12 Keto Chicken Recipes You'll Want to Make All Year (2024)

FAQs

Is chicken thighs better than chicken breast on keto diet? ›

Chicken thighs (with the skin on) are perfect for when you're on the ketogenic diet. The meat is a little richer and fattier than breast meat, plus keeping the skin on ups the fat count.

Chicken fits perfectly into a keto diet, and it's easy to make a delicious meal with this versatile ingredient. A whole chicken can be roasted in the oven, grilled, or cooked in a slow cooker. It can be eaten as is, or shredded to use in salads or other dishes, or turned into a delicious soup.

It's a great protein—versatile, customizable, and delicious. Chicken breasts are a perfect serving size, too, and you can find them nearly everywhere. Chicken breasts have zero net carbs, so they won't mess up your keto diet.

For this step, you can incorporate a slew of options. Oil and mayonnaise are common, popular ingredients, as are butter and yogurt. Such fats also tend to comprise marinades — though marinades don't necessarily add moisture to chicken. Once you've covered your chicken, you can cook it in a multitude of ways.

The chicken breast is lean and has the most protein by weight, making it ideal for people who want to lose weight, maintain muscle mass and improve recovery. Fattier cuts like the thigh, drumstick and wings have more calories, which make them better for people wanting to build muscle or gain weight.

The best meats for weight loss on keto include beef, pork, chicken, bison, and salmon. All of these meats are free of carbs, rich in protein, and versatile. Choosing leaner cuts may make it easier to burn excess stored body fat while on keto.

You can expect there to be 0 grams net carbs in the average rotisserie chicken, making it the perfect staple for your keto diet. Tip: whether you eat the chicken breast, thighs, or legs, make sure to enjoy the skin as well for that added fat!

"With a keto diet, the breakdown is approximately 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein and 5 percent carbohydrates." For example, a woman who weighs 150 pounds and is moderately active is recommended to eat 25 grams of carbs (think one medium sized apple!), 86 grams of protein (a little over three 3 oz chicken breasts) ...

Though other chicken options at KFC may not be keto-friendly, the grilled chicken is. KFC Fried Chicken is not a healthy choice at all as it contains about 8-11 grams of carbs per medium-size piece whereas KFC Grilled Chicken is the healthiest option to consider when you are following a low-carb diet.

Rotisserie Chicken (1 small breast (yield after cooking, bone and skin removed)) contains 0g total carbs, 0g net carbs, 11.6g fat, 44.3g protein, and 293 calories.

Can I eat McDonald's chicken on keto? ›

Like I've said, the McDonald's chicken nuggets and crispy chicken sandwich are off-limits for the keto diet. But if you're really craving for chicken, you can get the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Just order it with no bun for a total of 2 net carbs!

Broccoli. With just 2 grams of net carbs per ½ cup, broccoli is a major superfood that should be a staple on the keto diet, says Suzanne Dixon, R.D. It's high in fiber and protein to keep you full and you can use it in just about anything—stews, soups, and keto makeovers of your favorite foods like casserole.

The mayo will lock in moisture and will improve the browning on the grill, leaving you with delicious, charred grill marks that will take your chicken to the next level.

Add a touch of spice to your chicken breast by combining paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic and olive oil to create a paste. Then cover your chicken breast with the paste and pat down to secure.

For meat lovers, the best news is → both white meat and dark meat are perfectly fine to eat when following a keto diet. However, note that the best type of chicken to use is definitely chicken breast as it is the leanest cut.

Chicken breast contains more protein and less fat as compared to chicken thigh. Consuming less fat will definitely help you lose weight quicker. Along with this, increasing the intake of protein will help with fat loss too.

There are slight variances in everything from macronutrients, like fat and protein, to micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. If lower calorie foods are preferable to you, chicken breasts are the way to go because thighs contain over 30% more calories (per Calories Info).

The white meat in chicken breasts contains more protein and less fat, while the dark meat in chicken thighs contains more vitamins and minerals. Put simply, the best choice is the one that people prefer to eat.