Chicken wings are a beloved snack and meal option, perfect for game day or entertaining. If you're following a ketogenic diet, you might wonder if they fit into your low-carb lifestyle. The good news is, chicken wings can absolutely be keto-friendly, but it depends on how they're prepared.
The Keto Diet and Macronutrient Ratios
A keto diet focuses on reducing carbohydrate intake while maintaining a moderate protein and high-fat intake. This macronutrient ratio helps your body burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. When following a keto diet, it’s important to understand the macronutrient ratio you should be aiming for. Chicken wings are a great option for those on keto because they are high in protein and healthy fats, while low in carbohydrates.
Plain Chicken Wings: A Keto Dream
Plain, unbreaded chicken wings are naturally low in carbohydrates (technically zero carbs as they are 0g carbs per wing) and high in protein and fat, making them a great choice for keto. Since keto focuses on reducing carb intake while maintaining a moderate protein and high fat intake, plain wings are a perfect fit. The high protein content in chicken wings provides you with the energy you need to power through your day and keep you feeling full, which is crucial for sticking to a keto lifestyle.
Cooking Methods: Keto-Friendly Options
Yes, chicken wings are a keto diet friendly food that can be baked, grilled, or air fried for next to zero total carbs.Here are the best culinary tips for baking, grilling, and air frying your chicken wings:
- Work with higher heat. High heat helps render the fat in the chicken skin and creates a crispier outside and a juicier inside.
- A little oil goes a long way (for all methods). I avoid vegetable oils and stick with a small amount of avocado oil or olive oil if needed.
- Avoid moisture! Wet wings will steam and not brown, so always pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Use a little bit of baking powder. Baking powder added to your spice mix or dry rub helps absorb the excess moisture and create an even crispier outside skin.
- If you’re grilling or baking, place your wings on a wire rack over a baking sheet to encourage the heat to circulate both under and above the wings for even cooking.
- The best way to keep that perfect crunch too is to wait to sauce your wings (I usually serve mine dry and keep the sauce on the side). This also prevents the wings from burning too.
- Experiment with a delicious dry rub like this Keto All Purpose BBQ Rub
Baked or Grilled Chicken Wings
Baked or grilled chicken wings are often the best choice for keto because they avoid the added carbs from breading and also they are the healthier/lower in calorie choice because you don't have all the oil from frying. Simply season with salt, pepper, and keto-friendly spices, bake or grill until crispy.
Read also: Are Lemon Pepper Wings Keto?
Fried Chicken Wings
Fried chicken wings can be keto-friendly, but it depends on the batter (which is added to make them super crispy usually) and frying method. If you are having fried chicken wings in a restaurant, then many of them use flour or cornstarch coatings, which add carbs and make them no longer keto friendly. If you want to make keto fried chicken wings at home, then choose almond flour, coconut flour, or crushed pork rinds as a low-carb alternative to traditional breading or plain flour.
Sauces and Dressings: Choose Wisely
While plain wings are naturally keto and usually the go-to choice, the sauce you choose can change it from a keto friendly choice, to not. The macronutrient content of chicken wings can vary depending on the cooking method and sauce used. Similarly, the sauce you choose will also impact the macronutrient content. Some sauces are high in sugar and carbs, which can take away from the ketogenic benefits of the wings. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of the sauce options you choose and opt for those that are high in healthy fats and low in carbs.
Keto-Friendly Sauce Options
- Buffalo Sauce: Made with hot sauce and butter, typically 0-1g carbs per serving which means buffalo chicken wings are keto friendly. Classic Buffalo sauce for chicken wings is just Frank’s RedHot sauce (yup, it has to be this brand!) combined with melted butter. Pro Tip: Ask your server what they put in their hot, medium, and mild sauces so you can avoid hidden sugar!
- Ranch Dressing (homemade): Store-bought ranch can have hidden sugars so ditch that, but making it at home with mayo (or Greek yogurt), sour cream, and herbs keeps it keto-friendly. Here is the perfect homemade Keto ranch dressing recipe.
- Garlic Butter: They come out doused in garlic butter, somethings with Parmesan added too. Franks wings are crispy outside, and juicy inside. However, here instead of classic wing sauce (the Franks RedHot sauce + butter combination, we much prefer their garlic butter wings!
- Dry Rubs: Another great option for keto-friendly wing seasoning is a dry rub. Dry rubs are a great option because they are usually sugar-free, allowing you to enjoy all the delicious flavors without any added sugars. Some popular dry rubs include cajun, smoked paprika, and garlic powder, all of which are keto-friendly and add a bold, savory taste to your chicken wings.
Sauces to Avoid
- BBQ Sauce: Most brands contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, averaging 10-15g carbs per serving. Be cautious of “crispy” wings.
- Mild or Medium Sauce: Surprisingly, a lot of sauces out there have a ton of hidden sugar! BBQ sauce, mild sauce, medium sauce, and the list goes on. Sometimes they also add ketchup along with melted butter and hot sauce to make mild sauce.
Ordering Wings at Restaurants: Tips for Staying Keto
Chicken wings and the ketogenic diet may seem like an unlikely pair, but we’re here to tell you that they’re a match made in heaven! Here's how to navigate restaurant menus and keep your wings keto-friendly:
- Ask for naked (unbreaded) wings. Most restaurants have an option for plain, grilled, or baked wings. Boneless wings are always breaded, so you want to avoid those no matter where you go. Some places do bread their bone-in wings, but lots of places don’t. So don’t be afraid to ask! Sometimes the menu will say if the wings are breaded or coated, but sometimes the menu doesn’t say. And then the wings will come out breaded and it’s such a bummer! Again, ask your server to double check that their wings aren’t breaded or coated with a flour mixture. The chicken wings should literally be just wings that are fried!
- Choose a keto-friendly sauce. Go for buffalo, garlic butter, or dry rub seasonings instead of sugary sauces. If you can’t find a sauce you like that’s low carb, just order your wings dry!
- Be cautious of “crispy” wings.
- Blue cheese dressing. Blue cheese dressing is the classic choice if you’re from Buffalo, New York (the birthplace of wings!). Pro Tip: To keep it keto, go for full-fat dressing and make sure it’s low enough in carbs to fit into your macros!
Favorite Keto-Friendly Wing Orders
Both restaurants have a great nutritional guides online.
Wingstop
My go-to order at Wingstop Order: 10 piece traditional bone-in wings: 1/2 Garlic Parm and 1/2 Lemon Pepper. The Louisiana Rub is also FIRE! Whatever flavor you end up going with, do not forget the Ranch!! I don’t know what it is but Wingstop has the best ranch on the planet!
Read also: Delicious Keto Wings Recipe
Buffalo Wild Wings
My favorite flavor at BWW is Salt and Vinegar, what used to be my favorite flavor of chips, is now my favorite wing flavor. I also like the BWW lemon pepper and garlic parm. Ranch or blue cheese is keto-friendly as well.
The Best Cooking Methods for Crispy Keto Chicken Wings
Believe it or not you can get super crispy hot wings with out a deep fryer!No matter what cooking process you’re using, as a general rule I follow these step by step instructions for traditional wings:
- Preheat your oven, grill, or air fryer to 400 F. Get my guide to grilling crispy chicken wings here for more info too.
- Pat the wings dry and remove the moisture.
- Add a little baking powder (a few teaspoons) and my all purpose keto friendly BBQ dry rub (you can also use other spices like black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes etc.). Let this hang out for a few hours if possible in an airtight container in your fridge.
- Line foil over a baking sheet (for easier clean up) and place a wire rack down over the top (if baking or smoking).
- Add your wings to the wire rack or your air fryer basket and cook until crispy and golden brown.
How do I know when my chicken wings are fully cooked?
For safety, chicken always should be cooked to a minimal internal temperature of 165 degrees F. However, because chicken wings are a darker meat, they actually have a much better texture when you cook them over 180 degrees F. The overall cook time will vary on your wings based on the size and cooking method you choose.Using a high quality meat thermometer to accurately track the internal temperature of your wings is the more accurate way to know when they are fully cooked through. You can also save the last 5 minutes of cooking to sauce your wings as well (wait to sauce to also prevent burning).
Nutritional Information
If you’re tracking your nutritional information and macro nutrients (fats, proteins, and carbs), here is a general break down for chicken wings (with no added spices or hot sauce)- Here is a breakdown. Four traditional buffalo wings, skin on, are roughly 238 calories. The macronutrients are approximately 13 grams of fat, 23 grams of protein, and 0 grams of carbs. This can vary slightly depending on the size of your wings, but you can see how this is a great option if you’re searching for a higher protein ratio to moderate fat based food.Boneless wings (un-breaded) made from regular chicken breast will contain less fat and therefore fewer calories. Calories do still count on a keto, low-carb diet so keep this in mind.
Read also: Low-Carb Chicken Wings