Everything Keto at McDonald’s in 2022

Many people going on a Ketogenic diet now love the fast food of McDonald’s. The McDonald’s franchise is the largest fast-food chain in the world. Their colorful variety of sandwiches, burgers, and fries is addictive – and affordable! 

The Keto diet does not recommend eating fast food, since fast food is not healthy. However, McDonald’s has now come up with its own specific McDonald’s Keto-friendly menu. Soon, McDonald’s won’t just be famous for its burgers and milkshakes, but also for its Keto fast food – because sometimes even Keto dieters just want to indulge their cravings.

McDonald’s Keto food is perfect for traveling on a low budget, because sometimes when traveling, it is difficult to keep up with your weight loss. When eating Keto at McDonald’s you can enjoy the food without worrying about defaulting on your dietary goals. 

If you are wondering how to ensure that you are ordering Keto-friendly food, this article will guide you through the best low-carb foods offered.

Some Keto-friendly guidelines for ordering at McDonald’s:

• avoid the buns when ordering burgers. The buns have a carb capacity of 28 grams. If you can’t do without that ‘sandwich’ feel, decide to eat only half of the bun or order a tortilla instead
• no biscuits and muffins
• avoid breaded foods, such as nuggets and crispy chicken – they are high in carbs
• avoid sugar-free drinks – they are veryhigh in carbs
• ketchup has lots of sugar, so don’t order extra ketchup for your burgers and fries
• many salad dressings have a high concentration of carbs, which is not Keto-friendly
• when you order a salad, don’t eat the croutons
• don’t buy french fries and milkshakes

How to enjoy McDonald’s Keto-friendly breakfast 

A customized Keto-friendly breakfast is the best way to start your day. If you are on a ketogenic diet and like to eat breakfast, McDonald’s offers various breakfast options. Try to go for the low carb meals, such as:

• the Triple Breakfast Stack McGriddle (no griddlecake): 7g carbs, 32g protein, and 56.5g fat
• Egg Sausage McGriddle, and Cheese McMuffin (no English muffin and griddlecake): 15g of protein, 4g of carbs, and 26g of fat
• Cheese Biscuit (no biscuit, bacon, and egg): 4g of carbs, 14g of protein, and 13g of fat
• the Big Breakfast with bacon and cheese, but without biscuits and hash browns: 34.5g of fat, 28g of protein, and 4g of carbs. Some people don’t like bacon; they could add a sausage patty, beef patty, or scrambled egg
• Egg McMuffin (without the English muffin): 11g of fat, 12g of protein, and 3g of fat

Sometimes you may wonder if McDonald’s Keto-friendly food holds up without any bread, biscuit, or bagel … and the answer is yes!

What are McDonald’s Keto-friendly breakfast drinks?

Many people love coffee, but it is often challenging to find a Keto drink. If you love coffee, there are various kinds of McDonald’s Keto-friendly coffees available to you. For example, black coffee and iced coffee, without milk or cream. Avoid additional sweeteners and flavors. 

Black coffee has low carb content and is the perfect Keto breakfast drink. 

Some other traditional breakfast drinks with low carb content are orange juice, with 26g in a one-cup servings, and whole milk, which has 12g net carb per 8 ounces.

What is the best McDonald’s Keto food for lunch and dinner?

The franchise has numerous options for lunch and supper. Try to stick to bun-less burgers and sandwiches. If you want that sandwich feeling, get extra romaine or a tortilla instead.

The best meal combo is Two McDoubles, with no bun or sauce, a side of salad with creamy ranch sauce, and a side of mayonnaise. This meal contains 54g of fat, 18g of protein, and 10g of carbs. Just delicious!

Beef 

If you love beef, here are McDonald’s Keto options:

• The Big Mac, with no Big Mac sauce, no ketchup or bun. It contains 25g of fat, 18g of protein, and 5g of carbs
• Quarter Pounder with cheese. The bun-less and ketchup-less burger has 3g of carbs, 5g of fat, and 25 g of protein
• Double Cheeseburger, with no ketchup or bun. It contains 20g of fat, 20g of protein, and 3g of carbs
• Bacon McDouble, with no ketchup or bun. It contains 4g of carbs, 23g of protein, and 21g of fat

Chicken 

The chicken sandwiches do not have the same fat content as burgers with beef. Beef patties have a much higher fat content compared to chicken. 

For Keto dieters it’s important to balance their chicken meal with more fat.

Some of McDonald’s Keto-friendly chicken option are:

• Pico Guacamole and the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich, without the bun. It contains 6g of carbs, 29g of protein, and 19g of fat
• Mushroom and Swiss Grilled Chicken Sandwich, with no sauce or onion strings. It contains 2g of carbs, 33g of protein, and 9g of fat

One can add Guacamole to help with the macros and make transitioning to the Keto diet easier. Remember to order the grilled chicken rather than fried chicken.

Salad

McDonald’s also offers Keto-friendly salads. One can eat a salad by itself or order a side dish, such as French Fries. 

Here are the best Keto-friendly salads:

• Side Salad – one can add some fat from the sauces. It contains 2g of carbs, 1g of protein, and 0g of fat
• Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad, without the ranch dressing. It contains 5g of carbs, 42g of protein, and 13g of fat. If you want to add the Creamy Ranch Dipping sauce, it contains 1.5g of carbs

Low carb sauces

A sauce makes a meal more delicious and sweet. Some people love sauces and don’t want to do without while Keto-dieting. Many of the sauces at McDonald’s are Keto-approved. For example:

• Spicy Buffalo Sauce – contains 1g of carbs, 0g of proteins, and 3g of fat
• Creamy Ranch Sauce – contains 1.5g of carbs, 12g of fat, and 0g of protein
• Signature Sauce – contains 3g of carbs, 9g of fat, and 0g of protein

The Keto diet suggests that foods should have a high-fat content. If you want your sauces to have high fat, you can mix Spicy Buffalo and Creamy Ranch. Indulge yourself!

McDonald’s sauces to avoid

Honey Mustard Sauce – one packet contains 6g of carbs above the recommended capacity.

Sweet and Sour Sauce and Tangy Barbecue Sauce – each packet has 11g of carbs, which is also quite high.

Keto Drinks – Options

McDonald’s Keto drink options are few but effective. However, regular soft drinks, milkshakes, and ice cream are not Keto.

Here are some Keto drinks available at McDonald’s:

• Diet coke – contains 0g of carbs
• Unsweetened Iced Tea – has 0g of carbs. For anyone who loves sweetened tea – you can use Stevia, it is Keto-friendly
• Coke Zero – contains 0g of carbs 
• Hot tea – contains 0g of fat, 0g of protein, and 0g of carbs
• Black coffee – contains 0g of fat, 0g of protein, and 0g of carbs
• Americano – contains 0g of fat, 0g of protein, and 0g of carbs

However, the Keto diet recommends water as the drink of choice. But if you want to splurge on carbonated drinks every now and then, pick from your choice of McDonald’s Keto- friendly drinks options. 

Drinks to avoid

• Any regular soda or fountain drink. It contains 39g of sugar and 39g of carbs
• Sweet Tea. It contains 24g of sugar and 26g of carbs
• Latte, Macchiato, or Cappuccino. They contain 9g of sugar and 9g of carbs
• Iced Coffee – contains 22g of sugar and 24g of carbs
• Smoothies – contain 38g of sugar and 44g of carbs
• Hot chocolate – contains 48g of sugar and 52g of carbs
• Milkshakes – contain 55g of sugar and 84g of carbs 

The bottom line

Cooking at home is the best way to manage your Keto diet – and the best way to know exactly what you’re eating. Sometimes cooking is tiresome, though, and you just want to order in or pick up something quick from a fast food place. McDonald’s various Keto-friendly meals are available at your disposal, and they are very affordable.

Remember to maintain the general Keto rule of low carb and high fat. Eating buns, rolls and muffins, will affect your diet, so try to avoid them. Additionally, avoid the ketchup, salad dressings, french fries, milkshakes, and frozen treats.

The best Keto meal at McDonald’s is breakfast – the eggs and sausages are delicious and perfect for your Keto-diet. All of McDonald’s Keto-friendly meals are tasty – and available at any time of the day.