Are Fried Chicken Wings Keto? Enjoying This Crunchy Treat While Staying In Ketosis
Chicken wings are a staple of American cuisine making frequent appearances at bars parties, and restaurants across the country. With the rise in popularity of the ketogenic diet in recent years, many have wondered whether this crunchy, savory snack can fit into a low-carb lifestyle. The good news is that fried chicken wings can absolutely be part of a keto diet!
When prepared properly and enjoyed in moderation, crispy fried chicken wings provide a delicious way to get plenty of protein and healthy fats while limiting carbs. This article will explore how these tasty morsels can fit into the ketogenic diet and provide tips for keeping them keto-friendly.
What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic or “keto” diet is a very low-carb, high-fat dietary approach. By limiting carbohydrates to around 5% of total daily calories, the keto diet forces the body to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose. This metabolic state of ketosis provides many health benefits including sustainable energy, improved cognition, and weight loss.
On keto, dietary macros generally look like:
- 70-80% calories from fat
- 15-25% calories from protein
- 5-10% calories from net carbs
Chicken wings can be an ideal keto food since they are high in protein and fat without too many carbs. However, preparation methods matter. Let’s explore how to keep those crispy wings keto-friendly.
Why Are Fried Chicken Wings Keto?
Chicken wings contain minimal carbohydrates on their own. Most of the carbs in wings come from breading, sauce, or dipping options.
A typical chicken wing nutrition profile contains:
- Calories: 100-150 per wing
- Fat: 5-10g
- Protein: 6-8g
- Carbs: 0-2g
When wings are fried without breading and eaten plain or paired with lower carb sauces like hot sauce or ranch, they make a perfect keto snack or meal!
Tips for Keeping Fried Wings Keto
Follow these simple tips to keep your wings keto-friendly:
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Avoid breaded wings. Opt for naked, baked, or fried without any coating.
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Request wings to be fried in healthy oils like avocado, olive, coconut, or avocado oil rather than vegetable or canola oil.
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Skip sugary sauces like BBQ, teriyaki, honey mustard. Stick with hot sauce, buffalo, ranch, blue cheese, etc.
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Eat mindfully. Wings are easy to over-indulge on, so pay attention to portion sizes.
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Balance with non-starchy veggies. Pair wings with low carb sides like celery sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, or cucumbers.
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Make them yourself. This lets you control exactly how they are cooked and which ingredients are used.
Healthy Keto Wing Recipes
One of the best ways to guarantee your wings are keto is to cook them yourself. This allows you to skip any hidden sugars or carb-laden ingredients.
Try these delicious keto-friendly chicken wing recipes:
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Buffalo Wings – Toss fried wings in butter and hot sauce. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
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Lemon Pepper Wings – Season baked wings with lemon pepper seasoning and fresh parsley.
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Nashville Hot Wings – Coat baked wings with a fiery homemade Nashville hot sauce.
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Jerk Wings – Marinate wings in a Caribbean jerk dry rub before frying or baking.
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Garlic Parmesan Wings – Toss crispy wings with fresh minced garlic and grated parmesan.
The beauty of chicken wings is that you can easily customize flavors to suit your taste by using keto-friendly seasonings, herbs, spices, and sauces. Get creative!
Keto Wing Tips and FAQs
Can you eat boneless wings on keto? Yes! Boneless wings are often made from chicken breast so they contain slightly less fat. Just avoid breaded options.
Are fried wings healthier than baked? Baking avoids the extra calories from frying oil. But both methods can be keto as long as you don’t use carby coatings.
Do air fryer wings have carbs? Air fryer wings have the same nutrition as oven baked. Make sure to spray or toss the wings with oil before air frying for maximum crispiness.
What about the carbs in hot sauce? Most hot sauces like Frank’s Red Hot, Cholula, Tabasco, and Texas Pete have 0-1g net carbs per serving. Feel free to drench those wings!
Should you eat the chicken skin? Chicken skin has more fat than the meat so it’s highly encouraged on keto! Crispy skin is the best part.
Can I eat frozen wings? Yes, frozen wings without breading will have the same nutrition. Just thaw, season, and bake or air fry.
The Takeaway
Chicken wings can absolutely be enjoyed as part of a ketogenic diet as long as you avoid sugary sauces and carb-filled breading. Focus on crisp fried or baked naked wings paired with keto-approved sauces. Making your own wings lets you control the process for optimal keto macros.
In moderation alongside low carb veggies and sides, fried chicken wings provide the perfect vessel for flavorful sauces and seasonings. So go ahead – get your fingers sticky and dive into some keto chicken wings today! With a few simple tweaks, you can still enjoy these crave-worthy game day classics without falling out of ketosis.
What is The Keto Diet?
A keto diet is low in carbs and sugar and is prepared to help you lose weight or generally live a healthy life. Such a diet contains high-fat content that helps your body burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. You can get these fats from animal products, including chicken wings.
Are Buffalo Wings Keto-Friendly?
Often, people wonder, are wings keto? If you are worried that consuming chicken wings may affect your keto diet, the good news is that chicken wings are actually keto-friendly.
This delicacy contains a low amount of carbs and a reasonable protein content ideal for your keto diet. However, carbs in chicken wings vary depending on the preparation method. At Beau Jo’s, our keto wings are professionally prepared to help you live a healthy life. Our wings are baked instead of fried, making them healthier for those conscious of their dietary choices.
With healthy amounts of seasonings and sauces that do not alter the nutritional value of your favorite meal, you can enjoy our keto-friendly chicken wings here in Colorado at any time. The low carbs in chicken wings make wings an ideal meal for healthy living.
Keto Crispy Chicken Wings! MY SECRET INGREDIENT to the Crispest Air fryer Wings
FAQ
Are fried chicken wings ok on a keto diet?
When you’re on a keto diet, you typically avoid wheat, starch, sugars, and sugary fruit, but some berries are ok — which means deep-frying, breaded chicken wings are a big no-no.
Can I eat fried chicken while on keto?
Unfortunately, fried chicken uses flour or cornmeal (and sometimes cornstarch) to create its familiar beloved crunchy crust. That means it’s not keto-friendly. Traditional fried chicken can be made keto-friendly if you remove the breading before eating.
How many carbs are in fried chicken wings?
Fried chicken wings can contain carbohydrates, especially if breaded or battered, but the carb count varies significantly. Unbreaded fried wings have very few carbs, while breaded or battered wings can have anywhere from 10 to 20 grams of carbs per serving.
Is wings over keto friendly?
Yes! As long as you make sure that they are not breaded, and you are serving them with a keto sauce or seasoning, then chicken wings are a great addition to a keto diet as they have zero carbs and they are high in protein.