Calories get most of the attention, but fast food is often hardest on sodium. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 say people aged 14 and over should have less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day. A single fast food main can use half of that or more.
Sodium by chain
This table uses the official sodium figure of every meal-sized main item in our calculators (no sides, drinks or single pieces). The average shows how salty a typical main is at that chain; the second column shows how many items it is based on.
Averages depend on which items each chain has in our data, so use them as a rough guide and look at the items themselves.
Where the sodium comes from
- Breading and seasoning. Fried chicken and nuggets are often seasoned and brined. 8 Chick-fil-A Nuggets have 1,210 mg of sodium; the 8-count Grilled Nuggets have 440 mg.
- Cured meats and cheese. Bacon, ham, pepperoni, salami and cheese add up quickly on subs and pizza.
- Sauces and dressings. A sauce cup can add a few hundred milligrams; our calculators add the sodium of every sauce the chain publishes.
- Size. Sodium rises with size like calories do: a large McDonald’s fries has 400 mg against 190 mg for a small.
Easy ways to cut back
- Pick grilled over fried, and single over double.
- Skip or halve the sauce, and ask for no added salt on fries where the chain allows it.
- Choose a smaller side, or a side like fruit or a plain salad.
- Balance the day: if lunch is salty, keep the rest of the day lower.
For a ready list, see Lower-Sodium Fast Food: Mains Under 600mg Sodium. Every item page also shows what share of the 2,300 mg limit it uses.
A note on “low sodium”
“Low sodium” has a legal meaning on U.S. food labels: 140 mg or less per serving. Almost no fast food main meets that. When we say “lower-sodium” we mean lower than most items on the menu, not the FDA label.
Sources
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (sodium: less than 2,300 mg a day for ages 14 and up)
- FDA: Sodium in Your Diet
- Menu figures: each restaurant’s official U.S. nutrition information, as linked on the methodology page.