Fast food is often hard to turn down purely for how easy and convenient it can be, especially if you are in a pinch.
When you are traveling, commuting, or just in a rush a trip to your favored fast food restaurant can really relieve any appetite you may have quickly and without obstacles.
This said, most people try not to eat fast food all the time, and when they do it’s often a treat as well as a convenience item.
Considering that a fast food restaurant is not the best place to expect a keto option, we should still consider the low carbonation on the menu.
Even at places like Jack In The Box there are still lots of surprisingly low carb options on their menu already, that you don;t even have to order especially.
Keep reading to learn more about what the low carb options on the Jack in the Box menu are, and what makes them a low carb food item, excluding kids items. Read below to learn more.
Burgers
Burgers are a key item at any American fast food restaurant and this isn’t more true than at Jack in the Box.
The highest carb item here is the Classic Buttery Jack, this is thanks to the bun but also the cheese in this particular burger, with 51g carbs.
In terms of low carb burger options the lowest are within 30 – 33 g of carbohydrates, with most of this coming from the bun and additional items. The Ultimate Cheeseburger is actually only 31 g of carbs, while a Classic Cheeseburger is only 30g of carbs.
Although, if you don’t want the cheese, the Classic Hamburger is also the lowest carb option on the burger menu at only 30g of carbs.
Chicken
Everyone loves some chicken in the US, and Jack in the Box has some classic and some unique chicken items to choose from, from sandwiches to chicken pieces, but which of them can be considered a low carb option from the menu?
One item that may seem low carb is the Chicken Fajita Pita, which you can have with or without salsa. ‘
Pita isa thin kind of flatbread common in Europe and you would assume this would be low carb, but this chicken pita option proves to have 3g more carbs than a hamburger or cheeseburger. We think this is the result of simply more bread.
This said a 5 piece or 10 piece Chicken Nuggets are only 13 g and 26 g of carbs respectively, which is pretty low, the lowest on the chicken menu.
Annoyingly, the Crispy Chicken Strips are 42 g and 62 g for either 4 piece or 6 piece, which is quite high thanks to the breading. Even a Grilled Chicken Sandwich is less than this with only 40 g of carbs, as is the Chicken Sandwich and the Chicken Sandwich with Bacon.
Salads
Ah, the safe haven of the salad menu – here, only two items go above 30g of carbs, the Grilled Chicken Salad with Crispy Chicken Strips and the Southwest Chicken Salad with Crispy Chicken Strips.
Of course, it’s the breaded crispy chicken here that boosts those carbs, but go for Grilled Chicken or Julienne Chicken which are both only 28g.
This said, there are a few items that are below 20g of carbs, which is an ideal low carb option. The Chicken Club Salad with Grilled Chicken is only 13g of carbs, 10g of carbs with Julienne Chicken.
Another choice is the Grilled Chicken Salad which is 14g of carbs with Grilled Chicken, and 12g of carbs with the Julienne Chicken.
Even a side salad on its own would only add 4g of carbohydrates so is perhaps ideal if you order a burger or other standalone item, as it won’t boost the carbs too high.
Snacks & Sides
Speaking of sides, sometimes if you are just ordering a hamburger or cheeseburger you want something else too, but is there anything low carb on the sides menu?
Everyone loves fries, but we can expect them to be a carb heavy time, they are 40g, 58g, and 75g of carbs per Small, Medium, and Large sizes, respectively, with curly fries being much the same. So a small fries can have more carbs than your burger, which sucks.
That said, a 3 piece of Stuffed Jalapenos is only 21g of carbs, or a 7 piece is 49 g of carbs. Equally, one Regular Taco is also only 16g of carbs, or get 13 Tiny Tacos for only 53g of carbs – not bad.
Another option is a single Egg Roll for only 20 g of carbs, or 3 for 60 g of carbs.
Breakfast
In classic American fashion, Jack in the Box serves their breakfast menu all day, to satisfy any cravings you might have. Breakfast is often a carb heavy meal, but are there any low carb options? Let’s find out.
There are a lot of options on the breakfast menu, more than any other, so let’s focus on the items that are 35 g of carbohydrates or below, so you can get an idea of the ‘low carb’ options.
The Bacon Breakfast Jack, the classic Breakfast Jack, and the Sausage Breakfast Jack, are both only 30g of carbs, while a Bacon, Egg & Cheese biscuit is only 26 g of carbs and the Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit is only 27 g of carbs, not bad.
Even the Extreme Sausage Sandwich, with two sausage patties, is only 29 g of carbs.
The croissant is always a good option for a low carb treat as they are more air then bread. A Sausage Croissant is only 28g of carbs, while the Supreme Croissant is only 28g of carbs too.
Even the Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich falls in at a reasonable 30g of carbs. A fun option would be an 8 piece Mini Pancakes which itself is only 28g of carbs.
Desserts And Shakes
What if you’re feeling really naughty and want some dessert, but still don’t want to overload yourself with carbs unnecessarily, there are still some options on the dessert and shake menu that are reasonably low in carbohydrates.
Unfortunately, you should just put the idea of a Shake out your head as the lowest carb shake is a hefty 82 g of carbs.
This said, surprisingly, the New York Cheesecake, which we guess is mainly dairy, is only 32g of carbs. The next best choice are the 5 pieces of Mini Churros, although these are 42g of carbohydrates.
Final Thoughts
It is quite surprising that even at a fast food restaurant, you can get items that are reasonably low carb, in-line with our expectations. At a fast food restaurant anything below 35 g of carbs is a low carb item in this context.
If you would like a burger, the classic Hamburger and Cheeseburger are only 30g of carbs, while the Ultimate Cheeseburger is only 1g more of carbs, so not bad choices. Throw in a side salad of 4g of carbs and you have a reasonable meal.
The chicken menu doesn’t have many low carb options unfortunately, your best shot are Chicken Nuggets, at 13 g and 26 g of carbs for a 5 or 10 piece box.
A 5 piece Chicken Nugget box and a single Regular Taco order from the side menu both add up to only 29 g of carbs.
The all-day breakfast menu has some good options too, an 8 piece Mini Pancakes order is only 28 g of carbs, but the Supreme Croissant, Sausage Croissant, Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit are all within 30 g of carbs, which isn’t that bad for a fast food chain.
Of course, fast food chains are not the place to look for low carb meals, but when you are on the go you can easily get a meal for within 30g of carbs at Jack in the Box.
