Sometimes you just don’t have time to cook. It doesn’t matter whether you have a busy day or you’re on a road trip, or just feel lazy – these situations happen. That’s why it’s important to know your keto fast food options, so you could order without stress and wouldn’t compromise your ketosis.
That’s why I took a couple of friends with me and we visited all the popular fast food diners with the sole quest – finding keto friendly fast food.
Our mission was a success. In this article you’ll get to know about low carb fast food options in the U.S. along with some tips when ordering at fast food restaurants.
Keto Fast Food Options
It can be tricky to find keto fast food options when you’re in a hurry as it takes time to analyze the menu, you’re keeping the line busy, etc. Here you will find Keto friendly fast food options that you can eat at anytime without having to worry about compromising your ketosis.
The list is ordered from A to Z, without any particular preference or claims that any specific restaurant serves the best keto fast food. So, just pick your favorite and enjoy!
Chipotle Keto Fast Food
If you’re hungry for Mexican food and don’t want or don’t have the option to make it yourself, most likely you’ll choose to go to Chipotle. Chipotle can be a keto-friendly fast food restaurant if you plan your dish right.
In the beginning of 2019, Chipotle launched a Keto salad option. It’s a delicious meaty and cheese salad, with only 7 g of carbs per serving.
Another way to make Chipotle keto-friendly – choosing a modified Burrito Bowl – you can also call it Chipotle Keto Bowl.
Chipotle Keto Bowl – Ingredients
Let’s go through the order step by step and see the possible Chipotle Keto Bowl ingredients.
Step 1 – Picking the Base
As mentioned before, if you don’t feel like eating a salad, the burrito bowl in the only option you have as other choices vary from 19 to 47 net carbs. So, even the base could compromise your ketosis.
If you decide to go for a salad, be careful with the vinaigrette. As innocent as it sounds, it has 19 g net carbs.
Step 2 – Choosing the Protein
You can pick any protein you like, all of them are keto-friendly fast food options. Below you will find a list with macros of each protein per serving portion (4 oz). The list is arranged from the protein with the least carbs to the one with the most:
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| Chicken | 180 kcal | 0g | 7g | 32g |
| Carnitas | 210 kcal | 0g | 12g | 23g |
| Barbacoa | 170 kcal | 1g | 7g | 24g |
| Steak | 150 kcal | 1g | 6g | 21g |
| Veggie | 230 kcal | 8g | 22g | 2g |
| Sofritas | 150 kcal | 9g | 20g | 8g |
Step 3 – Skip Rice and Beans
Skipping the rice and the beans is a must to make the Chipotle burrito bowl keto friendly. The beans themselves have 13 – 15g carbs, based on your choice. The rice has 34 – 39g net carbs. Choosing one or several of these options can compromise your ketosis.
Step 4 – Chipotle Keto Toppings
Chipotle has some great keto friendly toppings. Just like with anything in keto, go for the high fat and low-carb options to top your Chipotle keto bowl. Here is a list of keto friendly Chipotle topping macros per serving, from the ones with least cabs to the ones with most:
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| Cheese | 110 kcal | 1g | 8g | 6g |
| Lettuce | 5 kcal | 1g | 0g | 0g |
| Sour Cream | 110 kcal | 2g | 9g | 2g |
| Salsa (except Roasted-Corn) | 15-30 kcal | 4g | 0g | 0g |
| Queso | 120 kcal | 4g | 8g | 6g |
| Fajita Veggies | 150 kcal | 5g | 0g | 1g |
| Guacamole | 230 kcal | 8g | 22g | 2g |
In general, the only topping you should avoid is the Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa, as it has 16g of carbohydrates per serving. This could easily make you Chipotle Keto bowl not so keto friendly.
Step 5: Skipping Chips and Picking Drinks
A portion of chips has 66g of carbohydrates in it, so better to skip this option as it is definitelly not keto friendly.
Another think to keep your mind on is picking the drink. Don’t go for the sugary drinks, better sip a glass of water or unsweetened drink along with your delicious Chipotle Keto Bowl.
Be sure to check the Chipotle Nutrition Calculator for updated menu’s and ingredients list. This calculator will help you customize your meal at any time.
Five Guys Keto Fast Food
Well, if you’re in the mood for a burger, Five Guys is an absolutely delicious choice. In general, the naked burger is the keto-friendly fast food option. So, let’s see the Five Guys keto options.
Five Guys not keto-friendly options
What’s great about Five Guys menu, is that nearly all of it is keto-friendly. However, there are a few things that you should skip:
- The bun – it has 39 g of carbohydrates, so definitely not keto-friendly
- Fries – based on the portion size, the fries have 72 – 181 g of carbs
- BBQ Sauce – 16 g of carbs per serving, so better skip this sauce
- Milkshakes + Mix-ins – the shake base itself has 84 g of carbs, so, discussing the mix-ins is pointless since the shakes are not keto-friendly.
Five Guys keto-friendly options
As mentioned before, if you eliminate the fries, the milkshakes, the buns and some sauces, nearly everything served in Five Guys is keto-friendly.
So, you can have a naked burger, a no bun hot-dog or a cheeseburger bowl with selected condiments.
Here you can find the full Five Guys nutrition and allergen information that will keep you up-to-date.
In-N-Out Keto Options
Even though In-N-Out doesn’t have a big menu, they sure have a delicious one. What’s nice about In-N-Out keto options, is that you don’t need to make or ask for any customizations – they already have it one the menu and it’s called Protein Style.
It doesn’t matter which In-N-Out keto fast food burger you will choose – all of them have 11 g of carbohydrates per burger. What’s the difference between the regular burger and Protein Style one? The bun, of course.
The Protein Style Keto-friendly burgers are served in a lettuce instead of a regular bun. The burgers served in a regular bun have a total of 39 g of carbohydrates per burger.
Here’s the nutrition info of In-N-Out keto-friendly burger options (macros per burger):
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| Protein Style Hamburger w/Onion | 240 kcal | 11g | 17g | 13g |
| Protein Style Cheeseburger w/Onion | 330 kcal | 11g | 25g | 18g |
| Protein Style Double-Double w/Onion | 520 kcal | 11g | 39g | 33g |
Here you can find full In-N-Out nutrition and allergen information. Stay up-to-date!
KFC Keto Fast Food
KFC can be extremely keto-friendly, if you pick you meals right. In general, if you go there only for tasting purposes, you’ll have a huge selection of chicken, from grilled one to extra crispy. However, you should be very aware on how much you order. The carbs add up quickly.
KFC Keto – The 100% Safe Options
If you want to be 100% sure you will not exceed your carbohydrate intake – choose any option of grilled chicken. It doesn’t matter whether you’ll eat a wing or a drumstick – each option has 0 g carbs in it – definitely KFC keto-friendly choice. Here you can find the macros per Kentucky Grilled Chicken item:
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| Breast | 210 kcal | 0g | 7g | 38g |
| Drumstick | 80 kcal | 0g | 4g | 11g |
| Thigh | 150 kcal | 0g | 9g | 17g |
| Whole Wing | 70 kcal | 0g | 3g | 9g |
100 % KFC Keto Friendly Sides + Sauces:
KFC has several keto-friendly side dishes:
- Green beans – 4 g carbs per serving
- Cesar side-salad – 2 g carbs per serving (without dressing and croutons)
- Home side-salad – 3 g carbs per serving (without dressing and croutons)
KFC Keto Tasting
If you feel like you miss the deep-fried chicken at KFC – I have some good news. Some of the fried KFC chicken is keto-friendly. Having a slice of it may result in just a few extra grams of carbohydrates. However, there are chicken options from which only one peace can compromize your ketosis.
Here is the full nutrition guide to KFC. At the top menu you can arrange the manu based on calories, carbohydrates, etc from high to low or low to high. It’s a very convenient way to find KFC keto fast food options.
Keto McDonald’s Food
As you may know, McDonald’s has two menus: a breakfast menu and a lunch/dinner menu. Good news – both menus have keto-friendly food options.
McDonald’s Keto Breakfast
In general, there is no McDonald’s Keto breakfast option that you can order without any modifications. However, eliminating the starchy muffin/biscuit/bagel or similar will give you a delicious keto at McDonald’s option. Here are some examples:
- Egg McMuffins – eliminate the muffins, and reduce the carbs to only 3 grams of net carbs per serving.
- Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit – remove the biscuit and reduce the carbs to only 5 grams of net carbs per serving.
- Sausage Biscuit with Egg– remove the biscuit and reduce the carbs to only 1 gram of net carbs per serving.
- Big Breakfast – remove the biscuit and the hash browns. This will reduce the carbs to only 6 grams of net carbs per serving.
McDonald’s Keto Lunch / Dinner
Most od McDonald’s menu for lunch and dinner is not keto friendly and requires some customization when you order. The principles are similar to the breakfast menu – you need to make the starchy products, such as buns and fries, go away. Here are some examples of McDonald’s keto fast food you can order without customization:
- Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad – only 8g of carbohydrates per serving
- 4 peace Chicken McNuggets + Side Salad – 11g of carbohydrates from the chicken and 3 grams of carbs from the salad. Choose this option when you feel like you have a lot of carbohydrates reserved for the day.
Here’s some easy to customize MCDonald’s keto food options:
- Bun-less Hamburger – only 3g of carbohydrates
- Bun-less Cheeseburger – only 5g of carbohydrates
- Bun-less BigMac – just 7g of carbohydrates
- Bun-less Quarter Pounder with Cheese Bacon – 10 g of carbohydrates, so keep this baby for special occasions
TIP: skip the ketchup to reduce the carbohydrates even more.
When it comes to picking drinks – the same rules apply at McDonald’s as in any other of your keto fast food restaurant choices – choose sugar-free or go for coffee/water.
Here you can find the full McDonald’s menu nutrition with limited time offers and new menu additions.
Popeye’s Keto Fast Food
In general, making Popeye’s keto friendly is a bit of a challenge, since they’re serving chicken. So, it’s not like eliminating a bun from a burger. In this case you have to select from menu. Here are the keto-friendly chicken options at Popeye’s nutrition value (macros per serving):
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| 1 Whole Wing | 210 kcal | 8g | 14g | 13g |
| 1 Leg | 160 kcal | 5g | 9g | 14g |
| 1 Thigh | 280 kcal | 7g | 21g | 14g |
| 3 pcs. of Handcrafted Tenders-Blackened | 170 kcal | 2g | 2g | 26g |
| 5 pcs. of Handcrafted Tenders-Blackened | 283 kcal | 3g | 3g | 43g |
The only keto-friendly side dish you can order at Popeye’s are the green beans. A regular-size portion of green beans contains 7g of carbohydrates.
In terms of sauces you can select from Tartar, Blackened Ranch, Buttermilk Ranch and Mardi Gras Mustard. Each of these dipping sauces have 1 – 5g of carbohydrates per portion (1 oz).
Here you can find the full Popeye’s menu with up-to-date nutrition values and new menu additions.
Keto Subway
If you want to make Subway keto-friendly, you probably already understand that you won’t be able to eat sandwiches. However, you’re in luck – Subway serves delicious salads, out which nearly 90% are keto-friendly.
Keto Subway Salad Options (macros per serving)
| Calories | Carbs | Fat | Protein | |
| Veggie Delite | 60 kcal | 11g | 1g | 3g |
| Tuna salad | 310 kcal | 11g | 24g | 15g |
| Turkey Breast | 110 kcal | 12g | 2g | 12g |
| Subway Club | 140 kcal | 12g | 3g | 18g |
| Roast Beef | 140 kcal | 12g | 3.5g | 19g |
| Oven Roasted Chicken | 130 kcal | 12g | 2.5g | 17g |
| Spicy Italian | 310 kcal | 13g | 23g | 14g |
If you want to find the full Subway menu and see the full list of Subway keto friendly dishes – click here.
TIP: most of Subway toppings are keto-friendly, so be sure to check the list and make your salad even more delicious!
Keto Taco Bell
Just like with MaDonald’s, to have a keto Taco Bell meal, you’ll have to customize it. If you would look at the full Taco Bell menu, you would notice that there are only a few snacks and drinks that are actually keto-friendly.
To have a keto Taco Bell meal, your best call is customizing the Power Menu Bowl options.
How to make the Power Bowl keto-friendly?
- Step 1: select chicken, steak or vegetarian option
- Step 2: ask for no rice and no beans – better double the protein
- Step 3: ask for extra keto-friendly condiments, such as cheese, guacamole and low-carb sauces
Now you have a keto Taco Bell meal. Combine it with an unsweetened drink and enjoy!
Check out the full Taco Bell menu and see the complete list of available keto Taco Bell dishes with full nutrition info.
Wendy’s Keto Menu Options
The situation at Wendy’s is quite similar to any other burger place. There are keto-friendly options and there are several options that require some customization.
Here are some Wendy’s keto fast-food option that are ready to go:
- Parmesan Caesar Chicken Salad – based on the serving side you choose, this delicious salad has 9 – 14 g of carbohydrates per serving.
- Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad – another keto-friendly salad option form Wendy’s. The small portion has 10 g of carbohydrates, while the large one contains 18 g of carbohydrates.
- 4-6 PC Chicken Nuggets – a delicious chicken snack with 10g of carbs in small portion (4 PC) and 14 g of carbs in large potion (6 PC)
- Chili – a perfect choice on a cold day. However, you should take the small portion as it contains 19 grams of carbohydrates. Only choose the bigger portion if you’re not following the strict keto as it has 29 grams of carbohydrates.
Most of other foods at Wendy’s can be turned into keto friendly ones. Just like with McDonald’s or Five Brother’s burgers – simply lose the starchy buns and other condiments that are high in carbohydrates.
Full Wendy’s Menu nutrition information with new items on the menu you can find here.
Keto Fast Food Overview
As you can see from the long list above – going keto doesn’t mean eliminating fast food from your life.
All you need to do is find keto fast food or customize regular fast food options to keto friendly ones.
So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re on a road trip, or tired after a long day at work, or simply miss fast food. There are keto friendly low fat fast food options.
If you want a beer to accompany your fast food, here are some keto-friendly beer options.
