25 Unhealthiest Restaurant Desserts—Ranked by Sugar Content

It’s difficult to dispute that dessert is the grand finale of any meal. Indeed, 64 percent of Americans order dessert when they dine out, according to the (aptly named) Global Indulgence Study. American restaurant chains are well-known for their extravagant, decadently rich, and equally sizable sweet treats.  

But that brownie a la mode or skillet cookie you’re ordering after supper is likely adding more than half a day’s worth of calories and nearly a week’s worth of sugar to your day. Some of these desserts pack upwards of 20 teaspoons of the sweet stuff in one slice. Here’s why that’s a problem: Eating too much added sugar puts you at a higher risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other serious chronic health conditions. That’s why the American Heart Association recommends women consume no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day and men get no more than 36 grams per day. 

If you’re one to order dessert every time you dine out, steer clear of these sugariest desserts on menus. Instead, satisfy your sweet tooth with these 30 Low-Calorie Desserts to Buy Under 150 Calories.

Red Lobster Brownie Overboard

The American seafood chain goes overboard with its brownie dessert offering. You’ll get three slices of brownie served warm and topped with caramel, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream. The resulting dessert supplies you with 84 grams of sugar and 145% of your daily value of saturated fat.

RELATED: The 15 Best & Worst Frozen Fast-Food Desserts, According to a Dietitian

Olive Garden Chocolate Lasagna

Leave it to Olive Garden to serve a sweet version of the classic Italian-American dish. The chain’s so-called Chocolate Lasagna is a layered cake with decadent chocolate mousse and crushed wafers, all topped with chocolate sauce for a sweet treat that serves up 21 1/2 teaspoons’ worth of sugar. 

Red Lobster Chocolate Wave

Red Lobster’s take on chocolate cake has waves of cake and fudge frosting and is served with vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce. Just one slice packs 1,110 calories, 110% of your daily value of saturated fat, and more than 23 teaspoons of sugar.

TGI Fridays Cinnabon Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Nothing screams “it’s the weekend” quite like this decadent Cinnabon Caramel Pecan Cheesecake from TGI Fridays. It’s a plush slice of cinnamon cheesecake and vanilla crunch cake topped with cream cheese frosting, caramel, and glazed pecans and served with vanilla ice cream. It’s delicious, but it’ll contribute a staggering 930 calories and 94 grams of sugar to your day. 

Denny’s Caramel Apple Pie Crisp

The popular breakfast chain is notorious for its calorie-laden morning meals, and its dessert menu is no different. Denny’s Caramel Apple Pie Crisp, topped with vanilla ice cream and powdered sugar, boasts 830 calories and 100 grams of sugar—equivalent to 25 teaspoons of the sweet stuff. 

Chili’s Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chili’s proves it does more than Tex-Mexm, as illustrated by this decadent Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie generously topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. If you plan on ending your cheesy fajita meal with a skillet cookie, you’ll add a staggering 106 grams of sugar to your day. 

RELATED: 14 Healthiest Fast-Food Desserts, According to Dietitians

Bonefish Grill Macadamia Brownie

The American seafood chain’s Macadamia Brownie is flourless and gluten-free, but by no means is that a green light to spoon the entire thing into your mouth. This giant brownie a la mode packs in a staggering 107 grams of sugar, the equivalent of 190 M&M’s candies. 

Chili’s Molten Chocolate Cake

The Molten Chocolate Cake, which has been on the Chili’s menu since 1998, boasts a fudgy chocolate center. It is topped with vanilla ice cream covered in a hardened chocolate shell and drizzled with caramel sauce. If you end your meal with this chocolatey dessert, you’ll take in about half an entire day’s worth of calories and more than 27 teaspoons worth of sugar.

LongHorn Steakhouse Molten Lava Cake

The molten lava cake was said to have been invented when a chef accidentally removed a chocolate cake from the oven too soon, resulting in a delightfully undone center. Fans rave that LongHorn Steakhouse does the dessert faux pas well, but you’re better off skipping dessert at the steakhouse as one piece of its Molten Lava Cake clocks in at 1,150 calories and 111 grams of sugar.

P. F. Chang’s The Great Wall of Chocolate

P. F. Chang’s The Great Wall of Chocolate features six layers each of chocolate cake and chocolate frosting for a treat with 154 grams of carbs and 115 grams of sugar. If you’re in the mood for something sweet after your stir-fry, share the Chocolate Souffle, which has 400 calories and 36 grams of sugar, with a friend. 

Bonefish Grill Key Lime Cake

It’s no surprise that Bonefish Grill, an American restaurant chain headquartered in Florida, does Key Lime Cake well. As tasty as the Florida-based chain’s sweet-tart cake is, you’ll want to refrain from ordering it after dinner. One slice will set you back 118 grams of sugar and 1,210 calories.

RELATED: The #1 Healthiest Dessert at 14 Popular Restaurant Chains

TGI Fridays Brownie Obsession

TGI Fridays didn’t get it wrong, thinking people are obsessed with brownies — Americans eat about 1.45 billion of the chocolate dessert each year. Still, it’s not the smartest idea to start your weekend with Friday’s Brownie Obsession dessert. Here’s why: One order has 1,170 calories and 118 grams of sugar.

Red Robin Freckled Lemonade Cake

Red Robin dubs its Freckled Lemonade Cake “light and refreshing,” but you’re more likely to feel heavy and bloated after forking into a slice. This lemon cake is layered with lemon mousse, white chocolate, lemon curd, and strawberry purée and packs 31.5 teaspoons of sugar.

Red Robin Mountain High Mudd Pie

The Mountain High Mudd Pie from Red Robin is quite literally a mountain of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with thick layers of fudge, caramel, whipped cream, and Oreo cookies. The damage? Five days’ worth of sugar and 200% of your daily value of saturated fat.

Outback Steakhouse Tim Tam Brownie Cake

Outback Steakhouse honors its Aussie roots with this peanut butter brownie cake topped with Tim Tam, the beloved Australian chocolate biscuit. Each slice packs 130 grams of sugar—more than five times the AHA recommends women consume in a day.

The Cheesecake Factory Classic Basque Cheesecake

The Cheesecake Factory is well-known for its endless cheesecake flavors and toppings, but the Classic Basque Cheesecake takes the cake for being the sugariest. The super creamy base and burnt topping sneak in multiple meals’ worth of calories and 137 grams of sugar, about 34 teaspoons worth.

RELATED: 12 Best Store-Bought High-Protein Desserts

Uno Pizzeria & Grill Deep Dish Sundae

When it comes to deep-dish pizza, Uno Pizzeria & Grill is king. And Uno brings the Chicago-style delicacy to its dessert menu with the Deep Dish Sundae—your choice of either a cookie or brownie baked in a deep-dish pan and topped with ice cream for a treat that’ll set you back 139 grams of sugar.

The Cheesecake Factory Warm Apple Crisp

Don’t let the fruit in this dessert fool you. The Cheesecake Factory’s Warm Apple Crisp a la mode is stuffed with 139 grams of sugar. We’re not suggesting you do, but you’re better off eating seven apples for the same amount of sugar (plus vitamins and fiber). 

The Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake

The word “tower” in the name should clue you in to how extravagantly high in sugar this cake is. Layers of fudge cake, chocolate truffle cream, and chocolate mousse contribute to the 143 grams of sugar in this dessert. FYI, that’s like eating 16 chocolate truffles.

Texas Roadhouse Big Ol’ Brownie

As its name suggests, this dessert is one giant brownie—and it’s served a la mode with vanilla ice cream and then topped with hot chocolate sauce. If you choose to end your steak dinner with this Big Ol’ Brownie at Texas Roadhouse, you’ll take in 151 grams of sugar and 120% of your daily value of saturated fat. 

Applebee’s Cinnabon Mini Swirls

Applebee’s partnered with Cinnabon to fry up one of the sugariest desserts on restaurant menus across America. These mini swirls are fried and then tossed with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with caramel—as if that wasn’t sweet enough, you’ll also get a side of sweet cream cheese frosting to dip. The damage: 155 grams of sugar plus 46% of your daily value of sodium and 115% of your daily value of saturated fat.

RELATED: 30 Low-Calorie Desserts to Buy Under 150 Calories

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse Salted Caramel Pizookie

What’s a “pizookie,” you may ask? BJ’s popular dessert is a take on a pizza cookie—it’s a cookie baked and served in a deep dish. The salted caramel cookie is the sugariest flavor, featuring crunchy pretzel bites, chocolate chips, vanilla ice cream, and caramel sauce. This caramel cookie dessert comes with more than four days’ worth of sugar for men and more than six days’ worth for women. 

The Cheesecake Factory Linda’s Fudge Cake

If you’re dining at the Cheesecake Factory and skipping the chain’s infamous cheesecakes, know you’re not better off ordering a slice of Linda’s Fudge Cake. Layers of decadent chocolate fudge and crumbly cake contribute to this dessert’s 165 grams of sugar.

Uno Pizzeria and Grill Awesome Chocolate Cake

There’s nothing awesome about Uno’s chocolate cake’s nutrition profile: One slice of this decadent cocoa cake will give you 168 grams of sugar — that’s like eating 42 teaspoons of the sweet stuff. 

Applebee’s Sugar-Dusted Donut Dippers

Your neighborhood bar and grill is notorious for serving calorie-rich dishes. Yet, its Sugar-Dusted Donut Dippers menu item tops the list as the worst dessert on menus across America. Applebee’s donuts are coated in powdered sugar and come with a side of caramel and hot fudge to dip into. The large serving of donuts and the extra-sweet sauces supply 178 grams of sugar — the same amount in about 320 M&M’s candies.

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