7 Chain Restaurants Where The Catering Delivers The Most Bang For Your Buck

Planning a dinner party or hosting a crowd can be an overwhelming exercise, whether that's having a few friends over at home or preparing for your dream wedding. While the décor, entertainment, or simply getting things neat and tidy is one thing, catering for these events takes it to another level. Often, the most cost-effective way to cater for a crowd means doing the cooking and cleaning yourself, but when you're pressed for time or dealing with a big group, that isn't always feasible. In such cases, ordering catering makes a lot of sense. The challenge, however, is finding the right caterer that won't cost an arm and a leg but can still give you value.

You might be surprised to hear that many chain restaurants across the U.S. offer catering that doesn't cost a fortune. Far from the sad, soggy takeout you might expect, there are reputable chain restaurants that offer everything from deluxe sandwiches to delicious American dining. It's all about getting the same high-quality dishes you'd expect when seated at one of their tables, right inside your dining room or under that event marquee.

While you might think that a few trays of sliders, a buffet selection, and a salad might cost more than your monthly car payment, that's not always the case. It all comes down to knowing where to look. To save you some time, we've rounded up the best chain catering options that deliver maximum flavor and serious value. For our methodology on how we arrived at this list, head down to the bottom.

If you head out to Texas Roadhouse, the general expectation is to find wood paneling, neon lighting, shell-your-own peanuts, and the good old Texas charm. When it comes to the menu, over the chain's many years of serving customers across the U.S., diners have learned to bank on consistency and good value. If the media and customer reviews are anything to go by, the Texas Roadhouse family packs deliver the same and are definitely worth a try.

On the chain's catering menu, depending on which location you're ordering from, you can expect to find a few family pack options with each offering a decent variety. On the catering menu are cheeseburgers, deep-fried chicken, BBQ chicken, pulled pork, sirloin steak, and a few other options. Some locations might have more than others, but it's what you get in each family pack that really matters. For the sirloin family pack, for example, you'll get two 8-ounce sirloin steaks, two 6-ounce sirloin steaks, the choice of a large salad (which you can customize), and two sides. To raise the value even more, you'll also get freshly-baked bread.

That entire meal will feed up to four people. If you don't add any extras, you'll get this for less than $50. Considering what you would pay if you sat in a Texas Roadhouse and ordered the same, it's serious value. Customer reviews describing the Texas Roadhouse family pack deal call it fairly priced, worth it, and generously portioned.

With over 3,000 locations across the U.S., with options in Canada and Puerto Rico as well, there's a good chance that wherever you are, you'll be able to order this popular chain restaurant's catering. As a much-loved chicken sandwich restaurant, diners flock to their local franchise for their favorite sando, but there are plenty of other menu options as well. The Chick-fil-A catering delivers the same, offering variety and great value.

On the catering menu, you'll find trays, packaged meals, bite-sized snacks, salads, and even breakfasts. As for variety, you'll be spoilt for choice. While you might expect the trays, for example, to simply be a mound of one particular item, like chicken strips, think again. You can opt for trays of wraps, fruit, salad, and desserts like brownies. There's even a grilled combo that includes sandwiches, chicken breast, salad, buns, and more. The packaged meals and entree options offer as much variety. For drinks, you can go for gallon options. How does all of this fare against value, though?

Pretty good, it seems. The grilled combo that serves 10 people comes in at under $85, or $8.50 per head. Considering that you can mix and match all the ingredients to make the exact sandwich you want, it's not bad. A packaged meal, which will satisfy even the most ravenous hunger, works out to between $10 and $13 per person when ordering for 10 people. All in all, it's good value from a much-loved U.S. chain restaurant right in your home, office, or event.

With most of America having moved past the Cracker Barrel logo saga, it remains a favorite among people across the country who crave affordable Southern comfort food. Whether you're an older diner who relishes the nostalgia of the Cracker Barrel experience or a young family looking for a budget-friendly dinner out, it's a good option where you can expect consistency. What the chain also got right was to translate its country-kitchen experience through to its catering. Does its catering menu offer a lot of value, though? Well, if you're looking for take-home meals for as low as $5, it's a yes.

Often, you get what you pay for, but this isn't necessarily true with this popular Southern comfort food chain. The reviews of Cracker Barrel's catering menu are solid, with the chain being a particularly popular choice for weddings where convenience, value, and quality seem to come together. While you do have the $5 take-home meals option, you can also order affordable party platters, which include chicken sandwiches and cheeseburger sliders. If you're going for value, the cheeseburger option is a good choice, where you'll be looking at around $35 for 10 mini burgers.

For a build-your-own style, go for one of the chicken platters. Here, you'll get to create your own sandwich from a variety of garnish and condiment options. Cracker Barrel's catering menu also features seasonal menus and the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes, plus desserts. This is a great example of Southern catering done right.

For fans of Southwestern-inspired comfort, Chili's has long been a favorite eat-out destination. With over 1,200 locations across the U.S., Chili's doesn't complicate its dining experience — it's built up a list of favorites that diners have come to expect and love. Many of these dishes have made their way onto the Chili's party platters menu, where you'll get to choose from over 12 options. Starting at around $35, the platters are designed to cater to groups of various sizes. You can go for platters for a group as small as four people or one that caters for up to 10.

On the Chili's party platters menu, you can expect to find chicken wings, sliders, egg rolls, chips and salsa, quesadillas, salad, ribs, or even a fajita tray. While you can't mix things up to create one large platter with a variety of these, if you order smart, you can get a good combo to feed a large group on a budget.

If you were a group of eight, for example, you could go with the chips and salsa as a starter, followed by an order of the Triple Dipper party platter and another of the house salad. The prices depend on which area you're in and how you customize each platter. This will give you a starter, a combo main, and a decent-sized salad.

For those who crave big quantities of Mexican-inspired dishes but aren't looking for platter-sized catering, Chipotle is a good option. The chain has built up a solid reputation for its burrito bowls, tacos, burritos, and salads, all of which can be customized to your tastes. The catering at Chipotle offers the same customization, where you can opt for a single, double, or triple take-home dish.

For each of these, you'll get to choose from a mix of proteins, bases, toppings, and salsas, along with a tortilla. How much you get of each depends on which one you order. If you go for the double, you'll also get chips and the choice of guacamole or queso blanco. For the extra hungry, the triple is not only more volume, but it's also loaded with a salad vinaigrette and crispy corn. Depending on which location you're ordering from, expect to pay around $8.75 per person for the single and $12 for the double. For the triple, you'll be in for around $13.50, which, for only $1.50 extra, makes sense, considering how much more you're getting than the double.

The other value you're getting with Chipotle is that you have plenty of options for each ingredient. The bases, for example, include two types of rice, black beans, pinto beans, and lettuce. There are five proteins to choose from, four toppings, and four salsas. Even if you are a regular customer of Chipotle's catering, there's enough variety to make sure that it feels like a brand new dish each time.

While Jimmy John's may have a playful name, years ago the brand was deadly serious about a reputation it had built on being "freaky fast." While it may have dropped this slogan from its marketing following some questionable safety concerns, speed is still very much a part of its focus to stand out. Often, chains that put too much focus on an area like this lose focus in others, like quality, but that's not necessarily the case with Jimmy John's. It's been ranked as a top option in national readers' awards and is part of the great American sub wars. The chain's catering also receives rave reviews, especially for its party boxes. What about the value, though?

While it may not be the cheapest restaurant catering option, you can expect good quality at a reasonable price. That's where the real value of Jimmy John's lies. Instead of trying to compete at rock-bottom prices, the chain has made the catering affordable but maintained the quality. Even the catering presentation is impressive. The other value it offers is the variety. With the Jimmy John's catering bundles, which include sandwiches, wraps, sides, chips, and desserts, you can mix and match. For example, you can choose each sandwich in the bundle to be different, and it's the same with the wraps.

On the Jimmy John's catering menu, you'll find the catering bundles in various sizes for groups of six to 30, for around $7 to $12 per person, as well as party boxes and box lunches. You can also order desserts, sides, and drinks. It's another catering option that is backed by good reviews.

Another great Mexican-inspired restaurant worth trying for their catering is Qdoba. With around 850 locations across the country, the brand has created a loyal following for those who appreciate customizable, fresh, and flavorful Mexican-inspired food. As for the catering, there's no denying the extensive list of options the chain has available. You'll find hot bars, boxed meals, party packs, salads, desserts, and a bunch of extras. You get a great variety of dishes for what you pay.

The chain's hot bars, for example, come in six options, each of which gives you more than enough ingredients to create your own bowls or nacho dishes. It's become a popular catering option for weddings and large events as a result, with the food arriving in foil containers complete with utensils and even bowls. This makes it a great option if you're looking for simplicity, without having to pay extra for crockery or deal with cleanup afterward. Depending on what you order and for how many people, you're looking at around $12.70 to $14.90 per person.

The boxed meals aren't as extensive; you can really only choose between a queso burrito meal and the classic. You can customize what you get in each, though. If you're looking for healthy catering on a budget, the fresca salad is a good option, coming in at $46 to feed 10 people. For all the added sauces and more, there are plenty of extras you can add to your catering order.

Whether you're in the mood for Mexican, a good old-fashioned American cheeseburger, or something a little healthier, there are plenty of chain restaurant catering options across the U.S. Of course, getting good value has to be balanced with the quality of catering you're getting. So, when choosing this list of good-value catering, we took a good look at what people had to say. At the end of the day, just because it's really affordable doesn't mean it tastes good. To make sure you weren't led down a dodgy path, we paid close attention to the type of reviews that these chain restaurants received for their catering options across platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and Tripadvisor.

We also looked at the convenience factor. In other words, even if you could buy all of the ingredients to make these dishes yourself and it worked out to roughly the same price, how much value would you place on that time? Lastly, we reviewed what the experts had to say, whether that be journalists who wrote about their own catering experiences or the more official write-ups in food publications.