Five Guys looks simple: a short menu and burgers built to order. For someone with diabetes, that simplicity is a mixed blessing. There are fewer hidden ingredients than at a big-menu chain, and the carbohydrate sits in just two places, the bun and the fries. But the portions are large, and the larger fries listing carries more than three times the carbohydrate of a cheeseburger. This guide lays out the numbers we could verify, shows where the carbohydrate comes from, and walks through five example orders with the arithmetic.
Quick answer: yes, people with diabetes eat at Five Guys, and the menu is unusually easy to adjust. In the data we used, the bun accounts for about 39 grams of carbohydrate on every burger and hot dog we could compare. A bunless cheeseburger lists 1 gram. The 411 gram fries listing shows 131 grams of carbohydrate, and a Little Fry lists 72. Swapping the bun for a lettuce wrap or a bowl and splitting the fries moves an order from 171 grams of carbohydrate to about 45, using the same arithmetic shown in the worked examples below. This is general education, not a personal meal plan. Your care team knows your targets and your medicines.
How to read the numbers in this guide
Five Guys’ own nutrition pages were not reachable when we wrote this, so every figure comes from FastFoodNutrition.org, a third-party site that credits Five Guys as its source for each item. That has four consequences. First, the item pages show no date, so we cannot tell you when the numbers were last checked, and recipes, buns, and portion practices can change. Second, the site lists a limited set of items. It has burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fries, and a handful of toppings, but no milkshakes, no drinks, and no peanuts, so we give no numbers for those. Third, a dash in our tables means the page did not list the value, and we have not estimated anything. Fourth, we did not see how Five Guys defines each size, so where the page does not label a size we say so instead of guessing. If you want to practice turning a label into a carbohydrate count, our nutrition label carbs guide shows how to separate total carbohydrate, fiber, and sugar.
One structural point helps with the rest of the guide. Five Guys sells a regular and a “Little” version of most burgers. The item pages do not state patty counts, but the weights point to the difference: the Hamburger lists a 265 gram serving and the Little Hamburger 171 grams, and the bunless versions list 188 and 94 grams, which is almost exactly double. That is consistent with two patties versus one. We treat it as our own inference from the weights, not as something Five Guys stated on these pages.
Burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches: the bun is the carbohydrate
Source for this table: FastFoodNutrition.org item pages, which credit Five Guys (fiveguys.com) as their source. The pages show no “last updated” date. A dash means the page lists no value. Checked October 31, 2026.
| Item | Calories | Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamburger | 700 | 39 | 39 |
| Cheeseburger | 840 | 40 | 47 |
| Bacon Burger | 780 | 39 | 43 |
| Bacon Cheeseburger | 920 | 40 | 51 |
| Little Hamburger | 480 | 39 | 23 |
| Little Cheeseburger | 550 | 40 | 27 |
| Little Bacon Burger | 560 | 39 | 27 |
| Little Bacon Cheeseburger | 630 | 40 | 26 |
| Hot Dog | 545 | 40 | 18 |
| Cheese Dog | 615 | 41 | 22 |
| Grilled Cheese | 470 | 41 | 11 |
| BLT | 533 | 42 | 16 |
| Veggie Sandwich | 440 | 60 | 16 |
The most useful thing in this table is how little the carbohydrate moves. Every burger and hot dog lists between 39 and 41 grams, whether it is a Hamburger at 700 calories or a Bacon Cheeseburger at 920. A second patty, cheese, and bacon change the calories, the protein, and the sodium a lot, but they change the carbohydrate by about a gram. The bun is doing nearly all of the carbohydrate work. The Little Hamburger, at 480 calories, lists 39 grams of carbohydrate, exactly the same as the full Hamburger at 700 calories. If your main goal is the carbohydrate count, ordering a smaller burger does not help. If your goal is calories or sodium, it does. Those are separate questions, and your clinician can tell you which matters more for you.
The sandwiches are different. The Veggie Sandwich lists 60 grams of carbohydrate and 14 grams of sugar, the highest in this table, and the BLT lists 42. The source does not say what toppings are included by default on the veggie sandwich, so the 60 grams is only the listed default. The Grilled Cheese lists 41 grams, and it is a smaller item (110 grams) with a lot of carbohydrate per bite. None of these is a “free” swap for a burger from a carbohydrate point of view.
One small oddity: the Little Bacon Burger lists 27 grams of protein and the Little Bacon Cheeseburger lists 26, even though cheese should add protein, not subtract it. The difference is only one gram and does not change the carbohydrate, but it is a reminder that third-party pages carry small errors. For the sodium column, which we do not table here, the range is wide: the Hamburger lists 430 mg and the Bacon Cheeseburger 1,310 mg, and the Cheese Dog lists 1,440 mg.
Bunless burgers and the lettuce-wrap idea
Source for this table: FastFoodNutrition.org item pages, which credit Five Guys (fiveguys.com) as their source. The pages show no “last updated” date. A dash means the page lists no value. Checked October 31, 2026.
| Item | Calories | Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bunless Hamburger | 440 | 0 | 32 |
| Bunless Cheeseburger | 580 | 1 | 40 |
| Bunless Bacon Burger | 520 | 0 | 36 |
| Bunless Bacon Cheeseburger | 660 | 1 | 44 |
| Bunless Little Hamburger | 220 | 0 | 16 |
| Bunless Little Cheeseburger | 290 | 0 | 20 |
| Bunless Hot Dog | 285 | 1 | 11 |
Five Guys sells bunless versions of its burgers and hot dogs, and the numbers are striking. The Bunless Hamburger lists 0 grams of carbohydrate and the Bunless Cheeseburger lists 1. Compare each bunless item to its bunned twin and the gap is 39 grams every time: Hamburger versus Bunless Hamburger, Cheeseburger versus Bunless Cheeseburger, Little Hamburger versus Bunless Little Hamburger, and Hot Dog versus Bunless Hot Dog (40 versus 1). Our arithmetic puts the bun at about 39 grams, with 2 grams of fiber, and it is the single largest carbohydrate item on a burger order other than the fries.
A few cautions. The bunless listings show zero fiber and mostly zero sugar, which is what you would expect with just meat and cheese, but a listing of “0 grams” is a rounded figure, and toppings you add yourself are not included. The bunless items are not low in calories or sodium. The Bunless Bacon Cheeseburger lists 660 calories and 980 mg of sodium, and the Bunless Cheeseburger lists 580 calories. Whether a bunless burger is wrapped in lettuce or served in a container, the way it is served can differ from store to store, so ask what you will get. Going bunless removes a carbohydrate source; it does not make a meal automatically right for your blood pressure, cholesterol, or weight, and that is a conversation for your care team.
Fries and the portion math
Source for this table: FastFoodNutrition.org item pages, which credit Five Guys (fiveguys.com) as their source. The pages show no “last updated” date. A dash means the page lists no value. Checked October 31, 2026.
| Item (serving) | Calories | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Fry (227 g) | 526 | 72 | 8 |
| Five Guys Style Fries (411 g, size not labeled) | 953 | 131 | 15 |
| Cajun Style Fries (411 g, size not labeled) | 953 | 131 | 15 |
The fries are where Five Guys orders get big. The page for Five Guys Style Fries lists a 411 gram serving with 953 calories and 131 grams of carbohydrate, and the Little Fry lists a 227 gram serving with 526 calories and 72 grams. We checked the two against each other: dividing carbohydrate by weight gives 31.9 grams per 100 grams for the larger order and 31.7 grams per 100 grams for the Little, which are consistent. The larger listing carries about 1.82x the carbohydrate of the Little, and its serving is about 1.81x the weight. So the numbers hang together, and each is internally plausible.
Two cautions on this table. First, the source does not label the 411 gram order with a size name, and it does not list a large order at all. We do not know which menu size the 411 grams corresponds to, so use the weight as your guide and ask the store how big the order is. Second, the Cajun Style Fries page lists identical values to the Five Guys Style Fries in every column, including sodium at 962 mg. Cajun seasoning is likely to change the sodium, so the Cajun numbers may simply be a copy of the other page. Treat them as unverified. Fiber does help a little: subtracting fiber gives 116 grams for the 411 gram listing and 64 grams for the Little, but whether to count carbohydrate net of fiber is a decision for you and your care team, not a rule we can set.
The practical lesson is the one that applies at every burger place: the fries are usually bigger than the sandwich in carbohydrate terms. A Cheeseburger lists 40 grams, and the 411 gram fries list 131, so the side carries more than three times the carbohydrate of the main. The two easiest levers are a Little Fry in place of the larger order (a saving of 59 grams on the listed numbers) and splitting an order between people. If three people split the 411 gram order evenly by weight, each portion would list about 43.7 grams of carbohydrate. That is our own division, not a number from the source, and real splits are never exactly even.
Toppings and sauces: the small carbs add up
Source for this table: FastFoodNutrition.org item pages, which credit Five Guys (fiveguys.com) as their source. The pages show no “last updated” date. A dash means the page lists no value. Checked October 31, 2026. Serving sizes are the ones the pages list, and you may use more or less than the stated amount.
| Topping (serving) | Calories | Carbs (g) | Sugars (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketchup (17 g) | 15 | 4 | 4 |
| Mt. Olive sweet green relish (15 g) | 15 | 4 | 3 |
| A.1. Original Steak Sauce (17 g) | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| Cattlemen’s BBQ sauce (2 tbsp, 28 g) | 60 | 15 | 10 |
| Mayonnaise (14 g) | 100 | 0 | 0 |
Toppings are easy to add on, but they are not all zero-carbohydrate. Ketchup lists 4 grams for a 17 gram serving. Sweet green relish lists 4 grams for 15 grams. A.1. sauce lists 3 grams. The barbecue sauce is the heavy one: 15 grams of carbohydrate and 10 grams of sugar in a 2 tablespoon serving, so a generous pour would exceed that. Mayonnaise lists 0 grams of carbohydrate but 100 calories for 14 grams. The Weight Watchers listing for the toppings suggests lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mushrooms, jalapeños, green peppers, mustard, and Frank’s hot sauce score zero or near zero, but we did not pull carbohydrate numbers for every one of them, so we do not list them in the table. Tomatoes and onions have a small amount of natural carbohydrate that adds up if you pile them on, and grilled onions and mushrooms are cooked in oil. If you track every gram, ask the app or the store for the full list.
Five example orders, computed
Each order below is built from the numbers in the tables above and added in code. Sodium is shown because it varies a lot between choices. Fractions of an order are our own division of a listed serving, not something the source states.
| Order | Calories | Carbs (g) | Sodium (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheeseburger plus the 411 g fries | 1,793 | 171 | 2,012 |
| Cheeseburger plus a Little Fry | 1,366 | 112 | 1,581 |
| Little Cheeseburger plus a Little Fry | 1,076 | 112 | 1,221 |
| Bunless Cheeseburger plus ketchup, no fries | 595 | 5 | 720 |
| Bunless Cheeseburger plus one third of the 411 g fries | 898 | 44.7 | 1,041 |
The first order, a Cheeseburger with the 411 gram fries, lists 171 grams of carbohydrate and 1,793 calories. Replacing the fries with a Little Fry drops the carbohydrate to 112 grams, a saving of 59. Switching to a Little Cheeseburger as well barely changes the carbohydrate (112 grams) because the bun is the same, but it cuts the calories from 1,366 to 1,076. That is the point of the bun finding earlier: if you shrink the burger but keep the bun, you save calories and sodium but not carbohydrate.
The bunless orders are a different category. A Bunless Cheeseburger with ketchup lists 5 grams of carbohydrate. If you also want fries and split the 411 gram order three ways, the total is about 45 grams with this assumption, and the calories are about 898. Whether that meal is “good” depends on your targets, your medicines, and your own glucose readings, which are the only reliable test. One caveat applies to every order here: these are the listed figures for the default build. Extra cheese, bacon, and sauces change them, and the source does not cover drinks or shakes.
What this data does not cover: shakes, drinks, and peanuts
Five Guys also sells milkshakes and drinks, and many locations offer peanuts. The source we used lists none of them, so we give no numbers and we will not guess. The general rule is easy: a sweetened shake or a regular soda can carry as much carbohydrate as a full meal, and you should look up the exact item in Five Guys’ own nutrition calculator before ordering, or choose water or an unsweetened drink. If peanuts are available where you eat, remember that they add calories quickly even though their carbohydrate is modest, and that a bag you keep eating from is easy to lose track of. We have no verified numbers for them here.
How to use this if you have type 2 diabetes and are not on insulin
If you manage type 2 diabetes with food, activity, and medicines that do not require you to match insulin to carbohydrate, the goal at Five Guys is usually about the size of the carbohydrate load and how it fits with the rest of your day. The numbers above show that the load is concentrated in two items, so you have two clean decisions: bun or no bun, and fries or no fries (or a smaller fries, or shared). Many people find that deciding before they walk in is easier than deciding at the counter, where the smell of fries is the loudest voice. Pair the meal with a walk if your clinician says it is appropriate for you. Our walking after meals guide covers what is known and what is not. If you eat out often, the restaurant guides hub collects every chain we have covered in one place so you can compare.
If you have prediabetes
With prediabetes, the question many people ask is whether an occasional burger-and-fries meal undoes their progress. We cannot answer that for you, and no chain page can. What the numbers do show is that a single Five Guys order can range from about 5 to 171 grams of carbohydrate depending on choices, so a fixed ritual like “burger and fries every Friday” can be changed in a way that makes a real difference to the total. A Little Fry shared with the table, or a bunless burger with no fries, are options. The diabetes food guide has our single-food guides for the other pieces of the plate, and your clinician or a registered dietitian can tell you what a reasonable weekly pattern looks like for your labs.
If you use a CGM
A continuous glucose monitor can show how your own body responds to a burger with the bun versus without, and to fries eaten alone versus as part of the meal. We cannot predict that response, and anyone who claims to is guessing. If you want to test it, change one thing at a time, keep the rest of the day similar, and look at the pattern across several meals rather than one. Our guide to reading CGM data explains how to look at the curve, and the post-meal glucose tracker gives you a place to record what you ate and what you saw. Fast food meals are often high in fat as well as carbohydrate, which can change the timing of a rise for some people, and your clinician can help you interpret what you see.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is shrinking the burger and ignoring the bun. As the table shows, the carbohydrate on a Little Hamburger is the same as on a Hamburger because the bun is the same. The second is treating the fries as a side of the meal rather than the largest part of the carbohydrate. The third is assuming the Veggie Sandwich or the grilled cheese is a lighter pick; both list at least as much carbohydrate as a burger. The fourth is forgetting that sweetened sauces count, with the barbecue sauce at 15 grams a serving. The fifth is trusting a single number. Our source has no dates and a few odd values, like the identical Cajun fries listing, so use the numbers to plan and your own readings to learn.
Myth versus fact
| Myth | What the data shows |
|---|---|
| “A smaller burger means fewer carbs.” | The Little Hamburger lists 39 g, the same as the full Hamburger. The bun is the same. |
| “A burger with no fries is a low-carb meal.” | Not with the bun. Every bunned burger we checked lists 39 to 41 g on its own. |
| “The veggie sandwich is the lighter choice.” | It lists 60 g of carbohydrate and 14 g of sugar, more than any burger. |
| “Toppings are free of carbs.” | Ketchup, relish, and barbecue sauce list 4, 4, and 15 g per serving. |
| “Bunless means no carbs.” | The bunless items list 0 to 1 g. Added sauces and sides are extra. |
Questions to bring to your appointment
Take these to your clinician or dietitian. How many grams of carbohydrate should a typical meal have for me? Should I count carbohydrate net of fiber? Are there foods in a restaurant like this that interact with my medicines, or any I should avoid for a reason other than blood sugar, such as blood pressure or cholesterol? How should I treat sodium at fast-food meals, given that several listings above are over 1,000 mg? What should I do if I see a high or low reading after a meal like this? What readings would you want me to bring in?
Frequently asked questions
Is Five Guys okay for someone with diabetes?
No food is automatically off limits, and Five Guys has an unusually adjustable menu. In the data we used, every bunned burger and hot dog lists 39 to 41 grams of carbohydrate, and the bunless versions list 0 to 1. The fries are the biggest carbohydrate item. Check what fits your plan with your care team.
How many carbs are in a Five Guys burger?
The source lists 39 grams for the Hamburger and Little Hamburger, 40 for the Cheeseburger and Bacon Cheeseburger, and 40 for the Little Cheeseburger. Almost all of it comes from the bun. A Bunless Cheeseburger lists 1 gram.
How many carbs are in Five Guys fries?
The page for Five Guys Style Fries lists a 411 gram serving with 131 grams of carbohydrate and 15 grams of fiber. The Little Fry lists a 227 gram serving with 72 grams and 8 grams of fiber. The source does not label the 411 gram size, so check the order size at the store.
Does Five Guys have a low-carb option?
Yes. It sells bunless burgers and bunless hot dogs. The source lists 0 to 1 gram of carbohydrate for the bunless burgers and 1 gram for the bunless hot dog, before any sauces or sides. Ask how the store serves them, since a lettuce wrap or bowl can vary.
Are the Cajun fries different from the regular fries?
In the source, they list identical numbers in every column, including sodium, which is unusual for a seasoned item. We treat the Cajun numbers as unverified and use the plain fries listing as the reference.
Do Five Guys toppings have carbs?
Some do. Ketchup lists 4 grams, sweet relish 4, A.1. sauce 3, and barbecue sauce 15 grams for 2 tablespoons. Mayonnaise lists 0 grams but 100 calories. Vegetable toppings like lettuce, pickles, and onions are small, but we did not verify each one.
What about Five Guys milkshakes and drinks?
Our source does not list them, so we give no numbers. A sweetened shake or regular soda can add a large amount of carbohydrate, so check Five Guys’ own nutrition tool before ordering, or choose water or an unsweetened drink.
How do I know how a Five Guys meal affects my blood sugar?
The only way is to measure your own response across several meals, with a meter before and after, or a CGM. Our post-meal glucose tracker and CGM reading guide explain how to compare meals fairly, and your clinician can tell you which readings to act on.
About the author: Charles Kirkland is the founder of Metabolic Clarity Labs and author of The Journey Back. He is not a physician. This is general education, not a medically reviewed treatment plan.
Sources checked October 31, 2026. Discuss personal decisions with a qualified clinician. Do not start, stop, or change prescribed treatment based on this article.
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