Eating out when you’re on the keto diet is always risky. You can prepare a much healthier meal at home using better ingredients that fit your strict macro requirements.
However, everyone deserves a break from cooking sometimes – and the truth is, you can do much worse than eating at a portuguese food restaurant such as Nandos!
Here are the top 10 low carb foods and keto-friendly options you can order at Nando’s in order from lowest to highest carbs, based on the website’s nutritional guide.
Disclaimer: Nando’s is an international portuguese food restaurant chain so their menus might be different depending on where you live. Make sure to check their menus carefully before ordering.
#1. Plain ½ chicken – Peri Peri
Nando’s is best known for their Peri Peri chicken, which is locally sourced, never frozen, and marinated in spices for 24 hours. There are several ways you can order Peri Peri chicken, and they all vary in terms of carbs, depending on the preparation. The key is to avoid unhealthy ingredients and stick to low carb foods.
If you order a plain ½ grilled chicken with no peri sauce, it will contain 423 calories, 26 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 44 grams of protein per serving.
You can also order other cuts of chicken as long as you get them “plain,” such as two ¼ legs, ¼ chicken breast and wing, 3 chicken thighs, ¼ chicken – leg and thigh, and boneless chicken breast. All of these options contain no carbs.
What to order: ask for a plain ½ chicken – you can also ask for chicken legs, breast, or thighs as long as they are “plain.”
#2. Chicken livers
The chicken livers at Nando’s contain 413 calories, 22 grams of fat, 1 gram of carb, and 48 grams of protein.
There are several ways you can order these. Make sure you order them plain to keep your carb count at one gram.
Here are some other low-carb preparations you can get:
- PERInaise hot: 1 gram carbs
- Coconut and lemon: 1 gram carbs
- Lemon and herb/mango and lime: 2 grams carbs
- PERInaise medium: 3 grams carbs
What to order: ask for plain chicken livers.
#3. Chicken wings
You can order the wings at Nando’s because they don’t appear to be breaded. If you order six plain Peri Peri chicken wings at Nando’s, it will contain 403 calories, 18 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs, and 56 grams of protein per serving.
Be sure to choose a low-carb dipping sauce, such as ranch (if available) or garlic puree. Or avoid the sauce altogether as these are flavorful enough!
What to order: ask an order of six plain Peri Peri wings with ranch or no dipping sauce at all.
#4. Brussels sprouts
There are several side options that you can order with your chicken, but many of them are not keto-friendly. Luckily, the Brussels sprouts are low-carb, and they are a great way to get more cruciferous vegetables into your diet.
An order of the Brussels sprouts at Nando’s contains 309 calories, 3 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein.
What to order: ask for the Brussels sprouts as a side dish to accompany your chicken.
#5. Side Caesar salad
You can order a side Caesar salad at Nando’s to go with your chicken. It contains 274 calories, 23 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs, and 7 grams of protein per serving. Most Caesar salads come with croutons and lemon puree, so you can reduce some of the carbs by holding these.
They also have a mixed green side salad that you can get. It contains 123 calories, 0 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein. You’ll want to hold the croutons on this salad, too (if there are any).
What to order: a side Caesar salad or mixed green salad minus the croutons.
#6. Seasonal roasted vegetables
Nando’s has seasonal roasted vegetables on their menu, which is a much healthier side dish than fries. According to the nutrition information, it contains 160 calories, 91 grams of fat (however, this doesn’t seem right), 13 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of protein.
Vegetables also contain fiber, and since this information isn’t listed on the nutrition information, it’s safe to assume that the net carb count will be a few grams lower when you order this dish.
Keep in mind that some of the vegetables might not be suitable for strict keto dieters, such as squash, beans, corn, etc. You might want to check to see what’s in it before you order.
What to order: ask for a side of the seasonal roasted vegetables to go with your chicken, and ask them to go easy on the sunflower oil.
#7. Spicy mixed olives
The spicy mixed olives at Nando’s are listed on their side dish menu. One order contains 186 calories, 18 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbs, and 0 grams of protein.
Olives are an excellent source of healthy monounsaturated fats. Whole olives contain fiber, too. So, your net carbs will likely be lower than what’s listed on the nutrition information.
What to order: spicy mixed olives.
#8. Chicken Caesar salad
Nando’s has a full-size chicken Caesar salad that you can order. It contains 803 calories, 54 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs, and 50 grams of protein.
You can reduce the net carbs by holding the croutons.
What to order: a chicken Caesar salad without croutons.
#9. Chicken breast sandwich or wrap
Nando’s has several chicken sandwich and wrap options. You can order one of these without the bread or eat the insides only. You’ll also want to hold the sauce or ask for a low-carb option, like ranch.
Choose from the following:
- Chicken breast sandwich
- Chicken burger
- Chicken breast wrap
- Chicken Caesar wrap
- Chicken breast pita
- Thigh and Mighty sandwich
Stay away from the veggie burger as this will contain too many carbs, even if you hold the bun or bread.
What to order: a chicken sandwich, pita, burger, or wrap without the bun and any sauce that comes on it.
#10. Peri Peri nuts
Nando’s has Peri Peri nuts that you can order as a snack or a side. However, the only way to make these low-carb is to ask for them plain, which might not be an option if they are pre-seasoned.
If there is no way to order these plain, then you’ll have to pass and stick with one of the other options on this list.
What to order: plain Peri Peri nuts (if possible!)
Conclusion
We generally don’t recommend eating out on the keto diet because you can make a healthier meal at home while sticking to your macros. However, Nando’s is a good option if you must eat out on keto diet because they have many chicken dishes, such as livers, wings, thighs, breasts, and legs.
You’ll have to order these plain (no sauce) to keep the carbs down. Acceptable side dishes include a side salad with no croutons and low-carb dressing (ranch) or Brussels sprouts.
Unlike many fast food places, Nando’s is quite a healthier choice with many items you can easily customize to keep it low carb. When it comes to beverages, stick with water.
