CAVA hub
CAVA Calories: 4 Real Builds with Source Badges (2026)
Mediterranean grain bowls — falafel, harissa, tzatziki, and a similar variance pattern to Chipotle.
By Alec Zakhary ·
CAVA bowl calories vary by build and by store. We aggregate CAVA's published nutrition with USDA cross-references and customer-reported real-world weights. Every number on every page carries a Source Badge — USDA, Brand-claimed, User-reported, or Estimated. 4 bowls currently live. New builds added weekly.
Order by goal
Pre-built guides for the most common ordering intents at CAVA. Each goal page shows the recommended pick, alternates, swaps, and FAQs.
Best CAVA picks
Auto-derived from the 4 live builds below — recomputed when new dishes ship.
All CAVA bowls (4)
Sorted by calories, ascending. Tap any row for the full breakdown — Source Badges, unique data points, FAQ, and customer-reported portion variance.
| Build | cal | protein | carbs | fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean Bowl — Real Weight Research | 630 | 42g | 50g | 28g |
| Bowl — Keto Build | 680 | 38g | 14g | 49g |
| Bowl — Highest Protein Build | 780 | 79g | 50g | 25g |
| Bowl — Extra Falafel, No Rice | 790 | 28g | 75g | 38g |
Why official CAVA calories may differ from your real meal
CAVA has a published nutrition calculator but customer reports show meaningful differences between in-store and delivery portions. Falafel, dips, and dressings are the highest-variance components. We aggregate CAVA's calculator, USDA cross-references for greens and grains, and r/CAVA + Yelp customer reports.
For the full cross-chain analysis with Wells Fargo data, customer reports, and per-store variance studies, see our Restaurant Portion Variance research piece .
Frequently asked questions about CAVA calories
How many calories are in a typical CAVA bowl?
Across our 4 live builds, CAVA bowls currently range from 630 cal (lowest) to 790 cal (highest). The exact number depends on your build (protein choice, modifiers like no-rice or extra-guac) and on real-world portion variance at your store.
Why do real CAVA portions differ from the published nutrition?
CAVA has a published nutrition calculator but customer reports show meaningful differences between in-store and delivery portions. Falafel, dips, and dressings are the highest-variance components. We aggregate CAVA's calculator, USDA cross-references for greens and grains, and r/CAVA + Yelp customer reports.
Where does the calorie data on this page come from?
Each number carries one of four Source Badges: USDA (lab-verified ingredient data from FoodData Central), Brand-claimed (from CAVA's own published nutrition), User-reported (aggregated from Reddit, Yelp, and customer reports), or Estimated (cross-referenced from USDA components when no single source covers the dish). Click any badge on a dish page to verify the underlying citation.
Is CAVA accurate for tracking on MyFitnessPal or Cal AI?
Crowd-sourced apps like MyFitnessPal show ~20-25% disagreement with USDA-verified reference values per third-party spot-check audits, and AI photo scanners like Cal AI miss in the 30-40% range on mixed dishes per third-party tests. For CAVA specifically, log the brand-published nutrition for the closest matching default build, then adjust for known portion variance. Our CAVA pages give you the verified default plus the real-world spread.
Methodology and sources
Each CAVA dish page lists its own primary sources (USDA FDC entries, CAVA's published nutrition, Reddit threads, customer reports). Read the full methodology for how the four Source Badges are assigned, or jump straight to CAVA's official nutrition page .
Related on Nutrogine
- Restaurant Calorie Counter — how to track eating out without guessing.
- Restaurant Portion Variance — the cross-chain research.
- Calorie Tracker Comparisons — Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, MacroFactor by use case.
- Nutrogine blog — research-aggregation methodology and AI accuracy analysis.