How many calories are in a Triple Dipper?
The chicken-tender share of a Triple Dipper - three restaurant tenders, 150 g - carries 425 calories, and breaded tenders from a sit-down kitchen run 283 calories per 100 g. Add the mozzarella sticks and sliders that share the board and the platter stops behaving like an appetizer.
You'd need to walk about 85 minutes to burn the 425 calories in three tenders (150 g).
How long does it take to burn off a Triple Dipper?
Three tenders (150 g) is 425 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 425 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 25 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 53 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 1 min |
| Jogging | 50 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 34 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (150 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Triple Dipper quick facts
- US servings from one tender to the platter share
- Restaurant fryer versus frozen and school-lunch strips
- Mozzarella sticks are the compartment that hurts
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does a Triple Dipper compare?
- Most popular triple dipper brands
- FAQ
Triple Dipper quick facts
There is no single USDA record for a three-compartment appetizer platter, and the version most people picture is the Chili's one. So the platter has to be built from its parts. The heaviest and most-searched compartment is breaded chicken tenders cooked in a restaurant kitchen, and that is the record anchoring this page: FNDDS 2706100, "Chicken tenders or strips, breaded, from restaurant". The mozzarella-stick compartment gets its own numbers further down; the sliders have no USDA record in this set.
The column below is three tenders, 150 g, which is roughly what one third of a shared platter puts on your plate. That 150 g figure is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g values, not a USDA serving; the 50 g single tender in the servings table is the household measure USDA actually publishes.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per three tenders (150 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 283 | 425 | — |
| Total fat | 15.62 g | 23.4 g | 30% |
| Saturated fat | 3.02 g | 4.5 g | 23% |
| Carbohydrate | 16.9 g | 25.4 g | 9% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.2 g | 1.8 g | 6% |
| Total sugars | 0.39 g | 0.6 g | — |
| Protein | 18.82 g | 28.2 g | 56% |
| Sodium | 791 mg | 1187 mg | 52% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two rows you would expect are missing on purpose. FNDDS does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this record, so rather than borrow them from a different food, they stay off the table. Cholesterol and potassium do exist: 150 g of tenders carries 74 mg of cholesterol (25% DV) and 548 mg of potassium (12% DV).
US servings from one tender to the platter share
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 79 kcal |
| One tender, strip, or finger | 50 g | 142 kcal |
| Three tenders, the platter share | 150 g | 425 kcal |
| 1 cup, chopped | 140 g | 396 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 283 kcal |
The 50 g tender and the 140 g cup are USDA household measures, so those two are as close to a label number as this food gets. The ounce and the three-tender platter share are our own scaling from the USDA 100 g figure.
The cup line is where people trip. A cup of chopped tenders is 396 calories, almost the same as three whole tenders, because a cup is a volume and tenders are dense once they are cut up. If you log "1 cup" thinking it sounds smaller than "three pieces," you have logged nearly the same food.
Restaurant fryer versus frozen and school-lunch strips
Same food, five records, and the spread is real. A tender from a sit-down restaurant fryer is 283 calories per 100 g. The same tender baked at home from frozen is 240. Over a 150 g platter share that is 65 calories of difference coming from nothing but the fryer.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant fryer (the main record) | 283 kcal | 1 tender, 50 g | 142 kcal |
| Fast-food counter | 271 kcal | 1 tender, 50 g | 136 kcal |
| Tenders, not further specified | 271 kcal | 1 tender, 50 g | 136 kcal |
| School lunch | 270 kcal | 1 strip, 40 g | 108 kcal |
| Baked from frozen | 240 kcal | 1 strip, 40 g | 96 kcal |
The school-lunch strip is the odd one. Per 100 g it is barely lighter than the restaurant version, 270 against 283, but it carries 22.86 g of carbohydrate against 16.9 - more breading, less chicken. Its sodium is the friendliest of the group at 511 mg per 100 g.
Frozen tenders from the grocery aisle come in lower still on the box. Perdue Breaded Chicken Tenders label at 221 calories per 100 g, or 210 for three pieces (95 g), and John Soules Foods Chicken Tenders at 202 per 100 g. Those are raw-frozen label values, which is why they sit under every cooked USDA row here.
Mozzarella sticks are the compartment that hurts
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaded mozzarella sticks | 325 kcal | 100 g | 325 kcal |
| Applebee's chicken tenders platter | 297 kcal | 100 g | 297 kcal |
Mozzarella sticks are 325 calories per 100 g against 283 for restaurant tenders - 42 calories per 100 g, which sounds small. The saturated fat does not: 6.85 g per 100 g against 3.02 g, more than double. Cheese fried in breading is a different food from chicken fried in breading, and the label knows it.
Put numbers on a two-compartment platter. Take 150 g of tenders (425 calories) and 150 g of mozzarella sticks (488 calories, our arithmetic from the 325 per 100 g figure) and you are at roughly 913 calories from two thirds of the board, before a single cup of ranch. The sliders in the third compartment have no USDA record in this set, so they are not costed here - which means the real platter total is higher than 913, not lower.
Store versions run in the same range. Great Value Mozzarella Sticks label 344 calories per 100 g, or 320 for three pieces (93 g), and Farm Rich Breaded Mozzarella Sticks 314 per 100 g, or 270 for three sticks (86 g).
Sodium is the row to watch
Calories are the reason people search this food. Sodium is the reason it matters. One 50 g tender is 396 mg, already 17% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg. Three tenders are 1,187 mg, 52% of the day - about half a teaspoon of table salt - and that is one compartment of a platter usually ordered before the entree arrives.
Compare the two lines side by side. Per 100 g, restaurant tenders deliver 14% of a 2,000-calorie day but 34% of the sodium limit. The salt runs at more than double the pace of the calories. Mozzarella sticks are saltier still at 861 mg per 100 g. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put most adults well over the sodium limit already, so if that is the number you are managing, the platter is worth splitting rather than finishing.
The good news is on the protein line. Three tenders carry 28.2 g of protein, 56% of the Daily Value, which is a genuinely strong number for a fried appetizer and puts the platter share in the same protein territory as a real protein-foods serving. If you are eating this as dinner rather than before dinner, that changes the math in your favor.
How does a Triple Dipper compare?
| Tender record | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant, breaded | 283 kcal | 1 tender, 50 g | 142 kcal |
| Fast food, breaded | 271 kcal | 1 tender, 50 g | 136 kcal |
| School lunch, breaded | 270 kcal | 1 strip, 40 g | 108 kcal |
| From frozen, breaded | 240 kcal | 1 strip, 40 g | 96 kcal |
Our take: the kitchen matters less than the count. Across all four records the spread is 43 calories per 100 g, while going from one tender to three costs you 283. If you are cutting calories, cut pieces, not sources. And if you are choosing compartments, take the tenders over the mozzarella sticks - same breading, 42 fewer calories per 100 g and less than half the saturated fat. For a filling order, three tenders and a side of something green beats three tenders and a cheese compartment by a wide margin on everything except taste.
Most popular triple dipper brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Great Value Mozzarella Sticks | 344 cal |
| Farm Rich Breaded Mozzarella Sticks | 314 cal |
| Perdue Breaded Chicken Tenders | 221 cal |
| John Soules Foods Chicken Tenders | 202 cal |
| Chopsie's Mozzarella Sticks | 217 cal |
| Golden Platter Chicken Tenders | 194 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Triple Dipper FAQs
How many calories are in a Triple Dipper?
The chicken-tender share alone is 425 calories for three restaurant tenders, or 150 g. Breaded tenders run 283 calories per 100 g and mozzarella sticks 325, so a platter with 150 g of each is about 913 calories from two of the three compartments, before any sauce. It eats like an entree.
How many calories in one chicken tender?
One restaurant tender is 142 calories at 50 g, which is the USDA household measure for the row. A fast-food tender the same size is 136, a 40 g school-lunch strip 108, and a 40 g strip baked from frozen 96. Size moves this number more than the kitchen does.
How much sodium is in a Triple Dipper?
Three restaurant tenders carry 1,187 mg of sodium, which is 52% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value the FDA sets. One tender alone is 396 mg, or 17%. Breaded mozzarella sticks are saltier still at 861 mg per 100 g, so the salt adds up faster than the calories do.
Are mozzarella sticks or chicken tenders higher in calories?
Mozzarella sticks, at 325 calories per 100 g, beat restaurant chicken tenders at 283. The gap widens on saturated fat: 6.85 g per 100 g against 3.02 g, more than double. If you are trading one compartment of the platter for another, the tenders are the cheaper pick per bite.
Is a Triple Dipper enough for two people?
Split two ways, 150 g of tenders and 150 g of mozzarella sticks work out to about 457 calories each, which is a normal lunch. Eaten alone that same platter is roughly 913 calories, plus sauce and plus the sliders. Two people and one entree is the sane split.
How many calories in air-fried frozen chicken tenders?
Frozen tenders cooked at home are 240 calories per 100 g, the lightest row on this page, so a 40 g strip is 96 and three are 288. USDA does not publish a separate air-fryer record; the from-frozen row covers oven and air-fryer cooking, where no extra fryer oil is picked up.
Is a Triple Dipper high in protein?
Yes: 150 g of restaurant tenders carries 28.2 g of protein, 56% of the 50 g Daily Value, which is the strongest number on the label. The catch is that it arrives with 23.4 g of fat and 1,187 mg of sodium. Protein density is fine here; the breading and the fryer are what cost you.
What is the lowest-calorie appetizer platter option?
Tenders baked from frozen, at 240 calories per 100 g, are the lightest option in this set, and school-lunch strips follow at 270. Restaurant tenders sit at 283 and mozzarella sticks top the list at 325. Ordering the tender compartment over the cheese one saves 42 calories per 100 g.
Similar foods
- Burger — 418 cal per hamburger
- Fish taco — 275 cal per taco
- Ribeye Steak — 495 cal per 8 oz steak
- Hot wings — 571 cal for 6 wings
- Burger Patty — 230 cal per patty
- Hush puppies — 521 cal for 8 hush puppies
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the platter and BodyPal counts the tenders, the sticks and the sauce cups for you.
