Ranked: Every Salad from Schlotzsky’s

Schlotzsky’s classic offering may be sandwiches (based on the muffuletta, the iconic sandwich of the state of Louisiana), but that’s not all you’ll find on the menu there. When you’d prefer crunchy greens and the joy of spearing the perfect bite on the tip of your fork, this Texas-born and now Georgia-based chain offers four standard salads and, currently, one limited-time offering — and I tried them all.

Schlotzsky’s introduced salads to its lineup in 1991, but if you’re like me, you may have missed that fact. I ate a lot of the chain’s sandwiches earlier in my life (my mother had frequent hankerings for them), but I guess salad wasn’t on my radar back in my actual salad days. Now, I love discovering new places to get a good spread of greens, veggies, and proteins that won’t cost an arm and a leg. I was recently enthused to discover Wendy’s Cobb salad (the highest-protein salad you can order at Wendy’s, FYI), but less enthused at the not-so-freshness of the greens and bacon bits. Schlotzsky’s salads, I hoped, would be a cut or two above this. When I stopped in at my local store to pick up my order, the friendly, helpful staff and spotless environment suggested good things were to come.

For me, a salad wins if it contains fresh, crisp greens, an array of toppings that create a tasty symphony, a dressing that complements those toppings rather than overpowers them, and is worth what I pay for it. I’ll say right off the bat: There were no bad salads in my bag of Schlotzsky’s tastiness, but there were definitely ones I’d look forward to eating again over others.

A chicken Caesar is typically one of the simplest meals you can get your hands (or fork) on. Schlotzsky’s version lives up to that reputation, with a classic lineup of romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, croutons, Caesar dressing, and, of course, chicken. From its appearance down to its flavor, this salad was simple and unsurprising — I wouldn’t expect Schlotzsky’s to shake up consumer expectations with a kale Caesar salad, for instance.

That said, the basic Caesar-ness of this salad is why it’s sitting in last place. It was a perfectly good chicken Caesar: generously portioned, fresh in flavor and texture, a tangy and bright dressing, and no ingredient was skimped on. But it is, after all, just a chicken Caesar. Other Schlotzsky’s salads were bigger winners in the taste bud department, and at $10.29, this one cost only 50 cents less than the Schlotzsky’s salad that I couldn’t stop eating.

So, if a chicken Caesar is what you’re craving, this one should do it for you. As for this ranking, it’s the one I’m least excited about eating again.

As far as “busy” salads go, a Greek salad is right up there. When nutritionists say we should eat the rainbow (by consuming a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits), Greek salad raises its hand and says, “I can help.” My Schlotzsky’s version contained the usual suspects, all of them beautifully fresh: romaine lettuce along with mixed field greens, tomatoes, black olives, red onions, a reasonable sprinkling of feta cheese, and Greek dressing. (Mine didn’t come with chicken, though there is a chicken Greek Salad on the menu.) The ingredients list isn’t objectively huge, but it packs a big punch of flavor: This salad, by its very nature, is one that might make your mouth pucker.

With all that lovely acidity from the pickled banana peppers, plus the brininess from black olives and feta cheese, the addition of the Greek dressing made the full salad a little more tart than I like; I actually enjoyed my undressed bites more. (Some folks like to add canned tuna to a Greek salad for extra protein, but with the accompanying saltiness, I’d definitely leave off the dressing if I took that route.)

If that telltale brininess is your thing, this is the Schlotzsky’s salad for you. For me, if this had cucumber to balance its acidic notes, it might be higher up in the ranking. For $10.29 for the chicken Greek salad, though, the same price as the chicken Caesar, you’re getting a robust, flavor-filled meal.

Cobb salad is my usual go-to due to its everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ingredients list. (After all, the history of Cobb salad involves a weary restaurant owner throwing together a meal of leftovers at the end of a long day, and I respect a one-plate smorgasbord that reduces food waste.) My interest was piqued even more by Schlotzsky’s inclusion of “avocado” in the salad’s name. As someone who tends to eat half a Hass with every meal, if you’re calling a salad Chicken Avocado Cobb, there had better be more than a lonely crescent of the creamy green stuff in there.

I wasn’t disappointed. Not only was there a generous helping of avo, the other toppings were well-represented, too, for the price. In this case, that’s $10.79, making it one of the two most expensive salads on the Schlotzsky’s menu. This particular mix of ingredients was fresh, satisfying, and hearty. In addition to the avocado, romaine lettuce, and mixed field greens, there’s chicken, feta cheese, bacon, mashed hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumbers (their moisture beautifully cut through the richness of the bacon and avocado), croutons, and ranch dressing.

While this was a great Cobb salad, I have a minor nitpick. In my opinion, cheddar cheese instead of feta would be an improvement. Sure, feta and bacon are a thing, but cheddar and bacon are an even better thing, especially when ranch dressing is involved.

Schlotzsky’s Sweet Heat BBQ Chicken salad is a limited-time item that I was especially excited to try out. When I reviewed and ranked the best and worst store-bought hummus brands, I realized just how satisfying the sweet and spicy (“swicy”) flavor combination is. It’s beautiful that there’s a swicy salad out there, too.

For $10.49, this salad is like a slightly cheaper Chicken Avo Cobb (minus the feta) with a kick of spice. It offers a bounty of hearty ingredients: chicken, romaine lettuce, cheddar (yes!), bacon, tomatoes, avocado, and egg, all with a jalapeño topper and a side of sweet heat BBQ sauce for dousing, dipping, or what have you.

The Sweet Heat BBQ sauce dressing offered an immediate punch of flavor that brought the whole ensemble together perfectly. It wasn’t too spicy at all (I’d call it a mild spice), and it gave actual “weekend barbecue” vibes with the smokiness of the chicken. The bites that contained some of the jalapeño topper kicked a little harder, of course, which I liked; the avocado’s creamy richness was a nice touch against the heat and the dressing. It’s a good salad, one I hope I have the chance to eat again before it goes away (and maybe the Sweet Heat BBQ sandwich and pizza, too). However, there was another salad that stole my heart, along with first place, in this ranking.

Among all the Schlotzsky’s salads I tried out, this was the one that made me say, “Wow” out loud. It started with its appearance. Looks weren’t a factor in this salad ranking, but it certainly doesn’t hurt when your food is as pretty as this (the photo doesn’t do it justice). With its dots of sliced strawberries and sprinkling of candied pecans and feta cheese, this salad primed my taste buds for an equally gorgeous experience, and it delivered on them.

Schlotzsky’s Strawberry Chicken Salad was the perfect blend of sweet and savory. The sweet nuttiness of the pecans, combined with the brininess of the feta, the saltiness of the chicken, the tart-sweetness of the strawberries, and the tang of the balsamic dressing (all on crisp romaine and mixed field greens) was a “chef’s kiss” on the palate. At $10.79, the price is also reasonable, too — winner, winner, Strawberry Chicken Salad dinner.

For this ranking of Schlotzsky’s salads, flavor, freshness, and value for money were the factors I assessed with each contender. To effectively gauge flavor, I assembled a bite that contained a little of everything (as much as was physically possible); I tasted it first without dressing to see how the ingredients worked together. I then repeated the process, this time giving the bite a good dunking in the dressing, looking for harmony and cohesiveness. If the dressing overpowered the ingredients or simply didn’t fit the salad, that item could be ranked lower. Though all Schlotzsky’s salads come with breadsticks, these were not included in my assessment and ranking of the salads.