Is Raising Cane's Safe During Pregnancy? Chicken Fingers, Cane's Sauce and the Lemonade

Raising Cane's does one thing: chicken fingers, with fries, Texas toast, coleslaw and its famous sauce. That makes it unusually easy to check against pregnancy guidance, because there are only a handful of items to look at.

The food itself is about as straightforward as fast food gets. The surprise is on the drinks side of the menu.

The Menu, Item by Item

Why the Lemonade Is the One to Skip

Cane's describes its lemonade as "freshly-squeezed daily" on its own menu. That is a selling point for most customers. In pregnancy, it's the reason to pass.

Pasteurization is the heat treatment that kills bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella in juice. Juice squeezed fresh in a restaurant skips that step. The FDA names pregnant women among the groups at risk of serious illness from untreated juice, and notes that juice sold by the glass in restaurants doesn't have to carry the warning label you'd see on a bottle in a store.

Lemon juice is acidic, which makes it a less friendly home for bacteria than, say, apple cider. But acidity isn't the same as pasteurization, and some strains of E. coli tolerate acid well. The risk from one glass is small. It's simply an easy one to avoid, since the swap costs nothing. Our McDonald's guide reaches the same conclusion about fresh lemonade made in-store.

Already had a glass? There's no need to panic. The chance of getting sick from one glass is small. Just keep an eye out for fever, stomach cramps, vomiting or diarrhea over the next few days, and call your doctor or midwife if they appear. Our food poisoning guide explains what to watch for.

The Half Tea / Half Lemonade contains the same lemonade, so it falls under the same advice. The bottled and canned lemonades you buy in a grocery store are a different product and are pasteurized.

The Sweet Tea Caffeine Math

Cane's tea is freshly brewed black tea, and black tea has caffeine. ACOG advises keeping caffeine below 200mg a day in pregnancy.

The FDA puts a typical 12-ounce black tea at about 71mg of caffeine. Cane's doesn't publish a caffeine figure, but if its tea is in that range:

• A regular 22-ounce tea would be around 130mg.
• The large 32-ounce tea that comes with the Caniac Combo would be around 190mg, close to the whole day's limit on its own.
• A refill on top of either would take you over.

Sweet and unsweet tea have the same caffeine. The sweet one adds sugar too, 230 calories in a 22-ounce cup according to Cane's. If you want tea, a regular unsweet tea with no refill is the easiest way to keep it in check. Water or a caffeine-free fountain drink takes the question away entirely.

Is Cane's Sauce Safe?

Yes. Cane's Sauce is a creamy, mayo-based dipping sauce, and the exact recipe is something Cane's keeps to itself. The ingredient that people worry about in pregnancy is egg, because homemade mayonnaise can be made with raw egg.

Commercial mayonnaise, the kind restaurant chains buy in, is made with pasteurized eggs, which is why our mayonnaise guide treats it as safe. A Cane's Sauce is 190 calories a serving according to the menu, which is worth knowing if you're the type to ask for an extra one.

The Coleslaw Question

Coleslaw is the only cold, prepared food on the menu, and it's generally fine. Cold salads that are made ahead and held in a fridge are the kind of food Listeria can grow in, because it's one of the few bacteria that multiplies at fridge temperatures. That's why pregnancy guidance pays attention to store-made deli salads.

For a busy restaurant turning its coleslaw over quickly, the risk is low. If you'd rather not think about it, it's an easy item to leave out. Our deli and sandwich guide explains how pregnancy guidance thinks about cold prepared foods more broadly.

Combos, Calories and Portions

Cane's lists its calories on the menu, and the combos add up quickly:

• The 3 Finger Combo: 1,050 to 1,480 calories.
• The Box Combo: 1,290 to 1,720 calories.
• The Caniac Combo: 1,840 to 2,470 calories.
• The Sandwich Combo: 1,140 to 1,570 calories.

The range depends mostly on your drink. For context, ACOG says pregnancy needs no extra calories in the first trimester, about 340 extra a day in the second, and about 450 in the third.

None of that makes the food unsafe. It just means a Caniac is a lot of food for one sitting. The 3 Finger Combo with water, or a la carte fingers with coleslaw or toast, gives you the protein without most of the extra. Each chicken finger is about 130 calories and a decent source of protein.

Three Easy Cane's Orders

If you'd rather not think about it at the counter, these cover most situations:

• The everyday order: The 3 Finger Combo with a fountain drink or water instead of lemonade. Plenty of protein, and nothing on the plate pregnancy guidance restricts.
• The low-caffeine order: any combo with water or a caffeine-free soda, saving your caffeine allowance for a morning coffee.
• The lighter order: three or four fingers a la carte with a side of coleslaw and one slice of Texas toast, which keeps the protein and drops most of the fries.

Drive-Thru, To-Go and Delivery

Most Cane's orders leave the building, and that changes things a little. Hot food is safest while it's still hot, so eat chicken fingers soon after you get them rather than leaving the bag on the counter. The USDA's 2-hour limit for cooked food at room temperature starts when the food is cooked, so a long delivery wait counts toward it.

If an order arrives lukewarm, reheat the fingers until they're steaming hot before eating. And if you're picking up for the family, the lemonade jugs are the same fresh-squeezed lemonade, so get yourself something else from the fountain.

With Gestational Diabetes

Cane's is harder to fit around gestational diabetes than most chains, because so much of the menu is refined carbohydrate: breading, fries, Texas toast, sweet tea and lemonade.

• Order fingers a la carte rather than a combo, so you choose the sides.
• Pick one carbohydrate, either the fries or the toast, not both.
• Add the coleslaw for some vegetable and fiber.
• Drink water or unsweet tea, never the sweet tea or lemonade.

Your care team will set your targets, and our gestational diabetes meal plan shows how a fast-food meal can fit into a day.

With Nausea or Heartburn

For nausea, plain chicken fingers and Texas toast are about as bland and predictable as restaurant food gets, which is exactly what helps on a bad day. Eat slowly and leave the sauce if rich food is a trigger.

For heartburn, fried food and creamy sauces are common triggers, especially late in the evening. A smaller order eaten earlier, and sitting upright afterward, usually helps more than any particular swap. Our heartburn foods guide covers what works.

Tailgates and Parties

Cane's Tailgates feed a crowd, which means they often turn up at baby showers, office parties and game days. The food is safe when it arrives. The risk is how long it sits.

The USDA's rule is that cooked food shouldn't sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). At a long party, eat early while the fingers are still warm, and skip the tray that has been on the table all afternoon.

Leftovers

Chicken fingers keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat them until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C) in the middle, and the air fryer brings back the crunch far better than the microwave. Our air fryer guide covers reheating, and our leftovers guide has the full rules.

Comparing chicken chains? Our Chick-fil-A guide and KFC guide cover the other big ones.

This article is general information and does not replace advice from your doctor, midwife or dietitian. Menus and recipes change and can vary by location, so ask the crew if you're unsure how something is prepared.