Sugar in restaurant drinks
The median drink on a restaurant-chain menu in the United States had 35 g of sugar and 190 kcal in January 2018, and 35.9% of the 7,137 drinks with a published figure had 50 g of sugar or more.
Median sugar in drinks at 68 chains
| # | Chain | Drinks | Median sugar (g) | Middle half (g) | Median (kcal) | 50 g or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sbarro | 67 | 88 | 46–110 | 360 | 49 (73.1%) |
| 2 | Baskin-Robbins | 98 | 86 | 65–108.5 | 605 | 92 (93.9%) |
| 3 | Checkers & Rally's | 21 | 83 | 60–106 | 389 | 19 (90.5%) |
| 4 | Zaxby's | 98 | 82 | 42.5–119 | 310 | 63 (64.3%) |
| 5 | White Castle | 195 | 81 | 38–124 | 420 | 134 (68.7%) |
| 6 | Church's Chicken | 60 | 77 | 47.5–99.8 | 290 | 44 (73.3%) |
| 7 | Potbelly | 39 | 72 | 62–78 | 490 | 31 (79.5%) |
| 8 | Popeyes | 14 | 70 | 33.8–76 | 260 | 9 (64.3%) |
| 9 | Carl's Jr. | 9 | 64 | 59–70 | 710 | 8 (88.9%) |
| 10 | Dairy Queen | 54 | 64 | 50–81 | 340 | 43 (79.6%) |
| 11 | Sonic | 119 | 61 | 42–89.5 | 710 | 78 (65.5%) |
| 12 | Long John Silver's | 42 | 60.5 | 0–108 | 235 | 22 (52.4%) |
| 13 | Culver's | 73 | 60 | 1–84 | 280 | 49 (67.1%) |
| 14 | Jamba | 164 | 59 | 42–76.3 | 325 | 108 (65.9%) |
| 15 | Krystal | 31 | 59 | 31–93.5 | 260 | 20 (64.5%) |
| 16 | Captain D's | 24 | 58.5 | 0–84.8 | 245 | 13 (54.2%) |
| 17 | Bojangles | 56 | 58 | 0–83 | 220 | 37 (66.1%) |
| 18 | Papa Johns | 242 | 56.5 | 19.3–87.3 | 225 | 127 (52.5%) |
| 19 | Burger King | 65 | 56 | 20–88 | 230 | 35 (53.8%) |
| 20 | Panda Express | 52 | 53.5 | 0–89 | 200 | 27 (51.9%) |
| 21 | Wawa | 474 | 52 | 30–80 | 320 | 250 (52.7%) |
| 22 | Whataburger | 86 | 50 | 0–101.3 | 195 | 44 (51.2%) |
| 23 | Einstein Bros. Bagels | 104 | 49.5 | 30–67 | 300 | 52 (50%) |
| 24 | Chick-fil-A | 32 | 49 | 34–74.8 | 245 | 16 (50%) |
| 25 | Denny's | 29 | 49 | 23–78 | 210 | 14 (48.3%) |
| 26 | Sheetz | 30 | 45.5 | 0–74 | 195 | 14 (46.7%) |
| 27 | Frisch's Big Boy | 69 | 45 | 22–63 | 200 | 30 (43.5%) |
| 28 | Auntie Anne's | 114 | 44 | 24–60.8 | 170 | 44 (38.6%) |
| 29 | Arby's | 20 | 42.5 | 7.5–66 | 180 | 8 (40%) |
| 30 | Taco Bell | 157 | 42 | 0–64 | 190 | 66 (42%) |
| 31 | Del Taco | 15 | 40 | 29–82.5 | 240 | 6 (40%) |
| 32 | KFC | 112 | 38.5 | 0–61.3 | 150 | 42 (37.5%) |
| 33 | Famous Dave's | 11 | 38 | 32–41 | 170 | 0 (0%) |
| 34 | Steak 'n Shake | 280 | 37 | 17–65.3 | 150 | 106 (37.9%) |
| 35 | Jason's Deli | 33 | 36 | 0–74 | 160 | 10 (30.3%) |
| 36 | Wendy's | 80 | 36 | 0–65.5 | 190 | 33 (41.3%) |
| 37 | Dunkin' | 424 | 35 | 17–54.3 | 200 | 129 (30.4%) |
| 38 | McDonald's | 104 | 35 | 14.3–54.3 | 195 | 30 (28.8%) |
| 39 | Friendly's | 20 | 34 | 20–44 | 152 | 5 (25%) |
| 40 | IHOP | 94 | 32.5 | 21–51 | 140 | 25 (26.6%) |
| 41 | El Pollo Loco | 32 | 31.5 | 0–46.3 | 160 | 7 (21.9%) |
| 42 | Panera Bread | 76 | 30 | 0–48.3 | 140 | 18 (23.7%) |
| 43 | Olive Garden | 66 | 29 | 14–39 | 200 | 10 (15.2%) |
| 44 | Golden Corral | 33 | 28 | 12–38 | 110 | 0 (0%) |
| 45 | Applebee's | 127 | 27 | 14–41.5 | 110 | 15 (11.8%) |
| 46 | BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse | 52 | 26.5 | 8–41 | 140 | 5 (9.6%) |
| 47 | Jack in the Box | 122 | 26 | 0–73 | 130 | 51 (41.8%) |
| 48 | Krispy Kreme | 134 | 26 | 0–44 | 250 | 27 (20.1%) |
| 49 | Tim Hortons | 35 | 26 | 9.5–37 | 170 | 2 (5.7%) |
| 50 | Firehouse Subs | 660 | 25.5 | 0–82 | 100 | 236 (35.8%) |
| 51 | Bob Evans | 46 | 24 | 10.3–36 | 115 | 3 (6.5%) |
| 52 | Red Lobster | 75 | 23 | 10–44.5 | 190 | 17 (22.7%) |
| 53 | TGI Fridays | 240 | 23 | 11–36 | 200 | 30 (12.5%) |
| 54 | Yard House | 91 | 23 | 11.5–30 | 220 | 5 (5.5%) |
| 55 | Starbucks | 468 | 22 | 8–40 | 130 | 66 (14.1%) |
| 56 | Casey's | 35 | 21 | 0–27 | 100 | 0 (0%) |
| 57 | Jersey Mike's | 103 | 21 | 0–51 | 80 | 29 (28.2%) |
| 58 | Joe's Crab Shack | 71 | 20 | 0.5–50 | 200 | 20 (28.2%) |
| 59 | Red Robin | 203 | 20 | 2–50.5 | 180 | 51 (25.1%) |
| 60 | LongHorn Steakhouse | 46 | 14.5 | 0–33.8 | 145 | 1 (2.2%) |
| 61 | The Capital Grille | 30 | 13 | 4.5–19.8 | 165 | 1 (3.3%) |
| 62 | Bonefish Grill | 24 | 11 | 0–22.5 | 58 | 0 (0%) |
| 63 | California Pizza Kitchen | 153 | 5 | 1–17 | 170 | 3 (2%) |
| 64 | Chili's | 141 | 4 | 0–28 | 180 | 6 (4.3%) |
| 65 | Carrabba's Italian Grill | 42 | 3 | 0–21.5 | 150 | 1 (2.4%) |
| 66 | McAlister's Deli | 15 | 0 | 0–15.5 | 150 | 2 (13.3%) |
| 67 | Perkins | 137 | 0 | 0–18 | 130 | 13 (9.5%) |
| 68 | Round Table Pizza | 36 | 0 | 0–0 | 130 | 1 (2.8%) |
How the figures are worked out
- Drinks are every item in a menu’s drinks section, sugar-free ones included. Each size a chain lists is one item, so a drink sold in three sizes counts three times.
- Sugar is total sugar: the sugar in milk and fruit counts with added sugar. 50 g is the US Daily Value for added sugars, so the two are not the same measure. Drinks without a published sugar figure are left out.
- The median is the middle item: half the items have more and half have less. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
- Limited-time offers are left out, and so are rows without energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat.
- A chain with fewer than 8 drinks counts in the totals but has no row of its own.
Cite this page
Calori (2026). Sugar in restaurant drinks: United States, 2018. https://www.calori.com/restaurants/us/statistics/sugar-in-drinks. Data: MenuStat annual data, 2008 to 2018 (NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene).
The figures are MenuStat’s, which are in the public domain (CC0 1.0); they are free to reuse with a link to this page. The item-level figures are a CSV or JSON download.
Figures are the ones each chain published for the United States menu in January 2018, from MenuStat 2018 annual data (NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene). Carbs exclude fibre, which is listed separately. Menus, recipes and portion sizes change, so check the restaurant’s current menu. Calori is not affiliated with these restaurants; names belong to their owners.
