CAVA Calorie & Macro Calculator
Add items below to calculate your meal's complete nutrition breakdown in real time.
Your Meal Summary
0 items🛡️ Verified Data Notice
Every number in this guide comes from CAVA's own published nutrition and allergen data, double-checked against independent nutrition databases — so what you're getting here is real, sourced figures, not rounded-off guesses. That said, CAVA has updated its menu twice already in 2026 (January and April), so think of these numbers as a close, well-verified snapshot rather than a live feed. If an allergy or a medical condition like celiac disease is involved, always confirm against CAVA's current guide before you order.
How to Build a Lower-Calorie or Higher-Protein Bowl
Because CAVA is à la carte, the fastest way to hit a target is to know which swaps actually move the needle. These are per-serving values from CAVA's published nutrition data:
Bases
Swapping rice for a greens base saves roughly 250–270 calories on its own. Black lentils cost about the same calories as rice but bring 3x the protein and much more fiber — the better "grain slot" pick if you're not counting carbs.
Proteins
*CAVA hasn't published a standalone per-serving figure for Glazed Salmon as widely yet; its two curated salmon bowls run close to 700 calories each — see the Popular Bowls table below.
Grilled steak has the best calorie-to-protein ratio of any CAVA protein. Falafel is the highest-calorie, lowest-protein option on the list, which matters if "plant-based" is your goal but "high-protein" also is — pair it with black lentils to fix that.
Dips & Spreads
Two dips is usually fine calorie-wise (60–90 calories combined). Three or more, especially if Crazy Feta or harissa is one of them, is where dips start adding up.
Toppings & Avocado
Vegetable toppings are essentially free calorie-wise; feta, avocado, and pita crisps are where a "healthy-looking" bowl quietly turns into an 800+ calorie one.
Dressings
Greek vinaigrette runs about 130 calories per serving, and tahini-based dressings (lemon herb tahini, tahini Caesar) tend to run higher due to fat content; yogurt dill and skhug are lighter options. Dressing is easy to forget when eyeballing a bowl's calories but can be 10–15% of the total.
💡 Worked Example: Cutting ~300 Calories Without Losing the Bowl
Starting point: Saffron rice, grilled chicken, hummus, feta, avocado, tahini-based dressing: roughly 750–800 calories.
Smart Swap: SuperGreens instead of rice (–250 cal), tzatziki instead of a second heavy dip (–10 to –15 cal), and yogurt dill instead of tahini dressing (–50 to –70 cal). Same protein, same core flavor profile, landing closer to 420–470 calories with 30g+ protein intact.
CAVA Popular Bowls & Calories
These are CAVA's curated (pre-built) bowls, with figures from CAVA's published nutrition and allergen guide:
Where you see a range (e.g., Chicken + Rice at 700–710), that reflects a small gap in CAVA's published data between the itemized ingredients and the stated total for the bowl.
Two new curated bowls joined the lineup in 2026: the Harissa Chicken Power Bowl (focused on the new Power Greens base) and the Spicy Lamb + Sweet Potato Bowl.
CAVA Pita Analytics
Curated pitas run noticeably higher than bowls because you're adding a ~300-calorie pita on top of the same protein-dip-topping-dressing stack.
Compare the whole meal, not just the protein — a pita with the same protein and toppings as a bowl will generally run 150–300 calories higher purely from the bread.
Goal-Oriented Builds
Expert formulas for hitting your macro targets without losing the CAVA flavor profile.
💪 High-Protein Target
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Base: Half black lentils, half SuperGreens
Protein: Grilled chicken or steak
Dips: Hummus (skip a second dip)
Toppings: Cucumber, tomato, olives
Dressing: Yogurt dill or light drizzle of Greek vinaigrette
Why it works: Lentils are doing real work here — 17g protein for the same calories as rice — and cutting from two dips to one saves 40–70 calories without cutting protein.
🎯 Low-Calorie Tactics (Under 500 Cal)
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✓ Base: Greens instead of rice/lentils (Saves 250–270 cal)
✓ Dressing: Yogurt dill or vinaigrette instead of tahini-based (Saves 50–100 cal)
✓ Dips: One instead of two or three (Saves 40–140 cal)
✓ Skip: Pita crisps and limit avocado to a half-serving
Pro Tip: You don't need to eliminate every richer ingredient — cutting the base and one dressing choice usually does more than stripping out every topping.
Dietary Target Filters
Quick rules for optimizing your order based on specific health goals.
Low-Carb & Keto
How to Build a Lower-Carb Bowl:
- Greens base (1–3g net carbs) instead of rice (54g) or lentils (37g).
- Grilled chicken or steak.
- Tzatziki or Crazy Feta.
- Non-starchy vegetable toppings (cucumber, tomato, cabbage).
- Greek vinaigrette or skhug.
💡 Is CAVA Keto-Friendly? It can be, but no bowl is keto "by name" — you have to customize it. Avoid pita bread, pita crisps, rice, lentils, corn, and falafel.
Vegetarian Options
All greens, grain bases, and most vegetable toppings are fully vegetarian-friendly.
CAVA's Mediterranean menu is inherently vegetarian-friendly. You can easily build a satisfying, protein-packed bowl without meat by relying on falafel or black lentils as your core. Pair these with roasted vegetables and your choice of fresh toppings.
💡 Top Vegetarian Proteins: Falafel, black lentils, and roasted vegetables are your main protein options. Pair with hummus or red pepper hummus!
Vegan Options & Warnings
Falafel, lentils, hummus, and most vinaigrettes are completely plant-based and safe for vegans.
A classic vegan bowl typically looks like: greens or lentils + falafel or roasted vegetables + hummus + vegetable toppings + a vinaigrette (Greek or balsamic date). Always confirm against the current allergen guide.
Gluten-Free Needs
For a gluten-conscious build, you must avoid the obvious Pita Bread and Pita Crisps.
You can choose any base except pita, any protein except falafel, and any dressing. Note that CAVA prepares food in shared spaces, so they cannot guarantee zero cross-contact. Talk to the staff if you have celiac disease.
Dairy-Free Options
Generally safe: Hummus, red pepper hummus, harissa, roasted eggplant dip, Greek vinaigrette, and balsamic date vinaigrette.
Dairy shows up in more places than just cheese toppings. Most bases and proteins are fine, but be careful with dressings and dips. Cross-check against the official ingredient list to be sure.
⚠️ Important Allergy Warning
CAVA publishes an official Nutrition, Ingredients & Allergen Guide, and it states plainly that it cannot guarantee any item is allergen-free because its kitchens use shared prep areas and equipment. An ingredient not listing a given allergen is not the same as a guarantee against cross-contact. If there's any doubt, confirm again before eating, not just before ordering.
Is CAVA Healthy?
CAVA can support very different goals depending on how it's built — the flexibility is the actual health feature, not any single bowl. A greens + lean protein + light dressing build is genuinely light (400–550 calories, high protein, high fiber).
A grains + double dip + feta + avocado + tahini dressing build is a legitimately heavy meal (800–900+ calories, 1,800–2,200+ mg sodium) that just looks lighter than it is because "Mediterranean" reads as healthy by default. Sodium is worth flagging: several curated bowls run 2,000–2,650mg of sodium, which is a full day's recommended intake.
CAVA 2026 Menu Updates
Because CAVA has made two menu changes in a single year, treat "current menu" as something to double-check each visit.
- January 5, 2026: Added Power Greens base, Sumac Slaw, and Tangerine Aleppo drink. Two new curated bowls: Harissa Chicken Power Bowl and Spicy Lamb + Sweet Potato Bowl.
- April 20, 2026: Introduced Glazed Salmon, its first-ever seafood protein, alongside two curated salmon bowls landing around 700 calories each.
2026 Reference Pricing
Note: Delivery apps (UberEats, DoorDash) typically charge 15–25% higher menu prices than ordering directly in-store or through the CAVA app.
CAVA Nutrition FAQs
There's no single number — CAVA's own curated bowls alone range from about 585 calories (Greek Salad) to 860 calories (Falafel Crunch), and a fully custom bowl can go lower or higher than either.
Romaine and arugula, at roughly 15–20 calories per serving — both far lighter than rice (~290–310) or lentils (~260).
Among curated bowls, Harissa Avocado and Spicy Lamb + Avocado lead at 41–43g protein. For a custom build, grilled chicken or steak plus black lentils as the base is the most efficient combination.
No — CAVA's falafel contains flour and is not gluten-free.
It can be built keto-friendly (greens base, meat protein, non-starchy toppings, vinaigrette), but no bowl is keto "by name" — rice, lentils, and some dressings will break a strict carb limit if you don't customize.
Several ingredients are vegan (falafel, hummus, most vegetable toppings, Greek and balsamic date vinaigrettes), but tzatziki, yogurt dill, and both feta options are dairy — check before assuming.
Standard bowls run roughly $12–$16, premium bowls (avocado, lamb) roughly $16–$23, and prices vary by location and ordering platform.
CAVA's Nutrition, Ingredients & Allergen Guide can be checked at CAVA's official website.