Keto at McDonald's: Every Low-Carb Order
The best keto order at McDonald's is a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or any burger, ordered without the bun — not an official menu option, but most locations will still make it. Skipping the bun removes the biggest carb source at the counter, since the patty, cheese, and toppings carry very little on their own.
Menu data last verified: August 2026, sourced from McDonald's official U.S. nutrition information.1
McDonald's runs no keto menu, and unlike some burger chains it doesn't officially offer a lettuce-wrap or "protein style" swap — but its simple, build-heavy format still leaves room to eat low-carb if you're willing to skip the bread. This guide ranks every relevant item by net carbs as McDonald's serves it, explains the bunless trick, and gives you a full order under 20 g net carbs.
How do you order keto at McDonald's?
Order any burger or breakfast sandwich without the bun, muffin, or biscuit, and skip the fries, hash browns, and sweetened sauces. Bread is the single largest carb source on this menu — most sandwiches carry 25 to 40+ g net carbs, nearly all of it from the bun — so removing it does more work than any other single change you can make.
- Ask for it without the bun. McDonald's has no official "bunless" button in its system, but staff can usually leave it off or hand it to you separately so you can eat the patty, cheese, and toppings with a fork.
- Skip the fries and hash browns. A medium fries alone runs about 40 g net carbs — more than most people's entire daily keto budget.1
- Choose mustard, mayonnaise, or extra cheese over ketchup and BBQ sauce, which carry added sugar.
- Order a Side Salad instead of fries as your side — it's the one item on the menu that's low-carb as served, no modification needed.
- Drink black coffee, unsweetened iced tea, or water. Sodas, shakes, and sweetened McCafé drinks are some of the highest-carb items on the menu.
- Check your exact build with the net-carb calculator if you're stacking extra toppings or a bigger burger.
Best low-carb items at McDonald's, ranked
As McDonald's serves them, only the Side Salad sits under 20 g net carbs — every burger and breakfast sandwich runs 24 g or higher because of the bread. The table below ranks each item by net carbs as ordered, using McDonald's official nutrition data.1
| Item (as served) | Net carbs | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side Salad | 2 g | 1 g | 15 |
| Hash Brown | 15 g | 1 g | 150 |
| 10-Piece Chicken McNuggets | 24 g | 24 g | 440 |
| Sausage Burrito | 25 g | 13 g | 300 |
| Egg McMuffin | 28 g | 17 g | 300 |
| Sausage McMuffin with Egg | 28 g | 21 g | 480 |
| Hamburger | 29 g | 13 g | 250 |
| Cheeseburger | 31 g | 15 g | 300 |
| McDouble | 31 g | 22 g | 390 |
| Quarter Pounder with Cheese | 39 g | 31 g | 540 |
| Medium French Fries | 40 g | 4 g | 340 |
| Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese | 40 g | 51 g | 780 |
| Big Mac | 43 g | 25 g | 540 |
Side Salad — 2g net carbs
The only naturally low-carb item on the menu as served, and a good base to add grilled chicken or bacon to. On its own it's mostly volume, not a full meal — pair it with a protein.
10-Piece Chicken McNuggets — 24g net carbs
The breading carries most of the carbs, so nuggets aren't a top pick, but a 4-piece order scales down proportionally to roughly 10 g net carbs — workable as part of a bigger order if you skip the sweet dipping sauces.
Sausage Burrito — 25g net carbs
The tortilla is the carb source here; the sausage, egg, and cheese filling inside carries very little on its own. Order two and eat the filling with a fork if you want to cut this further.
Egg McMuffin — 28g net carbs
The English muffin accounts for nearly all of the carbs. The Canadian bacon, egg, and cheese inside are close to zero on their own — this is a strong candidate for the bunless approach below.
Sausage McMuffin with Egg — 28g net carbs
Same muffin math as the Egg McMuffin, with a sausage patty instead of Canadian bacon for more fat and slightly more protein.
Hamburger — 29g net carbs
A plain bun, patty, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and onion. Add cheese for more fat and it barely moves the carb count.
Cheeseburger — 31g net carbs
Nearly identical to the plain Hamburger with a slice of cheese added — the extra carbs from the cheese itself are minor.
McDouble — 31g net carbs
Two patties and cheese on the same bun as a Cheeseburger, so the carb count barely changes while protein jumps to 22 g — a better carb-to-protein ratio than the single patty.
Quarter Pounder with Cheese — 39g net carbs
A larger sesame-seed bun pushes this above the standard burgers. Order it without the bun and it becomes one of the strongest picks on the menu (see below).
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese — 40g net carbs
The same bun as the Quarter Pounder with a second patty added, so nearly all the carb increase from a single Quarter Pounder comes from doubling the meat's minimal carbs, not the bread. The highest-protein item on the menu at 51 g.
Big Mac — 43g net carbs
The three-piece bun and the special sauce push this to the top of the ranking. It's the one item where removing the bun alone won't get you close to a strict keto target, since the sauce itself carries some sugar.
What's the "no bun" trick, and how much does it actually save?
McDonald's doesn't publish nutrition data for bunless orders, but the math is simple: a standard McDonald's bun accounts for roughly 25 to 30 g of the carbs in most sandwiches, since the patty, cheese, and standard condiments carry very little starch or sugar on their own. Order a Quarter Pounder with Cheese without the bun and you land in the ballpark of 10 to 14 g net carbs instead of 39 g — confirm your exact build with the net-carb calculator if you're tracking closely, since toppings and extra sauce shift the number.
This trick works best on the simplest sandwiches — Hamburger, Cheeseburger, McDouble, and Quarter Pounder with Cheese — where the bun is genuinely most of the carb count. It helps less on the Big Mac, where the special sauce and extra bread layer both contribute, and on breakfast sandwiches, where you're removing a muffin or biscuit instead of a bun.
What should you avoid at McDonald's on keto?
Fries, hash browns, biscuits, McGriddles, and any sweetened drink are the highest-carb items on the menu, and none of them have a practical low-carb workaround the way a bunned burger does.
- Medium French Fries — about 40 g net carbs, more than most daily keto budgets in one side.
- Hash Brown — about 15 g net carbs for a small, low-protein item; skip it in favor of eggs, bacon, or sausage.
- Biscuits and McGriddles — the biscuit and griddle-cake "bread" both run high in carbs and, for McGriddles, added sugar on top.
- Shakes, sodas, and sweetened McCafé drinks — some of the highest-carb items on the entire menu; a small shake alone can run 60+ g net carbs.
- Apple Pie and other desserts — carb-dense with little fat or protein to offset it.
For a broader sense of what fits a keto day beyond this one chain, see the keto food list.
Sample order under 20g net carbs
- Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun — about 10 to 14 g net carbs (estimated), 31 g protein.
- Side Salad — 2 g net carbs.
- Black coffee or unsweetened iced tea — 0 g net carbs.
- Total: roughly 12 to 16 g net carbs, with over 30 g of protein and enough fat to keep you full until your next meal.
If you're new to keto and want the fundamentals before your next drive-thru run, start with Keto Diet 101. For how McDonald's stacks up against other chains, see our ranked fast-food guide or the Wendy's low-carb ordering guide for a burger chain that runs closer to McDonald's menu. For the universal rules that apply anywhere, see the eating-out hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you eat keto at McDonald's?
What is the lowest-carb thing to order at McDonald's?
Does McDonald's have a bunless burger option?
Are McDonald's chicken nuggets keto-friendly?
What should you avoid ordering at McDonald's on keto?
Works cited
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