Eating out anywhere can be tough, especially at casual dining restaurants like Applebee’s.

With so many rotating menu options, and a lot of different types of fried foods, it can be tough to always know what exactly is keto-friendly and what is off limits

Additionally, a lot of these restaurants make things to be shared, so the social pressures of eating out with friends, coworkers, or family can put an additional strain on sticking to your keto diet. However with this guide I’ve written, you should be in a perfect position to know exactly what you need to stay keto while ordering out at Applebee’s.

Tips for Ordering Keto at Applebee’s

• Watch out for sauces

Applebee’s has a ton of sauce options available, but you’ll want to tread lightly with almost all of them. Most of their sauces and dressings tend to have high sugar content and are made from starch, which can have high quantities of trace carbs.

Lots of meals at Applebee’s will come already loaded with sauces like their baby back ribs or many of their salad options, so it’s best to ask for your sauce or dressing either on the side, or ask to skip the sauce altogether.

Later in this article I’ll break down what sauces from Applebee’s you can get away with while following a keto diet.

• Keep portions in mind

Portion control is a pretty big deal when you’re counting carbs, and restaurant chains like Applebee’s tend to notoriously have pretty big portions.

Even if you generally know how many carbs certain types of foods have per serving, it can be difficult to fully assess how many servings will actually come in each meal.

That’s why it’s a good idea to review the nutrition facts of the most common meals over at Applebees’ website. They offer full breakdowns of carbs and fiber counts so you can figure out how many net carbs your meal will most likely be.

• Be cautious of the appetizers

The appetizers at Applebee’s are pretty delicious, but they can be very dangerous when it comes to the keto diet.

There are definitely a few options that can be hacked into being keto-friendly snacks, but most of them are either fried in inflammatory cooking oils, or deep fried and breaded, which skyrockets their carb counts.

While there are some ways to enjoy appetizers on keto (we’ll get into the specific keto-friendly ones below), you’re much better off sticking just to a standard meal, since it’ll help you stay full, and will likely have more macronutrients that you need, rather than just a bunch of empty carbohydrates.

• Avoid alcohol whenever possible

One thing that makes Applebee’s a great night out for groups is their full bar at almost all locations. They have some pretty crazy deals on certain drinks and even crazier types of seasonal cocktails.

However when it comes to alcohol and the keto diet, it’s best to be avoided altogether. While there are some ways to perfectly navigate keto while having a drink or two (I’m partial to vodka sodas myself), the effects of alcohol on your body will momentarily pause your state of ketosis.

Additionally, the more you drink, the more you may be enticed by less keto-friendly variants of alcohol like beers and wines, which could definitely put your state of ketosis at risk.

• Stay away from the soups

Soups can be pretty tricky on the keto diet to begin with. While they don’t seem like they’d be high in carbs, they’re often cooked with certain types of starches that can really skyrocket the carb counts. Some soups at Applebee’s can have as many as 40 grams of net carbs per serving!

When it comes to side dishes or light meals, you’re much better off going with meat and vegetables, or a light salad with either ranch, or no dressing (just add on some extra cheese if it’s a little too boring for you).

Keto-Friendly Options at Applebee’s

• Salads

When it comes to salads, youll really have to watch out for certain types of dressings that come with a lot of hidden carbs. I like to usually go with a house salad, and add on keto-friendly dressings depending on how many carbs I’ve had that day.

You’ll always have to go without tortilla strips or croutons depending on the salad you get, but there’s a few ways to make salads perfectly keto-friendly at Applebee’s.

Low carb dressings that they offer include:

• • Garlic Caesar Dressing (3 grams of net carbs, 22 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein)
  • Lemon Olive Oil Vinaigrette (0 grams of net carbs, 14 grams of fat, 0 grams of protein)
  • Bleu Cheese Dressing(3 grams of net carbs, 22 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein)
  • Mexi Ranch Dressing (3 grams of net carbs, 14 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein)
  • Buttermilk Ranch (3 grams of net carbs, 20 grams of fat, 1 gram of protein)
  • Green Goddess Dressing (2 grams of net carbs, 20 grams o fat, 1 gram of protein)

If you’d like to order a specialty salad off the menu, I’d recommend going with the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (without croutons or honey dijon mustard), I’m also a big fan of the Blackened Shrimp Caesar salad (without croutons here as well)

• Appetizers

Appetizers  are pretty tough when it comes to Applebee’s, which is why I usually like to stick to salads most of the time.

A lot of the appetizers that they offer are breaded, or are at least grain-based, making them problematic for a keto diet from the start.

I would say their chicken wings are probably the safest bet, but they’re still going to be somewhat high in net carbs. If you plan on getting wings, you should be prepared to make them part of your main course, because even the lowest carb combination of wings they offer is still around 10 net carbs. (If you’re looking for an easy place to get wings on keto, I’d recommend trying Wingstop instead).

• Entrees

The entrees available at Applebee’s are really where you’ll start to be able to get some worthwhile keto meals.

With all of the entrees available, you’ll want to stick to ones mostly comprised of meat and vegetables, and should try to limit sauces and sides whenever possible. Some of my personal favorites include:

• • Shrimp ’n Parmesan Sirloin (4 grams of net carbs, 42 grams of fat, 57 grams of protein)
  • A full rack of ribs, hold the sauce (1 gram of net carbs, 64 grams of fat, and 70 grams of protein)
  • Bourbon Street Steak (1 gram of net carbs, 35 grams of fat, 49 grams of protein)
  • Baby Back Ribs, hold the sauce (0 grams of net carbs, 32 grams of fat, 35 grams of protein)
  • Grilled Salmon (1 gram of net carbs, 12 grams of fat, 37 grams of protein)
  • Grilled Chicken Breast (0 grams of net carbs, 4 grams of fat, 38 grams of protein)
  • Sirloin steak, either 6 or 8 oz. (1 gram of net carbs, 7-12 grams of fat, 33-43 grams of protein)
  • Shrimp ’n Parmesan Sirloin (4 grams of net carbs, 42 grams of fat, 57 grams of protein)
  • Burgers, no bun (1 gram of net carbs, 39 grams of fat, 40 grams of  protein)
    • With burgers, you’ll want to limit the toppings such as onion rings, pickles, and tomatoes, but feel free to go crazy with added bacon and eggs!

• Drinks

When it comes to the drinks at Applebee’s, water will always be your best possible bet. A lot of their specialty drinks are very high in added sugars, and simply aren’t worth the carbs.

It generally isn’t recommended to drink alcohol while following a keto diet, but there are some ways to drink alcohol without completely impeding your state of ketosis.

It’s best to stay away from most types of beers and wine, because when it comes to Applebee’s you really can’t afford the extra carbs even if they’re light on the carbs by themselves. When I do decide to drink on keto, I stick to vodka sodas personally, but any liquor and carb-free soda water is the safest way to make sure you’re not undoing all of that progress you’ve made on your diet.

Foods to Avoid at Applebee’s

Generally the list of what to avoid at Applebee’s on keto is much longer than the list of food’s that you’re actually allowed to have. As you may have guessed by now, a majority of entrees, sides, soups, appetizers, and drinks are completely off limits if you’re trying to maintain a net carb limit of around 20 per day.

Some popular items that you should make an effort to avoid in particular include:

• • Chips and salsa
  • All nacho dishes
  • Chicken tenders (basket or a platter)
  • Oriental chicken salad or oriental chicken salad sandwich
  • All sandwiches and burgers that come with buns
  • All pasta dishes
  • Hand battered fish and chips
  • Mozzarella sticks
  • Onion Rings
  • All forms of french fries or sweet potato fries
  • All desserts
  • Fiesta lime chicken
  • Boneless chicken wings (as well as all boned chicken wings)
  • All specialty drinks, juice, and cocktails
  • All chillis
  • All chowders
  • Chicken Stir Fry or Shrimp Stir Fry

Keto Restaurant Tips to Follow

• Don’t get discouraged

It’s important not to get discouraged if you end up not being able to fully stick to a keto diet when eating out at fast food. Sometimes cravings take over, and sometimes you may accidentally just eat some hidden carbs. What’s important to remember is that the keto diet is a marathon, not a sprint.

Equally important is knowing that getting knocked out of ketosis doesn’t just negate all of your progress, and you’re much more likely to get back into ketosis faster than if you were to give up and try a few months later.

If you’re looking for some ways to help kickstart your reentry into ketosis, you should check out my latest guide here.

• Balance out the rest of your day

It’s just as vital to try and balance out the rest of your meals of the day and week if you anticipate some fast food that might be pretty high in inflammatory oils and carbs.

Cheat meals are perfectly fine every once in a while, but the best way to set yourself up for success is to give your body exactly what it needs surrounding your cheat meals so that it can have its best shot to keep you in ketosis and continue to burn fat for fuel.

A lot of people make the mistake of under-eating after binging or having an unexpected cheat meal, but that more than likely will propagate this cycle and lead to further unwanted cheat meals. It’s best to give your body some balance, with healthy sources of natural fat and protein before or after a cheat meal.

• Aim for high amounts of fat over protein

One mistake that a lot of keto dieters make, especially when first starting out, is aiming for high amounts of protein in their diet, and completely neglecting the fact that the keto diet should be based on a fat-majority mix of foods.

It’s easy to fall victim to protein’s popularity, but getting healthy sources of fat is the best way to give your body a fighting shot at staying in ketosis, even if you eat hidden carbs.

If you’re just unsure of where to get the fat you need on a daily basis, you can check out my guide on how to get more fat into your keto diet right here.

• Watch out for fried food options

Normally fried and deep fried foods can definitely cause some issues related to the keto diet, especially if you’re eating out at a fast food restaurant or chain like Applebee’s.

A lot of restaurants will use oils to fry their foods like vegetable oil or soybean oil, which are highly inflammatory substances that can actually contribute to kicking you out of ketosis, despite being low in carb counts.

The best strategy here is to always ask for your food grilled instead of fried. And if an option comes deep fried, definitely try to avoid it altogether, because that extra breading will almost always have way too many carbs than you can fit into your keto regimen.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, eating out at Applebee’s while sticking to a keto diet can be difficult, but it definitely isn’t impossible. There are lots of slight adjustments that you can make to your meals to help make them completely keto-friendly.

What’s even more important is that even if you slip up and eat something that isn’t keto-friendly, you should still stay on track and try to balance out the rest of your meals. One accidental cheat meal isn’t the end of the world, and it definitely isn’t worth quitting your entire keto journey over.

Do you have any favorite keto-friendly menu options from Applebee’s that I forgot to list here? Drop them in a comment below!

Related Post: How to Order Low Carb at Arby’s on Keto