Texas Roadhouse BBQ Chicken

Texas Roadhouse BBQ Chicken is listed as Grilled BBQ Chicken at $16.99 for a marinated chicken breast grilled and basted with the chain’s signature BBQ sauce. The menu lists it at 300 calories, and it comes with two sides plus free rolls.

What BBQ chicken is at Texas Roadhouse

Grilled BBQ Chicken is a single boneless, skinless chicken breast that sits in a marinade before service, gets cooked on the same open grill as the steaks, then gets brushed with BBQ sauce during the last minutes so the sauce sets rather than burns. It is a plated entree, not a sandwich.

That last detail matters more than the menu copy suggests. Because the breast finishes over the steak grill, it picks up char a flat-top chicken breast never gets. Cook time is also short, so the breast dries out if it sits under a heat lamp, which is the most common complaint about this plate.

Price and what the $16.99 covers

The listed price is $16.99, and that number buys the breast plus two sides, so the real comparison is not against a $9 fast-casual chicken plate. Sides run about $2.99 each on their own, meaning roughly $6 of the ticket is side dishes.

Price is set per location, not nationally. Big-city and high-cost markets typically sit at the top of the range, and some locations run a lower lunch-portion version of grilled chicken on weekday menus. Call the store or open your location’s menu in the official app to confirm before you plan a budget around the exact figure.

Calories and nutrition

The menu lists Grilled BBQ Chicken at 300 calories, and that figure is for the chicken alone, not the plate. Add sides and the free rolls and the real meal total climbs fast, which is where most people misread this item as a diet choice.

A single roll with butter runs about 230 calories, and a loaded potato or mac and cheese can add several hundred more. If calories are the reason you picked this entree, the smart move is to pair it with green beans and fresh vegetables rather than steak fries and a loaded potato, and to stop the roll basket after one.

Sauce is the other variable: it carries sugar and sodium, and a heavier baste means a higher number than the printed one. Texas Roadhouse publishes current nutrition and allergen information on its own site and in-store; check there if you are tracking precisely or managing an allergy.

The BBQ sauce and the marinade

The signature BBQ sauce is the sweet-tangy tomato-and-molasses style rather than a vinegar or mustard-based Carolina sauce, and it is the same sauce used across the BBQ items on the menu. It caramelizes on the grill, which is where the sticky edges come from.

The marinade is what separates this from plain grilled chicken: a marinated breast holds moisture through the short cook. Exact recipes are proprietary, so treat any published “copycat” ingredient list as a guess, not a spec. If you are sensitive to sweetness, people who want a savory chicken plate are usually happier with the herb crusted or smothered version.

How to order it well

There is no doneness choice on chicken, so your levers are sauce, sides and timing. Order sauce on the side if you want the char to show, or ask for extra sauce if you like it wet, since both are free adjustments at most locations.

• Sauce on the side. Keeps the breast from going soggy and lets you control sugar.
• Ask for it fresh off the grill. This plate suffers most from sitting. Saying you are in no rush usually gets you a hotter plate than rushing the kitchen.
• Pick one starch and one vegetable. Green beans plus a baked potato balances the sweetness better than two heavy sides.
• Add jack cheese or sauteed onions if your location allows it. Not every store treats this as a free modification, so ask about the upcharge first.
• For takeout, request sauce separate. Fifteen minutes in a container turns a basted breast into a steamed one.

Sides that pair well: baked sweet potato (the sweetness echoes the sauce), buttered corn, seasoned rice, or a house salad if you want to cut the richness.

Is it worth it vs. other chicken plates

At $16.99 it is the cheapest of the main grilled chicken entrees and the lowest in listed calories, which makes it the value pick in the chicken section if you like sweet BBQ. If you do not, the extra $1.50 to $2.50 for a different preparation is money well spent.

Compared with a 6oz Hand-Cut Sirloin at $16.99, the BBQ chicken costs the same. If you are at a steakhouse mainly for beef, that comparison is hard to argue with. The chicken wins on lower calories and on being a safe order for kids and picky eaters at the table.

Combos, salads and the ribs pairing

Grilled BBQ chicken also shows up outside its own entree line. Many locations offer it as the protein on a grilled chicken salad, and the sauce-basted breast appears in combo plates paired with ribs, which is what the photo on this page shows.

Combo availability changes by location and menu printing, and combo pricing sits well above the single entree. Ask the server whether the current menu carries it rather than assuming, and check whether two sides are still included.

Where this page can be wrong

This is an independent guide, not the restaurant. Menu prices are set franchise-by-franchise and market-by-market, so the $16.99 figure is a reference point rather than a guarantee, and a 10-15% swing either way is normal.

The calorie figure comes from menu listings and applies to the entree as prepared to standard. Sauce quantity, kitchen variation and any modification you request will move it. We do not have the cooked weight of the breast because the chain does not print one for chicken the way it does for steaks, and we will not invent a number.

Combos, lunch portions and free modifications differ by store. For anything price-critical or allergy-critical, confirm with your location or the official app before ordering.

FAQ

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