Popeyes is a popular fried chicken joint, specializing in Southern style (breaded and deep fried) preparation with its own special spicy flare. If you’re hoping to get a low carb Popeyes meal, your choices will be very limited.
If you’re on a strict ketogenic diet, we advise you to cook your own chicken meal at home or perhaps even opt for another restaurant. However, Popeyes blackened chicken tenders can do the trick for low carb dieters if you’re in a pinch.
The availability of certain sides and sauces might depend on which store you’re at since some venues may have a few more options than others.
Follow these tips to make it work for a low-carb diet at Popeyes. Just keep in mind that it won’t be a healthy meal.
Tips For Ordering Low Carb at Popeyes
Popeyes is probably a delicious treat for people who aren’t worried about their carb intake, but it has some of the worst food options we’ve seen in a restaurant so far. Breaded chicken and fish, corn on the cob, and macaroni and cheese are some of the staples on the Popeyes menu, with few other options.
Most fast food restaurants will at least offer a cheeseburger and a salad, which you can get without the bun and dressing for a one-time low-carb meal. However, Popeyes has nothing of the sort. Because of this, our first tip for ordering at Popeyes is one of prevention.
#1. Don’t
If you’re on a strict keto diet and thinking of hitting up Popeyes for a quick snack or lunch on your break, here’s our tip: just don’t. It’s very hard to find low-carb options here.
The best thing you can do for your ketogenic or low-carb diet is to stick with keto-friendly meals made at home.
Eating at home gives you complete control over what you eat. It also guarantees that you’ll be eating only 100 percent keto-approved ingredients so that you can stay in ketosis. We always like to point out that there is a big difference between low-carb and keto.
For example, you can order a cheeseburger at most restaurants, but most of the meat will be conventionally raised and probably cooked in cheap vegetable oil, unless stated otherwise. This means that in addition to highly inflammatory oils, you might be subjecting yourself to preservatives and possibly added sugar.
These things might not mean much to you if you only eat out once and awhile, but they add up if you’re trying to keep track of your macros. That bacon on your cheeseburger probably contains nitrates and sugar, and the eggs on your breakfast sandwich likely contain milk and vegetable oil to preserve them.
The worst part is that those are your best options for a low-carb fast food meal and Popeyes doesn’t offer any of them! Hence our advice for ordering at Popeyes is: just don’t.
#2. Pick the breading off your chicken
We hope you don’t mind getting messy. If you order at Popeyes, you’ll be picking the breading off your chicken because they don’t offer any grilled meat.
Even their nutritional information shows that the only gluten-free options on the menu are red beans, rice, applesauce, and coleslaw.
None of these foods are even remotely low-carb, so it looks like you’ll be rolling up your sleeves and picking the breading off your chicken just to eat something that isn’t loaded with carbs.
#3. Ask for naked chicken
We noticed that Popeyes has “naked” chicken options listed on their nutrition information, but not on their main menu. Most of the time, “naked” preparations mean that they are grilled and not breaded. It could also mean that your food has no sauce on it.
Popeye’s doesn’t list the ingredients for their naked tenders. However, the allergy menu states that there is no wheat in these, so we assume it means that they are not breaded – which could make them safe to eat on a low-carb diet.
You can also ask for a naked chicken wrap, naked chicken tenders, or a naked BBQ Po’boy. Popeye’s also lists chicken liver on their nutrition information, but these include wheat so we assume they are breaded and off limits on a low carb diet.
#4. Order a wing, leg, or a thigh
Popeyes used to have a live well menu that offers food options for under 350 calories. However, we don’t see this on the menu anymore. While none of these foods are low-carb, you can improvise by ordering a single chicken thigh and wing for 280 and 210 calories, respectively.
You can drop your calories and overall carb intake by picking the breading off these pieces of chicken. They also offer two chicken legs for 340 calories, but again, you can reduce the carbs and calories by peeling off the breading.
Thighs, legs, and wings tend to have more fat than chicken breasts, so you’ll be keeping your dietary fat levels up if needed. Popeyes also has blackened tenders for around 170 calories per three tenders. These are batter-free and non-breaded, according to the website.
#5. BYOB
In 2019, Popeyes made the news because they ran out of buns for their sandwiches and suffered rage from an angry mob of hungry customers as a result.
This resulted in the chicken chain encouraging customers to BYOB, or bring your own bun.
Although the restaurant assumes you’ll be bringing a bread bun to the restaurant to build your own chicken sandwich, we don’t see why you can’t bring a lettuce wrap as your bun.
This is a good way to enjoy a low-carb sandwich. Just be sure your chicken isn’t breaded and you’ll be good to go.
What To Order at Popeyes
Popeyes offers lots of different ways you can order your chicken. You can get it mild or spicy and rolled in a blend of Louisiana seasonings. Unfortunately, none of these are any good for low-carb ketogenic dieters because they are breaded.
The menu at Popeyes isn’t extensive, so your options are pretty limited. The blackened chicken tenders are the only thing we see on the menu that aren’t fried.
According to the nutritional information, three pieces of blackened chicken tenders contains 170 calories, 2 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 26 grams of protein.
You can also ask to order “naked” chicken tenders or a naked chicken sandwich. These options do not appear to be breaded, but it’s always best to ask.
Here are some things to remember:
- It looks like all tenders come with a few side dish choices, but you’ll want to hold these as there is nothing you can order to go with them. All side dishes at Popeyes are off limits! Instead, ask for more blackened chicken tenders.
- Popeyes likes to offer combo or family style dishes that includes several pieces of chicken and several side dishes. You can always ask for a family meal that contains several pieces of blackened chicken and no sides.
- You can also see if you can order some of their other chicken blackened instead of fried, like a few pieces of chicken thighs, legs, or wings. Like we said above, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If they can make blacked and unbreaded chicken tenders, then they should be able to make non-breaded forms of other chicken meals, too.
We noticed they have a chicken Po’Boy sandwich on the menu that you can order with blacked chicken tenders. Get this sandwich without the bread and mayo to keep it low-carb.
Here are our top picks for eating low-carb eating at Popeyes:
- Naked chicken tenders
- Naked chicken sandwich (order this without the bun or sauce)
- Popcorn shrimp (ask to have your shrimp plain without any breading)
We should mention that Popeyes offers seafood as well, but again, it’s all breaded. You can get shrimp or a whole fish fillet, but ask to have these non-breaded as well. Chicken tends to be fattier than fish, which is why we recommend going with chicken at Popeyes if you can.
They also have a cajun fish meal that is normally breaded but looks like it could be prepared without it.
Foods To Avoid at Popeyes
The list of foods to avoid at Popeyes far exceeds the list of foods that you can eat there. There are absolutely no low-carb sides that you can order because they are all breaded or contain highly starchy foods, such as corn, rice, and beans.
You will also need to stay away from all sauces at Popeyes as they contain added sugars and contribute to your overall carb intake. This means you’ll need to order your chicken unbreaded and enjoy it without any dips.
Here is a list of foods that you’ll want to avoid at Popeyes on a low-carb diet. You’ll want to avoid all chicken and seafood that you can’t get without breading. It’s a good idea to stay away from all combo dishes as you’ll only have to throw away the sides and sweetened beverages anyway. Of course, you’ll need to hold the biscuits, bread, and all starchy sides that come with all dishes.
- Popcorn shrimp
- Butterfly shrimp
- All sauces
- All desserts
- All breaded chicken, including breaded chicken breasts, tenders, wings, thighs and legs
- Mashed potatoes
- Loaded chicken wrap
- Pecan pie
- Mardi Gras cheesecake
- Apple cinnamon pie
- Onion rings
- French fries
- Coleslaw
- Jambalaya
- Red beans and rice
- Corn on the cob
- Baguettes
- Biscuits
- Rice
- Mashed potatoes
- Green beans
- All sweetened drinks such as sweet tea, lemonade, Hawaiian punch, and all sodas
Conclusion
Our best advice for eating a strict keto diet at Popeyes is to avoid it if you can. Stick with a scratch made meal at home that consists of high-quality meats, cheese, and low-carb veggies for a balanced ketogenic meal.
The only item we see on the menu that isn’t fried is their blackened chicken tenders. Order these if you’re in a pinch, but hold the sauces and all sides as you won’t find anything else here that supports your low-carb diet.
If you’re making keto chicken tenders at home, don’t forget to check this list of low carb breadcrumb alternatives.
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