How To Build A Protein-Packed Salad With A Longhorn Steakhouse Kids' Meal

Longhorn Steakhouse is known for its elevated steakhouse feel without the upscale steakhouse prices. While the dine-in experience is solid, you can also order takeout and turn it into whatever you want at home. For example, if you're craving a steak salad but don't want to pay the hefty price, pick up a kids steak meal instead and add it to your favorite bagged salad. The result is an affordable, low-effort, steakhouse-style salad without the steakhouse cost. 

The kids' steak meal comes with a 6-ounce sirloin plus your choice of side dish. While the sirloin isn't the best steak on Longhorn's menu, it's still a suitable option for the price and is the cheapest steak available. Side dish choices include seasoned french fries, mashed potatoes, and rice, or you could choose one that works well in your salad, such as grapes or broccoli. The meal only costs $10 (prices may vary by location); it can be hard to even find a steak at the grocery store for that price, let alone one that's grilled for you.

If you order a steak salad from Longhorn — or any entree salad for that matter — you pay a lot more than with the bagged salad trick. The chain's steak salad meal costs $18.49 and includes the exact same cut of meat: a 6-ounce sirloin. It also comes with tomatoes, croutons, and crumbled blue cheese, but that's nothing you can't find in a bagged salad. The salmon and grilled chicken salads are right around the same price, too. 

If you don't want to make a separate trip between the grocery store and Longhorn Steakhouse, you can keep costs down by ordering a side salad rather than an entree salad. The side salads range from $4.49 to $5.79, so pairing one of these with a Longhorn kids' menu item still results in a filling, affordable meal.