Low Carb Diet Fast Food Menus

As low-carb diets grew in popularity over the last decade, many fast food restaurants began offering low-carb menu items and printing carbohydrate information on menus and in nutrition guides. Some restaurants even set aside special sections of the menu for low-carb choices. When the public interest in low-carb eating began to decline, however, some restaurants removed these items from their menus. Yet with a little care, it is still possible to find fast food offerings that work with a low-carb diet.

Burger Choices

Many burgers don't qualify as low-carb menu items because they come wrapped in a high-carb bun. If you ask, some restaurants will wrap the burger in a lettuce leaf and ditch the bun. At other places, you'll have to order the burger and remove the bun yourself. Hardees is one of the few fast food restaurants that still offers an actual low-carb burger on the menu. The one-third pound Hardees "Low Carb Thickburger" is served wrapped in lettuce. Burger King once had a large selection of low-carb burger choices, served without mayo, pickles, ketchup, or buns, but currently, the lowest carb options are the BK Burger Shots, which contain 18 grams of carbohydrates for two.

Krystal offers burgers that are fairly low in carbs, such as the Cheese Krystal, the Bacon Cheese Krystal, and the Famous Krystal. According to Krystal's nutrition information, all three choices contain less than 18 grams of carbohydrates per serving. All fast food restaurants have nutrition information available to customers--if it's not displayed, ask to see a copy.

Chicken Choices

Burger King offers a five-piece chicken tenders meal that contains 16 grams of carbohydrates. Add ranch dressing dip for one more gram of carbs. At McDonald's, the four-piece and six-piece chicken nuggets both have less than 16 carbohydrates. At Krystal, a small order of Chik'n Bites contains 16 grams of carbs. A plain grilled chicken sandwich without the bun may be the best option, but watch out: some chicken sandwiches have more breading, bun, and carb-filled condiments than the nuggets.

Salads

Salads are always a good low-carb choice, but beware of sugary dressings or breaded and fried chicken garnishes. Fast food restaurants have nutritional information available for their salad dressings, so read this carefully before choosing.

Burger King's Tendergrill Chicken Salad with ranch dressing has 19 grams of carbohydrates, only one more than the smaller side salad. McDonald's has a variety of salads that are quite high in carbohydrates, but there are three choices that contain 12 grams or less: Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken; Premium Bacon Ranch Salad without chicken; and Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken. Jack in the Box also offers salads that are low in carbohydrates, such as the Chicken Club Salad with grilled chicken or a side salad.