Maybe you’re in desperate need of a road trip lunch or you just really like chicken nuggets (same), when you suddenly start dreaming of Chick-Fil-A. But there’s a catch: You’re trying out the ketogenic diet—you know, the high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb eating plan that could help you lose weight. The good news? Chicken is totally keto-friendly. The not-so-good news is that it’s the other stuff at this fast food spot (like breading, buns and French fries) that’s less likely to fit into your diet. No worries, friend. We’ve scoped out the menu ahead of time to make eating keto at Chick-Fil-A a delight.
Can You Eat Keto at Chick-Fil-A? Yep, Here are 10 Delicious Options
•
Published Oct 12, 2021
What does Chick-Fil-A have that’s keto friendly?
Lucky for you, many items on Chick-Fil-A’s menu are keto friendly as-is or can be easily modified to fit the bill. It’s usually a matter of ditching the bun and ordering grilled chicken instead of breaded (but more on that below). The zesty buffalo sauce and garden herb ranch sauce contain little to no carbs and are a good way to add extra fat to your meal.
Order the unsweetened iced tea to wash everything down. (There’s also diet soda and diet lemonade, but keep in mind they’re sweetened with sugar substitutes like Splenda and aspartame.) Just keep in mind that to truly follow a keto diet, you’ll want to be mindful of not just low carb options, but high fat ones as well. (According to proponents of the keto lifestyle, this is crucial to staying in ketosis and running on fat.)
Can I eat Chick-Fil-A nuggets on keto?
You sure can. Chick-Fil-A offers both regular (aka breaded) and grilled nuggets, and the latter are super low in carbohydrates. An eight-piece order of grilled nuggets contains just one gram of carbs, three grams of fat, 25 grams of protein and 130 calories. For comparison, the same size order of regular nuggets contains 11 grams of carbs.
Does Chick-Fil-A offer lettuce wraps?
Well, not really. While Chick-Fil-A does offer something called a Chick-Fil-A Cool Wrap (it’s basically a grilled chicken wrap with lettuce and shredded cheese), it’s not available sans flatbread wrap. But you could order it and remove the wrap yourself to make your own lettuce wrap of sorts.
The top 10 keto-friendly dishes to try:
Breakfast
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
1. Egg White Grill
Make it keto: Remove the English muffin
Nutrition information: 150 calories, 6 grams fat, 21 grams protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 1 gram
Without the English muffin, you’ll drop 24 grams of total carbs from Chick-Fil-A’s egg white, grilled chicken and American cheese breakfast sandwich. Order it with a black coffee to round out your morning meal.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
2. Bacon, Egg And Cheese Biscuit
Make it keto: Remove the buttered biscuit
Nutrition information: 130 calories, 8 grams fat, 11 grams protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 1 gram
While we love a flaky biscuit as much as the next person, ordering this bacon breakfast sammie without it will save you 37 grams of total carbs and keep your morning meal keto-diet friendly.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
3. Sausage, Egg And Cheese Biscuit
Make it keto: Remove the buttered biscuit
Nutrition information: 320 calories, 27 grams fat, 18 grams protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 1 gram
Again, making this breakfast option keto is as easy as losing the biscuit. But the sausage patty adds more fat and calories to your meal than bacon, so it’s a more satisfying and macro-conscious order.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
4. Hash Brown Scramble Bowl With Sausage
Make it keto: Remove the hash browns
Nutrition information: 320 calories, 26 grams fat, 21 grams protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 1 gram
We know it’s in the name, but you don’t have to have the hash browns in your breakfast bowl. Without them, you’ll lose 14 grams of total carbs from your meal. (Psst: You can also order this one with nuggets instead of sausage for a meal with 5 grams of net carbs.)
Lunch and Dinner
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
5. Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Make it keto: Remove the bun
Nutrition information: 170 calories, 6.5 grams fat, 21 grams protein, 6 grams carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 2 grams
The grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato is an easy pick if you want to keep keto; just ditch the bun to lose 36 grams of total carbs. You could also order it without the honey roasted barbecue sauce (three grams carbs), but we say live a little.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
6. Grilled Chicken Club With Cheese
Make it keto: Remove the bun
Nutrition information: 310 calories, 17.5 grams fat, 30 grams protein, 6 grams carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 2 grams
Without the multigrain bun, you’ll save 38 grams total carbs, making the grilled chicken club an easy way to order keto at Chick-Fil-A. Choose Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese for the fewest carbs possible.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
7. Grilled Nuggets (8-piece)
Make it keto: No modification
Nutrition information: 130 calories, 3 grams fat, 25 grams protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber
Net carbs: 1 gram
With one gram of total carbs, the grilled chicken nuggets are ketogenic on their own. (Even the 12-piece only has two grams of carbs.) To meet your daily macros, try adding a keto-friendly sauce—Chick-Fil-A sauce would bring the total fat up to 16 grams while keeping the total carbs at eight grams, but zesty buffalo, garden herb ranch, ketchup, mustard and hot sauce are all under ten grams of total carbs too.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
8. Cobb Salad With Grilled Nuggets
Make it keto: Remove the crispy bell peppers
Nutrition information: 340 calories, 14 grams fat, 39 grams protein, 15 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber
Net carbs: 10 grams
Nuggets on a salad? You better believe it. Without the crispy bell peppers, the cobb salad loses six grams of total carbs, and if you order it with either the avocado lime ranch or garden herb ranch dressing, it’ll still clock in at 12 grams of net carbs (plus some added fat).
Sides
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
9. Side Salad
Make it keto: Remove the crispy bell peppers
Nutrition information: 390 calories, 36 grams fat, 6 grams protein, 10 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber
Net carbs: 4 grams
Leave off the crispy bell peppers and this simple mixed-greens salad loses six grams of total carbs. You can keep the avocado lime ranch dressing as-is or swap it for garden herb ranch for a reasonable 6 grams of net carbs instead.
Chick-Fil-A/Background: Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
10. Kale Crunch Side
Make it keto: No modification
Nutrition information: 120 calories, 9 grams fat, 3 grams protein, 8 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber
Net carbs: 6 grams
If you’re trying to up your daily intake of greens (aren’t we all?), this blend of curly kale and green cabbage dressed in an apple cider mustard vinaigrette is waiting for you. You could leave off the almonds for two grams fewer total carbs, but they’re adding extra fat macros that are key to staying in ketosis.