How to Enjoy Keto at Sonic

​Not sure if you can enjoy keto foods at Sonic drive-in? You’ve come to the right place!

In this guide, you’ll learn:

  • Is Sonic keto-friendly?
  • What can I eat at Sonic on keto?
  • What to avoid at Sonic on Keto?
  • And a whole lot more!
Sonic keto

Who here thinks they can go to a drive-in on keto?

Nobody… that’s what we thought. Truth be told, you’re more than able to enjoy your favourite drive-in and remain in ketosis!

And who else but the original drive-in to enjoy – Sonic.

Sonic paved the way for all other drive-in restaurants with their inventive intercom system that allowed you to sit in the comfort of your own car whilst ordering your favorite foods!

Many ketogenic dieters restrict themselves from exploring beyond their self-prepared meals out of fear of hidden carbohydrates that could sabotage their diets.

We’re going to show you how you can go to everyone’s favorite drive-in and uphold your ketosis while also having a great time!

Is Sonic Keto-Friendly?

110% Yes!

And yes, ketosis is a diet of restriction, but that doesn’t mean we have to limit our experiences and where we can go to eat necessarily.

We just have to make educated choices conducive to our dietary practice. Sonic, contrary to popular belief, actually has a range of options suitable for those within the keto community.

Read Also: How to Make It Into the Ketogenic Diet as a Beginner?

What Can I Eat at Sonic on Keto?

Eating at Sonic is difficult, but is certainly not impossible.

While there are obviously a range of menu items you’ll want to steer clear from, ordering bun-less, wrap-less or bread-less alternatives to everyday menu items opens up a whole world of possibilities.

You also have a wide variety of customizable, keto friendly, add-ons that can really help round out the meal (sneaking in a few extra calories if that’s what you’re after or simply more nutritious goodness!)

Sonic also offer snacks, like their pecans, as well as other side orders which would also slot in nicely to a ketogenic diet!

From our experiences, and those of our readers, staff at Sonic appear to be more than happy to go the extra mile to provide a keto friendly option; just make sure to ask nicely!

Read Also: How To Enjoy IHOP While On A Keto Diet

What to Avoid at Sonic on Keto?

Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first; avoid the breads, wraps, buns and any other form of bakery related item.

These are carb laden and likely infused with some added sugars to provide extra flavour – a one-way ticket out of ketosis!

Snacks and sides should be limited. Unfortunately, many of the available options are breaded and or fried. Some branches do offer wings, but you may be hard pressed to get them with out any sauce and or breading.

For example, A six-piece order of buffalo boneless wings contains 440 calories, 28 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbs (15 net carbs), 2 grams of fiber, and 29 grams of protein. While everything else is suitable, the carbs and net carbs are most certainly not ketosis friendly!

Even though it doesn’t state that they’re breaded or not from online nutrition information, it’s safe to assume they’ll either be breaded or covered in sauce.

Hard to tell until you visit that specific location but if you’re thinking of visiting a Sonic try and phone in advance.

Honestly it may be easier to pass on most of the sides and snacks as, even if you take away the sauce and or breaded component, it’d be difficult to gauge the carbohydrate content.

We’d also advise steering clear of the majority of the drinks and condiments available, but we’ll go more in depth on these topics later on in the article.

Read Also: What are the Best Keto Fiber Supplements for Optimal Health?

Keto-Friendly Breakfast at Sonic

The best thing about Sonic? Breakfast is served all day. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, all day breakfast menus. What a wonderful world we live in.

The breakfast menu options are arguably the most keto-friendly choices available. Most of the sandwiches etc. aren’t laden with sauces or other additives and are quite easy to disassemble and make even more keto friendly!

Some of our favorite breakfast options to go for at Sonic are;

  • Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla)
  • Supersonic Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla, no golden tots)
  • Ultimate Meat & Cheese Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla, no golden tots)
  • Jr. Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla)
  • Breakfast Toaster (no toast)
  • Brioche Breakfast Sandwich (no bun)

It’s difficult to gauge what the net carbs would be for these options but we can assume they’ll be a lot more conducive to your ketosis goals than the non-customized options!

You can also add some additional bacon and or cheese for an extra keto boost!

Read Also: How to do Intermittent Fasting?

sonic keto facts

Coffee of course is another great addition to get your day started and caffeine may actually help drive ketosis in a fasted state if all you fancy is a cup of joe!

Sonic offer a whole range of options but ensure first and foremost your coffee is unsweetened and without cream. Order a black coffee to be safe!

Keto-Friendly Burgers at Sonic

Sonic have a whole range of awesome burgers to pick and choose from on their menu. Deciding which ones will work best for your ketogenic approach is the tricky apart.

First things first though, ensure that when you order you’re asking them to hold off on any sauces and of course the bun. Both are likely to knock you out of ketosis.

Here’s a list of perfect options to go for that, if you hold off on the bun and sauces, will compliment your keto diet just fine;

  • Quarter-pound double-stack cheeseburger (hold the bun)
  • Supersonic double-stack cheeseburger (hold the bun and mayo (as this likely contains sugar))
  • Sonic cheeseburger (hold the bun, mayo and ketchup)
  • Supersonic double cheeseburger (hold the bun mayo and ketchup)
  • Supersonic bacon double cheeseburger (hold the bun and mayo)
  • Sonic bacon cheeseburger (hold the bun and mayo)
  • Quarter-pound double cheeseburger (hold the bun and ketchup)
  • Bacon cheeseburger toaster (hold the bun and BBQ sauce)

Read Also: How To Enjoy Keto Friendly Foods at In-N-Out

“Make it Yours” Toppings

Doesn’t have to be your boring old classic bun-less keto burger though! The folks at Sonic have a range of keto-friendly toppings to add to any burger that’ll really make the meal memorable! Here are our personal favourites;

  • American Cheese (1g net carbs)
  • Avocado (1g net carbs)
  • Crispy Bacon (1g net carbs)
  • Grilled Onions (1g net carbs)
  • Hatch Green Chillies (0g net carbs)
  • Hot Chilli (1g net carbs)
  • Ranch Dressing (2g net carbs)
  • Spicy Jalapenos (1g net carbs)

Keto-Approved Sonic Drinks

The days of finding a suitable keto friendly beverage are long gone.

Now of course you can for boring old water, or even coffee (like we had mentioned earlier) if you’re that way inclined. But is there anything else to choose from if you’re visiting Sonic and aiming to keep in ketosis?

Well yes, yes there is!

Sonic do a whole range of diet / sugar free soft drinks and iced teas to choose from, as well as the water (and flavour packets which can be added to it which are also keto friendly) and the coffee like we had mentioned earlier.

There is however plenty to avoid; the Sonic blast range, their range of shakes, home made lemonades, regular soft drinks etc. should all be missed. These are packed full of added sugars and will do a lot more harm than good for your ketogenic state!

Read Also: How To Enjoy Keto At Outback Steakhouse

Condiment Packets at Sonic for Keto

While Sonic do have a wide range of condiment packets available, you have to be careful when choosing which to go for. Not only can this ruin the taste of the meal but the sugar laden/ carb dense options can ruin your ketogenic state!

Here’s our favourites!

  • Honey Mustard (6g net carbs)
  • Ketchup (3g net carbs)
  • Marinara (4g net carbs)
  • Light Mayo (1g net carbs)
  • Mustard (1g net carbs)
  • Ranch (1g net carbs)
  • Signature Cheese Sauce (5g net carbs)
  • Sweet Relish (3g net carbs)

Conclusion

Sonic is so unique in its business model; it makes eating a truly fun experience, throwing it back to yesteryear and focusing as much on the social element of eating as it does the food itself.

While many in the keto community feel restricted from exploring drive-in / drive through options, we’d like to think we’ve shown you that you can make just about any scenario work for ketosis, just as long as you do it intelligently!

Go for bun/bread/wrap-less options with no additives whenever you can and try and avoid the sides.

Add your own extras to the core part of the meal, including one or more of the condiment packets we’ve described, and enjoy a nice keto friendly beverage to go with!

Trust us, Sonic is a whole lot more fun when you can make it work for you and stop believing it’s working against you!