- Thankfully, if you need to eat out while on keto, McDonald’s has quite a variety of options for you to choose from.
- Our top tips for any keto order at McDonalds include: no buns or breading, specifying no ketchup on lunch and dinner sandwiches, avoiding the salad dressings, and skipping fries, frozen treats, and shakes.
- For breakfast, the eggs and sausage food options are typically best, and our favorite is a Triple Breakfast Stack McGriddle with no griddle cakes.
- For lunch and dinner, you have even more options, from burgers to salads to sandwiches. We typically recommend the burgers due to their higher fat content, which is great for a ketogenic diet.
- If you want to pack in more flavor, try some Spicy Buffalo or Creamy Ranch sauce. It’s even a keto friendly alternative to the salad dressings.
- For drinks, try unsweetened iced tea, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, or unsweetened iced coffee.
- McDonald’s makes keto fast food quick and easy when you’re on the run with its huge selection of options!
Keto Drink Options
Regular soft drinks are off-limits on keto, as are the milkshakes and ice cream treats. However, check out these keto drink options at McDonald’s:
- Unsweetened iced tea: 0g net carbs. We love stevia as far as keto sweeteners go, and you can even bring some from home.
- Diet Coke: 0g net carbs.
- Coke Zero: 0g net carbs.
- Any other diet drink option, which can vary by location.
Water is always a great option, but you do have some carbonated choices if you want to splurge. Most diet sodas are low carb, and you can always sweeten your own tea like we do.
Low Carb Sauces
Many of the menu options for sauces and condiments are surprisingly keto-approved. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Spicy Buffalo Sauce: 1g net carbs, 3g of fat, 0g of protein.
- Creamy Ranch Sauce: 1.5g net carbs, 12g of fat, 0g of protein.
- Signature Sauce: 3g net carbs, 9g of fat, 0g of protein.
- Our pro tip: mixing the Spicy Buffalo and Creamy Ranch is beyond delicious and adds some fat to your meal. It also can work as a great salad dressing.
What to avoid:
- The Honey Mustard Sauce has 6g of carbs in one packet, more than any breakfast sandwich we recommend.
- The Sweet ‘n Sour Sauce and the Tangy Barbeque Sauce both have a whopping 11g of carbs in just one packet, which is over twice as much as any menu item we recommend.
Chicken Options
We love McDonald’s chicken sandwiches, but it’s important to note that they don’t have the same high fat content as the beef patties. Be sure to balance with some fat (see our approved sauces) if you opt for one of these keto options:
- Pico Guacamole with Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich (no bun): 6g net carbs, 19g of fat, and 29g of protein.
- Mushroom & Swiss Grilled Chicken (no sauce, bun, or onion strings): 2g net carbs, 9g of fat, and 33g of protein.
Adding things like the guacamole can really help your macros and even the transition to a keto diet easier. Reminder: opt for the grilled chicken, not breaded, to keep your carb count low.
Salad
You might really love salad, or be looking for a side to go with your meal instead of French fries. Here are your best options for keto greens:
- Side salad: 2g net carbs, 0g of fat, and 1g of protein. You can add some fat with one of the sauces from the list below if you need more flavor.
- Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad (no ranch dressing, but you can add creamy ranch dipping sauce for an additional 1.5g carbs): 5g net carbs, 13g of fat, 42g of protein.
