Low Carb at Chili's

Chili's is possible without shattering your carb limit. Here's a guide to eating low carb at Chili's.

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Chili's was surprising, somewhat; mainly because last week we saw that Chipotle was surprisingly well balanced. Chili's on the other hand has a ton of high carb items, and it seems as though there's no menu item that you can eat all of if you're balancing your plate and counting carbs.

Unfortunately, Chili's doesn't have a nutrition calculator that will adjust as you add or subtract ingredients from the order, but they have a (tedious) PDF menu if you want to check the nutrition of anything not in this review.

**NOTE - If it's not listed in this review, it's right at or well above 45 total carbs, which means it doesn't make sense on a well balanced plate.

This is a lengthy review. Scroll to the menu section you normally order from and check out the Kids' section. If you don't find anything you like, check out everything else.

Chili's Low Carb Drinks

In these reviews, drinks are listed if they are 10 carbs or less. It's an arbitrary standard, but it's set to keep in mind that you may be sick of water or diet soda, and that carbs in drinks are processed by your body much more quickly than carbs in food.

That said, the only acceptable low carb drinks at Chili's are diet sodas, Coke Zero, coffee and water, all of which have 0 carbs.

Other than these, the lowest carb drink was an unsweetened Arnold Palmer with 16 carbs. All other drinks were much too high carb.

Chili's Low Carb Vegetarian

Vegetarian	Total Carbs	Protein
Black Bean Patty (for burger)	22	17
Black Bean & Veggie Fajitas (no sides or tortillas)*	66	28

The bun for the black bean patty is buttered, and it has 37 carbs and 7 grams of protein.

More vegetarian items are listed under Kids' Entrees, Sides and Salads.

To find out if a food is vegan, visit Chili's allergen and vegan list.

Chili's Low Carb Kids Entrees

Ordering from the kids' menu can make ordering easy and help control portions.

Kids Entrees	Total Carbs	Protein
Grilled Chicken Dippers	2	28
Celery w/Ranch	3	1
Broccoli	8	3
Salad w/Ranch	8	4
Fresh Pineapple	16	1
Mashed Potatoes w/o Gravy	16	2
Mandarin Oranges	20	2
Crispy Crispers	27	28
Cheese Quesadilla	29	18
Fries	30	3
Pizza - Cheese	33	17
Pizza - Pepperoni	33	20
Chicken Bites	34	24
Burger Bites	35	23
Cheeseburger Bites	35	25
Grilled Cheese Sandwich	36	13

Chili's Low Carb Appetizers

Appetizers	Total Carbs	Protein
Bone-in Wings w/Buffalo	6	62
Bone-in Wings w/House BBQ	21	62
Bone-in Wings w/Mango Habanero	32	62
Crispy Cheddar Bites	33	42

Low Carb Triple Dipper Appetizers

Triple dipper appetizers are when you pick 3 appetizers to make one order. The serving size for each appetizer is smaller than if you were to order a full appetizer of 1 item.

If you order a Triple Dipper, you'll still only be able to eat one appetizer (so to speak) but it'll be easier to control the portion and know just how many carbs you're eating.

Triple Dipper Appetizers	Total Carbs	Protein
Crispy Cheddar Bites	18	22
Chicken Crispers (no sauce)	23	31
Fried Pickles	23	4
Boneless Wings w/Buffalo	28	23

Chili's Low Carb Salads

Salads (as served & w/o dressing)	Total Carbs	Protein
Caesar	14	5
House	15	6
Southwestern Chicken Caesar	21	29
Southwestern Shrimp Caesar	21	20
Sante Fe Chicken w/Chicken	27	36
Grilled Chicken	32	37

Dressings

Salad Dressing (2oz)	Total Carbs	Protein
Bleu Cheese	2	1
Caesar	3	2
Ranch	3	2
Santa Fe	3	1
Ancho Chile Ranch	4	2
Avocado Ranch	4	1
Citrus Balsamic	7	0
Honey Lime Vinaigrette	8	0
Thousand Island	9	1
Honey Mustard	14	1
Honey Lime	15	1

Chili's Low Carb Soups & Chili

Soups & Chili (as served)	Size	Total Carbs	Protein
Clam Chowder	Cup	10	5
Chicken Enchilada	Cup	12	10
Loaded Baked Potato	Cup	14	9
Original Chili	Cup	14	19
Southwest Chicken	Cup	14	5
Clam Chowder	Bowl	21	11
Chicken Enchilada	Bowl	24	20
Loaded Baked Potato	Bowl	28	18
Original Chili	Bowl	28	39
Southwest Chicken	Bowl	28	10

Chili's Low Carb Lunch Combos

Chili's lunch combos come with fries or chips. Those carbs are not included in the counts below.

The lunch portion of fries is 30 carbs, and the chips carbs for this portion are unknown.

Lunch Combos (no fries or chips)	Total Carbs	Protein
Boneless Wings w/Buffalo Sauce	33	27
Quesadilla Bacon Ranch Chicken	35	34
Sandwich Bacon Avocado Chicken	37	44
Sandwich CA Turkey Club	39	27
Tacos Chili's 1975	39	20
Tacos Spicy Shrimp	40	19
Double Burger	41	45

Chili's Low Carb Healthy Meals

Guiltless Grill (as served)	Total Carbs	Protein
6oz Sirloin w/Grilled Avocado	13	38
Grilled Chicken Salad	23	37
Ancho Salmon	42	48

Low Carb Smokehouse Combos

Smokehouse Combos	Total Carbs	Protein
Jalapeno Cheddar Smoked Sausage	4	21
Smoked Brisket	5	16
Ribs Original BBQ	10	49
Ribs House BBQ	11	49
Cheesy Bacon BBQ Chicken	13	42
Crispers Original w/ Honey Mustard	23	31
Ribs Dry Rub	23	50
Ribs Honey Chipotle BBQ	23	49
Crispers Crispy w/o Sauce	25	27

All smokehouse combos come with the sides listed below. Everything combined is well over 45 total carbs, but all items are listed for your reference.

It's highly suggested to swap out the fries, toast or corn for a green side like broccoli, asparagus or salad.

If you keep the fries, try to eat less than half.

Smokehouse Combo Sides	Total Carbs	Protein
Garlic Dill Pickles	0	0
Chile Garlic Toast	17	3
Roasted Street Corn	31	6
Fries	60	6

Chili's Low Carb Ribs

Ribs	Size	Total Carbs	Protein
Original BBQ	Half	10	49
House BBQ	Half	11	49
House BBQ	Full	21	99
Original BBQ	Full	21	98
Dry Rub	Half	23	50
Honey Chipotle	Half	23	49
Dry Rub	Full	30	99
Honey Chipotle	Full	47	98

Chili's Burgers

The standard bun on a burger at Chili's is buttered and has 37 total carbs and 7 grams of protein. If you remove half of the bun it leaves you with 19 carbs.

Burgers (no fries)	Total Carbs	Half Bun	No Bun	Protein
Oldtimer with Cheese Beef	42	23	5	51
Bacon Beef	43	24	6	55
Alex's Santa Fe Beef	45	26	8	51
Mushroom Swiss Beef	45	26	8	52
Queso	47	28	10	51
Chili Beef	48	29	11	57
The Boss	49	30	12	92
Southern Smokehouse	68	49	31	62
Big Mouth Bites (4)*	76			65

Fixing Chili's Fajitas to be Low Carb

The meats are separate from all other components.

Fajita Meats (no toppings or tortillas)	Total Carbs	Per Portion Carbs	Protein	Protein Per Portion
Shrimp	21	5	25	6
Grilled Chicken	22	6	63	16
Grilled Steak	25	6	61	15
Carnitas	26	7	36	9
Mushroom Jack Chicken	28	7	56	14

With all components on a fajita plate, there are over 100 carbs for the full dinner.

It's suggested that you eat either the beans or the rice, preferably the beans because they have more protein and fiber.

Fajita Toppings & Tortillas	Total Carbs	Carbs Per Portion	Protein	Protein Per Portion
Guacamole	3	<1	1	-
White Queso & Pico de Gallo	5	1	6	1
Fajita Toppings	6	2	16	4
Peppers & Onions	20	5	3	<1
Beans	20	5	7	2
Rice	27	7	3	<1
Corn Tortillas (4)	47	12	4	1
Flour Tortillas (4)	58	15	9	2

To give you a picture, 1 fajita with a corn tortilla and all toppings (portioned) will be 38 to 40 carbs based on the meat you choose.

Using the same composition but with a flour tortilla, each fajita will be 41 to 43 total carbs.

Chili's Low Carb Sides

Sides	Total Carbs	Protein
Aspargus	5	3
Broccoli	8	3
Coleslaw	14	2
Black Beans	20	7
Mexican Rice	27	3
Corn on the Cob	29	4
Roasted Street Corn	31	6
Loaded Mashed Potatoes	33	10

Chili's Pasta Dishes

Both pasta dishes are just over 100 carbs each, so it's probably not worth the order just to eat ⅓rd of it.

Low Carb Extras

Extras	Size	Total Carbs	Protein
Pickles		0	0
Sour Cream		2	1
Wing Sauce		2	0
Gravy		3	1
Salsa		3	0
Avocado Slices		4	1
Guacamole	Small	6	1
Guacamole	Large	12	3
BBQ Sauce House		16	1
BBQ Sauce Original		16	1

Chili's Low Carb Guide download

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