The Absolute Best 52 Keto Fast Food Options Ranked

More and more Americans are turning to a keto diet in an effort to control their weight or to simply live a healthier lifestyle. Fast-food restaurants have noticed this growing dietary trend and it's become easier than ever to get keto-friendly food from a drive-thru window. Some eateries even have a dedicated keto-inspired menu.

Those who follow a keto diet try to limit their daily consumption of carbohydrates to under 50 grams (via Healthline). When tallying carbs, typically only net carbs are counted, which is a mathematical formula that subtracts sugar alcohols and fiber from the total carb count, according to U.S. News & World Report. To replace carbs, keto dieters eat a whole lot of fat and a higher than normal amount of protein.

While keto fast-food options are more plentiful these days, that doesn't mean that all the options are tasty. In this ranking, we've ignored the gross options and only included the 52 best keto items in the fast-food world.

If you're on the run and you want a quick, easy, keto-friendly bite to eat from a fast-food restaurant, you can't go wrong by ordering a healthy side salad from McDonald's. This salad features green lettuce, red lettuce, spinach, kale, tomato, and carrots. While your taste buds won't be blown away, you can gobble down the entire salad and feel happy that it has only 20 calories and 4 grams of carbs (via McDonald's).

If you want to add more flavor to the mix, consider adding the Newman's Own Ranch Dressing that McDonald's offers. But before you do, be warned that doing so would add 9 net carbs and 170 calories to the total.

If the night is extra chilly and you need something to warm your bones, chili from Wendy's is up to the task. Powered by fresh beef, this chili is reliably delicious. Along with ground beef, you'll also find chili peppers, green peppers, onions, celery, garlic powder, onion powder, pinto beans, kidney beans, and even more in this bowl of goodness (via Wendy's).

Though you'll be tempted to order the large version, stick to a small chili if you're on a keto diet. That's because even a small Chili from Wendy's has 16 net carbs. Also, skip the saltine crackers because those salty devils are almost all carbs.

Finding a fast-food pizza that is low enough in carbs to be classified as keto-friendly isn't an easy task. If you go to the most popular pizza joints, most likely you'll come up empty in your search. For that reason, we should all be thankful that Papa Murphy's makes the low-carb delight known as Papa's Crustless All Meat.

To make this pizza keto-friendly, the high carb crust is eliminated but everything else you love about pizza remains intact. On the Papa's Crustless All Meat, you'll discover pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and red sauce. If you want to lower the carb count even more, you can substitute the red sauce for a combination of garlic sauce and olive oil.

While the tuna sandwiches at Subway and Jersey Mike's are entirely forgettable and should be avoided at all costs, Jimmy John's has a tuna option that is actually really good. It's called a Club Tuna Unwich and will make you a believer in fast food tuna sandwiches once again. This lettuce-wrapped sandwich features tuna salad, provolone cheese, and sliced tomatoes. The tuna salad is made by Jimmy John's employees at the restaurant, which gives it a fresher, more authentic taste than the fishy goop you find at other sub shops. This Club Tuna Unwich will fill you up with 500 calories but it has only 7 net carbs.

Okay, yeah, things will get a bit discombobulated when you remove the onion roll from Arby's Classic Beef 'N Cheddar. To be honest, you have to prepare your surroundings for the ensuing messiness. But once you get the innards of the Classic Beef 'N Cheddar past your lips, you'll agree that it was worth taking precautions and going the extra mile. The combination of the cheddar sauce, red ranch sauce, and the hand-sliced roast beef will remind you that greatness is indeed available from a drive-thru window. Just be sure to grab a handful of napkins so that you can clean up the unavoidable mess.

Whataburger is a burger chain that was born in Texas, so it makes sense that it know its way around Tex-Mex favorites like the Taquito with Cheese. This epic breakfast item looks like a burrito but it's filled to the gills with eggs, American cheese, and a protein of your choosing. Keto-wise, you'll want to skip the potato option and go with chorizo, bacon, or sausage and ask for your Taquito with Cheese to be served without a tortilla. If you want to start your morning with a healthy serving of heat, you can get it with red salsa by asking for it to be served Ranchero Picante Style.

Purchase the Cobb Salad at Chick-fil-A to get your hands on one of the best fast food salads in all the land. To keep in the good graces of the keto gods, go with some sort of grilled chicken, whether that's the grilled filet served cold, the spicy grilled filet, or any other chicken option that's grilled. You should also ask for no roasted corn but the mixed greens, Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon pieces, and the hard-boiled egg slices are all perfect. The Cobb Salad comes with Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing, which works for keto dieters because it has only three net carbs (via Chick-fil-a).

Another option for when you're battling hunger pangs, a bunless Dave's Double from Wendy's will fill you up so much that you might not need to eat for the rest of the day. The star of the show is the two fresh beef patties. In total, you get a half-pound of beef that tastes great each and every time you order it. Beyond the meat, Dave's Double comes with two slices of American cheese, tomatoes, pickles, onions, lettuce, mayonnaise, and ketchup. Hardcore keto followers may be tempted to nix the ketchup to cut a couple of carbs but everything else is on the approved list.

The Grilled Chicken Taco from Del Taco gives you quite the bang for your buck. Simply jettison the tortilla and everything else about the taco is keto-friendly. You'll enjoy the marinated grilled chicken pieces along with the cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, and Del Taco's secret sauce that is exceptionally savory. Make sure that the chicken and the sauce mingle so that you taste this tortilla-less taco at its best.

Since the Grilled Chicken Tacos are so cheap, you can load up on three or four of these guys without putting a dent in your bank account.

While not as exciting as Chick-fil-A's regular Nuggets that are breaded and then pressure-fried, the Grilled Nuggets are nothing to complain about. As the name suggests, these nuggets are grilled to perfection and have a natural smokiness that will quickly cause you to become a fan. You don't even have to worry as you eat one after another because 12 Grilled Nuggets have only 200 calories and 2 net carbs. It'd be almost impossible to eat too many of these things in one sitting. If you require a dipping sauce, grab a packet of Zesty Buffalo Sauce because it only adds 1 carb to your meal.

A top tier salad from Arby's that's entirely keto-friendly? Yes, that's a real thing you can find in this fast-food eatery that's known for its sliced-to-order roast beef. In fact, this salad is so perfect for a keto diet that it seems like it was created specifically for keto followers. On the Roast Chicken Entree Salad, you will find roasted slices of chicken, bits of bacon, cheddar cheese, diced tomato, and multiple types of lettuce. It also comes with a flavorful buttermilk ranch dressing. All told, this Arby's salad has approximately 250 calories and only 5 net carbs.

Qdoba has noticed the keto trend and now has a menu item called the Smoked Brisket Keto Bowl. Thankfully, this dish isn't fibbing about being keto-friendly. The bowl comes with beef brisket that has been braised slowly, store-made guacamole, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, green salsa, and a bed of romaine lettuce. Even if you've tried Qdoba before and you weren't impressed, this keto-inspired creation is worth trying at least once. You might find yourself putting it into your regular rotation. The amount of flavor in the Smoked Brisket Keto Bowl will leave your tongue in a state of ecstasy. 

Sometimes, all you want and all you crave is the flame-grilled flavor that Burger King's Whopper has in abundance. While you'll need to forgo the bun in order to make this meal keto-friendly, eliminating the bun doesn't take away from that flame-charredntaste. If anything, pushing the bread aside only enhances it.

A Whopper typically comes with tomato slices, onions, pickles, lettuce, mayo, and ketchup. If you keep all that on there, your meal will have 430 calories and 9 net carbs (via Fatsecret). If you ditch the tomato slices and the ketchup, your bunless Whopper will still be really tasty while being even lower in carbs.

Mom always told you that you should eat your broccoli. Now keto adherents can make Mom proud (and make their mouths water) by ordering the healthy Broccoli Beef from Panda Express. This dish comes with beef that has been glazed with a ginger soy sauce and, of course, broccoli.

Even though the ginger soy sauce makes the Broccoli Beef dish relatively sweet, this dish has only 11 net carbs. Don't even think about eliminating the ginger soy sauce because that's what makes this meal worth eating. It not only makes the tender beef more scrumptious, but it also enhances the broccoli so much that you'll eat every last green speck without complaint.

The Double Cheeseburger from Burger King checks a lot of boxes when it comes to finding the ultimate keto fast-food menu items. First of all, this burger is inexpensive. To put it in perspective, Burger King's Double Cheeseburger is usually less than half as much as a Whopper (via Fast Food Menu Prices). Second of all, it comes with two slices of American cheese, which is a keto-friendly flavor enhancer. Thirdly, you just need to toss the bun and everything else on the burger is ready to rock your keto world. Lastly, you know that flame-grilled goodness the Whopper possesses? This cheaper burger tastes almost exactly the same.

A funny thing happens when you remove the bun from a Quarter Pounder with Cheese: it actually tastes better. Even if you've eaten this ubiquitous McDonald's burger countless times in the past and weren't too impressed, you may be stunned by how good it tastes after removing the bun. While some burgers can struggle without the help of bread, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is able to show off a surprisingly complex array of flavors. Most notably, the subtle saltiness in the meat and the richness of the cheese combine to elevate this burger to the next level. Keto believers shouldn't overlook McDonald's when on the hunt for a fast-food burger fix.

At Jersey Mike's, all you need to do to turn a sub sandwich into a keto-friendly meal is to say you want your sub in a tub. Doing that is so easy and results in such appetizing food that a sub in a tub video blew up on TikTok.

If you're apprehensive about picking the right sub at Jersey Mike's, go with the BLT. Add pickles, peppers, or any other veggies to the bacon, lettuce, and tomato. When you're ready to try the sub in a tub at its best, go with the Number Four. This monster sub is famous for its combination of prosciuttini, cappacuolo, and provolone.

A lusciously succulent smoothie made specifically with keto dieters in mind? That dream has become reality at Smoothie King. On its menu, you'll discover the Keto Champ Berry, Keto Champ Chocolate, and Keto Champ Coffee. While all three smoothies are yummy, the Keto Champ Berry is the best of the bunch. It's packed with raspberries, wild blueberries, almond butter, almond milk, protein powder, and cocoa. Add up all those stupendous ingredients and this smoothie has 430 calories, 23 grams of protein, and only 11 net carbs. For a quick dessert on the go that will totally satisfy your sweet tooth without ruining your diet, you can't do much better than the Keto Champ Berry.

While there are many great subs to pick from, the Spicy Italian is the best sandwich at Subway. It's only logical that the Spicy Italian Bowl would be at the head of its class too. Your favorite aspect of this bowl will be the Genoa salami and pepperoni — but that's not where the fun needs to stop. Add oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, pickles, banana peppers, black olives, lettuce, spinach, and your choice of cheese (provolone cheese would be an outstanding choice in this scenario). The resulting bowl will not only be keto-friendly but also so tasty that you'll want to eat it for lunch every day.

Although it's often overlooked, El Pollo Loco is legitimately one of the top fast-food chicken chains in existence. Its citrus-marinated and then fire-grilled chicken is truly elite. Although you could just order the chicken at El Pollo Loco and be thrilled with your choice, you can experience a next-level meal by ordering the Double Chicken Avocado Salad instead. It's labeled as being keto-friendly and the 7 net carbs confirm that label.

The Double Chicken Avocado Salad comes with chicken breast chunks, avocado slices, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, lettuce, and organic greens. You'll adore each and every aspect of this El Pollo Loco menu item.

The English muffin a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with Egg comes with can be hit-or-miss. Sometimes it's hot with the perfect amount of crispiness. Other times it's a crumbly mess that does nothing but add a chalky texture to the sandwich. Instead of gambling, just skip the muffin completely. That makes this McDonald's menu item a smashing keto success. Without the iffy muffin, you're left with a sausage patty, a slice of gooey American cheese, and a perfectly-cooked egg patty. You'll probably want to use a fork and a knife to eat this creation but it's well worth the potential hassle.

Bacon is the best friend of everyone on a keto diet. For that reason, no one should be shocked that Wendy's Baconator got a top ten spot in this ranking. If you want bacon-charged goodness from a drive-thru window, look no further than this classic burger. For those unfortunate souls who have never eaten a Baconator, this thing comes with six pieces of smoked bacon, a half-pound of never-frozen beef, American cheese, mayonnaise, and ketchup. When you order it without the bun, you could add lettuce — or you could just keep this burger completely carnivore-friendly and revel in the savoriness of the beef and the bacon.

If you adore the majestic Vito sub sandwich from Jimmy John's, you're guaranteed to also fall head over heels for the Vito Unwich. This breadless culinary invention contains capicola, salami, and provolone cheese that has all been sliced by hand. Additionally, you'll find lettuce, onion, tomato, oregano, basil, oil, and vinegar. You could further customize the Vito Unwich but why mess with perfection?

Sure, in a perfect world where bread doesn't have carbs, you'd pick the Vito sub sandwich because it's superior to a Vito Unwich. But in this world where bread is a keto dieter's worst enemy, this alternative will brighten your mood without fail.

To a keto follower's ear, Panera Bread might sound like a no-go restaurant. The word "bread" is blasphemous to keto devotees — so Panera Bread should be avoided, right? That's actually incorrect. Panera Bread has a couple of keto options, with the Greek Salad being especially tasty. In fact, it's the best keto-friendly fast-food salad you'll find in any corner of the country.

Panera Bread's Greek Salad has romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, red onions, grape tomatoes, feta, salt, pepper, and Greek dressing. It's the low-carb Greek dressing that's the real star of the show. Its rich and deep flavor makes everything in this salad amazingly tasty.

There's something unexplainably thrilling about ordering off of a fast food chain's secret menu. At In-N-Out, the secret menu is now official. The chain has published a not-so-secret menu on its website. This is the menu you'll need to use to get your fingertips on their best keto-friendly option. Tell an In-N-Out employee that you want a 3X3 Protein Style and they'll know exactly what you're talking about without you having to utter another word.

For those not in the know, ordering a 3X3 Protein Style will result in you getting three beef patties, three slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and In-N-Out's secret sauce wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun.

Wingstop's Garlic Parmesan Wings richly deserve the top spot on this list. It's everything you could desire in a keto fast food option. No customization needs to be done. No dipping sauces are necessary. You can eat these wings on the go or as part of a sit-down dinner. The end result is food so tasty that it'll keep you up at night fantasizing about when you can eat Garlic Parmesan Wings from Wingstop again.

When it comes to nutrients, these wings couldn't be better for keto dieters. They have 1 net carb per wing, they're high in protein, and each wing has about 120 calories (via Wingstop). Eat them to your heart's content.