The ketogenic diet, a low-carb, high-fat diet, has gained immense popularity for its effectiveness in weight loss and overall health optimization. While the idea of adhering to such a diet might seem challenging, especially when eating out, it's entirely possible to enjoy fast food while staying in ketosis. This comprehensive guide will provide you with the ultimate keto fast food cheat sheet, covering various restaurants and offering tips on making informed choices.
Introduction to Keto and Fast Food
The keto diet restricts carbohydrate intake, forcing the body to burn fat for fuel, producing ketones. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, is associated with weight loss, improved energy levels, and other potential health benefits such as support for skin health, cognitive function, memory, and hormonal balance. The standard ketogenic diet (SKD) typically consists of 70-80% fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the keto diet is that it’s time-consuming and expensive. However, with a little planning and knowledge, you can easily navigate the fast-food landscape and enjoy a cheap and quick keto-friendly meal.
General Tips for Keto Fast Food Success
Before diving into specific restaurants, here are some general tips to keep in mind when ordering keto fast food:
- Avoid Bread and Tortillas: This is the most crucial rule. Sandwiches should be ordered without the bun or wrapped in lettuce. Similarly, steer clear of tortillas at Mexican restaurants.
- Customize Your Order: Don't hesitate to ask for modifications. Most fast-food restaurants will allow you to get meals in a bowl or "protein style" (wrapped in lettuce) for your low carb diet.
- Choose Low-Carb Vegetables: When selecting sides, opt for low-carb veggies like cauliflower, asparagus, or mushrooms.
- Healthy Fats are Your Friend: Add avocado, cheese, and bacon to your order to up the fat content.
- Beware of Sauces: Many sauces are high in sugar and carbs. Stick to olive oil, oil and vinegar, or sugar-free options. Buffalo sauce is often a good choice, with some restaurants offering it with 0g net carbs.
- Mentally Prepare: Be ready to say “NO” to tempting high-carb items like french fries.
- Add Volume with Low-Carb Extras: Ask for a side salad or steamed vegetables to add extra fiber and bulk to your meal without significantly increasing carbs.
Keto Fast Food Restaurant Guide
McDonald's
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. Despite McDonald's reputation for carb-heavy fare, it's possible to create a keto-friendly meal. Order a burger like the Bacon McDouble without the bun and sauce.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
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. While Starbucks may not be the best place for a full keto meal, they offer several keto-friendly drink options.
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. Most fast food restaurants will allow you to get meals in a bowl or protein style for your low carb diet. When ordering keto food at Taco Bell, just ask for no shell and in a bowl instead. Taco Bell can be a surprisingly good option for keto dieters. The key is to avoid tortillas and customize your order. Order a power bowl without rice and beans.
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. Chick-fil-A offers several low-carb options. Opt for grilled chicken without the bun, and be mindful of sauces. Their buffalo sauce is a great dipping option with 0g net carbs. You can order them by themselves or you can get them on a salad.
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. Wendy's is a great choice for keto fast food, thanks to their bacon-filled menu. They also offer lettuce wraps for their burgers. As far as your standard burger places go, Wendy’s is definitely the best keto fast food place. They make it easy to order bunless burgers that are actually filling and delicious. If you are in a pinch for time and need something super quick on the go, you can order a southwest avocado chicken salad from Wendy’s without the dressing.
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. Read our full post on Carl’s Jr. Carl's Jr. or Hardee's offers a "low carb style" option, making it easy to order keto-friendly meals. You can order a burger, salad, or sandwich made low carb. A surprising entry on the top list is Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. While the dinner menu is pretty good, offering burgers and chicken sandwiches, the real standout here is the breakfast menu.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
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. Enjoy your favorite charbroiled burgers at Burger King by ordering them without the bun and skipping the sauces and ketchup.
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. While Dunkin' Donuts is not known for its strong coffee, they have expanded their low-carb menu options in recent years.
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. Subway is a reliable option for keto takeout. Turn any sandwich into a chopped salad, avoiding sweet sauces like teriyaki or meatball marinara.
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. Smoothie King offers a Keto Champ Smoothie, a surprising but convenient keto takeout option.
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. Blaze Pizza offers a keto-friendly cauliflower crust pizza, allowing you to enjoy pizza while staying in ketosis.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
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. Jersey Mike's is popular among keto dieters for their "sub in a tub" option, where the sandwich fillings are served in a bowl.
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). At Popeyes, the blackened chicken tenders (available at most locations) are a good low-carb option.
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. Zaxby's menu can be overwhelming, so it's important to plan ahead when ordering keto.
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. Your best bet at Papa John's is the Unsauced Roasted Wings, which have 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). Surprisingly, the breakfast menu at Dairy Queen offers more low-carb options than the regular menu. Avoid the dessert menu, of course.
Jack in the Box
Surprisingly, Jack in the Box turns out to have a decent variety of keto friendly offerings. Jack in the Box surprisingly has a decent variety of keto-friendly options.
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, known for its roast beef sandwiches, offers a variety of sandwiches and sides that can be modified for a keto diet. 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. You either have to scrape the toppings off of a pizza (which isn’t a great meal), or go with their baked plain chicken wings which are lightly breaded. Sonic is one of the least keto-friendly fast-food restaurants. You'll likely have to scrape toppings off a pizza or opt for lightly breaded baked chicken wings.
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. The Bone-In wings at Pizza Hut are a relatively good keto option, with 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. The Butterburger at Culver's is a must-try. While other menu items can be modified, the Butterburger is the standout keto option.
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. El Pollo Loco has significantly increased its keto options, including keto tacos, burritos, and cauliflower rice 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. White Castle is generally not recommended for keto dieters, as it's difficult to find suitable options.
Keto-Friendly Restaurants
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 an easy pick as the top option for keto fast food. It’s really the only place that you can order something directly off the menu and have it be perfectly low carb. Chipotle is a top choice for keto dieters due to its clean ingredients and customizable options. The salad bowl is a perfect keto choice.
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. Despite its name, Panera Bread offers keto-friendly options.
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. Jimmy John's makes it easy to order keto by offering "unwiches" (lettuce wraps). You can also opt for bread hollowing, where the dough is scooped out of your favorite sub.
Other Restaurants to Consider
- Mediterranean Restaurants: These often have several keto-friendly entrées packed with veggies and healthy fats.
- Buffalo Wild Wings: 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.
- Chinese Takeout: Can still be consumed on your low carb diet.
- KFC: Keep your KFC order keto with grilled chicken options.
- Chili’s: Rounding out these keto friendly restaurants for your consideration is Chili’s.
- Wingstop: It’s hard to argue with chicken wings, and Wingstop has some of the best there is!
- In N Out: In N Out is a regional specialty. You can order as many patties and cheese as you want. The formula is Meat x Cheese.
- Red Robin: The showstopper here is the cobb salad.
- 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.
- Red Lobster: Red Lobster has quite a few meals that were suitable for me.
- Whataburger: Whataburger is know for it’s juicy burgers.
- Denny’s: Denny’s offers a wide variety of foods.
- IHOP: 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: Outback Steakhouse is a solid option.
- Five Guys: Five Guys serves up bunless burgers the right way.
- Shake Shack: Shake Shack is known for its top of the line burgers.
- Applebee’s: There is now restaurant that defined my childhood more than Applebee’s.
- Texas Roadhouse: Finding a keto friendly meal at Texas Roadhouse is very easy to do.
Tips for Staying Full on Keto Fast Food
If you're eating low-carb bunless burgers and just don't feel full, here are a few extra tips for you:
- 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.
Keto Diet Cheat Sheet: Food Alternatives
When people are new to the ketogenic diet, they often wonder what type of foods they should and could eat while restricting carbs. Use our recommendations below to get an idea of the best alternatives for common high-carb ingredients and what foods you can replicate while going the low-carb route.
Breakfast Replacements
- Sugary Yogurt: Full-fat Greek yogurt, full-fat cottage cheese, sour cream, or coconut milk yogurt.
- Cereal: Chia seed pudding, flax granola sprinkled into coconut or almond milk, salted caramel pork rind cereal, or crushed toasted nuts.
- Oatmeal: Keto-friendly oatmeal recipes.
- Pancakes: Almond flour and flaxseed meal pancakes.
- Waffles: Cinnamon Roll Waffle.
- Eggs: A staple for many on keto, but if you’re not a fan (or if you’re allergic) - there are plenty of egg-free breakfast options.
Dinner Replacements
- Burger with Fries: Moderate portion of steak with butter and broccoli with cheese.
- Bunless Burger Recipes as a substitute that can replace even the crunchiest and softest bread out there.
- Buns: There are alternatives for those that just need the bun on there.
Lunch Replacements
Lunch on a ketogenic diet usually consists of something straightforward and easy. Some people also prefer to put together the ingredients for a mug cake (or a similar microwavable item) and take the ingredients to work to cook in the microwave.
- Sandwich: Switch over to something that’s a better (and keto-friendly) option.
- Wrap: A flaxseed wrap or even a psyllium husk wrap.
- Bread replacement: Make some microwave bread.
Other Keto-Friendly Swaps
- Thin Crust Pizza: Mozzarella and almond flour pizza crust.
- Crispy Chicken: Pork rinds in the food processor and adding parmesan cheese to the mix.
- Canned Soup: Homemade soups, like Enchilada Chicken Soup.
- Pasta: Zucchini noodles (Zoodles) or Shirataki noodles.
- Chinese Takeout: Low-carb versions of favorite Chinese dishes, like cauliflower fried rice.
- Mashed Potatoes: Cauliflower mashed potatoes.
- Tortillas: Flax tortillas or psyllium husk tortillas.
- Chips: Dehydrated thin slices of vegetables (zucchini, radish, or jicama).
- Cookies: Almond flour cookies.
- Crackers: Crackers made out of many keto-friendly ingredients out there.
Beverages
- Soda and Juice: Water, low-carb smoothies, and tea.
- Coffee: Stevia instead of sugar.
- Lattes and Frappes: Keto butter coffee (coconut oil and butter in coffee).
- Cocktails: Low-carb alcohol alternatives like liquor.
Desserts
- Desserts: It’s best when starting out to skip desserts for 2-3 weeks to help with sugar cravings.
- Ice Cream: Keto ice cream made with eggs, cream, and sweetener, or avocado-based ice cream.
- Cake: Almond flour cake or keto cheesecake.
- Brownies: Keto brownies.
- Pudding: Homemade pudding with low-carb ingredients or cottage/ricotta cheese.
- Pie Crust: Almond flour and psyllium husk crust.
Baking Ingredients
- Flour: Coconut flour with added eggs, psyllium husk, or flaxseed meal.
- Breadcrumbs: Ground up pork rinds.
- Margarine and Vegetable Oils: Saturated fats like butter and coconut oil.
- Frosting: Homemade cream cheese and butter frosting.
- Sugar: Erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit.
- Chocolate: Baker’s chocolate or dark chocolate (above 85% cocoa).
- Fruit: Fruit extracts.
- Thickeners: Xanthan gum or Guar Gum.