Chick-fil-A Keto Guide: What to Order and Carb Counts

An item is keto friendly here when it has roughly 5 grams of net carbs or fewer. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber. Total carbs are the number printed on the label, and most keto plans count net carbs.

The numbers come from Chick-fil-A's published nutrition information and databases that mirror it. They change with size, recipe and how you customize, so use them as a close guide.

The lowest carb items, at a glance:

The whole approach comes down to one idea. Order chicken that is grilled, and take away anything made of bread, potato, sugar or breading.

Keto at chick fil a works best when you break the day into meals and fix the carb source in each one. The table below shows a simple swap for every part of the menu.

Notice how few items need no changes at all. Grilled Nuggets and the drinks are the only ones you can order as is. Everything else needs a swap or a removal, so ask clearly and check the receipt or app.

Keto Breakfast Orders

Keto food at chick fil a is easiest to find at breakfast because you can simply drop the bread. Ask for the egg and chicken or sausage, and leave off the muffin or biscuit.

Here are the working orders:

• Egg White Grill without the muffin. The sandwich is about 300 calories with the muffin and 29 grams of carbs. Without it, published keto guides put it near 1 gram of net carbs and about 150 calories.
• Hash Brown Scramble Bowl without hash browns. The hash browns are the carb source. Without them, the bowl is mostly eggs, cheese and meat.
• Sausage, Egg and Cheese without the biscuit. This one is rich in fat and low in carbs, at about 1 to 2 grams of net carbs.
• Black coffee. Skip sweetened and flavored drinks.

Availability varies by location. The Egg White Grill and grilled breakfast filets are not at every restaurant, so check the app first. For everything on the morning lineup, see the breakfast menu.

Low Carb Meal at Chick-fil-A: Grilled Chicken Builds

The best low carb order here is grilled chicken without the bun, plus a sauce and side you chose on purpose. Two entrees do most of the work.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich, no bun. The full sandwich has about 45 grams of carbs, nearly all in the bun. Without it, you are left with about 2 to 3 grams of net carbs. The Grilled Chicken Club works the same way and adds bacon and cheese.

Grilled Nuggets. An 8 count has about 1 gram of carbs and 25 grams of protein. They need no changes at all.

Here is the ordering wording that works:

1. "Grilled Chicken Sandwich, no bun, in a bowl."
2. "No butter, no sauce on the chicken."
3. "Zesty Buffalo on the side."

Grilled chicken is seasoned and marinated, so strict dieters should check the ingredient list in the app. See the grilled chicken sandwich and grilled nuggets pages for what each contains.

The breading is where the carbs live. A grilled 8 count has about 1 gram of carbs. A breaded 8 count has about 11 grams.

Fiber is 0 grams in the breaded and grilled 8 and 12 counts, so net carbs equal total carbs. Protein is almost the same either way, at 25 grams for the grilled 8 count and 27 grams for the breaded.

The sugar tells you the other side. Both have about 1 gram of sugar, so the carbs in breaded nuggets are starch from the coating, not sweetness.

For keto, choose grilled. If you eat very strict low carb, 12 count of grilled nuggets stays at 2 grams of carbs, which leaves plenty of room for sauce and a side. See more on the nuggets page.

A regular Chick-fil-A sandwich has about 41 to 46 grams of total carbs, and the bun is nearly all of it. That puts every sandwich with a bun out of range for keto.

The Grilled Chicken Sandwich has slightly more carbs than the Original because its bun has more sugar, at about 11 grams. Fiber helps, but not enough.

Take the bun away and the picture changes. The filet itself is breaded in the Original, Spicy and Deluxe, so those still carry carbs even without a bun. Only the grilled versions drop to the low single digits. See the full sandwiches page for how each is built.

A Cobb Salad with grilled chicken can land around 10 to 12 grams of net carbs once you remove the crispy bell peppers. That makes it the best salad for keto, but not a zero carb one.

Calories change with the chicken you pick, before dressing:

What to remove or watch:

• Crispy bell peppers. They are fried and add starch. Ask for none.
• Breaded chicken. Choose grilled filet or Grilled Nuggets.
• Dressing. Garden Herb Ranch, Creamy Salsa and Avocado Lime Ranch are 2 to 3 grams of carbs per packet.

The Market Salad includes fruit and granola, so it carries roughly 40 grams of carbs as listed. The Spicy Southwest Salad adds corn and black beans. Neither fits a keto plan. Learn more on the Cobb Salad page.

Waffle fries are out. A small has about 35 grams of total carbs, a medium about 45 and a large about 65. Fiber takes off only 4 to 7 grams, so net carbs are still high.

Kale Crunch is the one side that comes close to fitting. It has almonds and a vinaigrette, so the carbs stay low for a salad. Mac and cheese looks small but its carbs and saturated fat add up fast. See the sides page for the complete list.

Carbs in Chick-fil-A Fruit Cup

A small Fruit Cup has about 14 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber and 11 grams of sugar. A medium has 16 grams and a large has 28.

That is about 12 grams of net carbs in a small. Strict keto plans, which often cap the whole day at 20 to 30 grams, will use up half or more on one cup. A flexible low carb plan can fit it. Treat it as a planned snack, not a default side.

Carbs in Chick-fil-A Cookie and Other Treats

Every sweet treat is out for keto. A Chocolate Chunk Cookie has about 370 calories and 49 grams of carbs, with 26 grams of sugar. A Chocolate Fudge Brownie has about 370 calories and 47 grams of carbs.

An Icedream cone is about 180 calories and 32 grams of carbs. A Frosted Lemonade has about 67 grams of carbs. Milkshakes run from about 520 to over 900 calories and are mostly sugar.

If you want something sweet on a low carb day, skip dessert at the restaurant and save it for home.

The best keto sauces are Zesty Buffalo, Garden Herb Ranch, Avocado Lime Ranch and Creamy Salsa. The worst are Polynesian, Honey Mustard and Chick-fil-A Sauce, because they hide sugar.

Honey Roasted BBQ is a sweet barbecue sauce, so expect double digit carbs. Creamy dressings are low in carbs but high in calories, so they suit keto while costing you on a calorie budget.

Cheese sauce and jalapenos are offered only at some restaurants in select markets, and each operator decides. Check the app, and ask for them if available. See the sauce and dressing guide for every option. If you remember only one rule, remember this one for chick fil a keto options: pick buffalo or ranch, and leave the sweet sauces alone.

A keto diet at chick fil a is easy to run once you have three meals memorized. Here are builds with their approximate carbs:

Totals add the listed figures and assume the Zesty Buffalo and ranch are single packets. Your restaurant may differ.

Mistakes to skip:

• Ordering breaded chicken. The coating adds 10 to 40 grams of carbs.
• Ignoring honey sauces. Honey Mustard, Polynesian and Honey Roasted BBQ all carry real sugar.
• Choosing a sweet drink. One medium Lemonade can use up a full day of carbs.
• Leaving the bun on. It is almost all of a sandwich's carbs.
• Forgetting the crispy bell peppers. They hide in the Cobb and the Side Salad.

You can find more health guidance on the healthier picks page, and the full nutrition and calorie guide has the numbers for the rest of the menu.