Eating out / Greek & Mediterranean / CAVA

What I'd Order at CAVA to Lose Weight

Stack grilled chicken on a salad base and choose one fat (avocado or tahini), and you land right in the protein target.

John Schaefer, fat loss coach for 27 years · Updated October 2026

Type your goal weight and every order below shows how much of your calories and protein it covers. Same math I use with clients: goal weight x 12 for calories, goal weight x 0.7 for protein.

What do I order?

Tell me where you're eating and your goal weight. I'll tell you exactly what to get, with the calories and protein.

Want me to email you your numbers? Your calories, protein, carbs and fats for your goal weight, plus this page so you have it at the table.

Answers are estimates from published nutrition data, not medical advice.

My CAVA orders

Tahini Caesar bowl

Lunch style

Tahini Caesar Bowl as listed

660calories50gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 37% of your calories and 48% of your protein for the day.

Harissa Avocado bowl

Carb meal

Harissa Avocado Bowl as listed

810calories58gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 45% of your calories and 55% of your protein for the day.

Chicken salad build

Lunch style

How I order it, the calories and the protein are in the Eating Out Playbook, along with 59 other chains and 25 kinds of restaurants.

See the Playbook ($7) →

The rule at CAVA: the lunch style order is built on protein, fat and fiber. The carb meal is the one you have when this is your dinner, or the one meal of the day you're spending your carbs on.

Skip these at CAVA

Roasted White Sweet Potato Supergreens bowl570 cal
Pita chips260 cal

Numbers from CAVA's published nutrition data via fastfoodnutrition.org. Menus change, so check before you order.

How I fit any restaurant into the day

Protein firstEat the protein, then the vegetables and fats, then the carbs. You're satisfied before the bread matters.

One carb meal a dayBread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fries. Keep the big carb hit to one meal. On a night out, that's dinner.

Zoom out to the weekFat loss runs on your weekly average. One dinner out is easy to absorb when the rest of the week is steady.

The Eating Out Playbook

Every restaurant you go to, already figured out.

60 chains and 25 kinds of restaurants, including CAVA. Search the place you're going, pick an order, and see how it fits your goal weight before you sit down. Works on your phone, $7 one time.

Get the Playbook Free: my numbers

Quick answers

What is the best high protein order at CAVA?

Tahini Caesar bowl: Tahini Caesar Bowl as listed. It comes to about 660 calories and 50g of protein.

How many calories should I eat at CAVA to lose weight?

It depends on your goal weight. I use goal weight x 12 for daily calories, so a 150 lb goal is 1,800 calories a day and a lunch around 500 to 800 of them. The tahini caesar bowl is 37% of that day with 48% of the protein. Type your own goal weight on this page to see your numbers.

What should I avoid at CAVA if I'm trying to lose weight?

The ones that stack calories with little protein: Roasted White Sweet Potato Supergreens bowl (570 calories), Pita chips (260 calories).

Can I eat CAVA and still lose fat?

Yes. I've never told a client to stop eating out. Build the order around protein, keep the carbs for one meal a day, and CAVA fits fine. Stack grilled chicken on a salad base and choose one fat (avocado or tahini), and you land right in the protein target.