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The best low-carb options at McDonald's (2026 guide)

A dietitian-reviewed guide to the lowest-carb menu items at McDonald's — plus exact macro-friendly customizations for burgers, breakfast and salads.

Written by

Carb Lens Editorial

Nutrition writers & product team

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Alicia Nguyen, RD, CDCES

Registered Dietitian · Certified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist · 12+ years clinical experience

Published July 11, 2026 7 min readEditorial policy

McDonald's isn't the first place you'd expect on a low-carb list, but with a few small swaps most of the menu drops well under 10g of net carbs. Here are the best keto-friendly and low-carb orders — and the exact customizations that make them work.

The rule of thumb

Almost every menu item is low-carb once you remove three things: the bun, the fries, and the sugary sauces. Everything else — beef patties, chicken, eggs, cheese, bacon, most salads — is naturally low in carbs.

Best low-carb burgers (under 5g net carbs)

Ask for any burger "lettuce-wrapped, no ketchup, no bun". The kitchen will hand it to you in a lettuce or paper wrap.

  • **Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (no bun, no ketchup):** ~3g net carbs · 520 kcal · 43g protein.
  • **Big Mac (no bun, no Big Mac sauce, add mustard):** ~4g net carbs · 400 kcal. The default Big Mac sauce adds 8g of sugar — swap for mustard or plain mayo.
  • **McDouble (no bun, no ketchup):** ~2g net carbs · 280 kcal · 22g protein. The cheapest keto win on the menu.

Best low-carb breakfast (under 6g net carbs)

Breakfast is the easiest meal to make low-carb at McDonald's — skip the McMuffin or biscuit and ask for the fillings as a bowl.

  • **Sausage, Egg & Cheese McMuffin (no muffin):** ~2g net carbs · 300 kcal · 18g protein.
  • **Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit (no biscuit):** ~2g net carbs · 250 kcal · 15g protein.
  • **Round egg + sausage patty + American cheese, no bread:** ~1g net carbs · 280 kcal.
  • **Black coffee or Americano:** 0g carbs. Add heavy cream if you want it richer — most locations have single-serve cream packs.

Skip: hash browns (15g net carbs), hotcakes (60g+), any "iced" or "frappé" coffee (30-70g of sugar).

Best low-carb chicken options

  • **Grilled chicken from any salad, ordered on its own:** ~1g net carbs · 130 kcal · 25g protein.
  • **McCrispy or McSpicy without the bun:** ~5g net carbs from the breading. Not zero-carb, but manageable in a keto day.
  • **Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad (no tortilla strips, no dressing sachet):** ~9g net carbs · 320 kcal.

Salads and dressings that work

The Newman's Own Ranch and Caesar dressings are the two lowest-carb options (~2g per packet). Skip the Balsamic Vinaigrette and Sweet Onion — both are 8-10g of sugar per packet.

If your local menu still has the Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad, that's the gold standard: ~8g net carbs, 30g of protein, and it feels like a real meal.

Drinks and sides

  • **Diet Coke, Coke Zero, unsweetened iced tea, black coffee:** 0g carbs.
  • **Bottled water:** 0g carbs.
  • **Side salad (no dressing):** 3g net carbs.
  • **Apple slices:** 8g carbs — technically fine, but the sugar hits fast.

Skip: any regular soda (39g+ carbs per medium), lemonade, milkshakes (80-140g of sugar), any "McFlurry".

Sample low-carb orders

~$8, 550 kcal, 5g net carbs, 40g protein Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, no bun, no ketchup + Diet Coke.

~$6, 420 kcal, 3g net carbs, 30g protein Two Sausage McMuffins with Egg, no muffins + black coffee.

~$10, 480 kcal, 9g net carbs, 35g protein Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad, ranch dressing, no tortilla strips + unsweetened iced tea.

Ordering tips that actually work

  1. **Use the app or kiosk.** You can uncheck the bun and every sauce without holding up the drive-thru line.
  2. **Ask for a fork.** Bunless burgers arrive in a paper wrap — a fork makes them easier to eat.
  3. **Watch the sauces.** Sweet & Sour, BBQ, Honey Mustard and Big Mac sauce all pack 6-12g of sugar per packet. Mayo, ranch, mustard and Caesar are the safe choices.
  4. **Don't fear the cheese.** American cheese at McDonald's is ~1g of carbs per slice — cheap protein and fat.

What to avoid entirely

  • Buns, biscuits, muffins, tortillas, pancakes, hash browns — the biggest carb sources on the menu.
  • Sweet drinks: sodas, lemonade, sweet tea, frappés, McFlurries, milkshakes.
  • Sweet sauces: ketchup, BBQ, sweet & sour, honey mustard, Big Mac sauce.
  • Fries — even a small is 26g of carbs and spikes glucose fast.

The Carb Lens shortcut

Not sure how a customized order stacks up? Snap it in the Carb Lens scanner and you'll see net carbs, sugar and a glycemic impact score in about a second — including for common customizations like "no bun" or "no sauce". Great for anyone watching blood sugar who eats out often.

About the author

Carb Lens Editorial — Nutrition writers & product team. The Carb Lens editorial team writes practical, source-checked guides on carbs, blood sugar, and everyday nutrition. Every article is drafted by our writers and cross-referenced against USDA FoodData Central and peer-reviewed clinical guidelines.

How we source and review this article

Nutrition figures come from the USDA FoodData Central database. Blood-sugar and glycemic-load framing follows guidance from the American Diabetes Association and World Health Organization healthy-diet recommendations. Every article is medically reviewed by Dr. Alicia Nguyen, RD, CDCES before publishing and re-checked on a rolling basis. See our full editorial & medical review policy.

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you're managing diabetes or another condition, always defer to your care team.

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