Craving Burger King while on a keto diet? It might seem impossible, but with a few smart swaps, you can enjoy BK's flavors without breaking your low-carb goals. Discover how to navigate the Burger King menu and maintain ketosis.
Introduction: Keto and Fast Food - Can They Coexist?
Burger King is a fast-food institution, known for its affordable and convenient meals. However, with the rise of nutrition-conscious diets, many BK lovers wonder if their lifestyle choices align with their occasional craving for a Whopper. For those following a ketogenic diet, the question becomes: Is there a keto-friendly way to enjoy Burger King?
The ketogenic diet, characterized by high fat and very low carbohydrate intake (typically less than 50g per day), forces the body to burn fats instead of sugars for energy, a state known as ketosis. This diet has gained popularity due to its quick results, relatively low cost, and potential health benefits.
Dining at a burger joint while on a carb-restricted diet can be challenging, given that bread and fries are staples. However, you can maintain your low-carb lifestyle and still "have it your way" at Burger King.
General Tips for Keto at Burger King
Here are some fundamental tips to ensure your carb intake stays within your chosen keto limits when eating at Burger King:
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
- Leave out bread products: This includes burger buns, croissants, muffins, biscuits, sourdough bread, and wraps.
- Use lettuce to replace wraps and buns.
- Remember that carbs hide in crispy coatings on chicken: Opt for grilled chicken if available.
- Keep fries off the menu.
- Fill up on salads: Be mindful of dressings and croutons.
- Ditch the ketchup and sugary sauces: Many sauces are packed with sugars.
For those aiming for precision in their keto plan, preparing food at home allows for careful tracking of carbohydrates. However, even without exact measurements, you can still make informed choices at Burger King.
Keto-Friendly Breakfast Options
Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day, and that doesn't change on a keto diet. If you enjoy a Burger King breakfast but want to keep it low-carb, here are some menu modifications:
- Avoid: Croissants, muffins, biscuits, sourdough bread, French toast, and hash browns.
- Omit: Condiments and sugary drinks.
Every Burger King breakfast sandwich contains bread, so regardless of your order, the bread must be removed. While double meat options are available, remember that this also doubles the nutritional values of the remaining ingredients.
Here are some specific keto-friendly breakfast options:
Egg-Normous Burrito (No Tortilla, No Hash Browns)
The standard Egg-Normous Burrito has 68g of carbs. Removing the tortilla (25g carbs) and hash browns (24g carbs) results in approximately:
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
- Carbs: 19 g
- Fat: 23 g
- Sodium: 922 mg
- Protein: 36 g
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Croissan'wich (No Croissant)
The standard version has 30g of carbs. Removing the croissant (26g carbs) leaves approximately:
- Carbs: 4 g
- Fat: 9 g
- Sodium: 541 mg
- Protein: 9 g
Fully Loaded Croissan'wich with Bacon, Ham, and Sausage (No Croissant)
The basic edition provides 31g of carbs. Removing the croissant (26g carbs) leaves around:
- Carbs: 5 g
- Fat: 28 g
- Sodium: 1,461 mg
- Protein: 23 g
Fully Loaded Biscuit (No Biscuit)
This typically comes with 31g of carbs. Removing the biscuit (25g carbs) results in:
- Carbs: 6 g
- Fat: 30 g
- Sodium: 1,770 mg
- Protein: 22 g
Breakfast Beverages
Water is the optimal choice for keto dieters. Black coffee and unsweetened tea are also acceptable low-carb options.
Keto-Friendly Lunch and Dinner Options
While meat, eggs, and cheese are central to keto-friendly breakfast choices, lunch and dinner options at Burger King offer more variety and customization. Vegetables and condiments become more important.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Keep these modifications in mind when ordering keto during lunch and dinner:
- Ditch the buns.
- Do away with ketchup and sugary sauces.
- Exchange fries for a side salad.
- Be careful with salad dressings.
You can order almost any burger on the menu by ordering it without the bun and ketchup.
Whopper with Cheese, No Bun
Using the nutritional information for a plain hamburger and adding a cheese slice (0.6g carbs), the approximate values are:
- Carbs: 0.6 g
- Fat: 24 g
- Sodium: 257 mg
- Protein: 29 g
Double Whopper with Cheese, No Bun
This consists of two burgers and a cheese slice, totaling approximately:
- Carbs: 0.6 g
- Fat: 38 g
- Sodium: 334 g
- Protein: 51 g
Bacon King, No Bun
This includes two burgers, four cheese slices, and a serving of bacon, resulting in:
- Carbs: 3 g
- Fat: 62 g
- Sodium: 1,143 mg
- Protein: 77 g
Triple Whopper with Cheese, No Bun
Three burgers plus two cheese slices equal approximately:
- Carbs: 1.2 g
- Fat: 61 g
- Sodium: 591 g
- Protein: 80 g
Veggie Toppings and Condiments
Adding vegetables and toppings like lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion can enhance your bunless burger, each adding only about a gram of carbs.
- Lettuce: Carbs: 0.2 g, Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 0.5 mg, Protein: 0 g
- Tomato: Carbs: 1 g, Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 1 mg, Protein: 0 g
- Pickle: Carbs: 0 g, Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 56 mg, Protein: 0 g
- Onion: Carbs: 1.4 g, Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 0.6 mg, Protein: 1.6 g
While ketchup is not keto-friendly, these condiments are acceptable:
- Mayonnaise: 0 g carbs, 9 g fat, 76 mg sodium, 0.1 g protein
- Mustard: 0.2 g carbs, 0.16 g fat, 55 mg sodium, 0.2 g protein
Side Salad
When ordering a combo, replace the fries with a Side Garden Salad, which contains:
- 5 g carbs
- 32 g fat
- 336 mg sodium
- 5 g protein
This excludes dressing and croutons. Ranch dressing is the lowest-carb option, adding 2 g carbs, 13 g fat, 270 mg sodium, and 0.4 g protein.
Chicken Options
Unfortunately, Burger King does not offer grilled chicken. All chicken options are crispy, which are not suitable for a keto diet due to the breading. The Original Chicken Sandwich without the bun has 9 carbs. While this is still considered low carb, it is high in carbs to be considered keto.
What to Avoid at Burger King
Certain menu items are not keto-friendly:
- French fries and breaded items (such as mozzarella sticks, onion rings and chicken nuggets).
- Sugary drinks and desserts.
- Creamy sauces and BBQ ketchup.