Beyond Steak, These 10 Texas Roadhouse Meals Are A Great Value

While you may think of Texas Roadhouse as purely the place to go for a good-quality steak that gets you great bang for your buck, there's more to the chain than that. Thick cuts of juicy red meat are far from all that Texas Roadhouse has to offer its guests when it comes to value.

Be it combos, Dockside Favorites, or even appetizers, each category on the menu offers a savory selection that won't sour when the check comes. In some cases, you'll find the deals on restaurant-quality fare to be on par with fast food prices. More often than not, it holds true that the more you get, particularly with a choice chicken option, the better the deal. For the sake of this feature, all prices — unless otherwise stated — reflect those of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, providing a fair representation of how far your dollar will go on catfish, pulled pork, ribs, and more. Prices in your area may vary based on location.

Browse around in any grocery store's meat department, and one obvious truth stands out: Cuts of chicken are cheaper than cuts of beef. This is especially true when comparing the common poultry to steak. So it likely comes as little surprise that Texas Roadhouse's Grilled BBQ Chicken meal is a great value. Upon closer inspection of the menu — and at multiple locations — you'll also see a way you may be able to get more of a deal than you might expect.

In the DFW area, you can get the grilled ½-pound breast, with or without the sauce, with your choice of two sides for only $14.99. Fairly reasonable in a market upset with inflation, the offer is even sweeter if you order for the whole family. With four times as much chicken and a pint worth of each of your preferred sides, $44.99 gets you enough food to feed four for the price of three — plus a family sized salad and a generous supply of the steakhouse's beloved rolls.

It may also surprise those familiar with high costs in California that there's even more value for families in Los Angeles. While the single meal costs $18.49, the family pack comes in at $49.99; more than $5 less than the price of three of the individual meals. Beyond loving the food, families adore the value that, in some cases, stretches even further with leftovers.

Perhaps, like many Texas Roadhouse visitors, you've slept on the ribs in favor of carving up a ribeye or sirloin. If that's the case, then in addition to failing to appreciate the value of the meal, you are likely unaware of how the chain cooks fall-off-the-bone ribs every time. Before a grill finish, the dry-rubbed ribs are steamed on a grate courtesy of a combination of water and liquid smoke. Basted with BBQ sauce, each order gets a final hit of heat on the grill before delivery to your table where you'll find more is once again better.

A quick glance at the menu is all it takes to realize that the order of Full Slab Ribs is a better deal than the ½ Slab Ribs – just $6 extra. It just so happens that ribs are also offered in a family-sized order. While not as dramatic a difference in savings as the chicken family pack, loading up on the ribs scores you four half slabs along with rolls, a salad, and sides for roughly $10 less than if you'd ordered the same amount of ribs as separate meals.

A surefire way to ensure meal has value is to order some kind of combo. True, it may not always work out to a monetary advantage. It will, however, assure your dining experience has a different kind of value-added with variety. As it happens, Texas Roadhouse achieves both with more than one pairing of its fall-off-the-bone ribs and chicken options.

As already shown, both the Grilled BBQ Chicken and the ribs offer diners value, especially when you order more. In the case of this combo, the more is the variety and, though not quite an entire ½ slab, the addition of chicken breast to the meal only brings the total up to $23.99. You can also choose a chicken option that sticks with the handheld approach typical of rib eaters.

Instead of the chicken breast, Texas Roadhouse offers its ribs with its buttermilk-battered Chicken Critters. Breaded and fried, these chicken tenders contrast their saucy pairing with a satisfying bite. Either option still comes with two sides and, where it concerns the Chicken Critters, the meal comes in under $20 at $19.49.

When eating at some of the best budget chain steakhouses, those eschewing from the star cuisine often have high-quality options in pork. Texas Roadhouse is no different. Priced at $13.49 — similar to many fast food meals — you can order the Pulled Pork Sandwich. Automatically paired with steak fries, the slow-cooked meat served atop a bun also comes with your choice of a substitution from the restaurant's other options like mac & cheese, seasoned rice, Texas Red Chili, or vegetables.

Now, if you are after even more value, less than $2.50 extra will get you the Pulled Pork Dinner. Offering the same juicy meat as the sandwich, the meal also provides your choice of two sides. As for those who may prefer the sandwich, fret not. This meal comes with an order of bread baked on-site and, lest you've forgotten, the rolls keep coming if you've polished off the first basket by the time entrées come out. That means you'll have all you need to make your own sliders — sharing optional.

Inflation impacts everything, especially in recent years with global supply issues and market disruptions from things like the COVID-19 pandemic and tariffs. Startling side-by-sides show just how cheap a sandwich like Burger King's Whopper was in 1957 compared to the present. While you'd be hard-pressed to find any restaurant serving up a burger for $0.37, you can certainly have it your way with a value closer to a costlier Whopper with Texas Roadhouse's All-American Cheeseburger.

The cheese is optional and doesn't alter the price of the meal that comes complete with steak fries or an alternative side. Plus, unlike the one-size-fits-all preparation fast food restaurants are known for, Roadhouse diners can pick from rare to well in addition to opting for or against the standard toppings. What's more, for $1.50 extra over the $12.99 handheld, you can choose the Smokehouse Burger, which has nine toppings to customize to your liking at no extra charge. These include sautéed mushrooms and onions, Jack cheese, and BBQ sauce. Bacon lovers can add another dimension of flavor for just $1.29, which still comes out less than some combo meals at fast food burger chains customers find overpriced.

Visions of whole roasted fish, crab legs, and lobster tails may make seafood seem like anything but a value option. Even at a steakhouse, the popular pairing of surf and turf often comes with a premium price tag. Despite those realities, there is an affordable choice at Texas Roadhouse the kitchen can "noodle" up for you. For those unfamiliar with the bare-handed fishing technique of noodling, I'm talking about Fried Catfish. Once again, this is a meal where ordering more will save you more.

Already a fairly decent price at $16.99 for a three-piece meal, another $2 makes it a four-piece with the same perks. The Southern cornmeal-breaded farm-raised fillets come with Creole mustard sauce, a lemon wedge, and your choice of two sides. Though some have spoken of some localized bad experiences — which can be said of many places — a considerable number of reviews speak highly of this Texas Roadhouse option. That goes for both the crisp and juicy taste, as well as the price point.

A classic staple of the South that you'll find on menus at chain restaurants, roadside dinners, and mom and pop stops, is Country Fried Chicken. It can also be found at Texas Roadhouse and proves to be a great value option that can be leveled up for those looking to splurge. As is, the hand-battered chicken breast is crisped in the fryer and topped with your choice of brown gravy, cream gravy, or neither.

For just under $16, you also get your pick of two sides putting the meal on par with Cracker Barrel's Chicken Fried Chicken. That said, if you want to spice up the hearty and humble entrée, you've got a couple of options. For under a buck, you can top your Country Fried Chicken with bleu cheese crumbles. Then, just like the chain's steaks, for $2.29 you can smother the lot with sautéed mushrooms and onions. Speaking of steak, if it's red meat you're after, it only costs $1 more to have the Country Fried Sirloin, instead.

At some point, and probably more often than some of us might like to admit, you've sat down at a restaurant and overdid it with the appetizer. A couple bites of your entrée later, you sheepishly find yourself setting down your fork and signaling the server for a to-go box. Well, just because an item is labeled a starter doesn't mean you can't make it your main course. That kind of thinking unlocks other value options like the Texas Roadhouse Cactus Blossom.

Ordering the regular Cactus Blossom, sans the fire dust, cheese sauce, and jalapeños of its Fire Blossom cousin, comes in at just under $9. While this may present as enough food to feed one, the sizable shareable may not seem all that enticing — at least not until you ask for it as a secret menu item loved by fans and employees alike. Whether you smother it with some Jack cheese or load that fried onion with some pulled pork, you're bound to find a little extra investment goes a long way, possibly even satisfying you and a friend.

In the same way that a starter can be tweaked to make for a satisfying meal, so, too, can a side dish get promoted to centerstage. Be it as french fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, or home fries, the potato has more than proven its star power. This applies to Texas Roadhouse's Baked Potato which, for only a few dollars more, will come served loaded with some protein and melty goodness.

Also like appetizers, you may have heeded expert advice warning you to think twice at a steakhouse before ordering a loaded baked potato. The logic strictly relates toward treating the spud as a side, thus supporting making it a meal option. At just under $6, you're baked potato can include bacon bits, cheddar cheese, and Texas Red Chili. If you're still not convinced about tapping the tuber as a valid meal, keep in mind that Texas Roadhouse catering prices out options from $3 to $7 a person to bring you baked potatoes with varying amounts of toppings — including BBQ pulled pork — with a Baked Potato Bar.

Instead of a single item to consider, one more great value option happens to include steak — and so much more. As you may know, the Texas Roadhouse concept has remained a dinner-only service during the week with lunch hours available on the weekend. What this means for diners is that early birds have a limited window to take advantage of the chain's list of Early Dine specials.

Prices vary by location, with many offering deals for around $13 or less. The menu cuts off in the evening Monday through Thursday and early afternoon on Friday. In addition to a 6-ounce Sirloin Steak Dinner or the Country Fried Sirloin Dinner, choices include a grilled pork chop, herb crusted chicken, and three different salads. For those who think the chain might skimp to offer the value price, know that you still get your choice of two sides with the entrée, and the fresh-baked rolls will keep coming as long as you ask for them.