Everyone that’s ever been to a football game knows how tasty Buffalo wings can be. And for those of you chasing a Keto-friendly diet, you’ll be pleased to hear that Buffalo wings are just that. Partly responsible for the amazing taste of this popular American cuisine is the hot sauce. The hot sauce is a mixture of different flavors, with sugar being an important ingredient.
But the essence of any Keto diet is low carb and sugar intake. So how do you eat Buffalo wings when on a Keto diet? Let’s find out.
Why Buffalo Wings Are Keto Friendly
We mentioned that partly responsible for the amazing taste is the hot sauce. Some American restaurants and fast-food joints offer all kinds of sauces to go along with the wings. When on a Keto diet, you need to minimize your sugar and carb intake. But since these sauces are heavy in sugar, that creates a problem.
Buffalo wings are the essence of this diet. Since they contain a lot of fat, it makes them perfect for this diet. To make it work for you, it’s important not to eat the sauce. This might sound insane to some of you, but it’s important not to do it.
Hot sauce, teriyaki, honey mustard, and barbeque sauce are some of the most common sweet sauces that go nicely with Buffalo wings. But all of these sauces work against a Keto diet. Even dipping a few wings in the sauce will spike up sugar and carb intake.
The wings contain zero sugar and zero carbs. While some places dip the wings in a sugary sauce, ask the waiter whether they can prepare the wings without dipping before frying.
Buffalo wings can be Keto-friendly if you add plenty of veggies on the side. Some of the vegetables that go nicely with wings include carrots, broccoli, tomato, or any other salad. Eating vegetables instead of fries adds a perfect healthy kick to the dish.
What’s even more interesting is that you can prepare the vegetable side whatever way you like. You can steam the broccoli, prepare carrot sticks, and even add ranch dressing if you’re that desperate for sauce.
What Wing Size Should You Go For?
We already mentioned that Buffalo wings are high in fats and calories. What makes them so Keto-friendly is that they’re made using animal fat. Animal fat is miles better than using vegetable oil. For that reason alone, eating Buffalo wings out is the preferred fast food for Keto enthusiasts.
But what size should you go for? The size doesn’t matter as we’ve already established wings have 0g carbs. The only difference when choosing the wing count is the calories and fat intake. A 6-count wing size comes with 430 calories and 24g of fats. By contrast, a 20-count serving nearly quadruples the calorie size at 1440 calories and 82 grams of fat.
Bear in mind, ordering without sauces makes this traditional American food very Keto friendly. So at the end of the day, go for a wing size that makes you full and satisfied. Not every American restaurant makes Keto-friendly Buffalo wings. If you’re on a Keto diet and are looking for a place to enjoy a nice meal, Flippin’ Wings is the place to go.
Not Interested in Wings, What About Burgers and Other Options?
The essence of a Keto diet is to minimize carbs and sugar. The goal is to eat meats, fish, cheese, butter, eggs, etc. Keto lovers are all too familiar with wings when it comes to following the diet. But there are other fast-food options as well.
Burgers are excellent for a Keto diet as you’re essentially eating beef. A cheeseburger is even better as cheese is allowed in the diet. However, there is a catch to it. Whenever ordering a burger, make sure to order with no bun. The bun is full of carbs and that works against your diet.
You’ll find all kinds of calorie and fat intake numbers when looking up wings and burgers to eat while out. But since your goal is to minimize carbs and sugar, pay attention to these two instead.
Whenever eating out at any wings place or burger joint, make sure to avoid high sugary sauces and avoid eating buns.
What About Sauces? Is There an Exception?
Let’s be real for a second. Sauces are very important when eating wings or burgers. Sadly, too many sauces are high in sugar and carbs. Fortunately, you can find sauces that work perfectly for your Keto diet.
Before we give you the best sauces for a Keto diet, we should emphasize that very few sauces contain no sugar or carbs. But there’s a huge difference between high carbs and sugar sauces and sauces that contain very few carbs and sugar. Spicy garlic sauce contains 2 grams of carbs, while honey mustard contains up to 21 grams of carbs.
So if you need to order sauces, or make them at home, go for low carb and sugar sauces. Some of the best ones include lemon pepper, ranch dressing, and blue cheese dressing. These sauces are Keto friendly as most contain as little as 2 grams of carbs per 2 fl oz.
Best Salads To Go With Your Wings
We mentioned that salad can be the perfect substitute for any sauce. Unfortunately, eating salad with your wings is the most un-American thing to do. With all that said, there are tons of options for salads to take with your Buffalo wings.
If the place has it, make sure to order celery, carrots, avocado, or any other salad. Bear in mind, make sure to specify that you don’t want any bread or croutons with your salad. Salad dressing makes the salad even tastier. But just like sauces, salad dressing goes against your Keto needs.
With all that said, some salad dressings such as blue cheese, Caesar, and ranch are excellent as they contain very few carbs.
Conclusion
To answer the question of whether Buffalo wings are Keto-friendly, the definitive answer is yes. But as this article says, you need to avoid high sugar and carb sauces to make this wonderfully tasteful dish work for you.