In this menu guide, I’ll highlight all the keto menu items, sides, and other keto options available at McDonald’s.
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When it comes to McDonald’s, you’re not picky. You’ve eaten a few dozen (OK, a few hundred) McNuggets in your day, not to mention chicken sandwiches and cheeseburgers—and let’s not even get started on their amazing breakfast menu options. But now that you’re on a ketogenic diet, your usual orders are away from fast food places.
How can a fast food fanatic deal with the madness? Good news, dear readers: It’s easier than you think to eat keto at the Golden Arches. As long as you mind your carb count and sugar content while bulking up on protein and fat, the following menu items are on your diet. (Pro tip: Use the Mcdonald’s online nutrition calculator to figure out the nutritional information of your meal before you hit the fast food restaurant or drive-thru.
Main Courses
1. Mcdouble
Modified nutrition information: 240 calories, 18g fat, 3g carbs, 17 grams of protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber.
How to make it keto: Ask for a bunless burger and no ketchup.
This mickey d menu classic starts with a beef patty and American cheese, which are topped with pickle slices, ketchup, onions and mustard. The bun is the source of most of the burger’s carbs (28 grams, to be exact), but the ketchup also clocks in at 2 grams of carbs and 2 grams of sugar per serving. Without them, this is a good choice for a McDonald’s keto meal. Your best bet to make it feel like a regular burger is to ask for extra lettuce to make a low-carb lettuce wrap or use your own low-carb bun. Also note that there is not one best choice burger at McDonald’s for keto dieters. All of the burgers on the McDonalds menu are great low-carb options if you order them without a bun or ketchup.
Pro tip- If you order the famous big mac, you may also want to skip the Big Mac sauce sauce. The Big Mac sauce is not low carb since it contains 2 grams of carbs per serving.
Other McDonalds keto burger options: Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe (skip the tomatoes to save 1 gram of carbs), Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Bacon, Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, Hamburger.
2. Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Modified nutrition information: N/A
How to make it keto: Ask for it without the bun.
Mcdonalds Chicken Nuggets are far from keto-friendly, since they’re coated in crispy, drool-worthy breading that’s high in carbs. The same goes for all the crispy chicken sandwiches and the Filet-O-Fish. The Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich was, unfortunately, the only chicken item on the McDonalds menu that could be keto transformed (aka ordered without a bun and tomatoes), but it was chopped from the menu during the pandemic. Here’s hoping it makes a triumphant return to the fast-food chain sometime soon.
3. Low-Carb Sides
Normally, the side salad would be at the top of my list, but McDonald’s quietly stripped salads and salad dressing from their menu in the U.S. in 2020, along with the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait. But I know the French fries are likely top of mind. Unfortunately, they aren’t keto-friendly.
Here is the one keto McDonald’s side to eat:
- Apple slices (15 calories, 0g fat, 4g carbs, 0g protein, 3g sugar, 0g fiber)
Here is the one keto McDonald’s side to avoid:
- World famous fries (from 29g carbs and 0g sugar)
4. Low-Carb Sauces
Odds are you only ask for McDonald’s sauces to dip your McNuggets in, but they can actually add lots of extra flavor to your burgers, and even your breakfast order.
Here are the best options of keto McDonald’s sauces to order:
- Spicy Buffalo Sauce (30 calories, 3g fat, 1g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Creamy Ranch Sauce (110 calories, 12g fat, 1g carbs, 0g protein, 1g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Mayonnaise (100 calories, 11g fat, 1g carbs, <1g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Mild and Hot Picante Sauces (0 calories, 0g fat, 1g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Mustard (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
5. Low-Carb Drinks
Unsurprisingly McDonald’s milkshakes (and all of their desserts, ice cream included) aren’t keto-friendly due to their high sugar content. You’ll also have to avoid their lattes, macchiatos and iced coffee, since they come with carb-filled dairy and sugar already mixed in. Also, don’t be fooled by the sugar-free flavorings: They may be free of sugar, but they aren’t free of carbs, so you’ll need to use your own low-carb sweeteners instead. Nevertheless, there are a handful of beverages and soft drinks to drink.
Here are six keto McDonald’s drinks to order:
- Unsweetened iced tea (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 1g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Hot tea (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Diet Soda (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Black coffee (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Americano (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber)
- Water
Breakfast Items
6. Egg McMuffin
Modified nutrition information: 170 calories, 12g fat, 3g carbs, 12g protein, 1g sugar, 0g fiber.
How to make it keto: Ask for no English muffin.
The standard Egg McMuffin is low in calories and high in protein, making it a great way to start the day—if you’re not on a keto or low-carb diet, that is. The sandwich contains 30 g carbs if ordered as is, but you can eliminate nearly almost all the carbs the bread. (This also costs you 2 grams of fiber, but the Canadian bacon, egg and slice of cheese should hold you over in their place anyway.) There are a few McMuffin choices to choose from, and luckily, they are all a great choice for a keto breakfast if you skip the English muffin.
Other keto McDonalds mcmuffin breakfast sandwiches options: Sausage McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin with Egg.
7. Bacon, Egg And Cheese Mcgriddles
Modified nutrition information: 200 calories, 15 g fat, 4g carbs, 12g protein, 1 g sugar, 0g fiber.
How to make it keto: Ask for no McGriddles griddle cakes.
These breakfast sandwiches, held together by pancake-like cakes, contain a whopping 36 grams of net carbs and 14 grams of sugar. Without the griddle cakes in the picture, the fillings offer high grams of fat and protein with minimal grams of carbs. The same goes for the other McDonalds menu McGriddles options.
Other keto McDonalds McGriddles options: Sausage Patty McGriddles, Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles.
8. Sausage Burrito
Modified nutrition information: 160 calories, 13g fat, 3g carbs, 9 g protein, 1g sugar, 1g fiber.
How to make it keto: Ask for no flour tortilla.
This on-the-go handheld showcases scrambled egg, pork sausage, American cheese and a vegetable mix including tomatoes, onions and green chiles. Unfortunately for keto dieters , it’s wrapped in a high carb tortilla. If you skip the tortilla, it eliminates nearly all the g net carbs in the meal leaving you with protein, fat and even a little fiber to get you through the morning. If you eat the the scramble solo or bring your own low-carb tortilla or wrap to fill, this is one of the best keto McDonalds options on their breakfast menu.
9. The Big Breakfast
Modified nutrition information: 350 calories, 28g fat, 3g carbs, 20g protein, 0g sugar, 0g fiber.
How to make it keto: Ask for no hash browns, biscuit, and hotcakes.
To make this a keto meal within reach, you’ll have to skip the biscuit, the hash browns, and the hotcakes. With those three items off your plate, you’ll be left with scrambled eggs and a sausage patty. Feel free to ask for a side of bacon or a slice of cheese on your eggs if you’d like to fancy things up a bit.
Pro tip- Its so important to skip the hash browns! You may be thinking those little spud patties are basically just vegetables, but each one contains 18 gram of carbs.
McDonald’s Gluten Free Menu Guide
In this menu guide, I’ll highlight all the gluten free menu items, sides, desserts, drinks and other gf options available at Mcdonalds. I will also address any common questions asked when ordering gluten free McDonald’s food.
Other Keto Menu Guides!
- What’s Keto at Chipotle?
- What’s Keto at Wendy’s?
- What’s Keto at Dunkin Donuts?
- What’s Keto at Subway?
- What’s Keto at Buffalo Wild Wings?
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