The Best Chain Restaurant Meals Under $10 In 2025

It might seem like a no-brainer to grab a chain restaurant meal for under $10, especially considering the ever rising prices of eating out. Anyone keeping an eye on their dining budget would be foolish not to take advantage of a bargain menu that brings food to the table for anything less than $20. We're not talking about fast-food bargain menus here; we're talking about restaurants that invite you to pull up a seat for a leisurely dining experience. Having options below the $10 mark at these eateries means you can eat twice as much or treat your favorite dining companion to a meal of their own. Of course, you can always just pocket the difference and put it toward something else.

Some eateries are a bit more generous with the creations they provide in the less-than-$10 price range, while others stock the budget-friendly portfolio with the bare basics and dishes that may not make the grade even at a higher price point. I'm always intrigued by what a restaurant considers worthy of an under $10 meal, so I did some snooping to find out what well-known sit-down chains have in their selection of marked down meals under $10. Surprises both good and bad abound, all worth being aware of if you're on the search for eats and treats sold below market value while still providing premium enjoyment — and without having to order from the kid's menu (though that works, too).

Slide into a booth at Outback Steakhouse and prepare to be served a $9.99 combo designed to whet your appetite. There's no slabs of steak or Bloomin' Onions to be found in the arrangement, but if you're in the market for a slightly lighter lunch or dinner possibility, this outlet keeps the price "down under" the $10 mark to make sure you get something good in your gullet.

What exactly can you expect to find when you drop into Outback for your bargain meal? How about a selection of soups like potato and French onion or a bowl of Tasmanian chili? Pair those with either a house or a Caesar side salad and you have a modest filling combination that's been pleasing diners since the first chef figured out how delicious a soup and salad combo is. Maybe the best part of the deal is that your portions are unlimited if you dine on Monday through Friday before 4 p.m., which allows you to extend the fantastic price and double up on your discount dining.

No need to dial down your hunger if your dining budget is a little short this week. Applebee's is on the scene to get you fed for less than a $10 note with its $9.99 Really Big Burger Meal. It may not include the riblets this enterprise is famous for, but getting filling food on the cheap is a prospect that calls for acceptance of what's available without wishing for it to be something else. And in this case, what you get is a whopper of a meal.

As the name states outright, this low priced pick features one of Applebee's overly large burgers — the Big Classic Bacon Cheeseburger, or the newly released Big Cluckin' Chicken Sandwich — two super stacks of meat, spreads, and fixings captured between halves of a brioche roll. And to keep your sandwich from getting lonely on the plate, Applebee's also provides endless fries and drinks to go with the entrées. It's a deal that clever customers can make go a long way, stretching both their dollars and their stomachs until they reach maximum satisfaction.

TGI Fridays makes it easy to say TGI Any Day Of The Week with a $9.99 meal scenario that serves up a sensational spread to get you fed. Bring your friends and family to get in on the down-low pricing and you can sample a slew of selections and try a bite from everyone's plate. When you find your favorite, head back in for another round and you'll still be sliding in just under the $10 mark (tax and tip not included, of course). Since these specials start at $9.99, be sure to check the price of your preferred meal before ordering.

Of course, if TGI Friday's has a meal deal, it's going to include the best bar bites on the menu. For $9.99, you can pick up burgers, Friday's signature Big Ribs, chicken, and even a 6-ounce sirloin steak. And pub grub wouldn't be the same without chicken strips or grilled chicken Caesar salad as part of the production. But you might not be expecting something more premium like a slab of salmon or a bacon ranch chicken sandwich to be among the low-priced options, but they are! With seasoned fries and your choice of drink including classic milkshakes, you can sneak in, sit down, and settle up for half an Andrew Jackson. Now that's savvy eating.

Rustle up some savory homestyle grub at Cracker Barrel without having to sell your stocks with a selection of daily lunch specials made to grab you by the taste buds. The feel-good Southern vibe comes free with your under-$10 lunch order, which means you can load up on happiness and hearty fare without emptying your pockets entirely. And the front porch rocking chairs and peg puzzles are a thoroughly gratis part of the experience, too.

Head into the barrel during the lunch hour and you can request a double dose of the restaurant's favorite lunch selections. Grab a house salad with a loaded baked potato, go for a loaded baked sweet potato and vegetable soup, or play mix and match with any combination of duets that suits your fancy. You can also dig into meatloaf, broccoli cheddar chicken, and turkey platters. It may not be an extensive collection, but it's a slate of satisfying plates that can get you in and out of the booth for less than what you might spend at your favorite fast food spot.

IHOP, you hop — we all hop for IHOP, especially when checking out the premium chow on the restaurant's wildly affordable House Faves menu. With so many variations on the classic pancake, this chain takes pains to provide a more diverse range of dishes to attract breakfast fans from all sides of the table. IHOP makes its food cheap, which makes it simple to start your day without worrying if your paycheck will cover the bill.

The incredible possibilities IHOP offers for only $6.00 each are a Who's Who of the restaurants best-loved platters. Enjoy a simple breakfast platter with two each of eggs, pancakes, and bacon strips or sausage links or sink your fork into a luscious house scramble featuring smoked bacon and a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. For the bread lovers in the house, the two egg omelet comes with a double stack of pancakes, and the French toast breakfast includes two eggs prepared however you like them along with two sausage links or bacon strips. This menu is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., providing alternatives to weekday home cooking. When it comes to filling up your belly for less than $10, IHOP really knows how to take care of business.

You'll be singing like a bird at Red Robin when you discover the chain's $9.99 Big Yummm Burger Deal. It's a three-piece set below the $10 line that shines a spotlight on what this chain does best: burgers and fries. And yes, you'll be saying "Yummm!" just the way you hear it in the jingle, but without paying royalties. That's even more money kept in your wallet!

There's only one arrangement of selections in the Red Robin Big Yummm Burger Deal, but what an arrangement it is. In the center of the plate, a Red's Double Tavern Burger featuring a pair of smashed patties decorated with lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and a generous swipe of Red's Secret Tavern Sauce. As with the restaurants other burger meals, you also have access to a bottomless bucket of steak-style French fries (among Red Robin's most popular items) and a bottomless drink that will quench your thirst from here to next Thursday. It's an under-$10 meal designed to make you feel like a million bucks. Be sure to order through the app to get the $9.99 price.

America's friendliest eatery does its part to help make your moolah go miles further with a Bob Evans collection of 30 meals under $8.99. Think about it ... you could pop in every day for a month and try every offering on the list without breaking the $10 bar. That's a rarity in the world of chain restaurant dining these days, which makes this operation a sure-fire space for dining that helps keep your debit balance flush.

There may be no chain restaurant in the U.S. offering more incredible dining for under $10 then Bob Evans. The suite of dishes you can find for under $8.99 is a whopping 30-pack of pics from all over the menu. Head in for breakfast and enjoy one of the company's Sunrise Savers to get your day off to an economical start or lounge about at lunch and discover the delicious difference a Bob Evans Pick 2 platter can make to your dining life. And if you happen to drop by for dinner, the variety of dinner bluebell plates you can choose from make a meal out of your favorite American inventions. How's that for tasty markdowns in the chain restaurant dining sphere?

It's a red-letter occasion at Ruby Tuesday when diners take advantage of the eatery's $9.99 Everyday Deals line-up. Whether you order them for a table or booth, enjoy them at the bar, or grab them to go, you can take advantage of seven money-friendly creations that fulfill your dining needs and your financial responsibilities in tasty fashion. If there were any more winning to be done here, the chain would have to sell lottery tickets and bingo cards.

There's a grand selection to get your $9.99 spent properly with a menu that includes Ruby's cheeseburger or American Smashed Burger paired with fries or tater tots, a succulent 6-ounce ribeye partnered up with a baked potato or a trip to the endless garden bar for a Wonderland of elements you can assemble yourself. But why stop there when you can also have your pick of boneless chicken wings with fries, Cajun chicken pasta, or a chicken burrito bowl. There are so many possibilities, you may need to plan more than one visit to make sure you know the best way to spend less than $10 here. It's tasty work if you can get it!

How many Texas-style steakhouses do you know that offer dining delights for less than a ten spot? Start the list with LongHorn Steakhouse and its phenomenal array of lunch plates starting at $8.99. And because steakhouse dining doesn't do modest portions, you can expect to find a full platter when your order arrives, even with its price tag well below $10. It's not hard to wrassle up something special to eat on a budget here.

Luxuriate in a LongHorn lunch with your choice of a half-pound steakhouse burger or a crispy buttermilk chicken sandwich for a more traditional steak style entrée or exercise restraint by ordering a grilled chicken and strawberry salad or a pick-two soup and salad arrangement that lightens the load on both your bank account and your digestive tract. With all of these tongue tingling possibilities available for $8.99, you can have an ongoing LongHorn rendezvous, working your way through the entire menu without compromising your credit score. And since there are only eight states without a LongHorn location, you're likely to find a seat throughout most of the U.S.

Panera fans are in for some serious treats and eats thanks to the company's sweet $7 Value Duets collection. Soups, salads, and sandwiches feature in a carousel of creations you can mix and match to your heart's content. There's no question this company knows what its customers crave, and it's doing what it can to ease the burden on your change purse while providing some of its best and most popular menu items.

Panera panders directly to the soup-salad-and-sandwich crowd with plenty of fantastic deals under $10, providing a pitch perfect playbook of its most popular picks. Choose creamy tomato soup combined with a grilled cheese, smokehouse barbecue chicken, Mediterranean veggie, or turkey sandwich, or go for a Greek salad with your soothing tomato soup instead. Mix things up a little with combos like turkey and cheddar with chicken and wild rice soup or a Caesar salad and homestyle chicken noodle soup to complete the comfort food collection you can enjoy for less than a 10-spot. It's a lunch lover's low-priced dream come true that leaves a little in your pocket for your favorite fountain drink to wash it all down with.

Don't discount Denny's when it comes to a deep reduction in dining expenses. The diner delights in doling out dishes from its $2$4$6$8 Value Menu, a delicious display worth digging into. Though it may be one of the worst-kept secrets in the dining industry, the untold truth of Denny's Value Menu is that prices are trim enough to call for a couch raid to round up extra change to fund your feast, though your credit card will work just as well.

Do a dining dot-to-dot among the fare on Denny's value menu to get your voracious appetite under control and you can easily keep your tab under $10 while enjoying prime plates like a Value Slam, a loaded breakfast sandwich, a classic burger with those quintessential French fries on the side or a crisp and snappy Mama's Fried Chicken House Salad that merges crunchy strips with refreshing greens and veggies. And speaking of green, for just a little more of it you can incorporate a slice of New York style cheesecake, a side of French toast or small stack of buttermilk or Choco Nana pancakes to round out your budget friendly meal.

I was skeptical about finding enough restaurants serving meals under $10 to make a decent list when I first began researching. It seems like prices climb and never fall these days, and sit-down dining is one of the most notable sectors for menu hikes that take the concept of keeping up with inflation too far. Surprisingly, there are a fair number of chains that have figured out that if you throw your customer base a bone — or a whole platter of them — you can earn their loyalty while bringing in revenue instead of scaring them into the hinterlands of fast food value fare.

There are other restaurants that didn't make the cut, some because their options are relatively standard or single-dish orders, and others because they come in just over the $10 mark. Even upping the price a dollar or two, those establishments are doing their best to meet their patrons halfway to keep them coming through the door. And of course, not all locations are guaranteed to have these offers available. The bottom line: If you check around, you can do some decent dining without dropping excessive dollars in restaurants you know and love. That's a tasty deal, if you ask me.