Are boutique burgers healthy?

We're told that many people are choosing to buy from gourmet burger chains in the belief that the offerings are better for them. And with 63% of Australian adults overweight or obese a switch to healthier food options should be encouraged. But do the burgers live up to their "healthy" reputation?

You might expect that with all those premium, fresh ingredients, most gourmet burgers would compare favourably to a Big Mac, which isn't exactly the poster child for health food. Certainly Grill'd claims its burgers have 'no nasties' (including no preservatives in its buns, and no artificial preservatives in its dressings), whereas a range of additives are included in the ingredients lists of burgers from McDonald's. But we found that all of the gourmet beef burgers we looked at (and most of the chicken and veggie burgers too) had more kilojoules than a Big Mac, and many weren't shy with the saturated fat and salt either.

High-kilojoule culprits

Of the 40 gourmet burgers analysed, 31 had more kilojoules than a Big Mac (2180kJ). Topping the kilojoule charts were The Mighty^* (lowcarb bun, 3508kJ) from Grill'd and The Okker (wholemeal bun, 3500kJ) from Burger Edge, both beating the Big Mac by more than 40%.

The reason for this is pretty simple. The gourmet burgers are bigger (385g for The Mighty and a whopping 515g for The Okker, compared with Big Mac's 216g). And while the added bacon may be 'crispy trim' and the egg 'free range', the inclusion of these ingredients along with cheese and mayo/aioli inevitably contributes to kilojoule creep.

If you were to pick a healthier burger from the menu, you might automatically gravitate to the vegetarian options. But even the gourmet veggie burgers – seven of 10 gourmet veggie burgers we analysed – can be more calorific than a Big Mac. Sure the veggie components are healthy, but that's before you add cheese, mayo or aioli which bump up the kilojoule content of the burger overall.

Another simple mistake is to equate 'low carb' with 'low kilojoules'. Grill'd offers a Low Carb SuperBun which you can order for any of your burgers. It's free from gluten and dairy, which is great for people who need to avoid those ingredients or if low carb is a priority for you. But the low-carb bun is made with egg, almond meal and coconut cream, and as a result has more kilojoules than the traditional bun.

The burgers with highest fat

Almost two-thirds of the gourmet burgers analysed had more fat than a Big Mac (28.6g), and some contained startling amounts of artery-clogging saturated fat. 

Because a higher intake is thought to be associated with an increased risk of heart disease, it's recommended that we limit our daily energy intake from saturated fat to 10% – which, if you're an average Australian adult with a daily energy intake of 8700kJ, means capping your daily saturated fat intake at 23g. Grill'd The Mighty (low-carb bun) manages to fit 19.9g in a single burger (a Big Mac has 11.3g).

A smaller proportion of gourmet veggie burgers and chicken burgers were high in saturated fat compared with the beef burgers, with some notable exceptions – the Grill'd Caesar's Palace chicken burger (low-carb bun), for example, has 16.6g, 72% of the daily limit.

Burgers with high salt

If you're not worrying about your weight, you should still spare a thought for your heart when contemplating chowing down on a gourmet burger. 

It's suggested that we limit our daily intake of sodium to 1600mg (the suggested dietary target, or SDT) in order to maintain optimal blood pressure over our lifetime and in doing so reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease.  And 2300mg of sodium is the maximum we should be consuming in a day. 

Of the 40 gourmet burgers analysed, 10 had more than 100% of this SDT for sodium in a single burger (a Big Mac, by comparison, contains 62%).  

The Burger Edge Meat Lovers and Okker beef burgers were the saltiest, with both burgers exceeding 2300mg – the wholemeal versions of each have 118% and 104% of this upper limit respectively. This makes sense once you learn that their ingredients include several different processed meats, which are notorious for containing high levels of sodium.

Watch out for sugars too

Sugar isn't something you might normally associate with a burger, but can be something to watch out for – particularly if the burger comes with generous dollops of sauce, chutney or relish.

The Burger Edge Okker (white/wholemeal bun), for example, tips the scales at 21g sugars – that's more than 5 teaspoons of sugar per burger. Its ingredients include canned pineapple and tomato sauce, which would both contribute to this total.

Healthier burger options

If you're looking for that boutique taste but with fewer nutritional nasties, the following gourmet burgers from Burger Edge and Grill'd contribute less than a third of the average daily energy intake and recommended saturated fat limit – sensible if it's for just one of three meals you'll eat in a day – and less than three-quarters of the SDT for sodium.

• Burger Edge Bombay Bash (chicken), white/wholemeal bun (1830/1870kJ, 2.1/3g sat fat, 1030/1060mg sodium)
• Burger Edge Plain & Simple (chicken), white/wholemeal bun (1880/1930kJ, 1.4/2.3g sat fat, 1110/1141mg sodium)
• Grill'd Sweet Chilli Chicken, traditional bun (1920kJ, 2.4g sat fat, 735mg sodium)
• Grill'd Field of Dreams (veggie), traditional bun (1970kJ, 4.3g sat fat, 708mg sodium)
• Grill'd Veggie Vitality, traditional bun (2150kJ, 2.7g sat fat, 1150mg sodium)
• Grill'd Simon Says (chicken), traditional bun (2240kJ, 5.1g sat fat, 921mg sodium)
• Grill'd Simply Grill'd (beef), traditional bun (2300kJ, 6.8g sat fat, 858mg sodium)

Takeaway message

If your priority is taste, or the provenance, quality and freshness of the ingredients, then a gourmet burger might be just what you're after. Just don't assume it'll be good for you too.
On the whole, fast food burgers (gourmet or otherwise) have a tendency to be high in kilojoules, fat and salt, so consider skipping the soft drinks and sides when you're ordering one for a meal.

How we assessed the burgers

We looked at a selection of burgers on the menu of gourmet burger chains. We focused on chains that make a claim that their burgers are healthy, and have outlets in at least four states. For each chain, we included the first beef, chicken and veggie burgers listed on the menu, the lowest and highest kJ option for each burger type and any options promoted as "healthy" or that gave the impression they were better for you. Menu items such as sliders, wraps, sandwiches and burgers with no buns were excluded from our analysis. All nutrition information was obtained from the companies' websites. Thanks to Alison McAleese at LiveLighter for collecting the data and assisting with the analysis.

*The Mighty goes by different names in different states as follows: Mighty Melbourne (Vic), Big Queenslander (Qld), Mighty Cow Eater (SA), Wild Wild West (WA), Top Territory (NT), Almighty (NSW & ACT).

Burger comparison table

We looked at 40 burgers from gourmet burger chains Burger Edge and Grill'd, and compared their nutrition information with that of standard offerings from burger giants McDonald's and Hungry Jack's. We've listed them below in order of kilojoule content (highest to lowest). To order by another criteria, simply click on the column headings.

Chain menu item	Burger type	Serve size (g)	Energy (kJ/serve)	Protein (g/serve)	Fat total (g/serve)	Fat saturated (g/serve)	Carbohydrates (g/serve)	Sugars (g/serve)	Sodium (mg/serve)	Energy (% daily intake)*	Fat saturated (% of daily limit)**	Sodium (% of SDT)***	Sodium (% of upper limit)***
Grill'd The Mighty (low carb bun)	45 Beef	385	3508	55.7	57.9	19.9	21.8	13.3	1362	40	86	85	59
Burger Edge The Okker (wholemeal bun)	44 Beef	515	3500	44.1	43.1	16.3	65.3	21.3	2400	40	71	150	104
Burger Edge The Okker (white bun)	43Beef	515	3460	42.7	41.5	15.4	69.0	21.1	2370	40	67	148	103
Grill'd The Mighty (traditional bun)	42Beef	385	3260	52.2	39.1	13.1	51.8	11.3	1510	37	57	94	66
Burger Edge Meat Lover (wholemeal bun)	41Beef	437	3250	47.3	38.0	17.6	57.9	13.1	2720	37	76	170	118
Grill'd Caesar's Palace (low carb bun)	40Chicken	284	3208	57.4	54.4	16.6	10.4	3.8	992	37	72	62	43
Burger Edge Meat Lover (white bun)	39Beef	437	3200	45.9	36.4	16.7	61.6	12.9	2690	37	72	168	117
Burger Edge Hail Caesar (wholemeal bun)	38Chicken	361	3080	47.1	37.8	11.0	48.9	7.8	1850	35	48	116	80
Grill'd Crispy Bacon & Cheese (low carb bun)	37Beef	307	3078	47.6	51.9	18.1	18.1	9.6	1172	35	78	73	51
Burger Edge Hail Caesar (white bun)	36Chicken	361	3040	45.7	36.2	10.1	52.6	7.6	1820	35	44	114	79
Burger Edge Veggie Patch (wholemeal bun)	35Veggie	379	3010	21.1	35.6	10.2	73.9	10.7	1500	35	44	94	65
Burger Edge Veggie Patch (white bun)	34Veggie	379	2960	19.7	34.0	9.3	77.6	10.5	1470	34	40	92	64
Grill'd Caesar's Palace (traditional bun)	33 Chicken	284	2960	53.9	35.6	9.8	40.4	1.8	1140	34	42	71	50
Burger Edge Crumbed Parma (wholemeal bun)	32 Chicken	365.5	2910	40.0	31.8	9.5	59.6	10.3	1510	33	41	94	66
Hungry Jack's Whopper	31Beef	280	2900	29.6	40.0	11.7	53.7	8.6	667	33	51	42	29
Burger Edge Crumbed Parma (white bun)	30Chicken	365.5	2860	38.6	30.2	8.6	63.3	10.1	1480	33	37	93	64
Burger Edge Chicken Deluxe (wholemeal bun)	29Chicken	391	2850	42.5	33.2	11.0	50.1	9.6	1770	33	48	111	77
Grill'd Crispy Bacon & Cheese (traditional bun)	28Beef	307	2830	44.1	33.1	11.3	48.1	7.6	1320	33	49	83	57
Burger Edge Chicken Deluxe (white bun)	27Chicken	391	2800	41.1	31.6	10.1	53.8	9.4	1740	32	44	109	76
Grill'd Garden Goodness (low carb bun)	26Veggie	344	2640	19.4	40.2	10.8	34.0	11.5	1020	30	47	64	44
Grill'd Nourish & Flourish (low carb bun)	25 Beef	334	2570	36.2	44.0	14.3	19.1	11.3	971	30	62	61	42
Grill'd Garden Goodness (traditional bun)	24Veggie	344	2560	17.4	23.3	4.6	77.5	9.7	1220	29	20	76	53
Grill'd Simply Grill'd (low carb bun)	23 Beef	276	2548	35.2	43.5	13.6	17.4	9.2	710	29	59	44	31
Grill'd Simon Says (low carb bun)	22 Chicken	283	2488	44.8	39.2	11.9	13.7	6.3	773	29	52	48	34
Burger Edge The Pulse (wholemeal bun)	21Veggie	340	2470	19.0	26.6	4.4	64.3	6.1	1660	28	19	104	72
Burger Edge The Pulse (white bun)	20Veggie	340	2430	17.6	25.0	3.5	68.0	5.9	1630	28	15	102	71
Burger Edge The Original Edge (wholemeal bun)	19 Beef	336	2320	27.3	24.0	7.4	54.7	9.6	1500	27	32	94	65
Grill'd Simply Grill'd (traditional bun)	18 Beef	276	2300	31.7	24.6	6.8	47.4	7.2	858	26	29	54	37
Burger Edge The Original Edge (white bun)	17Beef	336	2280	25.9	22.4	6.6	58.4	9.4	1470	26	29	92	64
Grill'd Mustard and Pickled! (traditional bun)	16Beef	305	2250	37.2	20.5	8.6	47.7	7	1190	26	37	74	52
Grill'd Simon Says (traditional bun)	15 Chicken	283	2240	41.3	20.4	5.1	43.7	4.3	921	26	22	58	40
Grill'd Veggie Vitality (low carb bun)	14Veggie	331	2220	14.0	32.4	8.9	32.8	12.8	950	26	39	59	41
McDonald's Big Mac	13Beef	216	2180	26.9	28.6	11.3	37.4	6.4	993	25	49	62	43
Grill'd Sweet Chilli Chicken (low carb bun)	12Chicken	325	2168	37.8	30.8	9.2	19.6	12.0	587	25	40	37	26
Hungry Jack's Veggie Whopper	11Veggie	252	2160	12.8	22.2	1.8	65.3	9.8	883	25	8	55	38
Grill'd Veggie Vitality (traditional bun)	10 Veggie	331	2150	12.0	15.5	2.7	75.7	11.0	1150	25	12	72	50
Burger Edge Vegan Delight (white bun)	9Veggie	394.6	2040	15.2	9.6	1.7	79.2	16.9	1560	23	7	98	68
Grill'd Field of Dreams (traditional bun)	8Veggie	333	1970	17.6	24.1	4.3	42.0	2.8	708	23	19	44	31
Burger Edge Plain & Simple (wholemeal bun)	7 Chicken	311	1930	30.8	14.1	2.3	49.4	9.0	1141	22	10	71	50
Grill'd Sweet Chilli Chicken (traditional bun)	6 Chicken	325	1920	34.3	12.0	2.4	49.6	10.0	735	22	10	46	32
Burger Edge Plain & Simple (white bun)	5Chicken	311	1880	29.4	12.5	1.4	53.1	8.8	1110	22	6	69	48
Burger Edge Bombay Bash (wholemeal bun)	4 Chicken	348	1870	33.9	10.4	3.0	49.6	8.2	1060	21	13	66	46
Burger Edge Bombay Bash (white bun)	3Chicken	348	1830	32.5	8.8	2.1	53.4	8	1030	21	9	64	45
McDonald's McChicken Burger	2Chicken	187	1810	19.0	21.9	3.3	38.6	4.0	638	21	14	40	28
Hungry Jack's Grilled Chicken Classic	1 Chicken	174	1550	18.9	19.7	4.4	29.4	4.3	629	18	19	39	27

Table notes

* The average Australian adult consumes about 8700kJ a day.

** It's recommended that we limit our daily energy intake from saturated fat to 10%. For an average Australian adult with a daily energy intake of 8700kJ, this means capping daily saturated fat intake at 23g.

*** SDT = suggested dietary target. It's recommended that we limit our daily intake of sodium to 1600mg to help reduce risk of stroke and heart disease. 2300mg is the upper limit/maximum we should be consuming in a day.