Dairy Queen: Paleo Food and Drink Options (Complete List)

There aren’t a lot of options for the paleo dieter at Dairy Queen (keto dieters are in the same boat at DQ). Due to the heavy reliance on dairy, wheat, and added sugars (as well as some hidden soy in some foods), the paleo options are few and far between at DQ.

To make things a bit trickier, Dairy Queen doesn’t list ingredients in their nutrition tables, so we can only go off of whether an item contains any of the major allergens. We’ve excluded foods that contain wheat, soy, and milk, but you won’t be able to tell if there are added sugars or other non-paleo ingredients such as corn.

We have the complete list of paleo food and drink options at Dairy Queen next!

Paleo refresher

A paleo diet (aka the caveman diet) is an eating style meant to mimic what people could hunt and gather thousands of years ago. Some of the foods that are avoided in a Paleo diet include:

• All grains, including gluten-free and “ancient” grains
• Dairy products (milk-based ingredients, cheese, etc)
• Refined sugar/sweeteners (e.g. high-fructose corn syrup & regular sugar, as well as artificial sweeteners. Honey and other paleo-friendly sweeteners are allowed.)
• Legumes (beans, peanuts, soy, etc.)

The most common ingredients in Dairy Queen items that are NOT paleo are:

• Wheat
• Milk
• Soy
• Added sugars

Paleo Food and Drink Options at Dairy Queen

Ice cream treats

Dairy and added sugar are avoided on a paleo diet, so unfortunately there aren’t any paleo-friendly ice cream treats at Dairy Queen.

Paleo Blizzards: none 

Paleo shakes: none 

Paleo Moolatte beverages: none 

Paleo “Curl on Top” treats (banana split, Cupfection, etc): none 

Paleo sundaes: none 

Paleo cones: none 

Paleo DQ cakes: none 

Paleo novelties (e.g. Dilly Bar, etc): none (Dairy Queen does make a dairy-free Dilly bar available at certain locations, but it still has added sugar, which is a paleo no-no.)

Paleo fruit smoothies (including Orange Julius drinks): none 

Paleo Misty Slush/Freeze: none

Add-ons

*= Some paleo dieters avoid

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Applewood smoked bacon*	Sometimes, depending on ingredients (unable to view ingredients for Dairy Queen’s bacon)
Burger patty	Yes
Diced tomato	Yes
Jalapeno bacon*	Sometimes, depending on ingredients (unable to view ingredients for Dairy Queen’s bacon)
Lettuce	Yes
Mayo	Possibly, if it’s soy-free (unable to verify ingredients)
Yellow mustard	Yes

Other add-ons

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Antioxidant boost	Unknown; doesn’t contain milk/soy/wheat, but ingredients unavailable to view
Energy boost	Unknown; doesn’t contain milk/soy/wheat, but ingredients unavailable to view
Vitamin C boost	Unknown; doesn’t contain milk/soy/wheat, but ingredients unavailable to view

Food

Burgers and Sandwiches

The nutrition information for burgers and sandwiches Dairy Queen provides doesn’t list the individual ingredients, so we’re unable to verify if any menu item contains added sugar or other non-paleo ingredients. Therefore, the table below includes our best prediction on whether each item could be made paleo-friendly.

Item	Modifications needed to make it more paleo-friendly
Backyard Bacon Ranch Burger (double and triple)	No bun, no ketchup
Bacon Two Cheese Deluxe Burger (double and triple)	No bun, no cheese, no ketchup
FlameThrower Burger (double and triple)	No bun, no cheese, no ketchup
Hamburger (single, double, and triple)	No bun, no cheese, no ketchup
Two Cheese Deluxe Burger (double and triple)	No bun, no cheese, no ketchup

Why no ketchup? Most types of ketchup contain added sugar (around 4 grams per tablespoon), which is avoided on paleo.

Chicken & salads

Chicken strips/chicken strip sandwiches: no Paleo options due to the wheat in the breading; also contains soy

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Side Salad	Yes

Hot dogs

Hot dogs aren’t technically off-limits on a paleo diet (unless they contain soy or other non-paleo ingredients). However, some paleo dieters avoid them and other types of processed meat (like bacon), so it’s an individual preference. 

The ingredients for the hot dogs at Dairy Queen aren’t available to view, but they don’t contain any of the major ingredients avoided on a paleo diet (wheat/soy/milk).

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Classic dog	No bun, no ketchup
Hot dog	No bun, no ketchup

Snacks and sides

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Fries	Yes
Lays Potato Chips – Original	Yes

Dressings and dips

Many dressings and sauces contain soybean oil, which isn’t paleo.

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce Cup	Possibly, but ingredients are not available to verify
Wild Buffalo Dipping Sauce Cup	Possibly, but ingredients are not available to verify

Local favorites

Item	Modifications to make it more paleo-friendly
BBQ sandwich	No bun
Wild Alaskan Fish Sandwich	No bun; fish might be breaded so it could technically not be paleo

Breakfast

Item	Paleo-friendly?
Bacon	Possibly; it depends on the ingredients, which are unavailable to verify
Coffee	Yes
Ham	Yes
Hash browns	Yes
Orange juice bottle	Yes
Sausages	Yes

Kids Menu

Item	Paleo-friendly/modifications needed
Applesauce	Yes (as long as it’s no sugar added)
Banana	Yes
Kids’ fries	Yes
Hamburger	Yes/No bun, no ketchup
Hot dog	Yes/No bun, no ketchup

FAQs:

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