The ketogenic diet, often called the keto diet, is a highly restrictive dietary approach. It can sometimes make eating out a challenge. The goal of a keto diet is to shift the body into a metabolic state known as ketosis. To achieve this, individuals typically consume high amounts of fats, moderate amounts of proteins, and very few carbohydrates. On a 2,000 calorie per day diet, carbs would amount to no more than 20-50 grams (g).
Many fast foods are loaded with added sugars and a high amount of carbs. So, to remain in ketosis, people following a keto diet need to choose keto friendly fast food wisely. There are different variations of the keto diet. Some fast food choices contain higher amounts of protein than some keto diets allow. However, people have different protein and energy requirements according to their weight, sex, and activity levels. Someone may want to adapt their fast food choices according to their needs.
Fortunately, many popular restaurants offer menu items that can be modified to fit a low-carb lifestyle. With a few adjustments, you can still enjoy meals with friends and family or grab a quick bite on the go. This guide will explore the best keto-friendly fast food and takeout options, offering tips and suggestions to help you stay on track with your dietary goals.
General Tips for Keto Fast Food Success
Before diving into specific restaurants, here are some general tips to keep in mind when navigating fast food menus on a ketogenic diet:
- Avoid Bread: This includes burger buns, muffins, wraps, tortillas, and even the free bread offered before meals at some restaurants. Sandwiches should be ordered without the bun or wrapped in lettuce to be keto friendly fast food.
- Customize Your Order: Don't be afraid to ask for modifications. Most fast food restaurants will allow you to get meals in a bowl or protein style for your low carb diet.
- Choose Low-Carb Dressings and Condiments: When in doubt, use olive oil (or oil and vinegar) as dressing and add avocado for healthy fat.
- Add Healthy Fats: Incorporate sources of healthy fats like avocado, cheese, and olive oil to help you feel full and satisfied.
- Opt for Low-Carb Sides: If choosing a side, play it safe with low-carb veggies like cauliflower, asparagus, or mushrooms.
- Be Prepared to Say "No": That delicious scent is the enemy of your low carb diet. Always go in mentally prepared to say, “NO”!
Keto-Friendly Fast Food Restaurants
McDonald's
We know what you’re thinking: a low carb option at McDonalds? Yes, it is possible! Typical McDonalds fast food is high in carbs, but there are ways to make a keto fast food meal here. The best place to start discussing fast food keto options is of course McDonald’s.
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- Cheeseburger (no bun): Avoiding the bun and high sugar condiments makes a cheeseburger keto friendly. A single McDonald’s Cheeseburger with cheese, onions, and mustard has the following nutritional values: Calories: 150, Carbs: 2 g, Protein: 10 g, Fat: 11 g
- Egg and Sausage Patty: People can choose the Egg and Sausage Patty from the McDonald’s Big Breakfast and omit the high carb hash brown and biscuit. Calories: 340, Carbs: 3 g, Protein: 20 g, Fat: 27 g
Starbucks
Starbucks is well known for having terrible food, so you’re best bet is going somewhere else if you want a meal. They do have a bunch of keto friendly drink options though.
Taco Bell
Here are the best keto fast food options at Taco Bell. Our advice to keep things low carb is to steer clear of tortillas, don’t be afraid to customize, and remember to add some healthy fats. When ordering keto food at Taco Bell, just ask for no shell and in a bowl instead.
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A has quite a few low carb options if you go bunless, get grilled chicken, and skip the sauces. We know this is many peoples favorite fast food place, and we love it there too! The ingredients taste fresh and Chick-fil-A has the nicest employees by far! And a heads up: their buffalo sauce has 0g net carbs if you’re dying to dip! They have some of the freshest keto fast food and a great low carb option for salad and chicken sandwiches on the go.
Wendy's
Wendy’s affinity for bacon makes it an excellent choice for your keto fast food meal. Wendy’s also offers a lettuce wrap so you can get the satisfaction of biting into your burger while still being on a keto diet.
- Double Stack Cheeseburger: To make this suitable for a keto diet, a person can omit the bun and add extra ranch dressing. Calories: 320, Carbs: 2 g, Protein: 20 g, Fat: 26 g
- Baconator: For a keto friendly breakfast, people can omit the bun and condiments and add extra avocado and blue cheese crumbles. Calories: 960, Carbs: 7 g, Protein: 60 g, Fat: 78 g Because this option provides 60 g of protein, its protein content may be too high for certain keto diets.
Carl's Jr./Hardee's
Carl’ s Jr or Hardees is a great keto fast food option that can easily be made low carb. Whether you want a burger, salad, or sandwich Carl’ s Jr has you covered. Carl’ s Jr also does all their food “low carb style”, which is where they press a button notifying the kitchen of your keto request.
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Burger King
If charbroiled burgers from Burger King are your favorite, then it’s time to make them keto friendly! Burger King similar to Wendy’s has a lot of keto fast food burger options. Just remember to skip sauces, ketchup, and yes even that tasty order of fries.
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin Donuts is a little weak when it comes to coffee (kind of watery), but it comes through with their low carb menu options. Over the last few years they have expanded their food menu to appeal to the keto crowd.
Subway
Subway is always a solid option for keto takeout. You can keto-fy almost any sandwich at Subway by making it a chopped salad. Remember to avoid toppings covered in sweet sauces like teriyaki or meatball marinara. Low carb/ keto meals are super simple at sandwich shops as long as you sub bread for lettuce.
Smoothie King
A sneaky favorite keto takeout option of ours is ordering a keto smoothie from Smoothie King. Whenever we share this on social media people are surprised to learn that Smoothie King has something called the Keto Champ Smoothie.
Blaze Pizza
Blaze Pizza made waves in 2019 when they began offering a keto friendly cauliflower crust pizza. If you’ve never been to Blaze Pizza before it’s kind of like Subway, but for pizza.
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Jersey Mike's
Jersey Mikes has a cult following in the keto community for their “sub in a tub”. It’s all of the fillings you would typically get in a sub sandwich served in a bowl. Here are the carb counts for a few sub bowl options at Jersey Mike’s:
- Turkey breast and provolone: 8 g of carbs, 2 g of which are fiber
- Club supreme: 9 g of carbs, 2 g of which are fiber
- Chicken salad: 9 g of carbs, 3 g of which are fiber
- California club: 13 grams of carbs, 6 g of which are fiber
You can order your meal this way from many other sub sandwich shops as well, including Subway. Simply request that it be prepared as a salad with olive oil and vinegar for the dressing.
Popeyes Chicken
Popeyes Chicken is a bit of a one item wonder when it comes to ordering a low carb meal. They have blackened chicken tenders at most locations(but not all).
Zaxby's
Navigating the menu at Zaxby’s can be challenging. There are a lot of different items on the menu so it’s important to have a plan going in.
Papa John's
As with most pizza places, the pickings for keto friendly meals at Papa John’s are slim. Your only real option is the Unsauced Roasted Wings which clock in at 4g of carbs per 8 wings.
Dairy Queen
You’re not going to want to hear this…but Dairy Queen has a breakfast menu where you’ll find most of the lower carb offerings. The normal menu can be harder to navigate and of course you’ll want to stay away from the dessert menu (although I was raised on DQ Blizzard’s).
Jack in the Box
Surprisingly, Jack in the Box turns out to have a decent variety of keto friendly offerings.
Arby's
Arby’s is know for it’s roast beef sandwiches, but has expanded its menu in recent years to include a wide range of sandwiches and sides. Arby’s is one of the largest fast food sandwich chains in the United States. Though the Roast Beef Classic is its original and most popular item, Arby’s has many other options, including brisket, steak, ham, chicken, and turkey. Any of these can be ordered without the bread for a tasty low carb, high protein meal.
Sonic
Going to Sonic is a bit like going back in time to the era of drive in restaurants. This is the least keto friendly place on the list.
Pizza Hut
You’re going to struggle finding a low carb meal at Pizza Hut, but there is one item on the menu that is actually pretty good. Bone-In wings at Pizza Hut are keto friendly at just 1g of carbs per two wings.
Culver's
There is no point in visiting Culver’s if you aren’t going to order a Butterburger. There are a few other keto takeout options on the menu that can be modified to be low carb, but nothing compares to a Butterburger.
El Pollo Loco
In recent years El Pollo Loco has dramatically increased the amount of keto options on their menu. They have keto tacos, keto burritos, and a cauliflower rice option for their pollo fit bowls.
White Castle
There are certain restaurants that just aren’t worth the effort to try and make keto friendly and White Castle is one of them. Unless you are forced to order something here, you are better off just going someplace else.
Keto-Friendly Fast Casual Restaurants
So what if it’s date night or dinner with friends? There’s no need to eat before you go!
Chipotle
This fast food chain tops this list of keto friendly restaurants for us: the ingredients are clean and the variety is incredible. It’s practically perfect! The salad bowl is absolutely the way to go- the burrito bowl, burrito, and tacos are obviously not keto due to tortillas, rice, and beans. Chipotle is a popular Mexican fast food restaurant. Many people consider it to be healthier than other chains, as it uses high quality ingredients and emphasizes animal welfare and sustainable farming practices. Chipotle also makes it very easy to create low carb meals.
- Keto Salad Bowl: This meal is a chicken-based bowl with added cheese, salsa, and guacamole. It also contains greens for extra nutrition. However, the bowl has a higher protein ratio than some keto diets allow. Calories: 560, Carbs: 16 g, Protein: 41 g, Fat: 37 g
- Carnitas and Chicken Salad Bowl: People can choose their ingredients for a salad bowl. A low carb combination might consist of: half carnitashalf chickenMonterey Jack cheeseguacamolesupergreens lettuce blend. Calories: 550, Carbs: 12 g, Protein: 36.5 g, Fat: 39.5 g
- A salad with meat or chicken, grilled vegetables, fresh tomato salsa, and guacamole contains 18 g of total carbs, 8 g of which are fiber. This meal also provides about 35 g of high quality protein.
Panera Bread
Yes, it’s called Panera Bread, but no, you don’t have to carb-load. Panera bread is a fast casual restaurant perfect for keto fast food.
Jimmy John's
Jimmy John’s is a popular fast food sandwich restaurant, known for their incredibly fast delivery. Just about any of Jimmy John’s sandwiches can be made keto, all you have to do is ask for a Jimmy John “unwich” instead. Add avocado, cheese, and bacon to any unwich to up the fat content. A Jimmy John unwich lettuce wrap is certainly the way to go when trying to find keto fast food options. If you just wanted a low carb fast food option, they do also offer bread hollowing. That’s where they take your favorite sub and scoop out all the dough so you have a bread shell.
Mediterranean Restaurants
This Mediterranean-style favorite has several keto-friendly entrées, many of which are packed with veggies and healthy fat goodness. Don’t fear the Italian foods! There are keto fast food options anywhere you just have to know what to look for when you order. Antipasto salad offers a delicious, low carb alternative. This salad is traditionally served as an appetizer, consisting of assorted meats, cheese, olives, and vegetables topped with an olive-oil-based dressing. However, it can be ordered in a larger portion as an entrée. An entrée-size serving (402 g) of antipasto salad with ham, cheese, fish, and vegetables is rich in protein and contains 15.6 g of carbs per serving, 4.4 g of which are fiber.
Buffalo Wild Wings/Wingstop
Wanna catch a game and a snack, but not sure if you can stick to your diet? Buffalo sauce on your wings is another low carb option, if you’re feeling zesty! Buffalo Wild Wings also has multiple burger/ sandwich, and keto chicken salad options. It’s hard to argue with chicken wings, and Wingstop has some of the best there is! Whenever we are feeling lazy and decide to get takeout for dinner, chicken wings are always one of the options we consider. The one downside to Wingstop is that they fry their wings in soybean oil, where Buffalo Wild Wings fries their wings in beef tallow. In certain markets you may also be able to order Thighstop, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Chinese Takeout
Chinese takeout can still be consumed on your low carb diet.
KFC
KFC is known for that crispy breading, but keep your KFC order keto with grilled chicken options. There aren’t as many keto fast food options here, but the few they have are delicious. A person could order KFC Fried Chicken Drumsticks and add a serving of KFC Coleslaw for a keto friendly option. Calories: 179, Carbs: 4 g, Protein: 16.7 g, Fat: 10.7 g. One hundred grams of the coleslaw provides: Calories: 144, Carbs: 15.6 g, Protein: 2 g, Fat: 8.6 g It is important to note that the carbs in 100 g of the coleslaw will provide about one-third of the day’s total allowance of 50 g. Grilled chicken is a lower carb option, which is available at many fast food franchises. Each piece of grilled KFC chicken contains 0 g of carbs. As for side dishes, green beans contain 5 g of carbs per serving, 3 g of which are fiber. Coleslaw is another low carb choice, with 14 g of carbs per serving, 4 g of which are fiber.
Chili's
Rounding out these keto friendly restaurants for your consideration is Chili’s.
- Crispy Cheddar Bites: Calories: 580, Carbs: 18 g, Protein: 22 g, Fat: 47 g
Regional Specialties
- In N Out: Sadly, In N Out is a regional specialty. I can mostly be found in California, Texas and a few other Southwestern states. 3×3 or 4×4 or NxN: You can order as many patties and cheese as you want. The formula is Meat x Cheese.
- Whataburger: Mainly located in Texas, Whataburger is know for it’s juicy burgers. It also has locations across many southern states, so use their store locator to see if one is near you.
- Five Guys: The best part about Five Guys is that they put some care into the way they serve their lettuce wrapped burgers. Sometimes when you get a burger without the bun you just get a flimsy piece of wilted lettuce on top of a burger. Five Guys serves up bunless burgers the right way. Choosing a Five Guys Hot Dog without the bun provides the following nutritional values: Calories: 280, Carbs: 1 g, Protein: 11 g, Fat: 26 g A person could add the following items from the Five Guys menu to their meal and still keep it keto friendly: mayonnaisegrilled mushroomsbacon
Other Restaurants
- Red Robin: I was very impressed with Red Robin the first time I went there while on a keto diet. Of course they are know for their burgers and endless French fries, but the showstopper here is the cobb salad.
- Cheesecake Factory: Everybody loves a fancy night out at the Cheesecake Factory. Their menu is quite extensive, which means if you try hard enough you’ll be able to find a few low carb options.
- Cracker Barrel: People have strong opinions about Cracker Barrel. I come down on the side of it being sort of gimmicky and not having great food.
- Red Lobster: I used to go to Red Lobster every year as a birthday treat, so I have some found memories here. When I started a keto diet I was happy to learn that Red Lobster has quite a few meals that were suitable for me.
- Denny's: Best known for it’s breakfast foods, especially the combo platters known as “Grand Slams”, Denny’s offers a wide variety of foods.
- IHOP: The international house of pancakes is a diner style restaurant that is most known for their breakfast foods, although they also offer dinner options. A big secret at IHOP is that they put pancake batter in their omelettes!
- Waffle House: You may be surprised to learn that Waffle House is packed full of awesome keto friendly meals.
- Outback Steakhouse: A steakhouse chain that is best known for it’s Bloomin’ Onion, Outback Steakhouse is a solid option.
- Shake Shack: Shake Shack is known for its top of the line burgers. Most locations are in the Northeastern United States, but there are Shake Shack’s open all around the country now. It is a pretty good option overall, if you’re in the mood for a hamburger.
- Applebee’s: There is now restaurant that defined my childhood more than Applebee’s. Half off appetizers night was almost a weekly thing for us growing up.
- Texas Roadhouse: Texas Roadhouse is a steakhouse chain that serves up reasonably priced, quality steaks, chicken and seafood. Finding a keto friendly meal at Texas Roadhouse is very easy to do.
Tips for Making Bunless Burgers More Filling
If you’re eating low carb bunless burgers and just don’t feel full, we have a few extra tips for you. Protein and fat are very satiating, but if you are coming from a standard American diet you may be used to eating more volume.
- Ask for a side salad: Most fast food restaurants have side salads that you can add to your meal for extra fiber and bulk.
- Order steamed vegetables on the side: This is something you will see more in fast casual restaurants than fast food, but if they have the option steamed veggies are another great way to add bulk to a meal.
- Get the “carb-less” extras: These are low calorie dense fresh vegetables that are also low carb. These are some of our favorite ways to add extra volume without upping the carbs of your meal too much.
Foods to Avoid on a Keto Diet
There are some ingredients and fast foods that people following a keto diet may wish to avoid. These foods tend to be high in sugar or carbs. They include:
- Full sugar soft drinks
- Breads, including burger buns, muffins, and wraps
- Fries and hash browns
- Biscuits
- Ketchup
- Salad croutons
- Certain sauces, such as barbecue, teriyaki, and honey and mustard dressing
- Rice and noodles
Quick Keto-Friendly Snack Ideas
For quick snacks, people can also eat whole foods that are quick and convenient to prepare or buy from a grocery store. Some keto friendly ideas include:
- Jerky
- Boiled eggs with mayonnaise
- Olives
- Avocado
- Cheese
- Nuts
- Celery paired with dips or dressings made with cream cheese or sour cream and mayonnaise