Low Carb Restaurant Hacks in France

Our low carb restaurant hacks in France make it so easy to stay on-point with your macros while traveling! And best of all, you get to enjoy the local cuisine.

When you go to France, staying low carb can seem like a challenge with delicious temptations like croissants, baguettes, and pastries everywhere you look. However, we want to show you that you can eat out and not feel deprived!

Even if the dish you’re ordering isn’t necessarily low carb, with a few easy tweaks it’s easy to make certain things low carb-friendly. We’ll walk you through it!

Get Ready for Our Best Low Carb Restaurant Hacks in France!

Dinner at a Traditional French Restaurant

Staying low carb at a traditional French brasserie is easy! There are usually a lot of salad choices, as well as meat main courses, such as fish, chicken, and beef.

We opted for a Nicoise Salad (see the photo above), which came with tuna, anchovies, black olives, hard-boiled egg, and a mix of veggies dressed with with vinaigrette. If there are any croutons or carby items, ask for your salad without them, or simply take them off.

For some protein, we ordered Boeuf Bourguignon, which is slow cooked beef in a red wine sauce served with pearl onions and carrot. Skip the carrot and minimize the sauce intake because it’s likely thickened with a non-keto thickener, such as flour or cornstarch.

Another good choice is to go for a steak served with green salad instead of French fries. Or get a burger and skip the bun!

Pro Tip: Most traditional French meals are served with a basket of bread on the side. Remember to ask your waiter to skip the bread so you’re not even tempted!

Fondue

This classic melted cheese dish is usually served with cubes of bread for dipping. However, look for a fondue restaurant that serves charcuterie or vegetables for dipping so you can nix the bread and still be able to dip into the cheese!

Another option is wine fondue where you cook meat, such as chicken or beef, in hot wine-infused brothy liquid.

Quiche

You can find lots of different flavors and shapes of quiche in France! We look for a thick, deep-dish style quiche that has more filling. Scoop out the egg filling and just leave the pastry crust!

Take note that some quiches come with meat inside, some have cheese, and some have vegetables. (And make your own Keto Low Carb Quiche Lorraine at home!)

Indian Food

There are plenty of low carb and keto friendly options at Indian restaurants. Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, and Grilled Lamb are a few of our favorites. Skip the rice and naan, and eat your curry with a spoon!

Japanese Food

Like at any sushi restaurant, you can order sashimi instead of nigiri or sushi rolls. Seaweed salad and miso soup are also good choices. And sometimes a restaurant will have fermented vegetable salads. We found a sushi restaurant in Paris that had tuna tartar wrapped in nori, and we just didn’t eat the rice bottom. Note that when you order a combo meal, it might come with rice. Just skip the rice to keep it low carb!

Next time you’re traveling to France, we hope you’ll keep these tips in mind! Share your best low carb restaurant hacks in France (or anywhere!) with us in the comments below.

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