The first time I ate at Red Lobster, I was a young Maritimer who was living in the landlocked province of Alberta. I missed the seafood I grew up on, and I was searching for a bit of home. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the same. It didn’t have the same flavour, but it did have to come from one of our oceans to the province, so it obviously had to be frozen. That being said, I did enjoy the idea of having a taste of home. Today, I was looking where I lived for a while in Ontario, and they now have a Red Lobster restaurant. I started wondering, is Red Lobster keto friendly?
The Background
The first Red Lobster opened in 1968 in Florida. In 1983, the first Red Lobster opened in Canada. Today, the restaurants are found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. If you know geography, you’ll recognize that these are provinces that are more in the middle of our country, and don’t have a lot of easy access to seafood. Those of us who are spoiled with fresh fish can complain, but overall, Red Lobster is a pretty good option.
Red Lobster does say that they source their seafood from trusted, reliable providers. Their suppliers follow industry best practices for sustainability. Red Lobster supports and follows regulatory efforts to manage fish populations. It is also stated on their website that the product is often frozen right on the boat to preserve as much freshness as possible.
Red Lobster Keto Friendly Appetizers and Add On’s
The bacon-wrapped scallops and jumbo shrimp cocktail are each under 10 net grams of carbs. The Caesar salad is a bit more, but if you get it without croutons, it should be okay. You can also add grilled chicken, salmon, or shrimp to the Caesar salad and make it more of a meal. A cup of clam chowder is 10 grams of carbs, and a cup of the lobster bisque is 14 grams.
You can add on bacon wrapped scallops to your meal for 3 net grams of carbs. What’s better for a keto meal than that? They also have shrimp to add on for 2 grams of carbs, or a lobster tail for no net grams of carbs. The lobster tail is my absolute favourite. Sign me up for that!
The Many Red Lobster Keto Friendly Entrees
Where do we start? All under five net grams of carbs include: snow crab legs, grilled salmon, Maritime lobster, and double lobster tails. What’s better than a lobster tail? Two lobster tails! There is a tilapia and scallops combination for only 5 net grams of carbs. You can actually get a lobster, shrimp and salmon combo for 5 grams of net carbs. I’m not sure how you would eat all that, but I’d give it a go!
Red Lobster also has steaks, for those land lubbers among us. There is a 7-ounce sirloin steak, a 6-ounce filet mignon, and a 10-ounce New York strip. Any of these are 2 grams of carbs or less. I’m not sure how good they are, but it’s a nice option for anyone who doesn’t like seafood in your group.
Side Options
Their butter is real, and has no carbs in it. Smoother that stuff all over the lobster! The side Caesar has 11 grams of net carbs, but that’s including croutons. Order it without the croutons and you should be good to go. They also have green beans as a side for 7 net grams of carbs. Smoother some butter on those too!
A Final Thought about Red Lobster Keto Options
If you are on the east coast and want seafood, we have lots of options that will make your mouth water. If you’re further inland, Red Lobster can be a good option for you. It’s not fresh, but it is still good.
The big thing for me is that I love seafood, but I don’t love the cooking of seafood. I can’t bring myself to cook a live lobster. And fish makes the kitchen smell forever. I’d much rather go to a restaurant and have someone else do the hard work. So, if you’re keto and feeling fishy, Red Lobster is a good alternative for you!
Wendy
