The short answer to "how many calories are in a CAVA bowl" is: it completely depends on what you order. A bowl with SuperGreens, Grilled Chicken, and Yogurt Dill dressing can come in under 300 calories. The same bowl swapped for a Brown Rice base, Falafel, Crazy Feta, olives, and Garlic Dressing can push past 1,000 calories.
Both are technically "a CAVA bowl." The build-your-own model is great, but it means the calorie range is genuinely massive. Here's a breakdown of where those calories come from across every ingredient category.
Why the calorie range is so wide
CAVA lets you mix and match from 50+ ingredients across bases, proteins, dips, toppings, and dressings. Every choice you make adds to the total — or barely adds anything (veggie toppings are essentially free calories-wise).
The biggest drivers of calories at CAVA, in order, are: your base choice, your protein choice, and your dressing. Everything else contributes, but those three decisions account for most of what ends up in your bowl.
Calories by ingredient category
| Category | Typical range | Lowest option | Highest option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base — Greens | 20–30 cal | SuperGreens (20 cal) | Power Greens (30 cal) |
| Base — Grains | 270–310 cal | Black Lentils (270 cal) | Brown Rice (310 cal) |
| Protein | 170–350 cal | Grilled Steak (170 cal) | Falafel (350 cal) |
| Dip | 30–100 cal | Tzatziki (30 cal) | Crazy Feta (~100 cal) |
| Toppings — Veggies | 5–15 cal each | Cucumber, Tomato + Onion | Pretty much everything is free |
| Toppings — Extras | 30–80 cal | Pickled Onions (15 cal) | Crumbled Feta (~70 cal) |
| Dressing | 30–200 cal | Yogurt Dill (30 cal) | Garlic Dressing (180–200 cal) |
Looking at this table, the math becomes clear. Picking the lowest-calorie option in every category brings your total to around 250–280 calories. Picking the highest lands you at 900–1,000+. The swing at the base stage alone is 290 calories (SuperGreens vs. Brown Rice). The swing at the dressing stage is another 150–170 calories.
The biggest calorie traps at CAVA
A few items catch people off guard. These are the ones worth knowing before you order. For the complete dressing breakdown with all 8 options ranked, see our full CAVA dressings calorie ranking.
- Garlic Dressing — 180+ calories. This is the most calorie-dense dressing on the menu by far. Yogurt Dill is 30 calories. That's a 150-calorie difference on one scoop of dressing. If you love the garlic flavor, ask for it on the side and use about half.
- Falafel — 350 calories. It's fried, which is why it sits at the top of the protein calorie list. Grilled Steak has 170 calories and 23g of protein. Falafel has 350 calories and 6g of protein. It's delicious, but if you're watching your numbers, it's worth knowing what you're signing up for.
- Sumac Sour Cream + Onion Pita Chips — 290 calories. Adding a side of pita chips is basically adding another small meal on top of your bowl. If you're trying to stay under 600 total, this makes that very difficult.
- Multiple dips. Each dip adds 30–100 calories. One is usually fine. But stacking Hummus + Crazy Feta + Tzatziki adds 200+ calories before you've even touched your protein or base.
How to build a bowl under 500 calories
This is totally doable, and you don't have to eat a boring bowl to get there. Here's a build that comes in around 380 calories and actually tastes good:
- SuperGreens base — 20 calories
- Grilled Chicken — 250 calories
- Tzatziki dip — 30 calories
- Persian Cucumber + Tomato & Onion (free veggies) — ~20 calories
- Yogurt Dill dressing — 30 calories
- Total: ~350 calories, 29g protein
If you want more substance, swap SuperGreens for Saffron Basmati Rice and you're still under 650 calories with a much more filling bowl. Or ask for half greens, half rice — CAVA will do this — and you split the difference at around 500 calories.
The easiest single swap that saves the most calories: ditch the Garlic Dressing and go with Yogurt Dill or Lemon Herb Tahini. That one change saves you 90–150 calories without touching anything else in your bowl.
Calories by what you're going for
| Goal | Target range | How to get there |
|---|---|---|
| Weight loss | 350–500 cal | Greens base, lean protein, one light dip, Yogurt Dill dressing |
| Maintenance | 550–700 cal | Mixed base, any protein, one dip, moderate dressing |
| Muscle building | 750–1,000+ cal | Grain base, double protein, Crazy Feta, tahini dressing |
| Very light meal | Under 300 cal | Greens only, Grilled Chicken, cucumber + tomato, Yogurt Dill |
CAVA is genuinely flexible for calorie management. You can eat there regularly and stay within almost any calorie target — you just need to be consistent about two things: your base and your dressing. Those two choices account for roughly 60% of your bowl's total calorie count.
Questions people ask
Does CAVA post calorie information anywhere?
Yes — CAVA publishes official nutrition data in their allergen and nutrition guide. That's the same data we use in our calorie calculator. The numbers won't be exact to the calorie in real life (portion sizes vary slightly by location), but they're a reliable baseline for planning. If you want to understand exactly whether CAVA's calorie counts are accurate — including the FDA's ±20% legal tolerance and which ingredient categories have the most portion variance — we cover that in detail.
Is CAVA a good option if you're trying to lose weight?
It can be, genuinely. A greens base + Grilled Chicken + light dressing can come in under 400 calories with 28–30g of protein — which is a really solid lunch for a calorie deficit. The menu isn't inherently diet food, but it's easy to eat well there once you know which choices to make.
How do I track a CAVA bowl in a calorie tracking app?
The easiest approach: use our CAVA calorie calculator to get the exact breakdown for your bowl, then log each ingredient separately in your app. Most CAVA items are already in apps like MyFitnessPal — just search for "CAVA [item name]."
Try the CAVA Calorie Calculator
Build your bowl and see the exact calorie count for every item you add — no guesswork.
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