Tropical Smoothie Cafe Nutrition Facts: What to Order & Avoid (2024)

Most Nutritious Option

The most nutrient-packed and healthy option at Tropical Smoothie Cafe is the popular Detox Island Green smoothie, thanks to its fresh vegetable and fruit ingredients.

Smoothies

Over the years, Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s smoothie selection has come a long way. What once was a handful of choices has grown into more than two dozen classic and superfood smoothies. Smoothie ingredients vary, but many of the recipes include a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, nut butters, fruit juices, and nonfat yogurts. Supplements such as protein powder, a probiotic, and vitamin B-12 are also available as add-ins.

✓ Detox Island Green Smoothie

The nutrition facts reflect the simple ingredients in this 24-ounce smoothie: 180 calories, 0g fat, 43g carbohydrates, 4g protein, and 35mg sodium. The Detox Island Green smoothie is a fan favorite, and it’s also the lowest in calories. It contains spinach, kale, mango, pineapple, banana, and ginger. It also has 5g fiber, and is low in sugar (29g) compared to other menu items.

✗ Chia Banana Boost With Peanut Butter Smoothie

Each 24-ounce serving of the chia banana peanut butter smoothie has 770 calories, 26g fat, 5g saturated fat, 130g carbohydrates, 14g of protein, and 150mg sodium. It’s also high in sugar at 95g. With ingredients that resemble those of a shake—peanut butter, banana, and almonds—this smoothie is probably best reserved as an occasional treat. It’s among the highest-calorie smoothies on the cafe’s menu.

Flatbreads

Flatbreads are often marketed as healthier alternatives to pizza. However, Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s flatbreads are closer in appearance and ingredients to toasted sandwiches. Since bread is the main ingredient, the flatbreads tend to be high in carbs and calories.

Each flatbread is also made with chicken, which increases the protein, sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat content. The chicken can be swapped out for the plant-based alternative Beyond Meat chicken-free strips.

✓ Chicken Pesto Flatbread

The Chicken Pesto Flatbread is the lowest in calories among the flatbreads and has 430 calories, 16g fat, 5g saturated fat, 43g carbohydrates, 28g protein, and 1,090mg sodium.Although it contains the lowest amount of fat, cholesterol, and sodium of all the flatbreads, it still contains a considerable amount of each.

✗ Chicken Bacon Ranch Flatbread

This chicken bacon ranch flatbread contains 500 calories, 23g fat, 9g saturated fat, 44g carbohydrates, 31g protein, and 1,270mg sodium. This flatbread brings on the meat and sauce. Not only does it contain chicken and bacon, but it also has cheddar cheese and ranch sauce. These ingredients are high in fat and sodium.

Wraps

Wraps can be an easy way to pack in more veggies while still getting the satisfaction of handheld food. Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a handful of wraps to choose from. They range from 500 to 740 calories; you may want to consider modifying your order to boost fiber and lower calories.

✓ Thai Chicken Wrap

The Thai chicken wrap is the lowest in calories among the wraps, but it’s followed closely by the Buffalo chicken wrap. Each Thai Chicken Wrap contains 500 calories, 15g fat, 3g saturated fat, 62g carbohydrates, 30g protein, and 1,350mg sodium. It’s also lower in fat and sodium compared to the other items. Consider ordering extra vegetables in these wraps to add nutrients, fiber, and volume without adding many calories.

✗ Hummus Veggie Wrap

Like many Tropical Smoothie Cafe menu items, the hummus veggie wrap has pros and cons. For starters, it’s the lowest in cholesterol among the others with just 25mg. It’s also the highest in fiber with 11g per serving and the lowest in carbs. However, it’s the highest in calories. This item contains 710 calories, 36g fat, 7g saturated fat, 80g carbohydrates, 18g protein, and 1,400mg sodium. To benefit from the vegetables in this wrap while lowering the calorie count, ask for the hummus on the side.

Quesadillas

Tropical Smoothie Cafe only has two quesadillas on its menu. Both share the same main ingredient—cheese—which explains why the nutrition facts are similar.

✓ Three-Cheese Chicken Quesadilla

The three-cheese chicken quesadilla has 550 calories, 27g fat, 14g saturated fat, 41g carbohydrates, 33g protein, and 1,880mg sodium per quesadilla. It also has the least amount of calories and sodium in this category, giving it a slight edge over the other quesadilla.

✗ Santa Fe Chicken Quesadilla

The Santa Fe chicken quesadilla is among the highest in sodium on the entire menu. It’s also high in cholesterol and saturated fat. Each quesadilla contains 600 calories, 28g fat, 15g saturated fat, 50g carbohydrates, 35g protein, and 2,270mg sodium.

Sandwiches

There are five different sandwiches on Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s menu. Consider splitting a sandwich in half to enjoy part of it later to reduce calories, carbs, and fat in any single meal. .

✓ Turkey Bacon Ranch

The turkey bacon ranch sandwich comes with turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, romaine, and ranch on ciabatta bread. It contains 560 calories, 20g fat, 8g saturated fat, 59g carbohydrates, 42g protein, and 1,570mg sodium.

✗ Chicken Caprese Bacon Sandwich

The full-size chicken caprese bacon sandwich contains 720 calories, 31g fat, 11g saturated fat, 62g carbohydrates, 49g protein, and 1,510mg sodium per serving. This sandwich is served warm and has simple ingredients. However, it’s not a low-calorie, low-fat, or low-cholesterol option.

Salads

Ordering from this section is a great way to boost fiber and other nutrients by adding more vegetables to your dish. When possible, order your dressing on the side to limit your sodium intake and cut out any additional fried toppings to cut back on calories and fat.

✓ Beach Club Salad

The Beach Club salad is the most nutritious option in this category, as it features grilled chicken, tomatoes, and bacon, all served on a bed of spinach and romaine lettuce. This salad contains 350 calories, 20g fat, 5.5g saturated fat, 11g carbohydrates, 29g protein, and 1,300mg sodium.

✗ Supergreen Caesar Salad

The supergreen Caesar chicken salad is the least nutritious option because it’s the highest in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Despite containing ample greens, this salad has 750 calories, 43g fat, 11g saturated fat, 9g carbohydrates, 32g protein, and 1,120mg sodium. If you are following a lower carbohydrate diet or a keto-friendly meal plan, this option may be right for you.

Breakfast

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a small breakfast menu since its smoothies are a popular item in the mornings. The breakfast food options include savory wraps and a sweet flatbread.

✓ All-American Breakfast Wrap

The All-American breakfast wrap has just five ingredients—eggs, ham, bacon, cheddar, and mozzarella—served in a tortilla. Since it has several animal products, this wrap is high in cholesterol with 145 mg per serving. It also contains 410 calories, 20g fat, 10g saturated fat, 37g carbohydrates, 18g protein, and 970mg sodium.

✗ Peanut Butter Banana Crunch Flatbread

Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s sweet breakfast option, the peanut butter banana crunch flatbread, is best reserved for special occasions. This is because it contains 580 calories, 23g fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 79g carbohydrates, 16g protein, and 720mg sodium. While the ingredients are simple, including peanut butter, banana, granola, and honey, it contains 22g sugar per serving.

Kids Food

The Tropical Smoothie Cafe features a small selection of kid-friendly meals. Diners can choose between quesadillas (there's a regular cheese and a cheese and chicken option), a grilled cheese, and a turkey and cheddar wrap.

✓ Turkey & Cheddar Wrap

Opt for the turkey and cheese wrap to enjoy the most nutritious item on the kids food menu. In total, it provides 370 calories, 14g fat, 8g saturated fat, 37g carbohydrates, 24g protein, and 1,050mg sodium.

✗ Classic Grilled Cheese

The classic grilled cheese, meanwhile, is the highest-calorie, highest-fat, and highest-carbohydrate dish on the kids menu. This option provides 610 calories, 26g fat, 16g saturated fat, 65g carbohydrates, 29g protein, and 1,380mg sodium.

If your child doesn't care for turkey, you might consider the cheese quesadilla instead of the grilled cheese. This kids' menu choice has 400 calories, 19g fat, 12g saturated fat, 37g carbohydrates, 19g protein, and 900mg sodium.

Sides

To go with your main entrée, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a small variety of sides to choose from. They mainly include fresh fruit, kale and apple slaw, and chips.

✓ Fresh Fruit

Fresh fruit is an easy win for the most nutritious side at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The options include apples and bananas. Choosing an apple will yield the fewest calories, carbs, and sugar. One apple contains 90 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 25g carbohydrates, 0g protein, and 0mg sodium.

✗ Miss Vickie’s Simply Sea SaltChips

Of the six varieties of chips to choose from, Miss Vickie’s Simply Sea SaltChips contain the most calories and sodium. Each bag contains 210 calories, 12g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 23g carbohydrates, 3g protein, and 125mg sodium. If you’re craving chips but want a lower-calorie option, go for the Oven Baked Original Lays, which only have 140 calories per bag.

Beverages

Like most quick-service restaurants, the cafe has a variety of bottled and fountain drinks to choose from. If water doesn’t sound appetizing, try one of the unsweetened iced teas rather than soda.

✓ Unsweetened Iced Tea

Water is always the most nutritious drink option because it’s vital for human health and hydration. However, the runner-up is unsweetened iced tea, which is naturally calorie-free, fat-free, sugar-free, and low in carbs.

✗ Soda

Fountain drinks are typically high in calories and sugar. Plus, they’re associated with health risks. Tropical Smoothie Cafe has several soda options like co*ke and Sprite as well as sweetened lemonade. Reserve these for special occasions.

Diet-Specific Options

Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers choices for gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets, but people following low-carb, low-FODMAP, low-fat, and diabetes-friendly eating plans may have more difficulty making a safe selection.

Gluten-Free

The cafe has several menu items that are labeled gluten-free without any modifications. These options include:

• Many smoothies
• Fresh fruit
• Kale and apple slaw
• Brewed tea

Low-Carb

"Low-carb" can mean different things to different people, but the following cafe menu items are the lowest in carbs:

• Kale and apple slaw
• Beach Club Salad
• Supergreen Caesar Salad
• Brewed unsweetened tea

Low-FODMAP

The low-FODMAP diet recommends limiting fruit, but consuming certain fruits, including blueberries, oranges, strawberries, and pineapple, is allowed. At Tropical Smoothie Cafe, fruit-based menu items like smoothies are the only FODMAP-friendly options:

• Orange
• Banana
• Blueberry Bliss Smoothie
• Jetty Punch Smoothie
• Paradise Point Smoothie

Diabetes-Friendly

People with diabetes may follow a diet with certain restrictions, such as low-sugar, low-sodium, or low-carb. Depending on which diabetes-friendly diet you may follow, the following items may require some modifications:

• Avocolada Smoothie
• Supergreen Caesar
• Chia Banana Boost (choose strawberry over peanut butter to cut back on carbs)
• Hummus Veggie Wrap (ask for hummus on the side)

Low-Fat

For a zero-fat option, opt for a smoothie. Many of the menu items contain animal products, so they’re higher in total and saturated fat. Swap in Beyond Meat where possible to decrease fat. Some low-fat options include:

• Turkey Bacon Ranch Sandwich (half)
• Island Green Smoothie
• Kiwi Quencher Smoothie
• Sunshine Smoothie
• Thai Chicken Salad

Low-Sodium

Being a quick-service restaurant with many processed food options, low-sodium can be hard to find on the Tropical Smoothie Cafe menu. Even the most nutritious options contain high amounts of sodium. If limiting sodium is important to you, take a closer look at the sides and smoothies:

• Fresh fruit
• Kale and apple slaw
• Paradise Point Smoothie
• Strawberry Limeade Smoothie
• Pomegranate Plunge Smoothie

Vegetarian and Vegan

Since its partnership with Beyond Meat, Tropical Smoothie Cafe is known for its vegan and vegetarian food options. Simply swap in Beyond Meat in any entrée containing chicken. Plus, the majority of smoothies can be made vegan by omitting yogurt and whey protein. Plant-based menu items include:

• Smoothies
• All chicken entrées made with Beyond Meat chicken-free strips
• Fresh fruit
• Kale and apple slaw

Food Allergies and Safety

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has made efforts to incorporate gluten-friendly and vegetarian options on its menu. Many are even labeled as such.

People with allergies to soy and fish should also be able to find a safe option on the cafe’s menu. However, there is room for improvement for customers with allergies to dairy, eggs, and nuts. Some modifications may be required, and cross-contamination is possible; that's why menu items without gluten are "gluten-friendly," not "gluten-free."

A Word From Verywell

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a quickly growing quick-service restaurant that many people enjoy. Its wide selection of fruit and vegetable smoothies with optional supplements appeal to almost everyone, even those with food allergies, special diets, and dietary restrictions. The menu also includes savory foods that can work for many different lifestyles.

Many of the menu items at Tropical Smoothie Cafe can be adjusted to your dietary preferences and needs. However, many options at the cafe are high in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

Smoothies remain some of the healthiest options at Tropical Smoothie Cafe because they contain the simplest ingredients that are the closest to whole foods. While a green smoothie may be the cafe’s healthiest option, you shouldn’t feel you can't have a sandwich or quesadilla occasionally if that’s what you truly enjoy.