Zaxby’s loves playing with words when it comes to naming their dishes. But with regards to their chicken, they take things pretty serious, like literally.
That’s why they are known for offering some of the best chicken wings and fingers in the market.
But here’s the catch:
Most of their chicken offerings have breading, and therefore, may not be suitable for people on the keto diet. Or so you think: Is Zaxbys Keto friendly?
What if we tell you that there’s a way on how you can eat the famous Zaxby’s chicken wings and fingers even on keto? You don’t believe us? You may want to read this article to the end for the the truth…
How to Order Zaxbys Keto
Here are a few tips on how to choose the best low carb dishes at Zaxby’s on keto diet:
1. Shy away from obvious carbohydrate-rich food items.
These include breads, fries, toasts, and many more. Fortunately, you have the option to customize your meals so you can ask the servers to hold these food items so you can quickly eat keto at Zaxby’s.
But of course, there are plenty of dishes that won’t be keto friendly no matter how you customize them. We highlighted what those dishes are in the last section to help you determine which dishes to avoid.
2. Make sure your tossing and dipping sauces are keto compatible.
If you want to eat keto at Zaxby’s, their chicken wings and fingers are some of the best options that you have. However, the dipping sauce that you’ll choose can significantly affect the dish’s net carbs.
That’s why you must determine what keto tossing sauces on their menu are.
Here are our suggestions:
- Ranch (20g fat, 1g protein, and 2 net carbs)
- Tongue Torch (0g fat, 0g protein, 3 net carbs)
- Zestable (19g fat, 0g protein, and 4 net carbs)
The Zax Sauce is their trademark sauce. However, we don’t recommend eating this when on keto as it contains 5g net carbs!
3. Drizzle low carb dressings on your salads.
You’ll most likely order their zalads too. While most of these are generally keto friendly, you must choose your dressings wisely.
Below are some of the options that you have:
- Ranch dressing (2 net carbs)
- Blue Cheese (2 net carbs)
- Caesar (2 net carbs)
- 1000 Island (3 net carbs)
- Mediterranean (3 net carbs)
- Lite Ranch (3 net carbs)
4. Resist the temptation of ordering sweetened drinks.
No matter how refreshing juices, sodas, and shakes are, resist the temptation to order them. Stick to water or unsweetened teas so your body can stay in ketosis.
5. Try ordering the chicken without the breading.
Chicken Fingerz is one of the best dishes at Zaxby’s. Unfortunately, these are breaded. You can still consume a few pieces of these chicken fingers to satisfy your cravings.
But if you want to keep your carbohydrate consumption as low as possible, ask the server if they can remove the breading. This is not a common practice, but some locations accommodate special requests like this one.
6. Check the dishes’ nutrition facts.
The only way to make sure that the dish’s macronutrients are well within your requirement is to check out the dishes’ nutrition facts.
Lucky for you, there’s a nutrition section on their website which provides information regarding the amount of carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fats, and calories found in their meals. (*)
Can you eat Zaxby’s on keto?
If you still don’t know what to eat keto at Zaxby’s, don’t worry! We’re here to help you out.
Below are some of our low carb keto suggestions that are perfect for people on a keto diet.
Low Carb Wings and Fingerz Options
Yes, even though they’re breaded, Zaxby’s traditional wings and chicken fingers can be suitable for the keto diet. However, make sure to go for the traditional (bone-in).
Between the two, it’s the wings that are a better option when eating keto at Zaxby’s.
But if you want to satisfy any intense cravings that you may have, you can go for a 4pc Chicken Fingerz Meal but don’t forget to reduce your carbohydrate consumption for the rest of the day.
1. Traditional Wings
Their traditional bone-in chicken wings are served with ranch sauce and celery. You can order this plain or tossed in the low carb dipping sauce of your choice.
- A 5 pc order of this keto favorite plus celery will give you 19g fat, 30g protein, and 1g net carb.
2. ChickenFingerZ
As mentioned, you should consume their Chicken Fingerz in moderation. That’s why we recommend going for only 4 pcs of chicken fingers—enough to satisfy your cravings and still within your keto diet requirements.
These are hand-breaded chicken fingers that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It’s served with Zax Sauce.
- We recommend ditching the sauce since the chicken fingers are already breaded. You’ll get 344 calories, 16g fat, 36g protein, and 8g net carbs when you do.
Zaxby’s Keto & Zaxbys Low Carb Plates
If you’re not that hungry, just looking for something delicious for lunch, here’s one light and quick Zaxby’s plate that you can try:
3. Grilled Chicken
This juicy chicken is grilled to perfection. It doesn’t come with the breading, but it’s still packed with a smoky flavor that you can’t find in their breaded offerings.
- This meal will give you 3.5g fat, 31g protein, and 2 net carbs.
Zaxbys Keto & Low Carb Salads
We love the Zaxby’s menu because it has an extensive range of salad options for you to choose from, which is good since you need fiber in your keto diet. (*)
You can order their different salads in three ways: Garden (no chicken), Fried, and Grilled. Among the three, the low carb ones are the grilled and garden versions.
These are the reasons why their salads are your best choices when it comes to eating keto at Zaxby’s! Here are some of our low carb keto recommendations:
4. House Zalad
The Zaxby’s Garden and Grilled House Zalad is a traditional yet tasty vegetable salad. It comprises mixed greens, carrots, red cabbage, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, Jack cheese and cheddar, Texas toast, and fried onions.
To keep it low carb, ask the server to hold the fried onions and Texas toast. This is true regardless which one you order– garden or grilled house zalad.
- When you order the garden house zalad with no fried onions and Texas toast, you’ll get 170 calories, 11g fat, 7g protein, 3g fiber, and only 4g net carbs.
- If you choose the Grilled House Zalad (with grilled chicken), the nutritional content will be 330 calories, 15g fat, 40g protein, 3g fiber, and 6g net carbs.
5. Cobb Zalad
If you’re looking for something a bit more filling, the Cobb Zalad and grilled Cobb zalad is one good option for you.
It’s made up of red cabbage, mixed greens, cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, bacon, Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, fried onion, and Texas toast.
- The Garden Cobb Zalad minus the fried onion and Texas Toast will give you 290 calories, 19g fat, 19g protein, 3g fiber, and 5g net carbs.
- The Grilled Cobb Zalad (with grilled chicken) can get 450 calories, 22g fat, 50g protein, 3g fiber, and 7g net carbs.With its protein content, the Grilled Cobb Zalad is a better option if you want to feel full longer.
6. Caesar Zalad
This one contains all the ingredients you love in a Caesar salad—mixed greens, bacon, bacon, croutons, and Parmesan cheese. It’s served with Caesar dressing with Zaxby’s twist!
- Remove the croutons, and the Garden Caesar Salad will give you 170 calories, 9g fat, 15g protein, 2g fiber, and 3g net carbs.
- On the other hand, you can get 330 calories, 13g fat, 46g protein, 2g fiber, and 5g net carbs when you order the Grilled Caesar Zalad (with grilled chicken).
7. Blue Zalad
Finally, we have the Blue Zalad, which is different from the rest of the other salads as this one has different versions—garden, buffalo, and blackened.
The Garden Blue Zalad includes mixed greens, carrots, red cabbage, Roma tomatoes, fried onions, Texas toast and its special ingredients—blue cheese crumbles which is a great low carb keto cheese. (*)
- In one serving with no Texas toast and fried onions, you’ll get 140 calories, 10g fat, 8g protein, 4g fiber, and 2g net carbs.
- If you order the Blackened Blue Zalad (with grilled, blackened chicken fillet), you’ll get 460 calories, 14g fat, 40g protein, 4g fiber, and 4g net carbs.
- You can also try the Buffalo Blue Zalad (with chicken fingers and Tongue Torch buffalo sauce). This spicier version will give you 460 calories, 24g fat, 42g protein, 6g fiber, and 13g net carbs.
Zaxbys Keto and Low Carb Sandwiches
Zaxby’s Sandwich Mealz will satisfy both your tummy and taste buds!
An even better news is you can order these bunless so they will certainly fit your keto diet. We also recommend that you order the sandwich only since the meal comes with fries and soda.
Unfortunately, they already phased out some of the keto favorites, like their chicken salad sandwich. But don’t despair, there are plenty of options for you to choose from. Here are some:
8. Grilled Chicken Sandwich
If you’re shying away from anything fried, then you may want to try the Zaxby’s grilled chicken sandwich. This comes with grilled chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo.
- In one sandwich (with bun), you’ll get 530 calories, 22g fat, 38g protein, 3g fiber, and 43g net carbs. We recommend to go for bunless to keep this meal low carb.
9. Cajun Club Sandwich
Their Cajun Club Sandwich is a more flavorful version of their grilled chicken sandwich as this one comes with blackened chicken, lettuce, crispy bacon, tomatoes, American cheese, and ranch sauce.
- Finish this sandwich, and you’ll get 600 calories, 31g fat, 46g protein, 3g fiber, and 33g net carbs. With no bun, the net carbs will be reduced to only around 5g.
10. Chicken Finger Sandwich
If you want to eat less than 4 chicken fingers (which is a good idea so you can minimize your carbohydrate consumption), we recommend going for the chicken finger sandwich.
This contains 3 pieces of chicken fingerz, lettuce, Zax sauce, and tomatoes.
- One sandwich without the bun or sauce will give you 300 calories, 14g fat, 34g protein, 2g fiber, and 9g net carbs!
11. Zaxby’s Club Sandwich
This is almost the same as a chicken finger sandwich. It also has three chicken fingers, Lettuce, mayo, and tomatoes. The added ingredients are bacon and American cheese, which are both keto friendly!
- Without the bread, this sandwich’s nutrition content is as follows: 620 calories, 45g fat, 43g protein, 2g fiber, and 12g net carbs.
What Should You Avoid at Zaxby’s Menu on Keto Diet?
If you want to stay on your keto diet, here are some of Zaxby’s dishes that you should never order at any cost!
- Zaxby’s Specials: Signature Sandwich and Spicy Signature Sandwich (49g net carbs!)
- Chicken Finger Plate
- Traditional Wings and Things
- Kickin Chicken Sandwich (48g net carbs)
- Nibblerz Sandwich (77g net carbs)
- Boneless Wings
- Fried White Cheddar Cheese Bites (23g net carbs)
- Spicy Fried Mushroom (34g net carbs)
- Tater Chips (64g net carbs)
- Crinkle Fries (78g net carbs)
- Basked of Texas Toast (18g net carbs/ slice)
- Coleslaw (11g net carbs/ cup)
- All Desserts (Brownie and Cookies)
Final Words
Some people complain that the keto diet is quite restrictive. But as you may have seen, you can eat keto at any establishment as long as you do your research properly.
This article shows that Zaxby’s is one of the fast-food restaurants, like many other restaurants, that you can eat even if you’re on keto.
You just need to know the trick to it!
To make sure that you won’t be kicked out of ketosis, you should pay attention to all the details of your meat, including your drinks, dipping and tossing sauces, and salad dressings.
Not done eating out at your favorite restaurant? Here is another keto guide from us at Chili’s.
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