When following a keto diet, dining out can be a challenge. However, there are some great keto Texas Roadhouse options that will satisfy your cravings without derailing your progress.
From juicy steaks to flavorful salads, they have something for everyone. Our favorite keto and low carb Texas Roadhouse options are grilled salmon, New York strip, sirloin, or Ft. Worth ribeye, with a side house salad.
It’s always best to prepare your own meals at home to customize your macros and ensure that no sneaky ingredients or sauces make their way into your meals.
But, if you’re out with friends or family, follow this guide to stay on track with your keto diet at Texas Roadhouse.
Also check out our tips for eating keto at Taco Bell
Tips for Eating Low Carb at Texas Roadhouse
Steakhouses are a good place to go for a meat-based dinner. However, you’ll need to be careful about what comes on and with your steak.
Keep in mind that there is a big difference between eating low-carb and being in ketosis. One wrong meal could change you back from a being fat-burner to a glucose-burner.
Here are the top three lowest carb dishes at Texas Roadhouse based on the website’s nutritional guide:
- New York/Kansas City Strip (1 gram of carbs)
- Grilled salmon (1 gram of carbs)
- Prime Rib (2 grams of carbs)
We’ve created a list of tips to help you stick to your low-carb diet while eating at Texas Roadhouse.
#1. Count your macros
If your goal is to stay in ketosis, then you’ll want to visit the Texas Roadhouse nutritional guide before you go there and determine what meals you can eat based on your macronutrient needs for the day.
Remember that to stay in ketosis, you need your carbohydrate intake to be five percent or less of your daily total calories. Your fat intake should be around 70-75 percent of your total calories while your protein should be right around 20 percent.
If your goal is to simply eat low-carb, then you don’t have to worry about these numbers so much. You might still want to take a peek at the nutritional menu just because it’s good to know what you’re ingesting.
To make sure you stay in ketosis, you’ll want to calculate your meal at Texas Roadhouse along with everything else you’ve eaten that day to make sure your macronutrient numbers add up.
#2. Stick with steak
This goes without saying, but always go with steak at a steakhouse. There are a couple reasons for this.
First, it’s a fattier cut of meat than chicken to support your high-fat diet. Second, steaks do not usually come smothered in sugar-laden sauces like burgers do.
Even the chicken specialties and country dinners at Texas Roadhouse are served deep fried or covered in gravy. This will take some special ordering on your part to make it low-carb.
The steak dishes are a fool-proof way to order low-carb as long as you get them with a low-carb vegetable or side salad instead of the potato that they usually come with.
Plus, they are offered in various sizes such as 10-ounce, 12-ounce or 16-ounce, so there is no way you can walk out of there feeling hungry.
#3. Beware of sauces
If you’re in the mood for a burger or ribs instead of a steak, then beware of added sauces. Many of the burgers offered at Texas Roadhouse come with some kind of sauce that you’ll need to ask to hold (along with the bun) if you want to eat low-carb.
Ribs aren’t always easy to eat without sauce, but you’ll need to ask for these dry if you plan on sticking to a low-carb diet.
#4. Go with a salad, but limit salad dressing
Texas Roadhouse offers a steakhouse or grilled chicken salad if you’re in the mood for something a little lighter.
Salads are nice because they supply you with a good amount of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants from the lettuce greens. You’ll need to ask for olive oil and vinegar dressing in place of house dressing to make sure you’re avoiding sugary sauces.
Here is a list of the carb counts for the salad dressings offered at Texas Roadhouse (per 3 ounce serving):
- Bleu cheese: 5 grams carbs
- Ranch dressing: 5 grams carbs
- Caesar dressing: 6 grams carbs
- Honey French: 36 grams carbs
- Honey lime: 45 grams carbs
- Honey mustard: 16 grams carbs
- Italian: 17 grams carbs
- Low-fat ranch: 3 grams carbs
- Parmesan peppercorn: 6 grams carbs
- Thousand Island: 14 grams carbs
What To Order at Texas Roadhouse
We’ve gone through every dish on the Texas Roadhouse menu and placed it on a safe or unsafe list for your low-carb diet. We’ll start with the safest low-carb dishes and how to order them.
Appetizers
- Killer ribs (order without the steak fries and sauce)
- Grilled shrimp (hold the bread)
Salads
For all salads, hold the croutons and ask for oil and vinegar in place of house dressing:
- Caesar salad (3g net carbs)
- Chicken Caesar salad (9g net carbs)
- Grilled chicken salad (9g net carbs)
- Grilled salmon salad (9g net carbs)
- Steakhouse filet salad (9g net carbs)
- House salad (2g net carbs)
- Grilled shrimp house salad (8g net carbs)
Note: most restaurants won’t list oil and vinegar as a choice of dressing on their menu, but they can almost always accommodate this request if you ask for it. If they don’t have vinegar, then ask for a side of olive oil and lemon slices. Drizzle the olive oil over your salad and squeeze the juice of a lemon over it.
Steaks and ribs
All steaks come with your choice of two sides, so go with a house salad, sauteed mushrooms or onions, or fresh vegetables; avoid the corn, applesauce, rice, potatoes, chili, and green beans:
- Ft. Worth ribeye
- Dallas filet
- USDA Choice sirloin
- New York Strip
- Bone-in ribeye
- Porterhouse T-bone
- Steak kabob (hold the rice and ask for a house salad side)
- Road kill
- Filet medallions (hold the rice and ask for a house salad side)
- Prime rib
- Full or half slab of ribs (order dry without the sauce)
Note: if you’re strict keto, you’ll want to ask what kind of vegetables come in your side dish. The safest options are steamed broccoli or grilled asparagus. If your vegetable medley comes with squash, peas, beans, or carrots, then don’t eat it and ask for a side salad instead. Avoid the mini-marshmallows and caramel sauce.
Chicken specialties, country dinners and dockside favorites
Just like with the steak dishes, order a house salad, sauteed mushrooms or onions, or fresh vegetables as your two sides:
- Portobello mushroom chicken (hold the portobello mushroom sauce)
- Smothered chicken (order with jack cheese instead of cream gravy)
- BBQ roasted half chicken (hold the BBQ sauce)
- Oven roasted half chicken
- Grilled BBQ chicken (hold the BBQ sauce)
- Grilled pork chops (no peppercorn sauce)
- Beef tips (hold the brown gravy, rice, and potatoes)
- Grilled salmon
- Grilled shrimp (hold the rice)
- Herb crusted chicken
Burgers and sandwiches
Order all burgers without the bun and any sauce that comes on it; get a side salad with oil and vinegar minus the croutons instead of fries:
- BBQ chicken sandwich (no BBQ sauce)
- Mushroom jack cheese sandwich
- All American cheeseburger
- Bacon cheeseburger
- Smokehouse burger (no BBQ sauce)
Combos
Order a house salad, sauteed mushrooms or onions, or fresh vegetables as your two sides:
- Grilled BBQ chicken combos (hold the BBQ sauce on both the chicken and ribs)
- BBQ roasted half chicken combos (hold the BBQ sauce on both the chicken and ribs)
- Ft. Worth ribeye combos (hold the BBQ sauce on the ribs)
- USDA choice sirloin combos (hold the BBQ sauce on the ribs)
- Dallas fillet combos (hold the BBQ sauce on the ribs)
Foods To Avoid at Texas Roadhouse
As promised, the following is a list of unsafe foods to eat while on a low-carb diet at Texas Roadhouse.
- All appetizers (note: you can get the basket of ribs dry and without the steak fries)
- Chilli (we’re unsure if the chili contains beans, so you’ll want to ask your server or avoid ordering this altogether)
- Chicken critter salad (this is the breaded and fried version of the grilled chicken salad, so just order the grilled chicken salad instead)
- Country fried chicken and sirloin
- Chicken critters
- Country veg plate (this is an OK dish if you’re vegetarian, but it contains too many carbs and not enough fat/protein for ketogenic or low-carb dieters)
- Pulled pork dinner (this dish would be suitable for low-carb if you could hold the BBQ sauce, but this does not appear to be an option as the meat is cooked in the sauce over low heat for several hours in a slow-cooker)
- Fried catfish
- Pulled pork sandwich (we assume this meat has been marinating in BBQ sauce for several hours, so it’s best not to attempt to eat it even if you can hold the additional sauce that comes on the sandwich)
- All sweetened beverages
- All soups
Conclusion
Your best option for eating low-carb at Texas Roadhouse is to order a steak of your choice and pair it with a side salad and low-carb veggies. Steaks don’t usually come smothered in BBQ sauce or fried like some of the burgers and chicken dishes do. This makes them easier to order without having to make a special request. If you’re strict keto, then you’ll want to pay attention to what type of veggies come in your side dish.
Stick with steamed broccoli and other low carb vegetables and avoid carrots, and peas. If you’re just doing low carb, then feel free to enjoy a baked sweet potato with sour cream and cheese along with steamed broccoli to go with your steak. If you’re doing strict keto, just stick to meat and low carb veggies. Everything else might kick you out of ketosis.
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