It’s never a good idea to eat out on the Keto diet if you can help it. This is because you’ll have better control over what you eat and the ingredients you use when you eat at home.
However, it’s possible to eat out on the keto diet, and El Pollo Loco is not a bad option because they specialize in fire-grilled chicken. You’ll just need to know how to order your meals to keep them low-carb, which is a lot easier than other fast food restaurants.
In this article, we’ll outline the top 10 healthy low-carb options at El Pollo Loco for the keto diet so that you can stay in ketosis and continue burning fat!
Double Chicken Avocado Salad
The double chicken avocado salad at El Pollo Loco contains lettuce, chicken breast, organic spinach, pico de gallo salsa, avocados, organic spinach, corn, and cotija cheese.
It contains 310 calories, 9 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbs (6 grams net carbs), 5 grams of fiber, and 47 grams of protein.
You can reduce the net carbs to 5 grams of carbs by holding the corn, which isn’t a keto-friendly food anyway.
What to order: the double chicken avocado salad minus the corn.
Double Protein Avocado New Pollo Fit Bowls
The double protein avocado new pollo fit bowl contains a lettuce blend, creamy cilantro lime cauliflower rice, pico de gallo salsa, queso fresco, organic spinach, avocado slices, and chopped chicken breast.
It has 390 calories, 16 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbs (9 grams net carbs), 6 grams of fiber, and 51 grams of protein.
You can reduce the net carbs to 6 grams by holding the queso fresco.
What to order: the double protein avocado new pollo fit bowl minus the queso fresco.
The World’s First Keto Burrito
The World’s First Keto Burrito contains a 10 inch flour keto tortilla, red cabbage, organic spinach, cotija cheese, creamy cilantro lime dressing, organic spinach, chopped chicken, avocado slices, and pico de gallo salsa.
It contains 450 calories, 28 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbs (11 grams net carbs), 21 grams of fiber, and 35 grams of protein.
You can reduce the net carbs to 5 grams by holding the 10 inch flour keto tortilla, but you may have to request that they put the burrito fillings in a bowl.
What to order: the World’ First Keto Burrito minus the flour keto tortilla, if you can. If not, you can try to eat around this.
Double Chicken Tostada Salad
The double chicken tostada salad contains a fried tostada shell, pinto beans, shredded Monterey jack cheese, pico de gallo salsa, avocado slices, rice, organic spinach, shredded lettuce, chopped chicken breast and sour cream.
If you order it without the rice, pinto beans, and shell, it will contain 380 calories, 17 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs (4 grams net carbs), 4 grams of fiber, and 49 grams of protein. This is better than a chicken taco!
What to order: the double chicken tostada salad minus the rice, pinto beans, and fried tostada shell.
Classic Tostada Salad
The classic tostada salad comes with a fried tostada shell, pinto beans, shredded Monterey jack cheese, pico de gallo salsa, sour cream, rice, shredded lettuce, and chopped chicken breast.
If you get it without the rice, beans, and shell, it will contain 210 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of carbs (4 grams net carbs), 1 gram of fiber, and 26 grams of carbs. This is just like a deconstructed chicken taco.
What to order: the classic tostada salad minus the beans, rice, and fried tostada shell.
Grande Avocado Chicken Bowl
The grande avocado chicken bowl contains rice, shredded Monterey jack cheese, chopped chicken breast, corn, pinto beans, cabbage, pico de gallo salsa, sour cream, and avocado slices.
If you order it without the rice and beans, it will contain 340 calories, 20 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs (6 grams net carbs), 4 grams of fiber, and 31 grams of protein.
You can reduce the net carbs to 4 grams by also holding the corn.
What to order: the grande avocado chicken bowl minus the rice, beans, and corn.
Original Pollo Bowl
The original pollo bowl comes with chopped chicken breast, rice, diced onion, pinto beans, pico de gallo salsa, and creamy cilantro.
If you get it without the rice and beans, it will contain 110 calories, 1.5 grams of carbs, 2 grams of carbs, less than one gram of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.
What to order: the original pollo bowl minus the beans and rice.
Double Chicken Bowl
The double chicken bowl contains rice, cabbage, sour cream, chopped chicken breast, pinto beans, shredded Monterey jack cheese, pico de gallo slices, and avocado slices.
If you hold the rice and beans, it will contain 430 calories, 22 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs (4 grams net carbs), and 52 grams of protein.
What to order: the double chicken bowl minus the rice and beans
Fire-Grilled Chicken Breast, Wing, Thigh, or Leg
Craving a chicken taco? You can order a single fire-grilled chicken thigh, wing, breast, or leg independent of a meal without any sides or sauces.
Here is the nutritional breakdown for each:
- Fire-grilled chicken breast: 220 calories, 9 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 36 grams of protein
- Fire-grilled chicken wing: 90 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein
- Fire-grilled chicken thigh: 210 calories, 15 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 21 grams of protein
- Fire-grilled chicken leg: 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein
What to order: a single chicken breast, thigh, leg, or wing. You can also order these as part of a two, three, or four piece meal, but you will need to hold all sides and drinks that come with it.
The World’s First Keto Taco
Craving a chicken taco? The World’s First Keto Taco contains a 5.5” high fiber/carb lean flour tortilla, chopped chicken, pico de gallo salsa, avocado, shredded lettuce, creamy cilantro dressing, and jack cheese and no tortilla chips.
It contains 250 calories, 17 grams of fat, 13 grams carbs (5 grams net carbs), 9 grams of fiber, and 18 grams of protein.
What to order: the World’s First Keto Taco.
Conclusion
You can keep it low-carb at El Pollo Loco by ordering the World’s First Keto Taco, which contains 5 grams of net carbs if you order it as is. Just remember to say no to the tortilla chips!
You can also reduce your net carbs even further by ordering one of the bowls within the beans, rice, or tostada shells.
However, if you truly do not want to consume any carbs while eating at El Pollo Loco, then you can order a single chicken breast, wing, thigh, or leg independent of a meal without any sides.
For more restaurants to eat out on keto, check our restaurant list.
*image by wolterke/depositphotos
