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Keto McDonald's Guide | 25+ Low Carb Options

· Modified: · This post may contain affiliate links ·

“This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.”

Be sure to take a peek at this Keto McDonald's Menu Guide before you pull up in the drive thru!

With an abundance of locations and inexpensive prices, McDonald's is a fast food restaurant chain that is accessible to almost everyone.

I've had great experiences eating Keto at McDonald's. Here's how to make it work with your Keto lifestyle.

Table Of Contents
  1. Bunless burgers
  2. Overview of Keto McDonald's Menu
  3. Burgers
  4. Chicken
  5. Breakfast Options
  6. Sides & Salads
  7. Condiments
  8. Dipping Sauces
  9. Drinks
  10. Keto McDonald's Meal Ideas
  11. More Keto Restaurant Options

Bunless burgers

When you ask for a sandwich without a bun, it typically comes prepared for you in a plastic container.

They even include large pieces of leaf lettuce, which I happen to love.

It's a great replacement for the bun and saves us over 30 grams of carbs and 180 calories!

Overview of Keto McDonald's Menu

Much like the tactics I use for eating Keto at Wendy's, you'll want to stick to these basics:

  • Avoid the heavy carbs: french fries, buns, wraps, bagels, biscuits, etc.
  • Make wise condiment choices with minimal carbs
  • Be wary of the sugar-free iced coffee and dressings.
  • Sadly, McDonald's no longer offers the Pico Guacamole Chicken Sandwich. With grilled chicken, guacamole, cheese, bacon and pico de gallo -- it made a perfect Keto lunch!

Use the McDonald's app

The McDonald's app let's you plan and place your order directly from your smartphone.

I love this option because it also gives me the functionality to remove the bun, add condiments, etc.

Low Carb At Mcdonald's Tips: Use The App

When you're ready to pick up your food, just place the order and either:

  • pick up your meal in the drive-thru
  • head inside to get your food
  • pull into one of the designated parking spaces for mobile orders (they'll bring it right out to your car!)

This is especially helpful for people who are still a little shy about ordering with no bun.

Save some money!

Finally, the app usually has some sort of deal that you can take advantage of.

For example, the McDonald's app often has specials like BOGO sandwiches and even free promotions when your local sports teams win.

Burgers

Almost all of the burger offerings can easily fit into a ketogenic diet when you remove the bun.

  • Hamburger, plain with no bun (100 calories, 7g fat, 3g carbs, 7g protein)
  • Cheeseburger, plain with no bun (150 calories, 11g fat, 4g carbs, 10g protein)
  • Double Cheeseburger, plain with no bun (300 calories, 22g fat, 6g carbs, 20g protein)
  • McDouble, plain with no bun (250 calories, 18g fat, 5g carbs, 17g protein)
  • Bacon McDouble, plain with no bun (290 calories, 21g fat, 3g carbs, 23g protein)
Keto At Mcdonald's: Bacon Mcdouble With No Bun
  • Triple Cheeseburger, plain with no bun (360 calories, 26g fat, 5g carbs, 1g fiber, 27g protein) 4g net
  • Quarter Pounder, plain with no bun (240 calories, 16g fat, 6g carbs, 19g protein)
  • Quarter Pounder with Cheese, plain with no bun (340 calories, 24g fat, 8g carbs, 1g fiber, 25g protein) 7g net
  • Double Quarter Pounder, plain + no bun (460 calories, 32g fat, 6g carbs, 37g protein)
  • Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, plain + no bun (560 calories, 40g fat, 9g carbs, 1g fiber, 42g protein) 8g net

Big Macs

Instead of large leaf lettuce, Bunless Big Macs typically come with shredded lettuce. I think this is great because it totally adds that Big Mac realness!

  • Big Mac, no bun (380 calories, 31g fat, 7g carbs, 1g fiber, 18g protein) 6g carbs
  • Big Mac, plain + no bun (220 calories, 16g fat, 2g carbs, 17g protein)
  • Bacon Big Mac, no bun (400 calories, 30g fat, 8g carbs, 1g fiber, 23g protein) 7g net
  • Bacon Big Mac, plain + no bun (290 calories, 21g fat, 3g carbs, 22g protein)
Bunless Big Mac
Bunless Big Mac

Chicken

  • Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich, plain + no bun (130 calories, 2g fat, 0g carbs, 28g protein)
  • Filet-O-Fish, plain + no bun (120 calories, 5g fat, 9g carbs, 10g protein)
  • McCrispy Chicken Sandwich, plain + no bun (290 calories, 17g fat, 15g carbs, 20g protein)
  • McChicken, plain + no bun (150 calories, 8g fat, 10g carbs, 9g protein)
  • Deluxe McCrispy Chicken Sandwich, no bun (350 calories, 23g fat, 16g carbs,20g protein)
  • Chicken McNuggets, 4 piece (170 calories, 10g fat, 10g carbs, 9g protein)
  • Chicken McNuggets, 6 piece (250 calories, 15g fat, 15g carbs, 1g fiber, 14g protein) 14g net
  • Chicken McNuggets, 10 piece (410 calories, 24g fat, 26g carbs, 1g fiber, 23g protein) 25g net

Breakfast Options

McDonald's breakfast has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, even before starting the Keto diet.

These are the lowest carb options available for McDonald's breakfast:

Sides of protein

  • Sausage patty (190 calories, 18g fat, 1g carbs, 6g protein)
  • Bacon, side (70 calories, 6g fat, 1g carbs, 4g protein)
  • Canadian bacon (15 calories, 0g fat, 1g carbs, 3g protein)
  • Steak patty (140 calories, 9g fat, 0g carbs, 13g protein)
  • Round egg (80 calories, 5g fat, 1g carbs, 7g protein)
  • Folded egg (70 calories, 4.5g fat, 2g carbs, 6g protein)
  • American cheese, slice (50 calories, 4g fat, 1g carbs, 3g protein)

McDonald's Breakfast Sandwiches with no bun

  • Egg McMuffin, no McMuffin (170 calories, 12g fat, 3g carbs, 12g protein)
  • Sausage McMuffin, no McMuffin, (260 calories, 24g fat, 2g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g protein) 1g net
  • Sausage McMuffin with egg, no McMuffin, (340 calories, 30g fat, 3g carbs, 1g fiber, 15g protein) 2g net
  • Sausage Biscuit, no biscuit (200 calories, 19g fat, 1g carbs, 6g protein)
  • Sausage Biscuit with Egg, no biscuit (270 calories, 24g fat, 2g carbs, 12g protein)
  • Steak, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, no biscuit (280 calories, 20g fat, 4g carbs, 1g fiber, 22g protein) 3g net
  • Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles, no griddle cakes (200 calories, 15g fat, 4g carbs, 12g protein)
  • Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddle, no griddle cakes (310 calories, 27g fat, 4g carbs, 1g fiber, 14g protein) 3g net
  • Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel, no bagel (290 calories, 25g fat, 3g carbs, 13g protein)
  • Triple Breakfast Stack McMuffin, no bread (650 calories, 58g fat, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, 28g protein) 5g net
Keto At Mcdonald's: Sausage Patties + Round Eggs For 4G Carbs

Sides & Salads

As a result of the limited side dish options, a side salad is a great choice. Be sure to choose a salad dressing that is low in carbs.

  • Side Salad, no dressing (15 calories, 0g fat, 3g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein) 2g net
  • Grilled Chicken Salad, no dressing (260 calories, 7g fat, 21g carbs, 5g fiber, 30g protein) 2g net
  • Apple slices (15 calories, 0g fat, 4g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Yoplait Go Gurt (50 calories, 0.5g fat, 8g carbs, 3g protein)
  • French Fries, kids size (110 calories, 5g fat, 15g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g protein) 14g net

If I'm not in the mood for a salad, I will typically just get another bunless burger instead.

Salad Dressings

I find that the salad dressing options at McDonald's are rather limited and disappointing.

  • Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (35 calories, 2g fat, 4g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Low Fat Italian dressing (50 calories, 1.5g fat, 8g carbs, 1g fiber, 0g protein) 7g net
  • Ranch dressing (110 calories, 16g fat, 11g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein) 10g net
  • Creamy Southwest dressing (110 calories, 7g fat, 12g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein) 11g net

Instead of dressing, I often opt for the dipping sauces instead.

One packet of ranch dipping sauce is only 1g of carbs compared to 10g for a packet of dressing.

Condiments

The sauces at McDonald's aren't especially Keto-friendly and vary greatly in carbs.

However, you are generally pretty safe if you stick to choices like mayo and mustard.

  • Mayonnaise (90 calories, 10g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Mustard (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Ketchup (10 calories, 0g fat, 2g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Pickles (2) (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Lettuce (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Tomato, (1 slice) or Lettuce (5 calories, 0g fat, 1g carb, 0g protein)
  • American cheese, slice (50 calories, 4g fat, 1g carbs, 3g protein)
  • White cheddar, slice (50 calories, 3.5g fat, 2g carbs, 3g protein)
  • Bacon (70 calories, 6g fat, 1g carbs, 4g protein)

Dipping Sauces

Do yourself a favor and mix the Spicy Buffalo Sauce and Creamy Ranch as your salad dressing. You're welcome.

  • Spicy Buffalo Sauce (30 calories, 3g fat, 1g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Creamy Ranch Sauce (110 calories, 12g fat, 1g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Signature Sauce (100 calories, 9g fat, 3g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Habanero Ranch Sauce (80 calories, 7g fat, 5g carbs, 1g protein)
  • Honey Mustard Sauce (50 calories, 3g fat, 6g carbs, 0g protein)
  • Sweet 'n Sour Sauce (50 calories, 0g fat, 11g carb, 0g protein)
  • Tangy Barbeque Sauce (5 calories, 0g fat, 1g carb, 0g protein)

Drinks

Overall, it is best to stick to your typical low sugar and calorie options like water and diet soda.

It's important to be cautious with the iced coffees. The sugar free options are surprisingly high in carbs.

  • Small iced coffee, sugar free vanilla (80 calories, 5g fat, 8g carbs, 2g protein)
  • Medium iced coffee, sugar free vanilla (80 calories, 6g fat, 5g carbs, 2g protein)
  • Large iced coffee, sugar free vanilla (140 calories, 9g fat, 16g carbs, 3g protein)
  • Unsweetened iced tea (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 1g protein)
  • Diet Coke (0 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g protein)

Keto McDonald's Meal Ideas

  • 2 McDouble, plain with no bun + side of mayo (540 calories, 42g fat, 6g carbs, 17g protein)
  • 2 Sausage patties + 2 Round eggs (520 calories, 46g fat, 4g carbs, 28g protein)
  • Big Mac, no bun (includes all toppings) + McDouble, plain with no bun
    (550 calories, 41g fat, 10g carbs, 1g fiber, 35g protein) 9g net

You can even customize your own Keto meal before you get to McDonald's.

What's your favorite Keto meal from McDonald's?

More Keto Restaurant Options

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. how many carbs in hot mustard sauce? sorry if i missed it

    • Looks like the hot mustard has 8g carbs per container. Unfortunately too much HFCS in that one.

  2. Save a fortune by ordering everything as a side-order instead of paying full price and requesting the removal of the bun. Instead of paying over $7 for a double Quarter Pounder, I just ask for "3 patties of quarter pounder beef", and pay just $1.25 per patty. Where I live that comes to $4.08 with tax. You can order many items this way and it saves lots of money.

    • That's a great tip, Harold! I believe they do this at Wendy's too.

  3. Hi,

    What about the Mexican style salsa (Picante Sauce Packet) is that keto friendly?

    • According to McDonald’s website, it’s 1g carb per serving. I would say go ahead and enjoy the picante sauce!

  4. Confusing. Using McDonalds nutritional calculator on their site your macro measurements don't match theirs. for ex. you say the double quarter pounder w/ cheese plain and no bun is 580 cals -- but on the website it calculates it as 520c. is there an article that says they underestimate their reported counts?

    • Hi Barney-

      Thanks for pointing that out! I’ve updated that item with the new totals.

      While these numbers were pulled directly from the McDonald’s app and website, the nutrition information does sometimes change slightly sometimes. I’m not sure if this is because they had errors with the original calculations or if the formulations may have changed.

  5. Just because you leave the bun off doesn’t qualify it as healthy. It's processed meat and cheese. Unhealthy saturated fats and loaded with so much sodium that you can actually hit you daily allowance in setting.

    • Ketosis is a metabolic state, not a certain type of food.

  6. Hi I’m trying to to lose weight on keto diet and would just love knowing just what to order. In and around at mc Donald’s. Menu,s and knowing what you can eat on the keto diet.and it’s very good telling you the carbs count and content in the foods you are eating. Yay

  7. Dominic ty ty ty ty for this list. I just started yesterday and have been eating broth and chicken. Lord have mercy. Mcdonalds is rt up the road. God bless

    • I've been lovin' it! 2 quarter pounders with cheese, no ketchup, chopped up on a sidesalad with southwest dressing. My biggest meal of the day. I order the sandwiches on their buns, take them off the buns and throw the bread away. Use the survey option on the previous receipt and get 2 sandwiches for the price of one

      • That's a great idea!

  8. Thank you so much for this great info!

  9. Do you know if it is possible to order the white cheddar cheese on the burgers?

    • Yep, you should be able to!

  10. This is my favorite site. I get all the info I need in a down-to-earth way. Thank you. Tam Hall.

  11. You can just get scrambled eggs also.

  12. I have been craving a Big Mac and went to McD's website for the ingredients:
    BIG MAC SAUCE
    Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Sweet Relish (Diced Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Corn Syrup, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Chloride, Spice Extractives), Water, Egg Yolks, Distilled Vinegar, Spices, Onion Powder, Salt, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Garlic Powder, Vegetable Protein (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy and Wheat), Sugar, Caramel Color, Turmeric, Extractives of Paprika, Soy Lecithin.

    There is sugar added and sugar and high fructose corn syrup in the sweet relish yet you don't state any sugar grams to account for. Can you explain? I'm new to keto and am in ketosis and really don't want to screw up!

    Thanks!

    • Hi there-

      I don't list the specific grams of sugar on the foods, but I do have 2g of carbohydrates listed. On a typical food label, the sugar count would fall under this parent category.

  13. How many grams of carbs does the ranch have, 1 or 11? I am confused. I saw this above:
    Salad Dressings

    I find that the salad dressing options at McDonald’s are limited and disappointing. Instead of dressing, I often opt for the dipping sauces instead. One ranch packet of that is only 1g of carbs!

    ...
    Ranch (190 calories, 16g fat, 11g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein)

    • Hi Rich.

      The ranch dipping sauce is different from the ranch they serve with the salads. I often ask for that one instead to get a ranch flavor with less carbs.

      Dom