Healthier Five Guys Choices: What to Order Instead of a Cheeseburger

TL;DR. The best Five Guys order is not automatically the smallest possible order. It is the order that gives you the burger, fries, shake, or toppings you actually wanted without quietly turning into a double-patty burger, big fries, mayo-heavy toppings, and a milkshake. If you usually order a Cheeseburger, the simplest lower-calorie burger swap is the Little Cheeseburger: 610 calories instead of 980 calories before fries, a shake, or extra toppings enter the picture¹.

Five Guys is a portion-size menu. The word "Little" does a lot of work: a regular burger has multiple patties, while the Little burgers are the one-patty lane. Fries are also bigger than they sound, and a shake starts at 670 calories before mix-ins. The goal is not to pretend Five Guys is a light restaurant. The goal is to make the part you care about visible, then choose the rest on purpose.

This guide uses Five Guys' U.S. menu pages and Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF as planning references. Five Guys' menu pages list calories for named menu items, while the PDF provides ingredient-level macros for patties, buns, cheese, bacon, fries, toppings, and shakes. Treat the numbers as close estimates, not lab-perfect measurements. Five Guys notes that its menu items are made to order by hand and that serving-size variation can affect nutrition values².

A note before reading. This article is general nutrition education, not medical advice. If calorie counting, restaurant eating, or "good vs. bad" food decisions trigger anxiety or restrictive patterns for you, use this as loose menu literacy rather than a rulebook. The goal is a calmer order, not a stricter relationship with food.

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Quick picks

These are not universal "healthiest" Five Guys items. Each row starts with a specific Five Guys item or common Five Guys order, then gives another Five Guys option that usually fits a weight-loss day more easily.

Calorie and macro comparison

The table below uses Five Guys menu-page calories for named items and the Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF for ingredient-level macro estimates. Because Five Guys rounds values and uses supplier-specific ingredients for cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise, treat the macros as practical planning estimates. The "better-fit" order is usually better because it lowers calories, scales the portion, or removes low-satiety add-ons. It does not mean every macro improves in every row.

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Instead of a Cheeseburger

The Cheeseburger is the classic Five Guys move, but it is a large burger: 980 calories before fries, sauces, or a drink¹. Using Five Guys' ingredient-level nutrition, it lands around 47g protein, 40g carbs, and 55g fat depending on cheese supplier¹.

The easier everyday swap is the Little Cheeseburger. It is 610 calories, with roughly 27g protein, 40g carbs, and 32g fat¹. You keep the bun, cheese, beef, and customizable toppings, but move into the one-patty lane.

That is the core Five Guys strategy: pick the burger size first. A Little Cheeseburger is not tiny. It is just much easier to fit than the regular Cheeseburger once fries or a later meal are part of the day.

Instead of a Hamburger

A regular Hamburger at Five Guys is 840 calories¹. The ingredient math is roughly 39g protein, 39g carbs, and 43g fat before toppings¹.

The Little Hamburger is 540 calories, with about 23g protein, 39g carbs, and 26g fat¹. It still gives you the Five Guys burger format, and it leaves much more room if you want fries or a real dinner later.

If the full Hamburger is exactly what you want, keep it and make the side or drink quieter. If you mostly want a Five Guys burger, the Little Hamburger is the better default.

Instead of a Bacon Cheeseburger

The Bacon Cheeseburger is the highest-calorie burger swap in this guide: 1,060 calories before fries or a shake¹. The ingredient-level estimate is about 52g protein, 40g carbs, and 61g fat¹.

The Little Bacon Cheeseburger keeps the bacon-and-cheese lane at 690 calories, with roughly 32g protein, 40g carbs, and 38g fat¹.

This is a good example of not removing the thing you actually wanted. If bacon and cheese are the point, keep bacon and cheese, then scale the burger itself.

Instead of a burger, regular fries, and shake

Five Guys orders can change dramatically when the main item becomes a tray. A Hamburger + regular Five Guys Style Fries + vanilla shake adds up to about 2,460 calories, 254g carbs, 116g fat, and 67g protein before any shake mix-ins³.

A more controlled version is Little Hamburger + Little Five Guys Style Fries + water. That lands around 1,070 calories, 111g carbs, 49g fat, and 31g protein³.

That is still a substantial meal. It just keeps the order in a range that is much easier to log honestly than burger plus regular fries plus shake.

Instead of regular fries

Five Guys fries are famous for a reason, and they are not small. The PDF lists Regular Five Guys Style Fries at 953 calories, 131g carbs, 41g fat, and 15g protein⁴.

The Little Five Guys Style Fries are still 526 calories, 72g carbs, 23g fat, and 8g protein⁴. "Little" does not mean calorie-free, but it saves more than 400 calories compared with regular fries.

If fries are the part of the meal you care about most, order them and scale the burger down. If they are just automatic, skip them or split them.

Instead of keeping the bun by default

Five Guys' bun is 240 calories, 39g carbs, 9g fat, and 7g protein⁵. If the bun matters to you, keep it. But if what you really want is beef, cheese, bacon, vegetables, and sauce, the bun is one of the highest-leverage parts to remove.

Five Guys lists burger bowls and lettuce wraps as options for burgers, dogs, and sandwiches⁵. A Little Hamburger burger bowl or lettuce wrap is roughly the patty plus whatever toppings you choose: about 300 calories, 16g protein, 0-1g carbs, and 17g fat before toppings⁵.

This is most useful when you want a lower-carb or lower-calorie burger, not when you are trying to pretend lettuce is a bun. If the bun is part of the craving, keep it and simplify somewhere else.

Instead of a milkshake

Five Guys' Vanilla Shake Base is 670 calories, 84g carbs, 32g fat, and 13g protein before whipped cream or mix-ins⁶. Peanut butter, Oreo pieces, chocolate, salted caramel, and other mix-ins add more.

If the shake is not the treat, choose water or a zero-calorie drink and spend the calories on the burger or fries. If the shake is the treat, treat it like dessert and keep the rest of the order smaller.

This is where Five Guys can surprise people. A shake can be as calorie-dense as, or more calorie-dense than, the burger swap you were trying to make.

Instead of mayo-heavy toppings

Toppings are part of the fun at Five Guys, but not all toppings behave the same. Five Guys lists Mayonnaise at 103-111 calories and 11g fat per portion depending on supplier⁷. Ketchup is 30 calories, BBQ sauce is 49 calories, and A.1. Sauce is 15 calories⁷.

If you want a nearly calorie-free flavor move, mustard and hot sauce are listed at 0 calories⁷. Pickles, jalapeños, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, grilled onions, green peppers, and grilled mushrooms are also low-calorie toppings.

You do not need to avoid mayo. Just count it. It is easy for "free toppings" to feel like "free calories," and they are not always the same thing.

Where Five Guys orders get away from you

Regular burgers are big burgers. The Little burgers are usually the easier starting point. You can still add toppings and keep the order satisfying.

Fries are a major part of the meal. Little fries are 526 calories, regular fries are 953, and large fries are 1,314 for Five Guys Style⁴. Splitting fries is often the most practical move.

Shakes are dessert. The shake base starts at 670 calories before mix-ins. That can fit, but it should be the planned treat.

Free toppings are not always calorie-free. Vegetables, mustard, hot sauce, and pickles are light. Mayo, BBQ sauce, cheese, bacon, and extra sauces change the meal.

Sodium can still be high. A lower-calorie fast-food order is not automatically a low-sodium order. If sodium matters for you medically, use Five Guys' nutrition information and your clinician's guidance.

For a broader restaurant strategy, especially when you are not at a chain with published nutrition data, see our guide to eating out and staying on track.

How to build a better Five Guys meal

Use this order of operations:

1. Pick the burger size first. Little means one patty and usually makes the biggest difference.
2. Decide whether fries are part of the meal. If yes, choose Little or split an order. If no, do not let fries appear because they feel automatic.
3. Choose one calorie-dense extra. Cheese, bacon, mayo, fries, or shake can fit. The order gets harder when they all show up together.
4. Use low-calorie toppings for volume and flavor. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, peppers, jalapeños, pickles, mustard, and hot sauce are useful.
5. Log the full order. Burger plus fries plus shake plus sauces is the meal. The burger alone is not the full picture.

Here are a few practical builds:

None of these orders are magic. They are just easier to fit into a normal day than a regular burger, regular fries, shake, mayo-heavy toppings, and sugary drink chosen on autopilot.

How to log Five Guys without overthinking it

Five Guys is trackable if you separate the build. Use the named menu item calories when your order matches the menu, then add or subtract the visible extras.

Log the burger size. Hamburger and Little Hamburger are not the same entry. Cheeseburger and Little Cheeseburger are not the same entry.

Separate fries and shakes. These are not background items. Fries and shakes often change the meal more than the burger choice.

Use ingredient values for toppings. Mayo, cheese, bacon, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and shake mix-ins should be separate when they matter. Low-calorie vegetables do not need obsessive tracking unless you want that detail.

Do not punish yourself afterward. If the order ended up larger than planned, the next move is a normal next meal. Not skipping tomorrow's breakfast, not extra exercise as repayment, and not pretending the meal did not happen.

That is where a food journal helps: not as a scolding device, but as a record. A Five Guys meal that is logged honestly is much easier to fit into a week than one that disappears because it felt awkward to write down.

Frequently asked questions

What is a healthier Five Guys order for weight loss?

A practical Five Guys order for weight loss often starts with a Little Hamburger, Little Cheeseburger, Little Bacon Cheeseburger, burger bowl, or lettuce wrap, then keeps fries, mayo, cheese, bacon, shakes, and sugary drinks intentional. The biggest calorie jumps usually come from regular burgers, fries, shakes, mayo, bacon, cheese, and full combo-style orders.

Are Five Guys Little burgers actually small?

Not really. They are smaller than the regular burgers, but a Little Hamburger is still 540 calories and a Little Cheeseburger is 610 calories. "Little" is best understood as the one-patty lane, not a tiny snack.

How should I log Five Guys?

Log each piece separately: burger size, cheese, bacon, bun or lettuce wrap, fries size, shake base, mix-ins, sauces, and drink. Five Guys is easiest to track when the burger, fries, shake, and toppings are visible instead of grouped as one vague meal.

More fast-food comparisons

See the full healthier fast food choices hub, or compare McDonald's, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell, Chipotle, and In-N-Out.

Try Mindful

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References

Footnotes

1. Five Guys' burger menu lists the Hamburger at 840 calories, Cheeseburger at 980 calories, Bacon Cheeseburger at 1,060 calories, Little Hamburger at 540 calories, Little Cheeseburger at 610 calories, and Little Bacon Cheeseburger at 690 calories. Macro estimates use Five Guys' PDF values for hamburger patty, bun, cheese, and bacon. Burger menu, Nutrition & Allergen PDF ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. Five Guys. Five Guys U.S. menu pages and Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF, accessed May 23, 2026. Five Guys states that nutrition information is calculated from standard product formulations, incorporates multiple data sources, may not reflect all customizations, and that made-to-order preparation can cause serving-size variation. Menu, Nutrition & Allergen PDF ↩

3. Combo estimates add Five Guys' listed burger calories, Five Guys Style Fries values, and Vanilla Shake Base values. Regular Five Guys Style Fries are 953 calories, 15g protein, 131g carbohydrates, and 41g total fat; Little Five Guys Style Fries are 526 calories, 8g protein, 72g carbohydrates, and 23g total fat; Vanilla Shake Base is 670 calories, 13g protein, 84g carbohydrates, and 32g total fat. Nutrition & Allergen PDF ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Five Guys' Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF lists Little Five Guys Style Fries at 526 calories, Regular Five Guys Style Fries at 953 calories, Large Five Guys Style Fries at 1,314 calories, Little Cajun Style Fries at 540 calories, Regular Cajun Style Fries at 967 calories, and Large Cajun Style Fries at 1,328 calories. Source ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Five Guys' sandwich menu lists burger bowls and lettuce wraps as options; the Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF lists the bun at 240 calories, 7g protein, 39g carbohydrates, and 9g total fat, and the hamburger patty at 302 calories, 16g protein, 0g carbohydrates, and 17g total fat. Sandwiches menu, Nutrition & Allergen PDF ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. Five Guys' Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF lists Vanilla Shake Base at 670 calories, 13g protein, 84g carbohydrates, and 32g total fat before whipped cream or mix-ins. Source ↩ ↩²

7. Five Guys' Nutrition & Allergen Information PDF lists Mayonnaise at 103-111 calories and 11g total fat depending on supplier; Mustard and Hot Sauce at 0 calories; Ketchup at 30 calories; BBQ Sauce at 49 calories; and A.1. Sauce at 15 calories. Source ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴