Keto Restaurant Guide
Keto at McDonald's
McDonald's is one of the easier fast-food stops for keto, as long as you treat the bun as optional. Its nutrition calculator lets you remove ingredients, and the numbers show where the carbs are: a Quarter Pounder with Cheese is 42g of carbs as served and 4g once the bun and ketchup are taken off. The beef, cheese, egg, and sausage are close to zero.
Order any burger without the bun and ketchup, in a bowl or wrapped in lettuce. Breakfast works too: a Sausage McMuffin with Egg without the English muffin is 3g of carbs. The traps are the fries, hash browns, breaded chicken, McFlurry desserts, and the sweet dipping sauces.
By MeKeto Editorial · Last updated October 2026
Our go-to keto order
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun, no ketchup, with a small Diet Coke
4g net carbs
5g carbs, 1g fiber
Two quarter-pound patties, two slices of cheese, pickles, onions, and mustard. Sum of McDonald's nutrition calculator values for the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese with the Quarter Pound Bun and ketchup unchecked (540 calories, 5g carbs, 1g fiber) and a small Diet Coke (0g carbs).
Best keto options
4g carbs, 1g fiber
McDonald's calculator with the bun and ketchup unchecked: 320 calories. Mustard, pickles, and onions stay on.
5g carbs, 1g fiber
Calculator value with the bun and ketchup removed: 540 calories and two patties.
5g carbs, 1g fiber
Calculator value with the bun and ketchup removed, 430 calories. Leaving the ketchup on raises it to 9g carbs.
3g carbs, 0g fiber
Two regular patties and one slice of cheese, 240 calories in the calculator with the bun and ketchup removed.
8g carbs, 1g fiber
Calculator value with the Big Mac Bun removed, 390 calories. Most of the remaining carbs are the Big Mac Sauce.
3g carbs, 1g fiber
Sausage, egg, cheese, and butter. Calculator value with the English Muffin removed, 340 calories.
3g carbs, 0g fiber
Egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese. Calculator value with the English Muffin removed, 170 calories.
| Item | Carbs | Fiber | Net | Why / how |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun, no ketchup | 4g | 1g | 3g | McDonald's calculator with the bun and ketchup unchecked: 320 calories. Mustard, pickles, and onions stay on. |
| Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun, no ketchup | 5g | 1g | 4g | Calculator value with the bun and ketchup removed: 540 calories and two patties. |
| Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun, no ketchup | 5g | 1g | 4g | Calculator value with the bun and ketchup removed, 430 calories. Leaving the ketchup on raises it to 9g carbs. |
| McDouble, no bun, no ketchup | 3g | 0g | 3g | Two regular patties and one slice of cheese, 240 calories in the calculator with the bun and ketchup removed. |
| Big Mac, no bun | 8g | 1g | 7g | Calculator value with the Big Mac Bun removed, 390 calories. Most of the remaining carbs are the Big Mac Sauce. |
| Sausage McMuffin with Egg, no English muffin | 3g | 1g | 2g | Sausage, egg, cheese, and butter. Calculator value with the English Muffin removed, 340 calories. |
| Egg McMuffin, no English muffin | 3g | 0g | 3g | Egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese. Calculator value with the English Muffin removed, 170 calories. |
Order with care
42g carbs, 2g fiber
The same burger with its bun and ketchup is 40g net carbs. The bun is not listed on its own, but removing it and the ketchup saves 38g.
43g carbs, 4g fiber
There is no keto way to modify fries. Even a small order is 31g carbs.
18g carbs, 2g fiber
Battered, fried potato. Replace it with an extra egg or sausage at breakfast.
46g carbs, 1g fiber
Breaded chicken on a potato roll. Removing the roll still leaves the breading, so choose a bunless beef burger.
64g carbs, 1g fiber
A regular McFlurry is 48g of sugar. Stick to water, unsweetened iced tea, black coffee, or diet soda.
11g carbs, 0g fiber
Sweet 'N Sour and honey are similar at 11 to 12g. Creamy Ranch is 1g and Spicy Buffalo is 1g.
| Item | Carbs | Fiber | Net | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter Pounder with Cheese, as served | 42g | 2g | 40g | The same burger with its bun and ketchup is 40g net carbs. The bun is not listed on its own, but removing it and the ketchup saves 38g. |
| Medium French Fries | 43g | 4g | 39g | There is no keto way to modify fries. Even a small order is 31g carbs. |
| Hash Browns | 18g | 2g | 16g | Battered, fried potato. Replace it with an extra egg or sausage at breakfast. |
| McCrispy | 46g | 1g | 45g | Breaded chicken on a potato roll. Removing the roll still leaves the breading, so choose a bunless beef burger. |
| McFlurry with OREO Cookies | 64g | 1g | 63g | A regular McFlurry is 48g of sugar. Stick to water, unsweetened iced tea, black coffee, or diet soda. |
| Tangy Barbeque Sauce | 11g | 0g | 11g | Sweet 'N Sour and honey are similar at 11 to 12g. Creamy Ranch is 1g and Spicy Buffalo is 1g. |
How to order keto at McDonald's
- Order any burger with "no bun, no ketchup" and ask for it in a bowl or wrapped in lettuce.
- Hold the ketchup even when you keep the bun. On a bunless Bacon Quarter Pounder, ketchup is the difference between 5g and 9g of carbs.
- For breakfast, order a McMuffin without the English muffin. The sausage, egg, cheese, and Canadian bacon stay near zero.
- For dipping, choose Creamy Ranch or Spicy Buffalo (1g each) over BBQ, Sweet ’N Sour, or honey.
- Drink water, unsweetened iced tea, black coffee, or Diet Coke, all 0 to 1g carbs.
- Use the app, kiosk, or the online nutrition calculator to remove the bun and see the exact numbers before you order.
Net carbs are total carbohydrate minus dietary fiber, rounded to the nearest gram, from McDonald's's published nutrition information (checked October 2026). For a modified order, such as no bun, we subtract the published values of the part you leave off. Menus and recipes vary by location and change over time, so check current nutrition with McDonald's before you order, especially for sauces, dressings, and seasonal items.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Order burgers without the bun and ketchup, order McMuffins without the English muffin, and skip the fries, hash browns, and sweet drinks. In McDonald's nutrition calculator, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese without the bun and ketchup is 4g carbs and 1g fiber, about 3g net.
A Sausage McMuffin with Egg without the English muffin is about 2g net carbs, and a McDouble or Quarter Pounder with Cheese without the bun and ketchup is about 3g net. The carbs come almost entirely from buns, breading, potatoes, and sweet sauces.
No. A medium order of fries is 43g carbs with 4g fiber, about 39g net, which is more than a strict 20g daily limit. Even a small is 31g carbs.
Not really. A 4-piece order is 10g carbs from the breading, before any sauce. A bunless beef burger is a much lower-carb choice.
Diet Coke and unsweetened iced tea are 0g carbs, and a small black coffee is 1g. Avoid regular soda (a small Coca-Cola is 53g), sweet tea (42g for a small), milkshakes, and flavored McCafe drinks.
McDonald's does not list its buns on their own, but its nutrition calculator shows the effect: removing the bun and ketchup takes a Quarter Pounder with Cheese from 42g to 4g of carbs, and removing the Big Mac Bun takes a Big Mac from 45g to 8g.
Sources
- McDonald's USA Nutrition Calculator, accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Medium French Fries, accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Hash Browns, accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's McFlurry with OREO Cookies, accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Tangy Barbeque Sauce, accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Diet Coke (small), accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Unsweetened Iced Tea (small), accessed October 2026.
- McDonald's Coffee (small), accessed October 2026.