- 4 ways to use the low carb food list printable
- The best low carb foods to reach and maintain ketosis
- Net carbs for over 100 foods
Do you think the hardest part about cutting carbs is figuring out which foods you can actually eat?
Struggle no more because, in today’s guide, you’ll find a low carb food list printable with options from every keto-safe food group.
Stick to foods from this easy reference and you’ll be able to build meals using keto-approved staples and dine out at your favorite restaurants without falling off the wagon.
That’s just one way to use this printable — and it’s not the only one.
How to Use the Low Carb Food List Printable
Simplify the switch to a ketogenic diet by using this printable to:
#1. Remind yourself of what you can/cannot eat. Print this list out and add it to your fridge, office, purse, gym bag or anywhere else you need a quick reminder about net carbs in foods.
#2. Use it as a go-to shopping list. Bring a copy of this list along to the grocery store or farmer’s market to see exactly how many carbs are in the foods you’re eyeing before you buy them.
This also works well as a list to give others who may be doing the shopping for you. Or when others want to cook for you and don’t know what to make.
#3. Help you keto menu plan. With a list of the best keto-friendly foods to eat, you’ll have the building blocks of keto breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts. Use your creativity or search keto recipes to explore these ingredients.
#4. Educate others about your new diet. Friends, SOs, family members, coworkers and neighbors will all be curious as to how you managed to lose so much weight so fast on keto. They’ll be begging for your secret and you can send them this printable.
When you’re sick of your bunless burgers getting side eye or having people compare your keto diet to Atkins, you can share this printable list to show everyone you’re eating real, wholesome food and still losing weight.
Who knows? You may even inspire someone to follow in your keto footsteps when they see how easy it is to find low carb foods.
The Ultimate Low Carb Food List to Get In Ketosis ASAP
There are literally thousands of low carb foods you’ll get to try on your keto journey.
So even though we can’t list them all here, you’ll find the net carbs per serving size for over 100 foods organized by food group on this low carb food list printable.
Let’s begin with the biggest macro on keto: fat.
Healthy Fats
As the basis of any ketogenic diet, healthy fats will make up 70–80% of your daily calories.
While you don’t need to necessarily meet your fat macro, fats will help you go low carb with ease because they’ll:
- Keep you feeling full and satiated
- Ward off cravings and hunger
- Give you a steady source of sustained energy
Monounsaturated fats also protect you from heart disease, improve your cholesterol and may even prevent cancer too. #NBD
Stay away from trans fats and less healthy oils like soybean, canola and veggie. You’ll also want to rule out margarine too.
These keto approved fats have zero carbs:
- Avocado oil
- Animal fats (such as duck fat or saved bacon drippings)
- Coconut oil
- Grass-fed butter
- Ghee
- Macadamia oil
- Mayonnaise
- MCT oil
- Olive oil
- Toasted sesame oil
The next food group should also be your second largest keto macro.
High-Quality Protein
As the next chunk of your daily macros, 20–25% of your calories should come from high-quality protein sources.
Do your best to aim for organic meats, grass-fed beef, and hormone- and antibiotic-free poultry if you can.
As a general rule of thumb, the fattier the cut, the better for your keto diet. However, you can always add more fat by cooking your protein in oil or butter (or smothering it in cheese).
These animal protein sources usually contain between 1–3g of net carbs per 3 oz. serving:
- Grass-fed beef such as steak, roast, ground and stew meat
- Poultry including chicken, quail, duck and turkey
- Pork cuts like pork loin, tenderloin, chops, and ground
- Lamb and goat
- Game meats like venison, rabbit, bison and elk
- Organ meats such as brain, heart, kidney, liver, bone marrow and tongue
- Whey protein
- Collagen protein
Processed Meats and Deli Cold Cuts
When it comes to processed meats, you’ll need to check the carb and sugar count as they can contain both sweeteners and carby fillers.
Be extra careful when sourcing these and try to only use sugar- and nitrite-free:
- Bacon and sausage
- Deli meats such as ham, turkey, chicken, and bologna
- Italian meats such as prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, capicola and mortadella
Seafood
You can buy fresh or frozen fish (and bonus points if you score locally caught and sustainably farmed fish too!) depending on your preference.
These healthy fish have zero carbs per serving:
- Anchovies
- Bass
- Catfish
- Cod
- Crab
- Crawfish
- Eel
- Flounder
- Grouper
- Haddock
- Halibut
- Herring
- Lobster
- Mackerel
- Mahi
- Perch
- Red Snapper
- Rockfish
- Salmon (including smoked and canned)
- Sardines
- Shrimp
- Sole
- Tilapia
- Trout
- Tuna (canned — you’ll have extra fat from tuna packed in oil than in water!)
- Tuna (fresh)
- Turbot
Here’s something most new low-carbers don’t know: there’s seafood with naturally-occurring carbs, such as:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Caviar 0.5g 1 tablespoon
- Squid 1.5g 3 oz.
- Clams 4.5g 3 oz.
- Scallops 4.5g 3 oz.
- Mussels 6g 3 oz.
- Oysters 10g 6 medium-sized
Next, the final protein source on this list may also be the smallest.
Eggs
Eggs are super versatile and have an amazing protein-to-carb ratio at around 6g of protein per whole egg for less than 2g net carbs. Always use the whole egg for all its glorious fat and protein.
You can also find fat and protein for very few carbs in certain dairy products.
Dairy
Stick to full-fat dairy when you’re going low carb. Low-fat and skim-milk varieties remove the natural fat from milk and then replace it with sugar.
Creams
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Sour cream 0.5g 1 tablespoon
- Heavy whipping cream 1g 1 fluid oz.
- Half and half 1.5g 1 fluid oz.
Cheese
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Gruyere 0g 1 oz.
- Brie 0g 1 oz.
- Cheddar 0.5g 1 oz.
- Muenster 0.5g 1 oz.
- Fontina 0.5g 1 oz.
- Gouda 0.5g 1 oz.
- Provolone 0.5g 1 oz.
- Parmesan 1g 1 oz.
- Feta 1g 1 oz.
- Cream cheese 1g 1 oz.
- Havarti 1g 1 oz.
- Monterrey Jack 1g 1 cup
- Swiss 1.5g 1 oz.
- Blue cheese 1.5g ½ cup
- Mozzarella 2g 1 cup
- Cottage cheese 3.5g ½ cup
- Ricotta 4g ½ cup
Moving on to your final macro, you’ll eat most of your carbs from low-starch veggies and a handful of specific high-fiber fruits, as you’ll see next.
Vegetables
Veggies provide the necessary fiber, vitamins, minerals and variety your diet needs to stay healthy.
But they can also add too many carbs if you’re not careful. So you’ll want to stick to low glycemic, non-starchy, high fiber veggies like these:
Green, Leafy Veggies
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Arugula 0.5g 1 cup
- Watercress 0.5g 1 cup
- Collard greens 0.5g 1 cup
- Swiss chard 1g 1 cup
- Endive 1g 1 head
- Mustard greens 1g 1 cup
- Alfalfa sprouts 1g 1 cup
- Radicchio 1.5g 1 cup
- Spinach 2g 2 cups
- Lettuce 2g 2 cups
- Romaine 2g 2 cups
- Kale 5g 1 cup
Low Carb Veggies
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Celery 1g 1 large stalk
- Seaweed 1g 2 tablespoons
- Onions 1g 1 tablespoon (chopped)
- Bok choy 1g 1 cup
- Scallion 1g 1 large stalk
- Mushrooms 1.5g 1 cup
- Shallots 1.5g 1 tablespoon
- Radishes 2g 1 cup (sliced)
- Cucumber 2g ½ cup (sliced)
- Asparagus 2.5g 1 cup
- Cabbage 2.5g 1 cup (shredded)
- Eggplant 2.5g ½ cup (cubed)
- Zucchini 2.5g 1 cup (sliced)
- Bell peppers 3g 1 cup (sliced)
- Cauliflower 3g 1 cup (chopped)
- Fennel 3.5g 1 cup (sliced)
- Broccoli 3.5g 1 cup (chopped)
- Tomato 4g 1 cup
- Okra 4g 1 cup
- Brussels sprouts 4.5g 1 cup
- Jicama 5g 1 cup (sliced)
- Spaghetti squash 5.5g 1 cup (cubes)
- Artichoke hearts 6g 1 medium
You can usually have more veggies than fruit when you go low carb. Let’s talk about the best fruits to choose on keto.
Fruit
Fruit delivers healthy antioxidants, vitamins and fiber to your ketogenic diet.
But since they can be such sugar bombs, you’ll need to eat them in small quantities and not very often.
It doesn’t matter if you choose fresh or frozen, but you should try to buy organic.
You may also want to try pairing your fruit with a fat (like peanut butter, whipped cream or cheese) to slow down the release of all that sugar.
The best low carb fruits on keto include:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Rhubarb 2g ½ cup
- Avocado 3g 1 medium hass
- Blackberries 3g ½ cup
- Raspberries 3.5g ½ cup
- Cranberries 4g ½ cup
- Strawberries 4g ½ cup (whole)
- Limes 5g One whole 2” fruit
- Blueberries 9g ½ cup
The next food group may contain some of the smallest items on today’s list, but they’re also tiny nutritional powerhouses.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds make excellent additions to your diet in the form of healthy fats and fiber.
It doesn’t matter if you opt for raw or roasted, just stay away from anything with too much sugar — even if it’s natural.
Bonus: Salted nuts will help you replenish your electrolytes as you drink lots of water in ketosis.
Check these out:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Pecans 1g 1 oz.
- Macadamia 1.5g 1 oz.
- Walnuts 2g 1 oz.
- Hazelnuts 2g 1 oz.
- Almonds 2.5g 1 oz.
- Pine nuts 3g 1 oz.
- Pistachio 5g 1 oz.
- Cashews 8g 1 oz.
Don’t forget about nut butters — a keto blessing and a curse. Since the serving size is so small, you’ll need to be extra careful about sugar and carbs here:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Mixed nut butters with MCT oil 2g 2 tablespoons
- Coconut butter 2g 2 tablespoons
- Almond butter 3g 2 tablespoons
- Peanut 4g 2 tablespoons
- Cashew 8g 2 tablespoons
Seeds can also be ground up to create sunflower seed butter, for example, if you have a nut allergy (of if you just prefer the taste).
You can also use seeds to top salads, add texture to fat bombs or make pudding or keto oatmeal.
Reach for these low carb seeds:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Flax 0g 2 tablespoons (ground or whole)
- Hemp 1.5g 2 tablespoons
- Chia 2g 2 tablespoons
- Sesame 2g 2 tablespoons
- Sunflower 3.5g 2 tablespoons
Next it’s time to add flavor to your fat, protein and carbs the low-sugar way.
Herbs and Spices
Many prepared spice mixes contain sugar or carbs as fillers. You’ll want to stick with fresh or dried herbs and spices to season your food instead.
As long as you stay under the two tablespoon mark, these herbs and spices should add zero carbs to your dishes:
- Allspice
- Basil
- Cardamom
- Cayenne pepper
- Chili powder
- Cilantro
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Cumin
- Curry powder
- Dill
- Fresh ground pepper
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Smoked paprika
- Tarragon
- Thyme
- Turmeric
Salts
You’ll also want to diversify your salt selection and stock up on:
- Sea salt
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Lite-salt (50% sodium/50% potassium)
Another way you may be used to adding flavor to your foods is by topping them with dressings or dunking them in condiments.
Condiments and Salad Dressings
Whether used in a pinch or to add a dollop of much-needed fat to your bed of lettuce, condiments and salad dressings can be safe on a low carb diet as long as you scan the ingredient labels and know what to watch out for.
Always choose full-fat condiments and salad dressings and stay away from anything marked low-fat or “lite”. These usually have the fat removed only to add sugar back in.
Watch out for vinaigrettes as they typically begin with a base of honey or sugar instead of fat.
Low Carb Condiments
- Mayonnaise
- Yellow mustard
- Hot sauce
- Tartar sauce
- Horseradish
- Soy sauce
- Sauerkraut
Salad Dressings
- Ranch
- Blue Cheese
- Caesar
- Avocado and olive oil
- Vinegar (white or red wine)
- Balsamic vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
Homemade keto salad dressings and condiments are always best. You may want to give these easy recipes a try before you buy another store-bought version again:
You’ll also want to keep these keto cooking and baking staples on hand.
Cooking and Baking Ingredients
Stocking your low-carb pantry with keto staples and low carb replacements means you’ll be ready to whip up an easy keto recipe in a lot less time.
Low Carb Cooking and Baking Staples
- Chicken and beef broth or stock or bouillon
- Xanthan gum
- Pork rinds (crushed for breadcrumbs)
- Shirataki noodles
- Coconut flakes
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Flaxseed meal
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Gelatin (plain)
- Extracts (i.e., vanilla, lemon, hazelnut, almond, etc. as long as they don’t have sugar)
And since sugar is a no-go on a low carb diet, you’ll also want to make the switch to these keto-safe sweeteners.
Sweeteners
Sweeteners can be tricky so keep these two rules in mind
- Only use low glycemic index sweeteners, which won’t affect your blood sugar levels or contribute to your carb intake.
- Avoid sugar alcohol-based sweeteners like maltitol, dextrose, sorbitol, xylitol and maltodextrin. These can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea and may contribute hidden carbs.
The safest, low-glycemic sweeteners on keto include:
- Stevia (preferably in liquid form as the powder can sometimes have carby binding agents)
- Monk fruit
Up next you’ll find out the best low carb beverages.
Drinks and Libations
It’s essential to replace the water your body will be shedding during your first few weeks of starting a low carb diet.
But since you won’t have any carbs to hold on to water when you’re in ketosis, you’ll also need to keep replenishing your stores to ward off dehydration.
When water gets boring, try these low carb alternatives:
Net Carbs Serving Size
- Sparkling mineral water 0g
- Seltzer water/club soda 0g
- Tea, with caffeine 0g
- Herbal teas without caffeine 0g
- Unsweetened almond milk 1g 8 fl oz.
- Unsweetened coconut milk 1g 8 fl oz.
- Unsweetened cashew milk 1g 8 fl oz.
- Bone broth 0g 8 fl. oz
- Bulletproof coffee 1g 16 fl oz.
What about alcohol on a ketogenic diet?
Though alcohol messes with ketone production and you may experience a stall in weight loss, you can enjoy zero-carb alcohols such as:
- Vodka
- Whiskey
- Gin
- Tequila
- Rum
Stay away from mixed drinks, beers and wine as these will have way too many carbs.
Finally, no diet is complete without a few snacks to help you lose weight without starving yourself.
Keto Snacks
You’ll have urges to snack on keto just like you did before you began your low-carb diet.
The trick is keeping a stocked keto pantry so you always have keto-approved snacks on hand and avoid the urge to cheat with potato chips and candy bars.
Try noshing on:
- Pork rinds. Watch flavored varieties for added sugar; Epic is a great low carb, low sugar choice.
- Jerky. Again, watch the sugars and stick to keto-approved brands like People’s Choice, Keto Carne and Biltong.
- Pepperoni slices. This choice from Organic Valley is free of hormones, toxic pesticides, sugar and carbs.
- Pickles, olives and cherry tomatoes
- Homemade cheese chips
- Low carb protein bars
- Homemade kale chips or this premade keto-friendly option.
- Seaweed snacks. Ocean’s Halo and Annie Chun are two popular choices here.
- Wild-caught sardines like this sustainably sourced option from Wild Planet.
Keep a few of these snacks at home, in your desk at work or in your gym bag and you’ll never be tempted by carby, sugary cheats again.
Time to Use Your Low Carb Food List Printable
Are there more low carb food options on this list than you originally thought possible?
When most people begin a ketogenic diet, they focus on all the carby standards they can’t have.
But when you see all the tasty keto safe foods on this low carb food list printable, sticking to your new diet — and losing weight — will be so easy it will only feel like cheating.
To find out how to combine these foods to create keto recipes you and your family will love, check out this page next!