Sticking to a low-carb diet can be challenging, especially when dining at fast food restaurants. The majority of fast food meals rely heavily on bread, tortillas, rice, and other high-carb components. However, numerous fast-food establishments provide viable low-carb alternatives, and many menu items can be easily adjusted to accommodate your dietary preferences. While most items at fast food restaurants are high in carbs, there are several options that can fit into a low carb diet, including salads, bunless sandwiches, and burrito bowls.
Low-Carb Swaps and Substitutions
Here are some healthy fast foods you can eat on a low carb diet.
Submarine Sandwiches: Opt for the Bowl
Submarine sandwiches are typically high in carbs, with a standard sub containing at least 50 grams of carbs, primarily from the bun. To drastically reduce the carb content, consider ordering your sub in a bowl rather than on a bun.
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
Many other sub sandwich shops, including Subway, offer this option. Simply request that your order be prepared as a salad with olive oil and vinegar for dressing.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Chicken: Choose Grilled over Fried
Fried chicken is high in fat because the chicken absorbs a large amount of oil during frying. Heating vegetable oils to high temperatures also produces harmful compounds that may increase oxidative stress and your risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. In addition, fried chicken from restaurants like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) contains about 3 to 11 g of carbs, depending on the specific cut.
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.
Beverages: Stick to Coffee and Tea
Coffee and tea are carb-free beverages. They’re also high in caffeine, which may help improve metabolic rate, brain health, and physical performance while reducing your risk of many chronic health conditions. If you like milk in your coffee or tea, many places offer half-and-half. A single-serving container (15 g) has about 0.5 g of carbs. Heavy cream has slightly fewer carbs and is sometimes available. However, it contains about 50 calories per tablespoon (tbsp), or 15 milliliters (mL), compared to 20 calories for half-and-half. Some coffee houses also offer soy or almond milk. Unsweetened versions of these milk substitutes provide minimal carbs per 2-tbsp (30-mL) serving.
Restaurant-Specific Low-Carb Options
Chipotle: Craft Your Own Low-Carb Bowl
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.
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. Protein and fiber play key roles in appetite management. For instance, they can increase the production of the gut hormones peptide YY (PYY) and cholecystokinin (CCK), which tell your brain you’re full and help prevent overeating. Though vinaigrette is available, generous servings of guacamole and salsa make salad dressing unnecessary. Additionally, Chipotle has a helpful online nutrition calculator that allows you to see the exact carb content of your meal.
Read also: Busy Morning Breakfast Solutions
Burgers: Go Bunless
A bunless burger wrapped in lettuce is a standard low carb, fast food meal. It’s high in protein, essentially carb-free, and available at many fast food burger establishments. If lettuce wraps are unavailable, you can ask to omit the bun instead.
You can further customize your burger by adding the following low carb toppings or additions, depending on availability and personal preferences:
- Cheese: 2.4 g of carbs per slice of American cheddar
- Bacon: 0.2 g of carbs per slice
- Mustard: 0.3 g of carbs per teaspoon (5 g)
- Mayo: 0.1 g of carbs per tbsp (14 g)
- Onions: 1.3 g of carbs per slice (14 g)
- Tomato: 0.8 g of carbs carbs per slice (20 g)
- Guacamole: 1.3 g of carbs per tbsp (15 g)
Buffalo Wings: Choose Wisely
Depending on how they’re prepared, buffalo wings can be a low carb option at pizza places and sports bars. Traditionally, buffalo wings are covered in a spicy red sauce made from vinegar and hot red peppers. An order of three drummettes (105 g) typically has just 2.6 g of carbs. By contrast, other sauces can add a significant number of carbs, especially sweet types, such as barbecue, teriyaki, and anything made from honey. Sometimes the wings are breaded or battered and fried, which is especially common for boneless wings. Therefore, be sure to ask how the wings are made and order yours with no breading or batter.
Buffalo wings are also usually served with carrots, celery, and ranch dressing. Although they’re higher in carbs than many other vegetables, carrots are fine to eat in small quantities. A half-cup (61 g) of carrot strips contains about 6 g of carbs, 2 g of which are fiber.
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs
Sometimes the simplest breakfast option can be the most delicious, such as bacon or sausage and eggs. This traditional breakfast combination is available at most fast food restaurants and contains a minimal amount of carbs. A 2015 study in young women with overweight found that eating sausage and eggs for breakfast helped reduce appetite, lower blood sugar and insulin, and reduce calorie intake at lunch compared to a low protein, higher carb breakfast.
Read also: Guilt-Free Late Night Snacks
However, keep in mind that cured bacon and sausages are processed meat products, which have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and cancer. For this reason, most health professionals advise against a high intake of these foods.
Arby’s: Meat Without the Bread
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.
Italian Fast Food: Antipasto Salad
Fast food Italian restaurants are best known for high carb foods like pizza, pasta, and subs. 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.
Subway: Customized Chopped Salads
Subway is one of the most popular fast food sandwich shops worldwide. In recent years, the chain has been offering chopped salads that can be customized with the protein and vegetables of your choice.
Some satisfying options include:
- The Philly (steak and cheese): 13 g of total carbs, 4 g of which are fiber, and 24 g of protein
- Titan Turkey: 11 g of total carbs, 4 g of which are fiber, and 25 g of protein
- Elite Chicken and Bacon Ranch: 14 g of total carbs, 5 g of which are fiber, and 30 g of protein
The salads all include peppers, tomatoes, onions, olives, and cucumbers. Consider adding avocados, which are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and fiber. Eating them at lunch may even lead to lower calorie intake at your next meal.
Mexican Restaurants: Burrito Bowls
Many people regard burritos as a favorite food. They typically contain meat, vegetables, rice, and beans wrapped in a large flour tortilla. This results in a meal that can easily pack more than 70 g of carbs. However, almost every Mexican restaurant allows you to leave out the tortilla and other high carb items. This is known as a burrito bowl or “bare” burrito.
A burrito bowl from Qdoba made with ground beef, guacamole, lettuce, fajita vegetables, and fresh salsa is a delicious and satisfying meal that provides just 13 g of carbs.
McDonald’s: Rethinking Breakfast
McDonald’s is the most popular fast food chain in the world, with more than 38,000 restaurants worldwide as of 2025. Though it’s best known for burgers like the Big Mac and Quarter Pounder, its Egg McMuffin and Sausage McMuffin breakfast sandwiches are also very popular. These breakfast entrées consist of an English muffin with one egg, a slice of American cheese, and ham or sausage. Each sandwich contains around 30 g of carbs.