Keto diet foods
This guide has all you need to know about what to eat and what to avoid on a keto diet.
Choose,
keto-friendly foods that are very low in carbs, like meat, fish, seafood, cheese, and vegetables with real butter. Avoid bread, potatoes, rice, sweets, and other foods that are high in carbs.
Eating keto foods can help you lose weight, improve your health, and feel better without ever counting a single calorie!
Foods to eat
A healthy keto diet is built on whole, nutrient-dense foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, and non-starchy vegetables, along with natural fats like butter or olive oil. Use the food lists below to choose foods that keep you at less than 20 grams of net carbs per day (total carbs minus fiber).
Meat, poultry and substitutes
Meats are perfect for keto. You can have beef, pork, lamb, wild game, and poultry of all kinds.
Soy products like tofu and tempeh also work. You can also have deli meats like sausages and cold cuts. Choose items with no added sugars, starches, or breading to keep your carbs low.
Meats and meat substitutes
- beef
- deli meats
- game
- lamb
- organ meats
- pork
- poultry
- sausages
- tempeh
- tofu, extra firm
- fish
Most fish and shellfish are keto-friendly.
Fatty fishes such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and herring are excellent choices, as are mild white fishes such as cod, halibut, and trout. Choose fish and seafood without added sugars or breading to keep your carbs low.
Keto-friendly fish and seafood
- anchovies
- crab
- fish of all types
- lobster
- shrimp
- squid
- tuna
- eggs-mobile
Eggs
Eggs are delicious, portable, and vegetarian-friendly.
Try them boiled, fried in butter, or in an omelet for a quick, inexpensive meal. Enjoy eggs as often as you’d like because when you avoid carbs, you don’t have to avoid dietary cholesterol.
Ways to eat eggs
- boiled, hard or soft
- fried
- in quiches or frittatas
- omelets
- poached
- scrambled
Keto-friendly vegetables
Enjoy unlimited non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens and crunchy salad veggies such as cucumber, celery, and radishes.
Other favorites include cauliflower, cabbage, avocado, broccoli, and zucchini. Fresh or frozen, most vegetables that grow above-ground are keto-friendly. You can even eat a vegetarian keto diet.
Best keto vegetables
- cauliflower
- avocado
- broccoli
- cabbage
- zucchini
- spinach
- asparagus
- kale
- green beans
- brussels sprouts
Fruit and berries
Most tart fruits, such as berries, lemons, and limes are fine if you keep the serving size small.
The same is true for melons because of their high water content. But almost all other fruit contains too much sugar. A small scoop of fresh berries served with real whipped cream and shaved dark chocolate makes a lush, delicious keto dessert.
Best keto fruits and berries
- blackberries
- coconut
- lemons
- limes
- raspberries
- strawberries
Nuts and seeds
Many nuts and seeds are low in carbs. Just watch out for two things.
First, don’t eat too many! Start with just a few or up to ¼ cup (about 25 grams) for a snack. And the kind of nut you choose matters. Some nuts, such as cashews, are much higher in carbs than others, such as pecans or macadamia nuts. You can also enjoy pumpkin, sunflower, and other seeds on keto.
Best keto nuts and seeds
- almonds
- Brazil nuts
- hazelnuts
- macadamia nuts
- peanuts
- pecans
- pine nuts
- walnuts
Cheese and full-fat dairy
Cheese, butter, and cream can all be part of a keto diet.
Greek yogurt in particular, makes for a protein-rich breakfast with few carbs. Avoid flavored low-fat yogurt that is often full of added sugar.
Note: Avoid drinking milk as the milk sugar quickly adds up (one glass = 15 grams of carbs). However, you can use it sparingly — a tablespoon or so — in your coffee. Also, regularly snacking on cheese when you’re not hungry is a common mistake that can slow down weight loss.
Fats and sauces
Don’t fear fat. It can help you feel fuller longer. Most of your fat should come with protein-rich foods like meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
But you can also cook with olive oil, top your veggies with cheese, and add dressings to salads. Rich sauces — think Bearnaise sauce, garlic butter, and mayo — can also be part of a keto diet, but if you are trying to lose weight, use only enough to make your meals enjoyable.
Summary
Base your meals on meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and other protein-rich foods. Include lots of leafy greens, non-starchy veggies, and salads. Use fats such as butter or olive oil for flavor — and to fill in any needed calories.
Foods to avoid on keto
Avoid sugary food
Sugary foods are strictly limited on nearly every diet, and keto is no different.
Avoid sodas, candy, sports drinks, cookies, biscuits, desserts, cakes, pastries, sweetened yogurts, ice cream, and breakfast cereals.
Most fruit has too much sugar for keto. Mangoes, grapes, and bananas have an entire day’s worth of carbs in a one-cup (about 200 gram) serving.
Even savory products, such as ketchup, pasta sauce, and salad dressings often contain sugar. Read labels carefully to avoid these.
Natural sweeteners, such as honey, maple syrup, and agave are sugars. There are dozens of names for sugar. Try to avoid it, regardless of name.
Avoid starchy food
All starches turn into sugar when digested.
Many foods you’ve been told are “healthy” end up as sugar and can prevent you from losing weight or reaching your health goals.
Starchy foods to avoid include bread, tortillas, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes, French fries, chips, crisps, bagels, crackers, legumes (most dried beans), cereal, porridge, oatmeal, and muesli.
Even whole grains and grain-like foods such as quinoa, are just other forms of starch.
Delicious substitutes food
There are many delicious substitutes for these foods that work on a keto diet. Try them out and you may not miss the carbs:
– Keto breads
– Keto “pasta”
– Keto “rice”
– Keto porridge
Limit special keto or low carb products
Keto cookies, chocolate bars, and similar products are usually highly processed. Although they may contain less sugar and flour than their high-carb counterparts, they provide little nutritional value and may cause carb cravings. Overall, they can slow down weight loss progress.
Ideally avoid or limit them and go for nutrient-dense whole foods instead.
Summary
Avoid foods that contain sugar, including most fruit. Also steer clear of starches, including whole grains like bread, pasta, oatmeal, and brown rice. Minimize the use of keto products and stick with minimally processed foods that are naturally low in carbs (see above).
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