If you’ve ever been to Denny’s before, one thing you’ve probably noticed is that the diner has a lot of meals on its menu.
What’s more?
Many of them are well made with the emphasis on various nutrients. Some contain a lot of fat, some a lot of carbs, and not many are perfect for keto. But you can still have keto-compliant meals all the time at the diner.
How, you may ask?
The restaurant gives an opportunity to create your own meals. So, with the right knowledge of the original recipes, you can remove the ingredients that are high in carbs. That is what we hope to help within this article.
We are going to walk you through creating your own keto-compliant meals at Denny’s with the existing recipes. The journey is long, so let’s get started.
What’s Denny’s
Denny’s is a popular diner restaurant with headquarters in South Carolina. Overall, it has 1702 restaurants in different locations within and outside the United States. But there is more to the diner than just these two facts. Let us tell you more. (ref. 1)
- When the restaurant was first established, it was a donut shop. Today, it is something more.
- Denny’s has enjoyed more than 60 years of existence. So, it is one of the oldest diners in the United State. The most spectacular part about the diner?
- It has a no closing policy, which keeps it open all year round. In fact, this policy was so widely followed that there was a huge problem with locks in 1988 when the restaurants wanted to close for Christmas. (ref. 2)What does this mean?
- You can get a meal at Denny’s at any time of the day. The menu contains many meals that are appropriate for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. The restaurant also accommodates different palates. Therefore, you can make changes to the existing recipes.But that’s not all.
There are certain things you need to know before eating at the diner. These things will give you a great experience, especially if you are on a low-carb diet.
Do they serve keto-compliant meals at Denny’s?
The answer is No. While it is possible to customize the existing menu to meet your keto needs, Denny’s does not originally serve keto-compliant meals.
What this means is that with what we’ve mentioned in this article, you should be able to get yourself a keto-compliant meal at Denny’s.
Can you get a low carb meal at Denny’s?
Originally, there are some meals at Denny’s that have low carbs. We have mentioned them in this article.
If the meal you like contains many carbs, you can also use the substitution method.
Top 4 Tips to Eat Low Carb Meals at Denny’s For Keto Diet
At Denny’s, the burgers are made from 100% beef. However, that’s where the healthy nature of the meals ends.
Ordinarily, the grand slam alone contains more than 1000 calories, and the side dishes can bump you out of ketosis. There’s no guarantee that the meals don’t have tons of sugar, but there’s a way you can sidestep this.
What do we mean by this?
The answer is simple. If you want to enjoy a keto-compliant meal at the diner, there are four things we would like you to keep in mind.
1. Stay away from the festive flavor section
Denny’s has an entire menu list which is inspired by holidays. Meals in this section are colorful, which is why this section is dangerous for you.
They also have tons of sugar which is supposed to put you in the holiday mood. Do your best to avoid these meals.
As far as we know, one of the meals that fall under this category is the Cinnamon roll pancake breakfast. You may also want to avoid eating desserts at the diner altogether.
In our opinion, the best menu list if you’re on a keto diet is the fit fare menu. This list contains healthy meals like Sirloin Steak and the Fit Slam. However, you should also pay attention to what accompanies these meals.
This is exactly what brings us to the next thing on the list.
2. Learn to Customize
One of the things Denny’s is proud of is the ability to accommodate its customer’s preferences. This means that you can order off the menu.
If there’s something you are not sure about the meal you want to order, you can leave it out. This option gives you the ability to order meals that are more keto-compliant.
As great an option as this is, you don’t have to stress yourself whenever you want to order.
You can also go with the original menu with a little tweak. For instance, Bunless Burgers are something you can request instead of the original burgers. You can also order for salad dishes made with low-carb veggies instead of fries.
3. Make up your mind before you enter the diner
This is very important if you’re to get what you want from the diner.
What this means is that you should decide what your meals will cover before entering the diner. For instance, if you are on a low-carbs diet, your meal will be different from that of a person on a strict ketogenic diet.
For this purpose, you need to make up your mind on what you want beforehand.
If you’re having just a low carbs diet, you can have seasonal fruits as a side dish. But if you’re on a keto diet, you may have to be more picky.
4. Don’t eat your eggs with milk.
Some people love to eat omelets or scrambled eggs with milk. They enjoy it. So, it is important to inform your server that you don’t want milk with your egg.
Not only does this practice make the egg thin and tasteless, milk also has some sugar content which may affect your keto or low carb diet.
By now, you probably know what to watch out for when ordering a low-carb meal at Denny’s. What’s left is to identify what to call and how to order it.
Here is the menu that we prepare for you at Denny’s. Let’s go.
Best Low Carb Options To Try at Denny’s
With the sheer number of meals you can order at Denny’s, it is no wonder that some of them have low carbs. Slow-cooked pot roast, T-bone steak and eggs with hash brown are two meals you can’t go wrong with.
However, for these meals, you may have to tweak the recipe a bit.
For the slow-cooked pot roast, the carbs content is low but you should try to pick different sides. Preferably those that have little carbs.
The T-bone steak with eggs and hash brown is usually served with bread.
You should ask for both the hashbrown and the bread to be removed completely. This is because they contain too many carbs.
There are other meals on the menu that have low carbs. We have mentioned some of them for your convenience. If you’re interested in them, let’s get started!
1. Slams
Most of the slams have low carbs, especially the All American Slams. But for the others, you need to tweak the recipe a little here and there.
For instance, you should avoid toast, pancakes, and hashbrowns in your slams. Instead, you should go for more meat, avocado or eggs.
If you’re on a ketogenic diet, avoid the English muffin and seasonal fruits in Fit Slam. If you’re on just a low carbs diet, avoid only the English Muffin.
For the Grand Slam Slugger, ask your server to remove the juice. (ref. 3)
2. Omelets
Omelets have the littlest amount of carbs, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.
For this purpose, you should specifically request that no milk is used. If you also request veggies with low carbs, your omelet should be a perfect breakfast choice.
You should order your omelet without the addition of toast or hash browns.
Build Your Own Omelette
You can create your own omelet the same way you can build your own grand slam. The best thing about this is that there is no additional cost.
If you’re going to be building your own omelet, you should consider certain ingredients. Chief among them is the egg.
Once that’s settled, request for bacon, sausage, spinach, and cheese. Stay away from the onions, especially the caramelized ones.
3. Build Your Own Grand Slam
A better option to picking from the existing grand slam is to build your own. To support your low carbs or keto diet, use a lot of eggs, sausage, and bacon in the recipe.
4. Salads
If you want to have a salad dish at Denny’s, what you need to pay attention to is the dressing.
If you can substitute the regular dressing for vinegar and oil dressing, you can reduce the amount of carbs in the meal considerably.
Other low-carb salads you can explore are avocado chicken Caesar and prime rib Cobb without dressing.
5. Appetizers
Appetizers are meal starters and a really big deal at Denny’s.
For a low-carb diet, chicken tenders and boneless buffalo wings are the best. They contain 14 and 19 net carbs, respectively. Of course, they may not be the best for keto dieters.
6. Burgers
Burgers, as they are served, are no-go areas for people on a low carbs diet.
Ordinarily, one burger contains around 35 to 55 kg of carbs. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t eat them, you just need a little substitution.
If you ask for the buns to be removed, this will considerably reduce the amount of carbs in the food. Other things you should steer clear of when ordering burgers are mayo and the sauce.
7. Soups
Who doesn’t like soups either as a dish or an accompaniment to something.
If you’re on a low carbs diet, you may be able to sneak some soup into your diet. If you’re on keto, you may want to consider removing certain ingredients. (ref. 4)
8. Dinner
Since Denny’s open 24/7, they also have certain meals that are perfect to be eaten for dinner. One of them is the Mediterranean grilled chicken. This meal is both tasty and perfect for a low-carb diet when it has been edited a bit.
What this means is that you’ll be avoiding the tomato bruschetta and requesting steamed broccoli instead.
Sirloin steaks and T-bone steaks are also perfect for dinner. They also have carbohydrate content that’s less than 2kg. They are the favorite of keto dieters.
Dinner Sides
These are the accompaniments that are perfect for your dinner meals.
Broccoli is a perfect choice. It has 2 kg of carbs.
Fresh sauteed zucchini and squash is another tasty option at Denny’s. It also contains 2kg of carbs.
Between these two, you can find a suitable side for your meal.
9. Drinks
At Denny’s, certain drinks are appropriate for a low-carb diet.
One of them is coffee. It is made from coffee beans which contain zero carbs.
Other options are herbal tea and diet Coke. If you have a sweet tooth, diet Coke is the right choice to go with.
What You Should Avoid at Denny’s
There are many options for you to explore at Denny’s. However, some of them are not even worth considering. They either contain too many carbs for you to customize successfully, or they are too unhealthy.
Either way, the safest way to remain in keto or eat a low carbs diet is with the options mentioned above.
Nevertheless, just in case you ever come across these meals, it is always safer to know that you should avoid them. That is why they are listed below.
If you’re interested in knowing them, let’s get started.
All crepe and pancake dishes should be avoided.
Making them involves the use of too many ingredients with sugar. They’re just too unhealthy and not really worth your time.
Country fried steak and eggs are not okay for any reason.
The oil used is usually vegetable oil and not healthy enough for a low carbs diet. However, if you can have the meal grilled instead of fried, this will greatly improve its quality.
French fries, English muffins, french toast slam, and french toast slugger are no-no options
All these things have way too many carbs.
Conclusion
Finally, we are here, and boy, are we glad we are! It’s been a great journey for us too, and we hope you’ve learned a thing or two.
At this point, we are sure you can walk into your nearest Denny’s restaurant and order one low carb meal or two.
What’s more?
You can even take it up a notch and order yourself a keto meal if you’re on keto diet. All we have to say is have fun and enjoy your meal.
Up Next:
- IHOP Keto Guide
- The Ultimate Keto Friendly Restaurants List
