Guzman y Gomez High-Protein, Low-Calorie Orders (Ranked)

The best high-protein, low-calorie order at Guzman y Gomez is the Grilled Chicken Bowl: 2,760 kJ (660 kcal) and 43.8g protein, per GYG's official Australian nutrition guide. Add extra chicken and it jumps to 71g protein for 3,364 kJ (804 kcal). The highest-protein regular item is the BBQ Beef Rib Burrito at 48.8g, but it costs 3,800 kJ.

What is the highest-protein order at GYG?

Short version: chicken or brisket, in a bowl, with extra protein. Every number below comes from GYG's Allergen, Ingredient and Nutritional Information guide (current at October 8, 2026). GYG publishes energy in kilojoules; we converted to calories with kJ ÷ 4.184, so our kcal can differ from GYG's printed "Cal" column by 1. All figures are for the Mild version. Going Spicy adds 70 kJ (17 kcal) to a regular item.

Rank	Order	kJ	kcal	Protein
1	BBQ Beef Rib Burrito	3,800	908	48.8g
2	Shredded Beef Brisket Burrito	3,370	805	48.5g
3	Grilled Chicken Burrito	3,240	774	48.3g
4	BBQ Beef Rib Bowl	3,330	796	44.3g
5	Shredded Beef Brisket Bowl	2,900	693	44.0g
6	Grilled Chicken Bowl	2,760	660	43.8g
7	Pulled Pork Burrito	3,180	760	42.1g
8	BBQ Beef Rib Caesar Salad	3,060	731	38.3g
9	Pulled Pork Bowl	2,700	645	37.6g
10	Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad	2,420	578	37.5g

Notice something? The top three burritos sit within 0.5g of each other on protein, but the BBQ Beef Rib costs 560 kJ (134 kcal) more than the chicken. Same protein, different price tag.

Which GYG order gives the most protein per calorie?

Total protein tells you who wins the arm-wrestle. Protein per 100 kcal tells you who wins it without a 900-calorie warm-up. Here is every regular bowl, burrito and salad, plus the Mini Bowl and Mini Caesar Salad, ranked by efficiency.

Rank	Order	kJ	kcal	Protein	Protein per 100 kcal
1	Grilled Chicken Bowl	2,760	660	43.8g	6.6g
2	Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad	2,420	578	37.5g	6.5g
3	Shredded Beef Brisket Bowl	2,900	693	44.0g	6.3g
4	Mini Caesar Salad, Grilled Chicken	1,330	318	20.0g	6.3g
5	Grilled Chicken Burrito	3,240	774	48.3g	6.2g
6	Shredded Beef Brisket Burrito	3,370	805	48.5g	6.0g
7	Mini Bowl, Grilled Chicken	1,710	409	24.2g	5.9g
8	Pulled Pork Bowl	2,700	645	37.6g	5.8g
9	Mini Bowl, Shredded Beef Brisket	1,780	425	24.3g	5.7g
10	BBQ Beef Rib Bowl	3,330	796	44.3g	5.6g
11	Pulled Pork Burrito	3,180	760	42.1g	5.5g
12	BBQ Beef Rib Burrito	3,800	908	48.8g	5.4g
13	BBQ Beef Rib Caesar Salad	3,060	731	38.3g	5.2g
14	Ground Beef Bowl	2,990	715	32.2g	4.5g
15	Ground Beef Burrito	3,470	829	36.7g	4.4g
16	Crispy Chicken Tenders Caesar Salad	2,760	660	26.4g	4.0g
17	Pulled Shiitake Mushroom Burrito	3,760	899	32.3g	3.6g
18	Pulled Shiitake Mushroom Bowl	3,290	786	27.8g	3.5g
19	Sautéed Vegetables with Guacamole Burrito	3,380	808	24.0g	3.0g
20	Pulled Shiitake Mushroom Caesar Salad	2,950	705	21.5g	3.0g
21	Sautéed Vegetables with Guacamole Bowl	2,900	693	19.5g	2.8g

Three takeaways:

• Grilled chicken wins every format. It tops the bowls, the burritos, the salads and the minis on protein per calorie.
• The bowl beats the burrito. Same filling, no flour tortilla: the chicken bowl is 480 kJ (115 kcal) lighter than the chicken burrito for 4.5g less protein.
• Crispy chicken is a different animal. The Crispy Chicken Tenders Caesar Salad has 11.1g less protein than the grilled version and 340 kJ (81 kcal) more energy.

Going plant-based? The Shiitake bowl still brings 27.8g protein, which is respectable. It just packs more fat, so it lands lower on this list. For how GYG stacks up against Maccas, KFC and Hungry Jack's, see the highest-protein fast food in Australia.

Is Guzman y Gomez healthy?

It can be, and it is easier than most fast food because you build the order yourself. A grilled chicken bowl gives you 43.8g protein and 6.3g fibre for 660 kcal, which is a proper lunch, not a snack pretending to be one.

The catch is sodium and add-ons. That same chicken bowl carries 1,700 mg of sodium, and the regular burritos sit between 1,930 and 2,390 mg. "Healthy" at GYG mostly comes down to what you stack on top, which brings us to the fun part.

How many calories do GYG add-ons add?

This is where a 660 kcal bowl quietly becomes a 1,000 kcal bowl. These are GYG's official numbers for extras on a regular burrito, bowl or salad, unless noted.

Add-on	kJ	kcal	Protein
Extra grilled chicken (100 g)	604	144	27.2g
Extra shredded beef brisket (100 g)	741	177	27.4g
Extra pulled pork (100 g)	984	235	25.5g
Guacamole (70 g)	526	126	1.2g
Mild queso (80 g)	419	100	6.2g
Crushed corn chips (15 g)	326	78	1.1g
Sour cream (40 g dip portion)	313	75	1.1g
Go Spicy	70	17	0.3g
Swap white rice for brown rice (bowl)	-91	-22	-0.8g
Swap black beans for pinto beans	+147	+35	+2.8g

Sour cream isn't listed as a bowl extra in the guide, so the row above uses GYG's 40 g sour cream dip portion. The guide also doesn't publish a separate number for extra cheese, so we left it out rather than guess.

The pattern is beautifully blunt. Extra chicken costs 144 kcal and brings 27.2g protein. Guac costs 126 kcal and brings 1.2g. Both are delicious. Only one of them is doing protein work. (Guac is still a great choice for flavour and healthy fats; just know what it adds.)

The best GYG orders for a summer cut

All math uses GYG's official kJ figures, then converts the total.

1. Grilled Chicken Bowl, brown rice, extra chicken: 2,760 - 91 + 604 = 3,273 kJ (782 kcal), 70.2g protein, 9.0g per 100 kcal. The best protein-per-calorie order we could build.
2. Grilled Chicken Bowl + extra chicken: 2,760 + 604 = 3,364 kJ (804 kcal), 71.0g protein.
3. Shredded Beef Brisket Bowl + extra brisket: 2,900 + 741 = 3,641 kJ (870 kcal), 71.4g protein. The most protein of any bowl build here.
4. Mini Bowl, Grilled Chicken + mini extra chicken (50 g): 1,710 + 302 = 2,012 kJ (481 kcal), 37.8g protein. The lighter lunch move.
5. Mini Caesar Salad, Grilled Chicken + mini extra chicken: 1,330 + 302 = 1,632 kJ (390 kcal), 33.6g protein.

Want a number to aim for? Our protein intake calculator gives you a daily target, and the calorie deficit calculator shows what a gentle, sustainable deficit looks like for you.

Real GYG orders, broken down

The lean one: Grilled Chicken Bowl with extra chicken

Item	kJ
Grilled Chicken Bowl	2,760
Extra grilled chicken	604
Total	3,364 kJ (804 kcal), 71.0g protein

The "I'm getting the guac" one: Chicken Bowl with guac, corn chips, queso and sour cream

Item	kJ
Grilled Chicken Bowl	2,760
Guacamole	526
Crushed corn chips	326
Mild queso	419
Sour cream (40 g)	313
Total	4,344 kJ (1,038 kcal), 53.4g protein

Four add-ons, +378 kcal, +9.6g protein. Not a crime. Just a different lunch than the one you thought you ordered.

The Friday one: BBQ Beef Rib Burrito, Spicy, with Corn Chips and Medium Guac

Item	kJ
BBQ Beef Rib Burrito	3,800
Go Spicy	70
Corn Chips with Medium Guac	3,160
Total	7,030 kJ (1,680 kcal), 58.4g protein

Enjoy it. It is one meal in a week, and one meal never made or broke anyone's summer. Track it honestly and the rest of the week adjusts on its own.

What about the Caesar dressing?

GYG lists the Caesar Dressing on its own: 40 g, 892 kJ (213 kcal), 0.8g protein. That's 37% of the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad's 2,420 kJ. If the full 40 g is what goes on your salad, asking for it on the side and using half saves about 446 kJ (107 kcal) and costs you almost no protein. The dressing is basically all flavour and no protein, so it's the easiest dial to turn.

How to track a build-your-own GYG bowl

Build-your-own bowls are exactly where calorie apps break. A database has "Burrito Bowl, Chicken," but your bowl is brown rice, extra chicken, no sour cream, guac on the side, Spicy. Now you are scrolling through user-submitted entries that are close-ish, none of them yours, while GYG's own numbers sit in kilojoules.

This is the exact friction that made me quit MyFitnessPal. The numbers were fine. Tracking a normal dinner just took several minutes, and after a long day I would not do it. Then AI photo trackers came in low: a plate the camera called around 400 calories worked out closer to 700, because a camera cannot see what is under the lettuce. A GYG bowl is the worst case for a photo. The rice, the beans and the extra chicken are all buried.

You already know your order. So say it. In Nouri, you type or say one sentence, like "GYG grilled chicken bowl, brown rice, extra chicken, guac, spicy," and it breaks the bowl into items, each with its own estimate, the reasoning behind it, and a confidence rating. Forgot the corn chips? Add "plus crushed corn chips" and it recalculates. Walking out of GYG with your hands full? "Hey Siri, track food in Nouri" works from the lock screen.

Nouri also keeps your protein running total for the day, so you can see what that extra chicken actually did. It is iPhone (iOS only), with a 3-day free trial.

FAQ

What is the highest-protein item at Guzman y Gomez?

The BBQ Beef Rib Burrito has the most protein of any regular burrito, bowl or salad at 48.8g, for 3,800 kJ (908 kcal). The Shredded Beef Brisket Burrito (48.5g) and Grilled Chicken Burrito (48.3g) are nearly identical on protein and lighter. Adding extra protein to a bowl beats all of them: a chicken bowl with extra chicken has 71.0g.

What is the lowest-calorie high-protein order at GYG?

The Mini Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken is 1,330 kJ (318 kcal) with 20.0g protein. For a full-size meal, the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad is 2,420 kJ (578 kcal) with 37.5g protein. The Grilled Chicken Bowl gives the best ratio of the regular bowls and burritos.

How many calories are in a GYG chicken burrito bowl?

A regular Mild Grilled Chicken Bowl is 2,760 kJ, which is 660 kcal, with 43.8g protein, 74.1g carbs, 20.5g fat and 6.3g fibre. Going Spicy adds 70 kJ (17 kcal). Swapping to brown rice saves 91 kJ (22 kcal).

How many calories are in a GYG chicken burrito?

The regular Mild Grilled Chicken Burrito is 3,240 kJ (774 kcal) with 48.3g protein. That's 480 kJ (115 kcal) more than the bowl with the same filling. Most of the difference is the flour tortilla.

Is a GYG bowl healthier than a burrito?

On calories, yes. Every regular bowl is lighter than the burrito with the same filling, by 470 to 480 kJ in the regular range. The burrito does carry about 4 to 5g more protein, so if you're chasing protein, extra chicken in a bowl is the better trade.

Is Guzman y Gomez good for weight loss?

GYG can fit into any weight-loss plan because you control the build. A grilled chicken bowl with extra chicken is 804 kcal with 71g protein, a strong meal for staying full. If you have a history of disordered eating, please work with a doctor or registered dietitian before tracking calories.

How much protein is in GYG extra chicken?

A regular serve of extra grilled chicken is 100 g, 604 kJ (144 kcal) and 27.2g protein. On a Mini, the extra chicken is 50 g: 302 kJ (72 kcal) and 13.6g protein. It's the most protein per kilojoule of any add-on in GYG's guide.

How many calories does guacamole add at GYG?

Guacamole as an extra on a regular burrito, bowl or salad is 70 g, 526 kJ (126 kcal), with 1.2g protein. A medium guac side is 991 kJ (237 kcal). Corn Chips with Medium Guac are 3,160 kJ (755 kcal).

Is brown rice lower in calories at GYG?

Slightly. In a regular bowl, swapping white rice for brown rice takes off 91 kJ (22 kcal) and adds 1.4g fibre, per GYG's guide. In a burrito the saving is 60 kJ (14 kcal).

Why does GYG list kJ and Cal?

Australian food labels use kilojoules, and GYG prints both. One calorie (kcal) equals 4.184 kJ, so divide kJ by 4.184 to convert. Our numbers use that exact conversion, so they can differ from GYG's printed Cal column by 1.

What is the easiest way to track a GYG order?

Describe it in one sentence. In Nouri, you type or say "GYG chicken bowl, brown rice, extra chicken, guac," and it splits the order into items with protein and calories for each, plus the reasoning behind every estimate. You can also say "Hey Siri, track food in Nouri" from the lock screen.

Grilled chicken, a bowl and extra protein is the GYG order that does the most work for summer, and everything else is a trade you can make on purpose. Track your next one in Nouri, compare it with the rest of the drive-thru in the fast food protein index, and see how eating out fits into tracking without the stress. Over in the US? The Chipotle bowl breakdown is the same game with different tortillas.

Sources

• Guzman y Gomez, Nutrition page, guzmanygomez.com.au/nutrition (checked Oct 23, 2026)
• Guzman y Gomez, "Allergen, Ingredient and Nutritional Information" guide, information current at October 8, 2026, PDF (checked Oct 23, 2026)