The Best Tasting Low-Carb Dishes At All The Big Fast Food Chains
If you’ve made a habit of eating fast food you’re probably aware that it’s incredibly easy to go overboard. It’s not so much that all the food is fried, these days there are plenty of healthier non-fried options out there in the fast food landscape, but it’s the carbs that are hard to avoid. Carbs in fast food are everywhere! And if you don’t live a particularly active lifestyle those carbs can add up fast.
So we’re here to help by pointing you in the direction of our favorite low-carb dish at all the big fast food chains. This is going to be a slightly shorter list than we usually put together because while a lot of fast food menus have keto sections or dishes low on carbs, some… just don’t. Sure, you could hack any meal to fit your needs, but we want to avoid options that require throwing away ingredients or transforming the food to a point where it’s not enjoyable to eat anymore.
For example, Arby’s. Arby’s doesn’t have any truly low-carb options on its menu worth eating, and if you want to eat Arby’s without the carbs you’re going to have to order the sandwiches without buns. Does a bun-less roast beef sandwich sound good to you? We hope not. So we’ve simply eliminated the fast food brands that don’t fit the bill, building out a list of dishes that mostly sit comfortably under 20 grams of carbohydrates.
Here are all the best low-carb dishes across the fast food landscape.
Chick-fil-A — 12 Count Grilled Chicken Nuggets
Carbs: 2g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Let me start by saying Chick-fil-A has several really great salad options that tick the low-carb box (assuming you don’t use too much dressing or get fried chicken), but for the best flavor option, you’ve got to go with the grilled nuggets.
For being grilled, these nuggies are surprisingly juicy and tender with a lemon-meets-char flavor with a hint of floral black pepper. The 12 count feels pretty substantial as a meal, no sides necessary.
The Bottom Line:
Grilled nuggets don’t have the allure of their fried counterparts, but sometimes these hit better than the OG. Pair it with the right sauce (if you can spare the carbs) and you’ve got a flavorful, protein-rich low-carb meal on your hands.
Chipotle — The UPROXX Keto Bowl
Carbs: 16g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
A while back and after extensive testing we put together the three best-tasting bowls from Chipotle, and while we weren’t always going for “healthy,” per se, our custom Keto Bowl offers great flavors and a minimal amount of carbs.
Here is the build: Double chicken, fajitas, guacamole (where most of the carbs come from), tomatillo-red chili salsa, and cheese.
Flavor-wise, what you get here is a savory adobo zest with a bit of vegetal smokiness with nutty, sweet, and salty characteristics. Aside from the carbs, you’re looking at 73 grams of protein — so while this bowl isn’t much to look at, it’ll fill you up while also tasting amazing.
The Bottom Line:
Our custom Keto Bowl build packs big sumptuous flavors and clocks in under 20g of carbohydrates.
Del Taco — Chicken Taco Del Carbon Guac’d Up
Carbs: 14g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Straight up, Del Taco doesn’t have great low-carb options. This small, palm-sized taco, features marinated chicken, onion, cilantro, a mild green sauce, and guacamole, served in a corn tortilla. One taco isn’t enough to leave you satisfied, especially when compared to our Chipotle Keto Bowl Build, which only has two additional grams of carbohydrates but is significantly more food overall.
Still.. it does meet our “under 20g” threshold, so we’re including it.
The taco packs a good amount of flavor, the chicken is tender, cilantro and onion always work, and the mild green sauce provides a lot of tangy flavor with a mild finish.
The Bottom Line:
You can probably find a better option at another restaurant that’ll make for a more substantial and satisfying meal, but if you must, this is the best low-carb non-fried option at Del Taco. If you don’t mind fried food, the crunchy snack taco has about half the carbs, so you could always order that.
El Pollo Loco — Double Chicken Avocado Salad
Carbs: 14g (with dressing)
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
As you can tell from this list, I don’t love salads. If there is a great dish that isn’t a salad, I’m going to order that instead. Having said that El Pollo Loco’s Double Chicken Avocado Salad is pretty damn delicious.
On a bed of romaine, you get a double serving of freshly flame-grilled chicken, buttery slices of ripe avocado, pumpkin seeds, and a mild Pico de Gallo. The chicken has this nice zesty-citrus flavor while the avocado adds some savoriness to the dish. The Pico de Gallo adds a nice aromatic touch, but the real flavor comes from the cilantro dressing, which adds a fresh and peppery aftertaste to everything.
The Bottom Line:
Legitimately one of the best salads in all of fast food.
Flame Broiler — Mini Bowl (Veggie Base/Chicken)
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Carbs: 13g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Flame Broiler’s mini bowls are perfect for dodging carbs, all you have to do is give up the rice base for a base of veggies. The veggie base consists of carrots, cabbage, and broccoli. For the least amount of calories, opt for the chicken over the beef. I like the option that is cooked with Magic Sauce and Korean Spicy Sauce, which adds a sweet, slightly tangy heat to the dish that quickly becomes addictive.
I know it sounds crazy to give up the rice in a rice bowl, but the veggie and meat mix manages to accentuate the flavors of the sauces much better, as rice sort of serves as a sponge/palate cleanser. This puts the focus on Flame Broiler’s chicken (which is freshly grilled to order) and its steamed veggies.
The Bottom Line:
Ditching the rice will take some getting used to initially, but by the end of the bowl you’ll realize how inessential an ingredient it is in this dish.
In-N-Out — Tomato Wrap
Carbs: 11g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Thought we were going to suggest the protein-style burger? Nah, the Tomato Wrap is really where it’s at. Instead of watery lettuce that dilutes the flavor of In-N-Out’s deliciously salty beef patties, the Tomato Wrap adds an umami richness to the burger and is so juicy that you don’t need any burger sauce here, allowing you to cut even more calories out of the dish.
All you need are tomatoes, grilled onions, cheese, and beef for a savory umami-packed mouthwatering burger. It’s easily my favorite dish on this whole list.
The Bottom Line:
If this was ranked, it would be number 1. Once you have the Tomato Wrap you’ll never go back to the inferior and messy Protein Style burger.
McDonald’s — Bunless Double Sausage McMuffin Hack
Carbs: 4g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
I know I said we were going to avoid dishes that require throwing away ingredients, but we’re giving McDonald’s a pass because you can ask for this thing bunless, and they’ll wrap it up for you in paper no problem.
This is a pretty popular McDonald’s hack (it was even included in Netflix’s The Killer) and consists of two sausage patties (you’ll have to ask for the additional one), two slices of cheese, and a thick fried egg in between. It’s black pepper forward, meaty, slightly sweet, and salty.
The Bottom Line:
Yes, you’ll have to give up the best part of the whole sandwich but the Bunless Double Sausage McMuffin hits the spot if you’re looking for a meaty, salty, indulgent breakfast that is still low on carbs.
Panera — Green Goddess Chicken Cobb Salad (Half Size)
Carbs: 12g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
The most difficult thing about this dish is that if you want to keep it under 20g of carbs, you’re going to have to give up that side of bread for apples. If you can get past that, this is a great-tasting salad.
It features a mix of chicken, purple cabbage, kale, romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, bacon, pickled red onions, and green goddess dressing. The combination is vegetal and a bit bitter, with a nice tang from the pickled red onions and a buttery sumptuousness courtesy of the fresh avocado. The signature Green Goddess Dressing is creamy without being too heavy, with a basil top note.
The Bottom Line:
Altogether it’s good. Not quite as satisfying as a tomato-wrapped burger, but way healthier!
Popeyes — Blackened Chicken Tenders (5 Piece)
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Carbs: 3g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
A word of caution before you run out to Popeyes to pick these Blackened chicken tenders up — right now they’re off menu. That means some Popeyes restaurants will be able to oblige your request (the Blackened Chicken Sandwich is a permanent menu option, so they have the ingredients on hand) but others will tell you this dish is “discontinued.” It’s not, Popeyes just doesn’t feel like promoting it right now. But be patient, because they always bring it back.
These tenders are great, they have a peppery-smokey flavor with a heavy dose of cajun seasoning which adds a mild spice to the dish. The chicken is still fried, but it isn’t breaded in flour, it’s instead breaded in seasoning, which results in a chicken tender that is more flavorful than its fried counterpart. I love these things and if I’m not trying to watch carbs, I often opt for the Blackened Chicken Sandwich over the original. The seasoning is that good.
The Bottom Line:
Your local Popeyes might have it, or might not — it’s a toss-up.
Taco Bell — Crunchy Taco
Carbs: 13g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Okay, straight up, this isn’t your best option. It’s fried and can’t exactly be called healthy, but hey, it’s well under 20 grams of carbohydrates, which means it qualifies for this list. Inside a fried corn tortilla you get a hefty portion of zesty meat, flavorless lettuce, and a sprinkling of cheese.
I love Taco Bell tacos so I have nothing really negative to say here. It’s small but oh so tasty.
The Bottom Line:
It’s not healthy by any means, but hey it’s low in carbs relative to the rest of the Taco Bell menu, so that’s something!