Cheesecake Factory Caesar Salad: Price & Calories (2026)
A Cheesecake Factory Caesar Salad costs $14.95 to $16.95 at 860 calories, and adding chicken takes it to $21.95 to $23.95 and 1,090 calories, which makes the chicken the whole decision on this plate. Twenty-one menus checked November 8, 2026 give the $14.95 to $16.95 range, and the 860 calories come straight from the brand's published guide.
Almost traditional: what Caesar Salad actually is
The official menu calls it "The Almost Traditional Recipe with Croutons, Parmesan Cheese and Our Special Caesar Dressing", and the word to notice is almost. A traditional Caesar is romaine, croutons, parmesan, egg and anchovy, and this one names three of those and keeps its dressing recipe to itself. What arrives is a plain, classic plate: greens, croutons, shaved parmesan, and the house dressing. There is no chicken in the base plate, no bacon, no tomato, nothing extra, which is why the chicken choice matters so much on this dish, it is the only thing that changes it. If you want the Caesar exactly as the menu writes it, order it plain. If you want a meal, add the chicken and read the next sections first, because the numbers move a lot.
How much does Caesar Salad cost?
The plain salad is a two-dollar spread, $14.95 to $16.95, and $15.50 is the middle number across 21 official location menus. Five stores charge the $14.95 low end, seven charge $15.50, six charge $16.50, and two charge the $16.95 top end. Chicken moves the range to $21.95 to $23.95, $22.50 in the middle, and the stores line up the same way, five, seven, six and two at each step, so the chicken price tracks the base price. One store breaks the pattern and should not be quoted: Chesterfield lists the plain salad at $13.95 and with chicken at $19.95, against every other menu, so this page uses $14.95 and $21.95 as the floors.
| Version | Price | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Caesar Salad | $14.95–$16.95 | $15.50 |
| Caesar Salad with Chicken | $21.95–$23.95 | $22.50 |
The chicken decision: 230 calories and $7
Adding chicken costs $6.45 to $7.00 more, usually $7.00, and it adds 230 calories, taking the plate from 860 to 1,090. That is not a small change for a salad: the chicken turns a side-sized plate into a meal, and it does it mostly through protein, which jumps from 15g to 59g, a gain of 44g. The fat rises from 75g to 81g, the cholesterol from 50mg to 175mg, and the sodium from 1,100mg to 1,640mg, while the carbohydrates stay exactly the same at 30g, because the chicken adds no carbs at all. So the decision is clean: pay about $7 and 230 calories for 44g of protein and a plate that fills you up, or keep the plain salad and its 860 calories. There is no wrong answer, but there is a wrong way to order it, which is to add the chicken and still count the plate as a light salad.
860 calories plain, 1,090 with chicken: where they come from
A plain Caesar Salad has 860 calories, and with chicken it has 1,090 calories. The plain plate is mostly fat, 75g with 670 calories from fat and 16g of saturated fat, which is the dressing and the parmesan doing their work, and the protein is only 15g. The carbohydrates are 30g with 8g of fiber and 9g of sugar, the cholesterol is 50mg, and the sodium is 1,100mg. With chicken the fat is 81g, the protein is 59g, and the sodium is 1,640mg. The lunch version is a different item, the Small Caesar Salad at 440 calories, which is about half the dinner plate. Do not confuse this salad with the SkinnyLicious Caesar Salad, a different dish on the lighter menu. For the full breakdown, the caesar salad nutrition numbers show every column the guide publishes.
| Measure | Caesar Salad | With Chicken |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 860 | 1,090 |
| Calories from fat | 670 | 730 |
| Total fat | 75g | 81g |
| Saturated fat | 16g | 17g |
| Trans fat | 0g | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 50mg | 175mg |
| Sodium | 1,100mg | 1,640mg |
| Carbohydrates | 30g | 30g |
| Fiber | 8g | 8g |
| Sugar | 9g | 9g |
| Protein | 15g | 59g |
Gluten-free costs you 210 calories
This salad carries the Gluten Free Upon Request marker on all 21 menus checked, and the gluten-free full plate is 1,070 calories, which is 210 more than the standard 860. That surprises people, and it should, because the usual story is that gluten-free means lighter, and here it runs the other way. The same gap holds with chicken: the gluten-free version is 1,300 calories against the standard 1,090, again 210 more. The smaller gluten-free appetizer portion is 720 calories, or 950 with chicken, but that is a different size, not the same plate made lighter. The pattern matches Factory Chopped Salad, where the gluten-free preparation also runs higher than the standard, and it is the opposite of the Chipotle Pasta, where the swap saves 20. If you need gluten-free, order it that way and budget for 1,070, not 860. If you were ordering it gluten-free to save calories, do not, because the saving is not there, it is a cost.
Caesar Salad questions, answered straight
The plain salad is $14.95 to $16.95, $15.50 in the middle across 21 official location menus.
With chicken it is $21.95 to $23.95, and $22.50 is the median across the same 21 menus.
A plain Caesar Salad has 860 calories, and with chicken it has 1,090 calories, according to the official Summer 2026 nutrition guide.
It carries the Gluten Free Upon Request marker on the official menu, and the gluten-free full plate is 1,070 calories.
Yes. The Small Caesar Salad is 440 calories.
No. The Caesar Salad is a full-price plate all day, with no Happy Hour version on the menu.
No. The SkinnyLicious Caesar Salad is a different, lighter dish on the SkinnyLicious menu.
Should you order Caesar Salad?
Two different orders share one name. Plain, it is a classic Caesar at $14.95 to $16.95 and 860 calories, and 15 grams of protein will not carry you through dinner. With chicken it becomes a meal, $21.95 to $23.95 for 1,090 calories and 59 grams of protein, which is the version to order when you are hungry. The gluten-free version runs 210 calories higher than the standard, so count that before you swap, and Cobb is the heavier salad when a big salad is what you want.