Determining the calorie count of menu items at restaurants can be challenging, as calorie information is not always readily available or consistently tracked. However, having an estimate of calories can be helpful for people monitoring their caloric intake. Pita Pit is a popular fast casual restaurant chain that serves pita sandwiches and pitas with a variety of fillings. So how many calories are in their regular pita?
What is Pita Pit?
Pita Pit is a fast casual restaurant franchise that was founded in 1995 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The restaurant specializes in serving customizable pita sandwiches and pitas with fillings like grilled meats, vegetables, and sauces. As of 2022, Pita Pit has over 600 locations in 14 countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The name “Pita Pit” refers to how the pitas and sandwiches are filled with a variety of ingredients in a dug-out pocket of pita bread. Their menu focuses on quick, made-to-order, and customizable options. Customers can choose from preset signature pitas or build their own by selecting a pita, proteins like chicken or falafel, cheeses, vegetables, and sauces.
What is a Regular Pita at Pita Pit?
When ordering at Pita Pit, a “regular” pita refers to their standard 7-inch plain pita bread. This forms the base and holds the ingredients for all their pita sandwiches and pitas.
According to Pita Pit’s online nutritional information, their regular 7-inch pita bread contains:
- 260 calories
- 52g of carbohydrates
- 4g of protein
- 1g of fat
- 380mg of sodium
This reflects the nutrition information for just the plain pita bread, without any added fillings or toppings. The calorie and nutrient counts will vary depending on what ingredients the customer selects to put in their pita.
Factors that Add Calories
While a regular Pita Pit pita starts at 260 calories, there are many ways to further customize the pita and increase its calorie count:
Proteins
Adding protein rich fillings like grilled chicken, steak, tuna, falafel or hummus will boost the calories and protein in the pita. For example:
- Grilled chicken: 110 calories per 85g
- Steak: 230 calories per 85g
- Tuna salad: 190 calories per 85g
- Falafel: 210 calories per 85g patty
- Hummus: 140 calories per 2-oz serving
Cheese
Melted cheese is a popular pita filling choice. Some calorie counts for Pita Pit cheese options:
- Feta: 75 calories per 1-oz
- Cheddar: 110 calories per 1-oz
- Mozzarella: 85 calories per 1-oz
Sauces and Spreads
Adding sauces and spreads like ranch, Caesar, BBQ sauce, tzatziki or banana peppers also tacks on extra calories:
- Ranch: 45 calories per 2-tbsp
- Caesar: 80 calories per 2-tbsp
- BBQ sauce: 60 calories per 2-tbsp
- Tzatziki: 90 calories per 2-tbsp
- Banana peppers: 5 calories per pepper
Veggies and Extras
Veggies like tomatoes, onions, spinach and olives add nutrients while minimally increasing calories. But extras like avocado and double meat will further boost the calorie count:
- Tomatoes: 5 calories per sliced tomato
- Onions: 15 calories per 1/4 onion
- Spinach: 5 calories per cup
- Olives: 15 calories per 10 olives
- Avocado: 120 calories per 1/4 avocado
- Double meat: Double the calories of that protein item
Estimating Total Calories in a Pita Pit Pita
Given the range of ingredients and customizations available at Pita Pit, coming up with an average calorie count for their regular pitas is difficult. However, here is a rough estimate:
- Pita bread alone: 260 calories
- Chicken: 110 calories
- Onions and tomatoes: 20 calories
- Tzatziki sauce: 90 calories
Therefore, a regular chicken pita with typical veggies and tzatziki sauce would be around 480 calories. Going meatless with falafel or adding extras like double meat, avocado, or cheese could easily bring that total over 600 or 700 calories.
Lower Calorie Options at Pita Pit
For customers looking for lighter pita options, there are some ways to reduce the calorie count at Pita Pit:
- Opt for a vegetarian pita with falafel, hummus, or tabbouleh
- Choose grilled chicken or turkey instead of higher-calorie meats like steak or double meat
- Load up on veggie toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers
- Go easy on high-calorie sauces and cheeses
- Ask for light sauce portions or sauces/dressings on the side
- Select pitas or salads instead of thicker sandwich breads
- Opt for water or unsweetened tea instead of high calorie drinks
Nutrition Information on Pita Pit’s Website
Pita Pit provides some nutrition data for their menu items on their website. However, the information is limited to certain preset signature pitas only. Create-your-own options are not covered. The nutrition details for signature items can give some indication of calorie ranges, but actual counts will vary depending on customizations.
For reference, here are the calorie counts listed for some Pita Pit signature pitas on their online menu:
- Greek Chicken Pita – 720 calories
- Buffalo Chicken Pita – 550 calories
- Veggie Feta Pita – 760 calories
- Gyro Pita – 820 calories
- Chicken Caesar Pita – 670 calories
- Souvlaki Chicken Pita – 710 calories
As you can see, even their preset signature pitas without customization are in the 550-820 calorie range. So a customized pita is likely to end up with a similar calorie count, if not higher depending on the ingredients selected.
Tips for Tracking Calories
To get the most accurate calorie estimate for your customized Pita Pit order, here are some tips:
- Check Pita Pit’s website for counts on preset signature pitas
- Use their online nutrition calculator to add up your specific ingredients
- Refer to the calorie ranges provided in this article as a rough guide
- Ask the Pita Pit staff if they have additional nutrition resources in-store
- When in doubt, overestimate calories to be safe
- Enjoy your pita, but be mindful of high calorie add-ons for next time
The Bottom Line
So how many calories are in a regular Pita Pit pita? A plain pita starts at 260 calories. Build-your-own options with meat, cheese, sauces, and veggies can easily end up in the 600-800 calorie range. Signature pitas also tend to clock in between 550-820 calories. The specific calorie count will depend entirely on the filling ingredients chosen. Those wanting a lower calorie pita should minimize high-calorie meats, cheeses, sauces and extras. With some simple swaps and customizations, Pita Pit can be a relatively healthy option for a flavorful fast casual meal.