Whataburger Keto Options: What To Order and Avoid (UPDATED)

Here’s a complete low-carb meal option at Whataburger for someone following a keto diet, along with its nutrition facts:

Editor’s Low-Carb Whataburger Meal: Grilled Chicken Melt with Side Salad

Why This Meal:

• Balanced nutrition with protein, healthy fats, and low net carbs.
• The entire meal contains only 8g of net carbs, suitable for keto.
• Vegetables in the salad add variety and nutrients to your meal.

Main Course: Grilled Chicken Melt

Nutrition Facts (Approximate):

• Calories: 350
• Fat: 23g
• Protein: 30g
• Carbohydrates: 5g (Net Carbs: 4g)
• Fiber: 1g

Side: Garden Side Salad (without dressing)

Nutrition Facts (Approximate):

• Calories: 25
• Fat: 0g
• Protein: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 5g (Net Carbs: 4g)
• Fiber: 1g

Total Nutrition for the Complete Meal (Approximate):

• Calories: 375
• Fat: 23g
• Protein: 32g
• Carbohydrates: 10g (Net Carbs: 8g)
• Fiber: 2g

Please note: Nutrition facts can vary slightly based on portion sizes and specific ingredients. Always check with the restaurant or their official nutritional information for the most accurate details. Additionally, if you choose to add dressing to your salad, be mindful of its carb content. Opt for a keto-friendly dressing to keep your net carb intake in check.

When it comes to fast-food joints in the United States, Whataburger stands out as a top choice for a quick bite. Even though it operates in only 10 states, the burgers they serve are highly popular and incredibly delicious.

However, a common issue, whether you’re on a low-carb diet or not, is that like many fast food places, Whataburger uses ingredients that are high in carbohydrates.

The question then arises, what’s the solution?

The answer is simple: omit the high-carb ingredients.

But this might be easier said than done. Without knowledge of the ingredients, efficiently removing carbs can be quite challenging.

That’s where our comprehensive guide steps in.

We’ve compiled several tips to help you navigate Whataburger’s menu efficiently, even while following a keto diet. However, keep in mind that you can’t glean all the information you need from the introduction alone.

So, let’s dive right in!

Unlocking the Keto Diet and Its Advantages

The ketogenic diet, or keto for short, is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan that has gained popularity due to its potential to aid weight loss, improve mental clarity, and enhance energy levels. By drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fats, the body enters a state called ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel.

Whataburger’s Commitment to Catering to Different Dietary Needs

Whataburger, a beloved fast-food chain, sets itself apart by offering a diverse array of menu options. Recognizing the growing demand for keto-friendly choices, Whataburger has introduced customizable items that align perfectly with low-carb lifestyles.

Discovering Low-Carb Gems at Whataburger

Fortunately, you can customize almost anything on the menu to make it low-carb or keto-compliant. As a result, there are indeed low-carb meal options at Whataburger.

Leading the pack is the Avocado Bacon Burger, minus the bun and ketchup. This meal boasts 37g of protein, 52g of fat, and fewer than 5g of carbs. Plus, it’s incredibly flavorful – just remember to eliminate the bun and sauce. (9)

Ordering a keto-friendly meal at Whataburger is a breeze; you just need to omit the high-carb components.

For breakfast, simply skip the bread, bun, and sauce from the regular breakfast items to create keto-compliant meals.

Since you can customize virtually anything on the menu to become low carb or keto compliant, there are indeed low carb meals at Whataburger.

What are The Healthiest Low-Carb Options at Whataburger?

What does “healthy” mean to you? For those following a low-carb or keto diet, the breakfast menu becomes a treasure trove of nutritious options. Take the Sausage, Egg, Cheese, and Sandwich, for example. It provides satisfying calories without derailing your daily intake.

But what sets it apart?

Its caloric content is well-balanced, and it includes veggies for a nourishing meal.

For individuals adhering to a low-carb or keto diet, the healthiest meals are often found on the breakfast menu. The Sausage, Egg, Cheese, and Sandwich offers a wholesome calorie count that won’t disrupt your daily goals.

And why is this significant?

It means you can indulge without worrying about exceeding your daily calorie limit. Another standout is the Double Meat Whataburger with Double Cheese, Bacon, and Jalapenos, which features a host of healthy ingredients.

Balancing Calories for Your Goals: A Pro Tip

While enjoying Whataburger’s keto offerings, remember that calorie balance remains essential for your overall success. Ensuring harmony between your calorie intake and expenditure is crucial for optimal results.

Exploring the Whataburger Keto-Friendly Menu

By using the substitution method, there are quite a number of low carb or keto compliant meals you can get at Whataburger.

Some of these meals are;

1. Sausage Egg and Cheese Sandwich

Ordinarily, this meal contains a lot of carbs, but when you remove the bread,(10) all that remains is zero carbs.

The reason why we love this particular meal is that it is very tasty. It is also beautiful and easy to eat. 

Without the bread, all that remains is sausage party, egg, and cheese on top of one another. Make sure you ask for no milk in your egg.(*) 

With the little amount of carbs in this meal, it is completely keto compliant. The greatest thing about this rich keto meal is that it is cheap.

2. Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Taquito

In Spanish, taquito means taco(*) So, you’re basically getting everything inside a taco without the tortilla itself. This meal is simple and straight to the point. It is also keto compliant. 

When you ask for sausage, egg, and cheese taquito with no taco. The taco is removed. This means the remaining scrambled egg, sausage, and cheese are mixed together. 

You have to be careful about when it comes to this meal because it can be a bit messy and unfilling. Apart from that though, it’s around 3 carbs per serving. 

3. Scrambled Eggs and Bacon

This is a more traditional breakfast meal.(13) The original food on the menu comes with hash browns. You can ask for that to be removed because it contains a lot of carbs. 

Even though this is not the best meal on the list, it still tastes good, and the egg is fluffy. To be on the safe side, you can request for no milk in your egg.  

4. Whataburger Patty Melt

Originally, this meal comes with two beef patties, creamy pepper sauce, two slices of cheese, grilled onions and two buns. It also contains a lot of carbs which will instantly kick you out of ketosis or disrupt your low carb diet. 

Pro Tip: Tracking Macros for Keto Success – To make the most of your Whataburger keto adventure, keep an eye on your macronutrient intake. Balancing your fats, proteins, and carbs is key to staying in ketosis.

To make it more compliant, order for the Whataburger without buns and the creamy sauce. This instantly leaves you with the beef patties, the cheese, and grilled onions. 

This particular combination has no carbs, but you can order with the creamy pepper sauce if you’re feeling adventurous. This instantly makes it spicier and tastier. It also adds just 2g of carbs to your meal. 

5. Double Meat Whataburger with Double Cheese, Bacon, and Jalapenos 

This is an upgrade from the Whataburger Patty Melt. It contains virtually every healthy ingredient in a burger and a couple of unhealthy ones. 

To make it perfect for you on a low carb diet, your duty is to remove the unhealthy ones. 

By now, you should know that this means you have to remove the buns, and perhaps the creamy sauce. You should also ask for no mustard.

In the case of the Double Meat Whataburger with Double Cheese, Bacon, and Jalapenos, what this leaves you with is everything in the name. 

6. Grilled Chicken Melt plus side of lettuce

Just like most meals on this list, the Grilled Chicken Melt plus side of lettuce also started out as a burger.

With the buns, it’s very detrimental to your low carb or keto diet. However, without the buns, you’re left with grilled chicken breast, onions, red pepper, and Monterey Jack cheese. 

Without overstating the obvious, the meal is very tasty. 

The best thing about it? 

It has only 3g of carbs. This means you get to stay in ketosis and eat something amazing at once. It’s a great deal.

7. Garden Salad with Whatachik’n

This particular meal is for a moderately low-carb diet. This means it is not suitable for keto diet at all. However, you can get away with it on a low-carb diet. 

As the name implies, this meal contains the garden salad and the Whatachik’n. (14) If you’re not feeling as daring, you can ask for the chicken to be grilled instead.

8. Toppings, Dressings, Sides, and Drinks

As a burger joint, Whataburger has various toppings you can choose from to make your food tastier.

Before we get into the ones that are great for keto and low carb, we want to say, the ketchup is a total miss. It has carbs, and you don’t need that complication in your meal. 

The ones that are keto compliant are pickles, green chillies, avocado, cheese, lettuce, bacon, and jalapeños.

When it comes to dressings, your enemies are anything with “sweet” in their names. They are most likely sugary. Sugar equals carbs, and carbs means you get kicked out of ketosis.

Also avoid low fat or diet items. On a keto diet, they don’t really mean low carbs.

Nevertheless, there are three great dressings you can try at Whataburger. They are;

• Jalapeño ranch dressing with just an insignificant worth of carbs, 1g.
• Creamy pepper dressing with just 2g worth of carbs, and 
• Ranch dressing for more daring people with 5g worth of carbs.

If there’s anything you should do to sides in Whataburger, it’s “throwing them in the trash”. 

The carbs content are so high, and they’ll single-handedly take you out of ketosis. However, if you’re on a low-carb diet, you can go for apple slices and nothing else.

Drinks

There’s a limit to what you can drink in Whataburger on a keto diet. 

Here’s why:

Many of the drinks served at fast-food restaurants contain a lot of sugar. That means they have a lot of cups. However, there are the usual ones for people on keto diet. 

By this we mean, diet soda, water and coffee. Make sure you take the coffee – black and unsweetened – as that will add to its carbs content. 

Four Essential Tips for Ordering Low Carb at Whataburger On Keto

If you’re on a low-carb or keto diet, the best option is to ensure that you don’t find yourself at a fast-food restaurant at all. But if the situation can’t be helped, then you can find low carb meals at Whataburger. 

Of course, it may not be easy to see anything keto compliant at the restaurant. However, with a few rules, you can always stay on the right side of ketosis. 

1. Order a Burger

Burgers are one of Whataburger’s specialties. So, if you’re going to get any chance at a low-carb meal, the best chance would be to start with it. Just make sure you get rid of the bun and sauce first. (3)

The restaurant serves different kinds of burgers. You can figure out what makes them different from one another by checking out the menu on their website.

In addition to the burgers, there are keto-compliant toppings you can add when you’re ordering. Some of them are avocado, (4) cheese, and bacon.

That’s not all!

Whataburger makes use of other traditional burger options like lettuce, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, and diced onions in their burgers. (5)

Some of them come with pepper sauce, but avoiding that should be no trouble. Just ask for it to be taken out before you order. 

Now, the mustard should be passable enough, but since you can’t tell the brand they’re using, it’ll be best to hold that too. 

What does this mean for you?

It means that we advise that you hold the bun, the sauce, and the mustard when it comes to burgers. 

2. Pair With a Side Salad

Since many people focus on removing carbs and getting in all the fat on a ketogenic diet, eating vegetables is always almost an afterthought. (6) You can remedy this at Whataburger. 

The restaurant may serve many things that are high in carbs, but the side vegetables are very healthy. We also think they are great for balancing your nutrients

In our experience, out of all their salads, the best one for keto and low carb is the garden salad. This meal contains great vegetables such as carrots, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes.

To make it completely keto-compliant, hold the dressing as they may contain sugar. 

Another good salad is the apple and cranberry chicken salad. However, the apple and cranberry will not be helping your special diet at all, so skip them. 

Pro tip: General Strategies for Ordering Keto-Friendly Meals – Ask for lettuce wraps, explore the ingredients in detail, and don’t hesitate to customize your order. Most establishments, including Whataburger, are accommodating and will cater to your dietary needs.

3. Beware of Breading and Milk

If there’s anything you should watch out for at Whataburger, it is breading. Many of the chicken sandwiches at the restaurant tend to come with breading. 

What does this mean for you? 

It means that you may mistakenly order one if you’re not paying attention, and that’s really bad for your low carb or keto diet. 

What do you do then?

The answer is simple! Make sure you ask for grilled chicken in your chicken sandwich. If that is impossible, just stay away completely.

Another thing about Whataburger we stumbled across is that they put milk in their eggs to make it appear fluffy. This milk can be sweetened and will definitely add to your carbs limit. To prevent this, specially request for no milk when you’re ordering for a sandwich.

4. Embrace the Breakfast Menu

Even though Whataburger serves a lot of easily customizable meals, many of them are part of the breakfast menu.

Breakfast at Whataburger is from 11 pm to 11 am. This means you should time your order to sometime in between. 

Think about it: You can easily follow the tips we’ve mentioned so far with them. For example, with the burgers, you can leave out the bun, sauce and mustard. For the sandwich, you can leave out the bread.

When you’re not sure about how to customize your meal at Whataburger, we advise that you check the nutritional guide. (8)

What Foods to Avoid at Whataburger For Keto Diet

Now that we have mentioned the meals you can get at Whataburger, we also have to mention the specific ingredients and meals you should avoid. 

The truth is, no matter how easy the meals at Whataburger are to customize, it is still a fast-food joint. The restaurant uses sugar and other high carbs ingredients in its food, and in these particular ones, there’s no getting around it. 

The first on the list is the chorizo taquito. It contains non-fat milk which in turn contains sugar. It also contains hydrogenated soybean oil and white corn flour which is just way too much carbs for anyone to eat at once. 

But that’s not all!

The pancakes are also a solid no. They are made with flour and sugar. While they are definitely tasty, these two ingredients will kick you out of ketosis and deplete your carbs limit in no time. 

The last is a meal that sounds harmless enough. We’re talking about the Honey BBQ Chicken strip sandwich. If it sounds harmless enough with the BBQ chicken, the bread of the sandwich makes eating it a bad idea.

Conclusion

We are finally here!

It is time to round up the article, and we hope you’ve gained a bit from it.

The takeaway is simple.

“You can eat at a fast-food restaurant like Whataburger if you have the right knowledge.”

Now, you can confidently go with friends to the fast-food joint without feeling left out. 

But that’s not all!

We’ll like you to make the nutritional guide your friend. You may want to customize a meal that’s not on this list. The guide will give you an idea of the nutrients it contains. (15) 

We hope you have a great time at Whataburger!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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