I Tried the Same $60 Family Meal at Texas Roadhouse and Outback, and the Winning Chain Was an Amazing Value for 4 People (More Steak and Delicious Rolls)

Steak house dinners used to be reserved for special occasions like anniversaries and Valentine’s Day, but with the abundance of chain restaurants serving high-quality steak dinners there is no reason to wait. Earlier this year I discovered a hidden gem on Texas Roadhouse’s website: the Texas Roadhouse family pack. I loved the idea of bringing home a restaurant-quality meal on busy weeknights, or using it as a meal prep supplement. 

Once I started looking, I found that other restaurants offer similar to-go family meal options — complete with sirloin steaks, two side dishes, salad, and bread. I set out to compare similar meals at two popular steak house restaurants, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse, to find out which one would meet my family’s dinner standards for flavor and was worth the cost. I ordered the same meals from both restaurants on the same day, and my family tasted the orders side-by-side. The verdict for the best steak house family meal was unanimous. 

I compared the to-go, family-style sirloin steak dinners at Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse, and the meal from Texas Roadhouse was the clear winner. 

Both meals featured sirloin steaks, two side dishes, salad, and bread. While the side dish portions were smaller at Texas Roadhouse, the meal came with 4 ounces more meat overall plus a generous amount (1 dozen!) of their famous yeast rolls and honey-cinnamon butter, which tipped the scales in their favor. 

Texas Roadhouse is a beloved steak house chain with over 800 locations in 49 states. Its reputation rises above other casual restaurant chains because most of the dishes are prepared in-house, and every steak (except the T-bone porterhouse) is hand-cut by an in-house butcher. 

The sirloin steaks in the family pack were tender, perfectly seasoned, and impeccably cooked to medium temperature. In this meal, you get two 6-ounce sirloin steaks and two larger, 8-ounce steaks. I chose mashed potatoes with brown gravy and green beans with bacon as my two pint-sized side dishes. The mashed potatoes tasted just like homemade, with small bits of peel and a creamy texture, while the green beans were tender, smoky, and delicious. I’ve ordered Caesar in the past, but the house salad is even better. It’s made of crisp romaine and iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, and homemade croutons. It wouldn’t be a meal without the yeast-style rolls that the restaurant is known for, and I loved that they didn’t skimp on the portions for this to-go order. 

This classic steakhouse meal costs $59.99, or $14.99 per person. If you were to enjoy the meal in the restaurant instead of at home, this meal would cost $85.95 or $22.40 per person.

Buy: Texas Roadhouse Sirloin Family Pack, $59.99 for 4 servings

Outback Steakhouse is another popular steak house chain with over 600 locations in 44 states. The restaurant is known for its Australian ambiance and bloomin’ onion appetizer, but they also sell a family-style meal that’s available for takeout. 

Outback Steakhouse’s sirloin meal for four comes with four 6-ounce steaks. I ordered these center-cut sirloin steaks cooked to medium, and they were well-seasoned but had an aggressively peppery flavor. The mashed potatoes had a homestyle texture and were nicely seasoned, but did not come with any gravy options. I chose the seasonal vegetable as my second side and was given steamed broccoli. The broccoli was cooked until crisp-tender, but there was not any discernable seasoning added. The side dish portions were larger than those at Texas Roadhouse, but I was disappointed by the bland broccoli. The house salad is made with mixed greens, cucumbers, shredded Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, tomatoes, raw sliced red onion, homemade croutons, and a large portion of your choice of salad dressing. The meal was also supposed to come with two loaves of honey wheat bread, but I only received one (slightly stale) loaf in my order. 

The Bloomin’ Bundle Meal from Outback Steakhouse costs $55.00, or $13.75 per person. This same meal would cost $95.92 or $23.98 per person if you were to eat in the restaurant.

Buy: Outback Sirloin Bloomin’ Bundle Meal, $55.00 for 4 servings

I have a background in culinary science and have developed recipes for The Kitchn, cookbooks, and television for 18 years. I’m also a working mom and have learned how to get the most out of every ingredient and every minute in the kitchen. On busy weeks I lean on supermarket shortcuts or restaurant family meal deals to feed my family. After comparing the sirloin steak family meals from Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse in a single evening, I found only one that is worth my money.

Did we choose your favorite steakhouse dinner? Tell us about it in the comments below.