Eating Keto at a Mexican Restaurant

The ketogenic diet doesn’t mean avoiding restaurants entirely. Mexican cuisine offers several keto-friendly options if you know what to look for. The key is focusing on proteins, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables while avoiding tortillas, rice and sugary sauces.

What to order

Start with grilled meats like carne asada (beef), pollo (chicken) or carnitas (pork). These typically come without breading. Ask for extra guacamole (£1.50 supplement at Wahaca) instead of beans or rice. Cheese-topped dishes like queso fundido work well, but check they’re not thickened with flour.

Fajitas are a good choice if you skip the tortillas and load up on the sizzling peppers and onions. At Tesco’s in-store Mexican counters, you can often request double meat for £3 extra. keto-friendly sauces like salsa verde or pico de gallo add flavour without carbs.

What to avoid

Corn tortillas contain about 12g net carbs each. Flour tortillas are worse at 20g+. Avoid tamales, which are masa-based. Chips and nachos are obvious pitfalls, but even seemingly innocent dishes like mole sauce often contain chocolate and sugar.

Watch for hidden carbs in marinades. Some Mexican restaurants use pineapple juice in carne al pastor. Ask how meats are prepared if unsure. Refried beans, while protein-rich, pack around 15g net carbs per half cup.

What this means in practice

A typical UK Mexican restaurant meal might include:

• Grilled chicken with cheese (£8.50)
• Side of guacamole (£2)
• Grilled peppers instead of rice (£1 supplement at Barburrito)

This keeps carbs under 10g while providing ample protein and fat. In summer, many chains like Chilango offer salad bowls where you can skip the corn and black beans.

electrolyte balance on keto becomes especially important when eating out, as restaurant meals tend to be higher in sodium. Drinking mineral water helps offset this.

Frequently asked questions

Can I eat keto at Wahaca? Yes. Their Powerbowls can be customised without rice or beans. The cauliflower cheese tacos contain about 8g net carbs per portion.

Are nachos completely off limits? Some restaurants offer pork scratchings or cheese crisps as low-carb alternatives. Ask if they’ll substitute these for £1-2 extra.

What about margaritas? Traditional margaritas contain sugar syrup. Opt for a tequila with soda and lime instead, or ask for a sugar-free version (£6-8 at most UK chains).

The bottom line

Mexican food adapts well to keto with simple modifications. Focus on grilled proteins, avocado-based fats, and fresh vegetables while avoiding starchy sides. Most UK chains are accommodating if you specify your needs clearly. If you’d rather not do the macro maths yourself, the Keto Dieting app does it for you on Google Play and the App Store.

References

1. Paoli A, Rubini A, Volek JS, Grimaldi KA (2013). Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.116
2. Hyde PN, Sapper TN, Crabtree CD, et al. (2019). Dietary carbohydrate restriction improves metabolic syndrome independent of weight loss. JCI Insight. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.128308