Low Carb Fast Food Breakfast Guide for Beginners

Get my top 10 low carb fast food breakfast recommendations and then read my 5 quick tips for ordering low carb breakfast at any fast food chain.

Learn how to order a low carb fast food breakfast at the top fast food chains in the United States.

See pictures of my real-life low carb fast food breakfast orders.

Get my printable Top 10 Low Carb Fast Food Breakfasts

Top 10 Low Carb Fast Food Breakfasts

Below are my top ten favorite low carb fast food breakfasts along with their net carb and calorie counts. I’ve provided recommendations for add-on ingredients where necessary.

Rankings account for taste, presentation, carb count, and price. Photos are my own.

1. Taco Bell Breakfast Mini Skillet (No Potatoes)

This is the best low carb fast food breakfast entree I’ve had. It comes standard with eggs, nacho cheese, pico de gallo, and potatoes. Omit the potatoes to make it low carb and then add steak, bacon, and guacamole to boost the calories. Even with those add-ons it only cost me $3.45.

• Order it low carb: “Mini Breakfast Skillet, no potatoes”
• Recommended add-ons: Extra steak, bacon, and guacamole.
• Price: $1 + the cost of any add-ons.
• Macros: 90 calories and 3 net carbs (plain, no potatoes)

If you plan to customize your Taco Bell Mini Breakfast Skillet, then get my special Taco Bell low carb menu so that you can see the calorie counts, net carbs, and other macros for their low carb friendly add-on ingredients.

2. Jack In the Box Extreme Sausage Sandwich (No Bun)

It’s tough to choose the best of the bunless breakfast sandwiches, but the Extreme Sausage Sandwich tied for tops in taste and had the best overall presentation. Comes with two sausage patties, a fresh cracked egg, and two slices of American cheese.

• Order it low carb: “Extreme Sausage Sandwich, without the bun”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $3.29
• Macros: 490 calories and 0 net carbs

If you’re curious about other Jack In The Box low carb breakfast options, then consider reading the full version of my Jack In The Box low carb ordering guide.

3. McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg (No Bun)

When it comes to the low carb McDonalds breakfast, I give the slight edge to the Sausage McMuffin with Egg versus the standard Egg McMuffin which is served with Canadian bacon. For someone on a keto diet, like myself, the sausage is higher fat and more filling.

• Order it low carb: “Sausage McMuffin with Egg, no bun”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $2.95
• Macros: 340 calories and 3 net carbs

If you’re curious about how the macros look without cheese or with double sausage patties, then get my McDonald’s Low Carb Menu to see full macros for their low carb breakfast ingredients.

4. McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (No Bun)

This is probably the most popular fast food breakfast sandwich in the world. Order it without the bun, and all of the sudden it’s low carb. You might want to order two to get full because the Canadian bacon is light on calories.

• Order it low carb: “Egg McMuffin, no bun”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $2.95
• Macros: 160 calories and 3 net carbs

If you’re all set on McDonald’s low carb breakfast orders then consider reading my McDonald’s low carb ordering guide so that you’re also prepared for lunch and dinner.

5. Carl’s Jr. Steak & Egg Breakfast Burrito (No Tortilla)

This entree comes standard with eggs, steak, pico de gallo, and melted cheese. I didn’t find it necessary to add anything else.And, for $3.99 it’s a steal.

• Order it low carb: “Steak & egg breakfast burrito, no tortilla”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $3.99
• Macros: 420 calories and 1 net carb

Right after I ate this meal, I posted on Reddit’s keto forum to announce just how good this low carb breakfast item is. If you want to what see what other low carb breakfast options are available then check out my Carl’s Jr. low carb fast food guide.

6. Starbucks Bacon & Gruyere Sous Vide Egg Bites

The egg bites are made primarily out of cottage cheese, eggs, Monterey Jack cheese, and gruyere cheese. That blend gives them an incredibly soft and indulgent texture. They taste amazing but feel a little price-y at $4.45 for two egg bites.

• Order it low carb: “One order of your Bacon & Gruyere Egg Bites”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $4.45
• Macros: 310 calories and 7 net carbs

You get two egg bites with your order. I ate the first one so fast that it didn’t make the photo. If you want to see what other low carb breakfast foods Starbucks has to offer then check out my Starbucks low carb ordering guide.

7. Chick-Fil-A Chicken, Egg, & Cheese Bagel (No Bagel)

You get a biscuit-sized fried chicken filet, a folded egg, and a semi-melted slice of cheese. It’s delicious. The only reason it isn’t ranked higher is because the light breading sends the carb count a little higher than I like. Still, it’s low carb enough to make the list.

• Order it low carb: “Chicken, Egg, & Cheese Bagel, no bagel”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $3.39
• Macros: 270 calories and 7 net carbs

If you want to see what other low carb options you can order at Chick Fil A, then check out my Chick Fil A low carb ordering guide.

8. Burger King Sausage Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich (No Croissant)

Burger King has it’s own rendition of the breakfast sandwich called the Croissan’wich. It’s delicious when ordered low carb without the croissant. It’s $0.50 more than the McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg, hence it’s lower ranking.

• Order it low carb: “Sausage, Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich with no croissant”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $3.45
• Macros: 300 calories and 1 net carb

See the other low carb breakfast foods that Burger King has to offer by checking out my Burger King low carb post.

9. Sonic Sausage Egg & Cheese Burrito (No Tortilla)

Sonic serves their tortilla-less breakfast burritos in these charming containers that were intended for hot dogs. They also serve their sausage in slivers instead of patties and crumbles like every one else. After the repetition of eating so many similar low carb fast food breakfast entrees, these little differences are appreciated. Oh…and it tastes great too!

• Order it low carb: “Breakfast Burrito with Sausage and no tortilla”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $2.79
• Macros: 290 calories and 2 net carbs

Sonic has a good assortment of entrees that can be ordered low carb. See all their low carb options in my Sonic Low Carb ordering guide.

Get my printable Top 10 Low Carb Fast Food Breakfasts

10. Taco Bell Naked Egg Taco With Sausage (No Potatoes)

A new entrant to the top 10 list. I think Taco Bell’s strategy is to add nacho cheese to all their breakfast entrees…because it works! The Naked Egg Taco, which may seem gimmick-y to some, is the exact type of low carb breakfast I love. It’s one fried egg, some nacho cheese, sausage crumbles, and shredded cheese.

• Order it low carb: “Naked egg taco, no potatoes”
• Recommended add-ons: None.
• Price: $1.99
• Macros: 250 calories and 8 net carbs

The Naked Egg Taco has more net carbs than I prefer (even without the potatoes), otherwise it’d probably rank a bit higher.

 

Get my printable Top 10 Low Carb Fast Food Breakfasts

 

Low Carb Fast Food Breakfast: 5 Quick Tips

After visiting 25 of the top low carb fast food restaurants in the United States and ordering  30+ different low carb breakfasts, here are the main lessons I learned:

1. Sausage, egg, and cheese combos offer the best value with the lowest carb counts and highest calories. You can special order a bunless sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich or a tortilla-less breakfast burrito from almost every fast food restaurant.
2. Steak, egg, & cheese combos are a great option at places like Taco Bell and Taco Cabana that don’t serve sausage patties.
3. Fast food bacon is generally over-priced and over-cooked such that much of the fat content is removed and it becomes light on calories. Sausage is a better bet as your breakfast meat of choice.
4. Make sure the cheese isn’t sticking to the container when it’s served hot. Cheese tends to melt and stick to the package if it’s not properly sandwiched between eggs & meat. If you catch it early, you can fix it.
5. Similarly, check your bag before driving off. Sometimes they forget to omit the bun, tortilla or potatoes like you requested!

Hopefully, those five tips will help you with any low carb fast food breakfast order. Now let’s look at how I did my research for this project.

Low Carb Fast Food Breakfast: The Research

I wrote this post after visiting 25+ different fast food joints and trying 30+ low carb fast food breakfast entrees.

Before writing my post, I researched the most popular articles popping up in Google and found a post titled 23 Fast-Food Breakfasts That Are Actually Healthy which features 0 low carb fast-food breakfasts (and arguably 0 healthy ones) and then another post which talks about 14 low carb fast foods but only has 3 breakfast ideas.

This high-ranking keto fast food roundup has some low carb breakfast ideas, but nothing specific from what I read.

Based on this research, I decided that readers on a keto diet or other low carb diet might want a more specific low carb fast food breakfast guide that featured photos of actual orders along with the adjusted macros.

Get my printable Top 10 Low Carb Fast Food Breakfasts

What else is happening at Mr Skinny Pants?

We’ve finished our “Ultimate Guide to Fast Food for Keto”

It will show you exactly what to order at the top 30 fast food chains to stay on your low carb keto diet.

You can grab a copy here.

All the best,

-Mr Skinny Pants

PS are you using the keto diet to lose weight?

If so you’ll want to read 13 things to stop doing if you’re trying to lose weight.