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11+ KETO Friendly Options at Papa John’s (Inc. Crustless Pizza)
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Papa John’s offers crustless keto-friendly pizzas in 3 different flavors starting from 12g net carbs. You can also grab an 8-piece serving of chicken wings for as low as 4g net carbs.
‘Keto’ and ‘Pizza’ are two words that don’t really belong in one place. But Papa John’s is here to prove you wrong!
Pizza is the most consumed American comfort food and yet there are only a handful of restaurants that cater to a healthy (or at least low-carb) diet.
Enters Papa John’s, with a unique ‘Pizza in a bowl’ concept. That means you don’t have to eat the scraped toppings off your pizza anymore (been there, done that!)
And not just that, they also offer several low-carb flavors of chicken wings, along with various beverages.
Check out the full low-carb menu in this post!
Jump to:
Papa Bowls
#1. Chicken Alfredo Papa Bowl
What’s inside: Creamy alfredo and garlic parmesan sauces, grilled chicken, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, three cheese blend and Italian seasoning.
Nutrition (Full Bowl): 570 Calories, 31g Fat, 15g Total carbs, 3g Fiber, 6g Sugar, 62g Protein, 12g Net Carbs
#2. Italian Meats Trio Papa Bowl
What’s inside: Pizza and alfredo sauces, pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, three melty cheeses, and Italian seasoning.
Nutrition (Full Bowl): 880 Calories, 68g Fat, 24g Carbs, 6g Fiber, 9g Sugar, 46g Protein, 18g Net Carbs
Tip: Split the bowl into two meals of the day, and you get 9g net carbs per meal. You can further lower the carbs by ditching onions and tomatoes.
#3. Garden Veggie Papa Bowl
What’s inside: Spinach, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, banana peppers, pizza sauce, garlic parmesan, three melty cheeses, Italian seasoning.
Nutrition (Full Bowl): 380 Calories, 24g Fat, 21g Total Carbs, 6g Fiber, 9g Sugar, 22g Protein, 15g Net Carbs
#4. Create Your Own Keto Papa Bowl
If you’re not satisfied with any of the pre-set bowls, and are looking to experiment – this option is just the right option for you!
Papa John’s gives you complete freedom to build your own Papa Bowl from scratch.
Note: We have filtered out all the high-carb items and only listed the keto-friendly ones for you.
You can choose a maximum of 7 toppings across cheese, meat, sauces, and veggies.
Step 1: Base Sauce (Pick 1)
- Ranch
- Buffalo
- Original Sauce
Step 2: Add cheese (Pick 1-2)
- Parmesan Romano
- Extra Cheese
- 3-Cheese Blend
Step 3: Choose your meats (Pick 2-4)
- Canadian Bacon
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Pepperoni
- Meatball
- Salami
- Spicy Italian Sausage
- Grilled Chicken
- Beef
- Philly Steak
Step 4: Top it with Low-Carb Veggies (Pick 1-2)
- Green Peppers
- Fresh Spinach
- Banana Peppers
- Artichoke Hearts
- Black Olives
- Jalapeño Peppers
- Mushrooms
With this list of ingredients, you can easily curate your own crustless pizza for less than 15g of net carbs for a full bowl.
Sides
5. Unsauced Roasted Wings
What’s inside: Oven-baked unsauced wings that are tender and tasty.
Nutrition (8 pcs): 810 Calories, 57g Fat, 4g Total carbs, 0g Fiber, 0g Sugar, 66g Protein, 4g Net Carbs
This is undoubtedly the most keto-friendly offering at this restaurant. But it’s easy to reverse things around if you pick the wrong dip!
We’ve shared the full list of all low-carb dips and sauces at the end of this section.
6. Buffalo Wings
What’s inside: Oven baked bone-in wings drizled in hot and spicy buffalo sauce
Nutrition (8 pcs): 840 Calories, 58g Fat, 8g Total carbs, 1g Fiber, 3g Sugar, 67g Protein, 7g Net Carbs
(Suggested: Papa Murphy’s Keto Options)
7. Garlic Parmesan Wings
What’s inside: Oven baked bone-in wings tossed in garlic parmesan sauce.
Nutrition (8 pcs): 1040 Calories, 81g Fat, 6g Total carbs, 0g Fiber, 0g Sugar, 68g Protein, 8g Net Carbs
8. BBQ Wings
What’s inside: Oven baked bone-in wings covered in a thick and bold smokehouse-style BBQ sauce.
Note: The BBQ sauce has a ton of sugar. So if you really want to enjoy this smoky flavor while still being keto, limit yourself to a 4-pc serving.
Nutrition (4 pcs): 440 Calories, 28g Fat, 10g Total carbs, 0.5g Fiber, 7g Sugar, 34g Protein, 9.5g Net Carbs
Extras
Dipping Sauces
The carb details below are given for a single dip (one tiny cup)
- Special Garlic: 0g
- Pizza Sauce: 3g
- Cheese Sauce: 2g
- Buffalo Sauce: 2g
- Ranch Sauce: 2g
- Blue Cheese: 1g
Seasonings
- Crushed Red Pepper Packet: 0g
- Special Seasonings Packet: 1g
- Parmesan Cheese Packet: <1g
- Pepperoncinis: 0g
Beverages
- Diet Mountain Dew: 0g
- Diet Pepsi: 0g
- Diet Dr Pepper: 0g
- Diet Seven up: 0g
- Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi: 0g
- Diet Pepsi Max: 0g
- Pepsi Zero Sugar: 0g
- Rockstar Sugar free: 3g
- Lipton Pureleaf Unsweet Tea: 0g
- Lipton Purleaf Diet Peach Tea: 0g
- Lipton Pureleaf Diet Lemon Tea: 0g
- Coffee: 0g
- Montellier Sparkling water: 0g
- LifeWTR: 0g
- Aquafina: 0g
- Aquafina Raspberry: 0g
Low-Carb Dining at Papa John’s: Tips to Make Smart Choice
- For those on low-carb:
If you are on a low-carb diet (not keto), consuming 50-100g of carbs per day, choose thin crust over regular slices.
That’s because a medium-sized thin crust slice has 33% fewer carbs than even a small-sized regular crust.
- Get creative with your toppings:
Papa John’s has a wide variety of meats, cheeses, and toppings. Add them to fulfill your macro goals for the day (i.e. fats, proteins, and carbs).
- Order pickup or delivery to avoid temptations:
If you are really craving a Papa Bowl, I say it’s better to order delivery than dining in.
Why? Because once you’ve set your foot inside, you are much more likely to order something crazy and indulge.
Restaurants follow design principles that are meant to increase your appetite. That’s why you’ll notice so much ‘red’ in the interiors of most restaurant chains.
