Most healthy delivery guides focus on DoorDash or Uber Eats. Grubhub has a different restaurant mix — stronger in independent restaurants and regional chains — which means the same strategies don't always apply. This guide is specifically for Grubhub, covering how to filter, which restaurant types perform best nutritionally, and specific order combos that stay under 700 calories with reasonable macros.
The principles come from USDA Dietary Reference Intakes: 2,000 calories per day as a baseline, with 700 calories per meal as a reasonable target if you eat three times. Most Grubhub orders land between 800 and 1,400 calories without deliberate choices. The framework below changes that.
Step 1: Use Grubhub's Filters Before Browsing
Grubhub's search and filter tools are underused. Before scrolling restaurants, set these filters to narrow your options:
- "Healthy" category filter — Grubhub lets you filter by cuisine type. "Healthy" and "Salads" surface the highest-density healthy restaurants in your area. Not perfect, but cuts through the noise.
- Sort by rating, not speed — higher-rated restaurants tend to have more consistent food quality. A 4.7-star Mediterranean spot is almost always a better nutritional bet than a fast-food option with a 20-minute ETA.
- Search by cuisine: Japanese, Mediterranean, Indian, Vietnamese — these four categories have the most structural alignment with healthy eating. They're built around lean proteins, vegetables, legumes, and herbs rather than butter, cream, and processed ingredients.
- Check the menu before committing — Grubhub shows calorie counts for many items if the restaurant provides them. Tap through to the menu and look at the calories column before placing. Any restaurant where items routinely exceed 900 calories for a standard entree is a harder target.
🔎 Grubhub's regional strength: In many cities, Grubhub has stronger coverage of independent restaurants than DoorDash or Uber Eats. Independent restaurants are more likely to cook from scratch (less pre-processed, lower sodium) and accommodate modifications. Use this to your advantage — local spots often beat chains nutritionally.
Restaurant Type Rankings on Grubhub
| Restaurant Type | Avg Calories/Meal | Protein | Sodium | Overall Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese (sushi/poke) | 480–680 | 30–50g | 400–900mg | Excellent |
| Mediterranean / Greek | 520–780 | 30–55g | 500–1,100mg | Very Good |
| Indian | 580–900 | 20–40g | 600–1,200mg | Good |
| Vietnamese | 480–720 | 25–40g | 800–1,800mg | Mixed |
| Grain bowls / health casual | 450–700 | 25–45g | 500–900mg | Very Good |
| American / burgers | 900–1,500 | 30–45g | 1,400–2,800mg | Poor |
| Mexican / Tex-Mex | 700–1,200 | 25–45g | 1,200–2,200mg | Manageable |
| Chinese | 800–1,400 | 20–35g | 1,800–3,500mg | Avoid |
The 5 Best Grubhub Orders Under 700 Calories
Chicken Shawarma Bowl (no white sauce)
Grilled chicken shawarma over rice or quinoa with tomatoes, cucumber, and tahini. Skipping the garlic white sauce eliminates 250–350 calories and significant saturated fat. Tahini (sesame paste) adds healthy fats without the caloric density. This is the highest-protein-per-calorie order in the Mediterranean category on Grubhub.
Salmon Poke Bowl (light sauce or ponzu)
Salmon poke over brown rice with edamame, cucumber, and avocado with ponzu or no sauce. This hits an exceptional nutritional profile: omega-3 fatty acids, complete protein, potassium from avocado, fiber from edamame, and a very manageable calorie total. The main variable is the sauce — spicy mayo doubles the fat and adds 180–220 calories. Ponzu or no sauce keeps this well under 700.
Dal Makhani + Tandoori Chicken (half portion rice)
Dal makhani (lentil stew) + one piece of tandoori chicken with half-portion rice or one roti. Tandoori chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices and grilled in a tandoor oven — one of the leanest preparations in Indian cuisine with no oil-based sauce. The lentils add fiber and plant protein. This is the best fiber-to-calorie ratio of any order on this list.
Vietnamese Pho (chicken, light broth) + Spring Roll
Chicken pho with herbs, bean sprouts, and a fresh spring roll (not fried). The important caveats: pho broth is high-sodium (often 1,500–2,200mg), so this is only a viable option if the rest of your day is very low-sodium. The protein and vegetable content are excellent. Fresh spring rolls (not fried) add fiber and negligible calories. If you want pho on Grubhub and sodium isn't a concern, the nutritional profile is hard to beat.
Greek Grilled Chicken Plate + Side Salad
Grilled chicken breast with Greek salad, pita (one), and tzatziki on the side. Tzatziki is one of the most nutritionally benign sauces in any delivery cuisine — yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and dill with minimal added fat. The Greek salad provides lycopene from tomatoes, healthy fats from olives, and hydration from cucumber. Skip feta if watching sodium.
The Grubhub-Specific Modifications That Matter
Grubhub's order customization options vary by restaurant, but these modifications work reliably:
- Sauce/dressing on the side — works on 90% of Grubhub restaurants that have sauced dishes. This is always worth requesting.
- Brown rice or no rice — many Grubhub restaurants with grain bowl or bowl-format dishes offer brown rice or cauliflower rice. The extra fiber from brown rice is worth the marginal calorie increase over white rice; cauliflower rice cuts 150–200 calories for the same volume.
- Extra vegetables, no extra starch — if a dish comes with rice and vegetables, ask for double vegetables and half rice. Most independent restaurants on Grubhub accommodate this; chains often don't.
- Skip the bread or chips — appetizer breads, pita baskets, and tortilla chips are calorie-dense and add 200–400 calories without meaningful nutrition. Explicitly noting "no chips" or "no bread" prevents these from arriving.
📋 How Grubhub compares to DoorDash and Uber Eats: Grubhub's restaurant mix skews more toward independent restaurants in most markets. This generally means more customization flexibility, more fresh-cooked food, and better sodium control than chains. See our full three-platform comparison for detailed breakdowns.
What to Avoid on Grubhub
The same categories that underperform on other apps are problems on Grubhub too, but a few are especially common:
- Combo plates with fried sides — many Grubhub restaurant combos default to fries or fried items as sides. Always check what the combo includes and substitute vegetables or a side salad.
- Large-portion Indian dishes — Indian restaurant portions on Grubhub tend to run large, and dishes like butter chicken or biryani can exceed 1,000 calories per serving. Half-portions or splitting an order works well nutritionally.
- Noodle dishes in heavy sauces — pad thai, lo mein, and similar dishes typically combine 800+ calories with 1,500–2,500mg sodium. They're not a healthy option regardless of how "light" the restaurant describes them.
For a full 7-day delivery plan that spans all three apps, see our healthy delivery week plan — it includes Grubhub-specific recommendations for each day.
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