus, it has 1,620 milligrams of sodium (420 more than the other version). The sweeter BBQ sauce and the sweet bacon also push this sandwich toward the top of our list when it comes to sugar counts, with 23 grams vs. 12 for the Smokehouse Brisket.

If you thought a half pound of roast beef on a regular Arby's sandwich packed a punch, adding cheddar makes it even unhealthier. While the Double Beef 'N Cheddar has double the roast beef and cheddar sauce of a regular Beef 'N Cheddar, the Half Pound Beef 'N Cheddar increases the meat amount even further. Just like the other, it's served on an onion roll and comes with cheddar sauce and red ranch sauce. However, the sodium and fat content is far unhealthier.

All that extra meat takes the calorie content of this sandwich up to 740, which is 110 more than just getting a double-meat-and-cheese version of the sandwich. It also has 39 grams of fat, including 14 grams of saturated. Plus, it joins the Half Pound Roast Beef on the list of sandwiches with 2 grams of trans fats. All that cheese and meat makes this sandwich have the second highest sodium of any other one on our list at 2,530 milligrams. 

While chicken sandwiches can sometimes be a healthier option, that's not the case when the chicken is fried. On that note, the Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sandwich is unhealthier than its beef counterpart, the Bourbon BBQ Brisket Sandwich. Except for swapping out the brisket for a fried chicken filet, the ingredients on both sandwiches are identical (brown sugar bacon, cheddar cheese, fried onion strings, and bourbon BBQ sauce). Plus, they both come on a brioche bun. While some nutritional stats are better since it's chicken, they're worse in other areas, like sodium.

Consuming the Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sandwich provides you with 740 calories and 33 grams of fat, including 10 grams of saturated fat. It's also higher in sodium (2,120 milligrams vs. 1,620 milligrams) and higher in carbs (77 grams vs. 59 grams) than the brisket version of the sandwich. The Bourbon BBQ Sauce also brings the sugar up to 25 grams, which is 2 grams higher than the brisket version.

In many cases, choosing a wrap instead of a sandwich with a bun can be a healthier solution, but not always, as is the case for the Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wrap. After all, flour tortillas usually have better nutritional stats than buns. However, you have to take note of what's inside the tortilla. There's lettuce, tomato, and red onion in this wrap to give it an appearance of healthiness, but the other ingredients — chicken nuggets, Parmesan peppercorn ranch, and Buffalo sauce — are laden with calories, fat, and sodium.

Once you look at the nutritional content of this wrap, you might be surprised to see that it's worth 790 calories. A little over half of that comes from the whopping 45 grams of fat in the ingredients (9 of which are saturated). This wrap is likely to surprise you with its sodium content as well. With 2,490 milligrams, it's 190 over the recommended maximum, making it potentially more questionable for your health than you might have thought going in.

Surprisingly, the Big Cheesy Bacon Burger doesn't have the most calories on our list, but it's still up there, and most of the other nutritional stats are unhealthy. It has a lot of the same ingredients as the Deluxe Burger: a thick and juicy beef hamburger patty, American cheese, red onion, lettuce, tomato, and burger sauce on a brioche bun. Plus, it gets an extra slice of Swiss cheese and several slices of bacon, which elevate the nutritional stats.

With 800 calories, it has the third highest calorie count on our list. Its 48 grams of fat represent over 50% of the calorie content of the burger. Twenty of those grams are saturated, pushing this 7 grams over the recommended amount, which puts you at risk for unhealthy cholesterol levels and heart disease. It's also edging toward the recommended daily value of sodium with 2,010 milligrams.

Any time you see ranch and bacon on the same sandwich, it's probably a good idea to check the nutritional content. Arby's Roast Turkey, Ranch, & Bacon Sandwich is another case where choosing the poultry option isn't the healthiest option, even if it's not a fried meat sandwich. Aside from bacon and Parmesan ranch, the other ingredients — roast turkey, cheddar cheese, lettuce, red onion, tomato, and honey wheat bread — don't look too unhealthy. However, there's a lot more sodium in it than you might have thought.

With 810 calories, the calorie content of this deli sandwich is the second highest on our list. It has 35 grams of fat, which includes 10 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans fat. The salty turkey and bacon on this sandwich bring the sodium count to 2,520 milligrams, which is 220 over the recommended value. If you're watching carbs, it has more than any other sandwich on our list, with 79 grams.

You probably didn't expect the Crispy Club Wrap to be the have the most calories among the Arby's sandwiches on our list, but here it is. The wrap comes with fried chicken nuggets, red onion, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, honey mustard, and cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. Altogether, consuming these ingredients represents a lot of fat and calories.

The Crispy Club Wrap has a whopping 880 calories, which is nearly half of the recommended calories in a 2,000-calorie diet. Half of those calories (440) come from the wrap's staggering 49 grams of fat, of which 14 are saturated and 0.5 are trans fats. The saturated fat amount is 1 gram over the recommended daily amount, which if consumed regularly, could still affect your cholesterol negatively. The sodium isn't over the recommended daily value but it's still high at 1,870 milligrams. Adding a side could easily push your sodium intake over the edge.