Craving Takeaway? Discover the Healthiest Options at Australia’s Top Chains!

Craving takeaway doesn’t have to mean blowing your health goals.

With the right guidance, takeaway can fit into a balanced eating plan — even when life is busy, energy is low, or cooking isn’t practical. As Accredited Practising Dietitians, this is one of the most common questions we hear:

What’s the healthiest takeaway to order in Australia?

Below, we share dietitian-approved choices at popular Australian takeaway chains, along with practical strategies to help you order smarter, manage portions, and enjoy takeaway without guilt.

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Accredited Practising Dietitians | NDIS Registered | Australia-wide telehealth
Supporting clients across Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and regional Australia.

Eating Healthy When You’re Ordering Takeaway

Life doesn’t always allow time or energy for home-cooked meals. Many people rely on takeaway because of busy work schedules, disability support needs, fatigue, pain, or low appetite.

Healthy eating doesn’t need to be perfect to be effective — it just needs to be realistic and sustainable.

Personalised Nutrition Support

If takeaway is a regular part of your routine, a dietitian can help you choose options that support your health goals, appetite and lifestyle, without unnecessary restriction.

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NDIS nutrition support available

General Tips for Healthier Takeaway Choices

For evidence-based guidance, the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend choosing meals lower in saturated fat, added sugars and excess kilojoules when eating out — particularly for heart and cholesterol health.

When ordering takeaway, aim to:

• Choose meals around 2000 kJ or less
• Avoid upsizing meals or sides
• Select grilled, baked or steamed options over fried
• Limit creamy, cheesy or buttery sauces
• Prioritise lean proteins such as chicken, fish, seafood or legumes
• Add vegetables where possible for fibre and fullness
• Choose water or no-sugar drinks

For people managing high cholesterol or weight, these small swaps can make takeaway more supportive of long-term health.

Healthiest Takeaway Options in Australia

These are general recommendations. Individual needs vary, particularly for weight management, diabetes, gut health or NDIS participants.

Sushi Sushi

Best choices

• Sashimi packs (salmon or mixed)

• Beef tataki

• Small cooked tuna or seaweed salad

• Hand rolls: tuna and cucumber, salmon and avocado, teriyaki chicken

• Miso soup, edamame

Limit to two hand rolls per meal.

**Lower-cholesterol tip:**
Sashimi, tuna and salmon hand rolls are naturally lower in saturated fat than fried options and are suitable for cholesterol-conscious eating when portions are managed.

Roll’d Vietnamese

Best choices

• Rice paper rolls, including low-carb options

• Banh mi with salad or lemongrass beef

• Pho

• Goi salads without crackers

• Bao (avoid roast pork and crackling)

Limit to two soldiers or three bao per meal.

Sumo Salad

Best choices

• Salads: Moroccan lamb, Vietnamese chicken, warm Thai beef, pepper smoked salmon

• Grain bowls: Green Goddess, Thai chicken

• Soups: Tuscan chicken, kale quinoa and vegetables

Grill’d

Best choices

• Zen Hen or Sweet Chilli Chicken burgers

• Field of Dreams or Veggie Vitality burgers

• Superpower salad

Ali Baba

Best choices

• Small classic kebab with chicken, lamb or falafel

• Chicken sandwich

Nando’s

Best choices

• Grilled tenderloins or churrasco thighs

• Salads: Mediterranean, Superfuel, tabbouli and quinoa

• Wraps and pitas: Classic, Supremo, Thighs and Slaw

Oporto

Best choices

• Bondi Burger with a single fillet

• Grilled chicken salad

Guzman y Gomez

Best choices

• All salads

• Soft tacos

Limit to two tacos per meal.

Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill

Best choices

• Mini burritos

• Bowls with chipotle chicken and guacamole

• Salads

• Soft shell tacos

Limit to two tacos per meal.

McDonald’s

Best choices

• Grilled chicken or garden salad

• Grilled wraps

• Hamburger, McChicken or Fillet-O-Fish

• BLT McMuffin or English muffin with Vegemite or jam

Hungry Jack’s

Best choices

• Grilled Chicken Classic, Chicken Royale or Whopper Junior

• Cheeseburger or BBQ cheeseburger

• Ham, cheese and tomato toastie

KFC

Best choices

• Fillet or Zinger burgers

• Grilled tender chicken salad Twister

• Grilled sliders

• Shaker salad with grilled chicken

• Coleslaw or crunchy sesame salad

Limit to two sliders per meal.

Red Rooster

Best choices

• Chicken Caesar salad

• BLT Smash wrap

• Crispy chicken strips

• Sides such as peas or corn cob without butter

Domino’s

Best choices

• Premium pizzas: Garden Veg, Garlic Prawn, Peri-Peri Chicken

• Thin base pizzas: Vegorama, Margherita, Avocado Veg

• Value thin base: Spicy Veg Trio

Limit to three slices per meal.

Crust Pizza

Best choices

• Vietnamese chilli chicken, tandoori chicken, garlic prawn, veg supreme, margherita, smokey BBQ pulled jackfruit

• Salads and bowls: garden salad, Thai wagyu beef bowl, Peking duck bowl

Limit to three slices per meal.

Subway

Best choices

• Six-inch subs on nine-grain bread with six grams of fat or less: chicken, turkey, roast beef, veggie delite

• Tuna or seafood sensation on nine-grain

• Salads from the six-gram-of-fat range

• Multigrain veggie delite wrap

• Poached egg and cheese breakfast sub

Healthy Fast Food Options for Lower Calories and Cholesterol

Fast food doesn’t need to be off-limits if you’re managing weight or cholesterol. The key is understanding portion sizes, preparation methods and ingredient choices.

With dietitian guidance, many people continue enjoying takeaway while supporting heart health, weight management and long-term wellbeing.

Why Working With a Dietitian Helps

General advice is helpful, but many people benefit from tailored support — particularly if you are managing weight, diabetes, cholesterol, gut health, disability, fatigue, or relying on takeaway regularly.

A dietitian helps turn information into a realistic, flexible plan that fits your everyday life.

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How Appetite for Nutrition Can Support You

We offer individual dietitian consultations, NDIS-funded nutrition support, practical meal planning, takeaway and eating-out strategies, and a range of evidence-based meal plans including high-protein, Mediterranean, Low FODMAP and keto options.

Consultations are available in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and regional Victoria, with online appointments available Australia-wide.

Ready to Make Takeaway Work for Your Health?

Healthy eating doesn’t need to be complicated — even when takeaway is part of your routine.

If you’re managing cholesterol, weight, diabetes or fatigue — or relying on takeaway regularly — personalised dietitian support can help you make confident food choices without guilt or restriction.

We help clients identify lower-cholesterol takeaway options, reduce kilojoule intake, and build realistic eating strategies that fit everyday life.

Book a dietitian consultation

Browse our meal plans

This blog was last updated December 2025.