The lunch I make on repeat. Chopped chicken, the crispiest bacon, fresh tomato, and just enough mayo to bring it all together.
This is the lunch I keep coming back to. It’s everything I love about a BLT — smoky crispy bacon, juicy tomato, creamy mayo — but turned into something more substantial with chopped chicken thrown in. The whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes, and it’s endlessly versatile. Eat it straight as a salad, pile it onto low carb bread for a chopped sandwich situation, or scoop it with cucumber slices or pork rinds.
The trick is in the bacon. You want it bake-tray crispy — the kind that shatters when you bite it — and chopped fine so every forkful has that crunch. Once you nail the bacon, the rest of the salad practically makes itself.
At .5g net carbs and 30g protein per serving, this is keto, low-carb, gluten-free, and the kind of high-protein lunch that actually keeps you full until dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- .5g net carbs and 30g protein per serving. Real macros for a real lunch.
- Ready in under 15 minutes. Faster than driving to get takeout.
- Endlessly versatile. Eat it as a salad, on bread, in lettuce wraps, with crackers, or just with a spoon.
- The crispy bacon does the heavy lifting. Once you make bacon this way, you won’t go back.
- Meal-prep friendly. Make it Sunday, eat it all week.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 264g chopped chicken — rotisserie chicken works perfectly, or use leftover grilled or roasted chicken.
- 104g diced tomato — about one medium tomato. Use a good ripe one — the freshness matters.
- 8 oz cooked bacon, chopped — bake it crispy. Recipe in the steps below.
- ½ cup mayonnaise — use a clean, real mayo like Primal Kitchen or Sir Kensington’s.
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Keto Chopped BLT Salad
Step 1: Cook the Bacon (The Crispy Way)
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top. Arrange the bacon slices in a single layer on the rack — the rack lets the fat drain off and crisps the bacon evenly on both sides.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until deeply golden and crispy. Let it cool completely on the rack before chopping.
Step 2: Chop Everything
While the bacon is cooling, chop the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Dice the tomato into small chunks (don’t go too fine or it’ll release too much juice). Once the bacon is fully cool, chop it into small pieces so it spreads through every bite.
Step 3: Mix It All Together
In a medium bowl, combine the chopped chicken, diced tomato, chopped bacon, and mayonnaise. Stir until everything is evenly coated and combined.
Step 4: Season
Add salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt at first — the bacon already brings a lot. Taste, then adjust.
Step 5: Serve
Serve it however you love. Pile it onto low carb bread for a chopped sandwich, scoop it into lettuce cups for a wrap, eat it straight out of the bowl as a salad, or use cucumber slices or pork rinds for dipping.
Expert Tips for the Best Results
- Bake the bacon for the crispiest result. Pan-fried bacon is fine, but oven-baked on a wire rack gives you that shatter-crispy texture that makes this whole salad pop.
- Let the bacon cool fully before chopping. Warm bacon mashes instead of chopping clean. Patience pays off.
- Use a clean, real mayo. Cheap mayo has fillers, sugar, and seed oils that throw off the flavor. Primal Kitchen and Sir Kensington’s are both great clean options.
- Don’t over-dice the tomato. Small chunks hold their shape. Tiny dice turns the whole thing watery.
- Make it ahead. This actually tastes better after an hour or two in the fridge — the flavors meld and the salad gets even better.
Variations & Substitutions
- Different protein — leftover turkey, shredded pork, or even chopped hard-boiled eggs all work.
- Add avocado — diced avocado folded in at the end adds creaminess and good fats.
- Make it spicier — a dash of hot sauce in the mayo or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes wakes it up.
- Add herbs — fresh chopped chives, dill, or parsley brighten everything up.
- Add crunch — chopped celery, sliced radishes, or pickled jalapeños all work beautifully.
- Sub the mayo — Greek yogurt or sour cream work, though mayo gives you that classic BLT richness.
- Add lettuce — fold in chopped iceberg or romaine right before serving for that classic BLT crunch.
Storage & Meal Prep
Use your nose on this one — keep it until it either smells off or you don’t want to look at it anymore.
Refrigerator: Store covered in an airtight container. It actually tastes better the next day as the flavors meld.
Meal-prep tip: Make a double batch on Sunday and portion into containers for grab-and-go lunches all week. Pair with cucumber slices, low carb bread, or lettuce wraps for variety throughout the week.
Make-ahead tip: Cook a big batch of bacon at the start of the week and store it crispy in the fridge. Then you can throw this salad together in minutes any day you need it.
Nutrition Information (Per Serving)
- Calories: 398
- Fat: 29.8g
- Carbs: 0.7g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Net carbs: 0.5g
- Protein: 30g
Frequently Asked Questions
Why bake the bacon instead of pan-frying?
Baking on a wire rack lets the fat drain off and crisps the bacon evenly on both sides at the same time. You get a shatter-crispy texture that’s hard to achieve in a pan, plus you don’t have to flip anything. Pan-frying works too — just cook it past the soft stage to where it’s deeply crispy.
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes — rotisserie chicken is honestly the easy mode for this recipe. Pre-cooked, pre-seasoned, just chop and add.
What kind of low carb bread should I use?
Hero bread is my go-to — the macros are great and it holds up well. Sola, Carbonaut, or any other keto-friendly bread you trust works too. You can also skip the bread entirely and use lettuce wraps or just eat it as a salad.
Does this travel well for lunch?
Yes — pack it in an airtight container and it’ll be perfect by lunchtime. If you’re packing it on bread, pack the salad and bread separately and assemble right before eating so the bread doesn’t get soggy.
Is mayo really keto-friendly?
Most mayonnaise is fully keto — it’s basically egg yolks, oil, and acid. The thing to watch is the oil. Cheap mayo uses soybean or canola oil, which most clean-eating keto people avoid. Look for mayo made with avocado oil (Primal Kitchen) or another clean fat.
Can I make this without bacon?
You could, but the whole point of a BLT is the bacon. Without it, you’ve just got chicken salad with tomato. Don’t skip it.
Can I add lettuce to make it more BLT-like?
Absolutely. Fold in chopped iceberg or romaine right before serving for that classic BLT crunch. The reason I keep it out of the base recipe is that lettuce wilts and gets sad in storage — adding it fresh gives you the best texture.
If you make this, tag @ketowilder on Instagram — I want to see how you ate yours.
