McDonald’s isn’t a restaurant that you want to eat daily. However, they have some low-carb options if you need something to hold you over until your next meal.
The fast-food restaurant serves breakfast all day which makes it a bit easier for keto eating out. This means you always have eggs, meat, and cheese as an option on their menu. You can also choose from a bunless burger or chicken sandwich. Don’t forget the unsweetened iced tea!
Here is how to eat keto with keto-friendly options you can order at McDonald’s in order from lowest to highest carbs, based on the nutrition calculator.
- Plain Sausage Patty
- Bunless Cheeseburger
- Sausage Biscuit with Egg (minus the biscuit)
- Bunless Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Bunless & Sauceless Big Mac
- Egg McMuffin (minus the English muffin)
- Sausage McMuffin with Egg (minus the English muffin)
- Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit (minus the biscuit)
- Bunless Bacon Cheeseburger
- Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad
Plain Sausage Patty
A single sausage patty from McDonald’s with nothing else (except butter) contains 200 calories, 19 grams of fat, 1 gram of net carbs, and 7 grams of protein.
This would be a great snack option on the keto diet. From here, you can add a slice of cheese or a side of bacon if you want a little something extra.
How to order: ask for a sausage biscuit without the biscuit. Your order should come with a wrapped sausage patty and nothing else.
Bunless Cheeseburger
A bunless cheeseburger from McDonald’s has 140 calories, 10 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 10 grams of protein (double that for a bunless double cheeseburger).
You will also need to omit the mustard, ketchup, pickles, and onions from your burger and obviously no French fries. Adding the mustard, onions, and pickles will add 1 gram of carbs.
If you need something a little more filling, then order one more patty. This will tack on 90 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 0 grams of carbs to your order.
How to order: order a “regular” or standard cheeseburger and ask to hold the bun, ketchup, onions, pickles, and mustard.
Sausage Biscuit with Egg (minus the biscuit)
A keto breakfast isn’t that hard to find. A sausage biscuit with egg minus the biscuit contains 270 calories, 23 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein.
If you’re feeling extra hungry, then order another sausage patty. It will add 190 calories, 18 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs, and 7 grams of protein to your order.
How to order: ask for a sausage biscuit with egg without the biscuit. Order some creamy ranch dipping sauce to dip it in!
Bunless Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich
A bunless Artisan grilled chicken sandwich contains 230 calories, 13 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 26 grams of protein.
The sandwich comes with a grilled chicken fillet, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, and salt/pepper. Be sure not to order the crispy version of this sandwich, which is breaded and has more carbs.
How to order: ask for the Artisan grilled chicken sandwich without the bun. If you hold the tomatoes, it will drop the carbs down to 1 gram.
Bunless & Sauceless Big Mac
A big mac without the bun, sauce, pickles, or onions contains 230 calories, 16 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs, and 18 grams of protein.
However, we noticed that this information might not account for two beef patties. If you were to add on another beef patty, it would contribute 170 calories, 12 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs, and 15 grams of protein.
How to order: ask for a Big Mac and hold the sauce, bun, pickles, onions, and tomatoes.
Egg McMuffin (minus the English muffin)
An egg McMuffin without the English muffin contains 160 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein. It contains eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. You can also just order scrambled eggs!
How to order: ask for an egg McMuffin without the English muffin.
Sausage McMuffin with Egg (minus the English muffin)
A sausage McMuffin with egg minus the English muffin contains 340 calories, 29 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs, and 16 grams of protein. The breakfast sandwich contains a sausage patty, egg, and cheese.
How to order: Order a sausage McMuffin with egg and ask to hold the English muffin.
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit (minus the biscuit)
A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit minus the biscuit contains 190 calories, 13 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbs, and 14 grams of protein.
According to the nutrition information, most breakfast sandwiches come in two sizes: regular and large. The nutrition information provided above is for the regular size.
You can get large size bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for 450 calories. However, the McDonald’s website does not appear to list the information for the sandwich without the bun, so we don’t know how many carbs it has.
How to order: ask for a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with no biscuit. If they forget and include the biscuit in your order, then toss it as soon as you get it.
Bunless Bacon Cheeseburger
At the time of this writing, the nutritional information for a bacon cheeseburger was unavailable.
However, you can get a bacon BBQ burger or a Quarter Pounder with cheese beef patty, American cheese, and bacon for 410 calories, 29 grams of fat, 5 grams of carbs, and 32 grams of protein.
Just be sure to hold the bun, BBQ sauce, and fried onion rings.
How to order: ask for a bacon cheeseburger without the bun. Also, ask to hold the ketchup or any sauce that comes on the burger. Order a side salad with a creamy sauce to boost!
Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad
A bacon ranch grilled chicken salad from McDonald’s contains 300 ingredients, 13 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs, and 39 grams of protein.
It includes a salad blend, a grilled chicken fillet, applewood smoked bacon, Roma tomatoes, and shredded cheese. The nutrition information does not appear to include the ranch dressing that comes with the salad, so this will contribute more calories and carbs.
How to order: you can order this salad as is. If you need to drop the carbs down, then ask for no tomatoes. This will drop the carb count down to 7 grams.
Conclusion
You don’t want to eat at McDonald’s every day. However, keto at McDonald’s can work if you’re in a pinch. A single sausage patty contains 1 gram of carbs. Add bacon and cheese for a complete breakfast.
You can also get a keto friendly bunless cheeseburger for 2 grams of carbs. Be sure to omit any sauce and go with water, unsweetened tea, or unsweetened iced coffee as a beverage.
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