Buffalo Wild Wings (otherwise known as BW3 or B-dubs for short) specializes in wings, tacos, burgers, and other casual dining fast foods. Since healthy food options are limited, staying keto at Buffalo Wild Wings requires customized ordering.
The easiest low carb Buffalo Wild Wings options are to stick to bunless burgers or grilled chicken with green salad. Skip any sauces and croutons.
To help you out with other options, we’ve looked over every item on the menu and come up with a list of “safe” foods that you can eat if you need to keep it keto while eating at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Tips For Ordering Low Carb at Buffalo Wild Wings
We never recommend eating out if you’re on a strict keto diet because there are too many hidden traps and opportunities to ruin your diet.
It’s not always easy to stay in ketosis, and eating out exposes you to ingredients and foods that you might not otherwise have to worry about if you were to eat a keto-friendly meal at home.
If you’re not sure about what foods are allowed on a ketogenic diet, then check out our article here for a complete list.
If you must eat at Buffalo Wild Wings or feel socially obligated to meet up with friends or co-workers here, then use these tips to keep it low-carb.
#1. Avoid the temptation to drink alcohol
If you’re meeting up with friends at B-dubs, then have a game plan for avoiding alcohol, which is not allowed on the low-carb diet. Hold a glass of water in your hand instead of a beer and don’t feel embarrassed about explaining your diet when someone asks you why you’re not drinking.
You can always check out our list of low-carb alcohol to enjoy if you’re not on a strict keto diet.
#2. Order a bunless burger
Ordering a burger is a good way to take control over what you eat. You can customize it to meet your low-carb needs and you won’t be required to share since it’s more of a personalized dish.
Just like other low carb fast food options, make sure to hold the bun and sauce or mayo that comes on the burger.
#3. Utilize the nutrition guide
One of the nice things about Buffalo Wild Wings is that they offer a nutrition guide on their website, which you can use to estimate your calorie intake when you eat here. You probably won’t get an accurate reading because you’ll need to customize your food to make it low-carb and the menu contains all generic numbers.
For example, if you order a burger, then you can expect the nutritional value to include the burger, bun, lettuce, tomato, and pickles unless otherwise noted.
However, they list the calorie amounts for all of their sauces, seasonings, dressings, and sides, so you can subtract that number from your total calorie intake if you ask to hold these items on your food.
Here is the nutritional breakdown of some of the staple low-carb foods at B-dubs, according to their nutritional menu:
- An all-beef hamburger patty contains 410 calories, 32 grams of fat, 0 carbs, and 30 grams of protein
- A grilled chicken breast contains 140 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein
- One slice of American cheese contains 70 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of protein
- One serving of avocado contains 160 calories, 15 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbs (2 net carbs), 7 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein
- Two slices of bacon contain 100 calories, 8 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of protein
Lowest Carb Dishes at Buffalo Wild Wings
Here is a list of our top picks for lowest carb dishes at BBW:
- Grilled chicken breast with avocado and bacon (no bun)
- Hamburger patty with cheese and bacon (no bun)
- Garden salad with grilled chicken (no dressing)
- Naked chicken tenders (0 grams carbs)
#4. Beware of the cauliflower wings
We noticed that Buffalo Wild Wings offers cauliflower wings on their nutrition menu. However, they are breaded, coated in sauce, and NOT keto-friendly.
A small order of cauliflower wings contains 58 grams of carbohydrates and a large has 116 grams of carbs. Go with the naked chicken tenders instead, which contains no carbs.
What To Order at Buffalo Wild Wings
We’ve gone over every item on the menu and placed it into one of two categories.
The first list is a collection of safe low-carb foods that you can eat at B-dubs as well as how to order them. The second list contains foods that you should stay away from.
Wings and shareables
Note: wings are only OK to order if you can get them grilled instead of breaded and without any sauce; you may want to avoid them completely if you can’t guarantee that they won’t be covered in sauce and fried:
- Traditional wings (no sauce; make sure they aren’t breaded)
- Street tacos (order these without the ranch dressing and tortillas)
Burgers and sandwiches
Order all burgers and sandwiches without the bun and any sauce that comes on it; ask for a side salad made with oil and vinegar dressing in place of fries:
- Big jack daddy burger (no honey BBQ sauce)
- Bacon smashed hatch chile burger (no French fries, sauce, or bun)
- Buffalo bleu burger (no buffalo bleu cheese dressing or medium sauce; bleu cheese crumbles are OK)
- Cheeseburger (go with hard cheese instead of queso)
- Boston lager burger (order without beer-braised mushrooms and garlic-mustard sauce in case it contains sugar)
- Hickory pulled pork sandwich (only order this sandwich if you can get it without the honey BBQ sauce and the slaw is dry without dressing; hold the slaw if there is sauce on it)
- Southwest Philly cheesesteak (ask for American cheese or swiss in place of queso to ensure there is no sugar)
- BBQ chicken sandwich (no honey BBQ sauce)
- Buffalo ranch chicken sandwich (only get this sandwich if you can get the meat grilled instead of fried; ask for no ranch dressing or medium sauce)
- Steak and cheese sandwich (hold the giardiniera)
- Smoked brisket burger and sandwich (no sauce, coleslaw, bun, or fries)
Wraps
Wraps might be hard to order without the bread or dressing, so you may want to go with a salad or burger instead:
- Pepper jack steak wrap (hold the ranch dressing and tortilla; get a side salad with oil and vinegar dressing in place of chips and salsa)
- Grilled chicken buffalitos (ask for no sauce or seasoning; get a side salad with oil and vinegar dressing in place of chips and salsa)
- Southern Chicken sandwich
- Nashville hot chicken sandwich
- Buffalo chicken sandwich
Tacos
- Grilled chicken buffalitos (order these dry or with no sauce and eat the insides of the shell only)
- Brisket street tacos (hold the sauce and eat the insides only)
Tenders and mac
- Naked tenders (ask for no seasoning or dry rub; get these with a side house salad made with oil and vinegar dressing in place of fries)
Salads
Order all salads with oil and vinegar dressing in place of whatever is offered; hold the croutons if there are any:
- Honey BBQ chicken salad (ask for no sauce on the chicken; hold the garlic toast and honey BBQ ranch)
- Chicken caesar salad (hold the croutons and garlic toast)
- Santa Fe salad (go with pork and ask for no sauce on it; hold the tortilla strips, soft tortillas, and ranch dressing)
- Garden chicken salad (ask for grilled chicken instead of crispy; hold the croutons, garlic toast, and lemon vinaigrette)
Sides and extras
- Side salad (hold the croutons; get this with oil and vinegar dressing)
- Veggie slaw (only get this if it contains no sauce or dressing; do not eat if it does or ask for it dry)
- Carrot and celery boat (this is OK for low-carb only; keto dieters should avoid carrots)
- Sour cream
- Salsa and pico de gallo (these are OK on low-carb diets only; keto dieters may want to avoid)
- Jalapeno peppers
Foods To Avoid at Buffalo Wild Wings
The following is a list of foods that you should avoid while trying to eat low-carb at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Specials:
- Buffalo loaded tots
- House sampler
- Doctor Pepper cup
Wings and shareables:
- Boneless wings
- Traditional and boneless combo
- All star sampler
- Ultimate nachos
- Chips and salsa
- Mozzarella sticks
- Chili queso dip
- Mini corn dogs
- Roasted garlic mushrooms
- Spinach artichoke dip
- Fried pickles
- French fries
- Potato wedges
- Buffalo chips
- Beer-battered onion rings
- Big twist pretzel
- Cheddar cheese curds
- Crispy jumbo shrimp
- Chicken quesadilla
- Buffalo loaded tots
Burgers, wraps, and sandwiches:
- Screamin’ nacho burger (order a regular cheeseburger instead)
- Cheese curd bacon burger (order a regular bacon cheeseburger instead)
- Southwestern black bean burger
- Bayou Po’Boy
- Buffalo ranch chicken wrap
- Classic chicken wrap
Tenders and mac:
- Crispy tenders
- Macaroni and cheese
Salads:
- Buffalo chicken salad (go with a grilled chicken salad instead)
Kids, sides and extras:
- Avoid all kids dishes
- Chili
- All sauces
- All desserts
- All sweetened beverages
Conclusion
You can eat low-carb at Buffalo Wild Wings by using the hacks we outlined in this article. Avoid alcohol and any breaded shareable dishes, such as chicken tenders, wings, and cheese sticks. Instead, go with a bunless and sauceless burger and get a side salad with oil and vinegar dressing to go with it.
You’ll want to stay away from the wings unless you can get them without sauce and grilled instead of breaded. B-dubs has a naked tenders dish that you can get without sauce and with a side salad in place of fries. Or you can just order a grilled chicken salad.
Don’t feel socially obligated to eat something you shouldn’t if you go here for happy hour or to meet friends/coworkers. We always recommend that you eat all your meals at home if you’re on a strict keto-diet to avoid accidentally kicking yourself out of ketosis. If you’re looking for a strict keto plan, check these free meal plans with PDF download!
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