Low Carb Vegetables every Keto dieter must know!
Since carbohydrates should be reduced in a ketogenic diet, there is a large dependence on low carb vegetables to eat a clean Keto Diet. While there are some well known low carb vegetables, many can be too high in carbs and cause issues, reducing ketone levels and a rise in blood sugar levels.
On a keto diet, vegetables with less than 5 net carbs may be eaten relatively freely — have them with butter and other keto friendly sauces!
It is hard to over-eat spinach, zucchini, lettuce, asparagus and kale on a keto diet
If you’re looking for low-carb vegetables that aren’t leafy greens, think about the ones that grow above ground mostly from the cruciferous family. These include broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers, and more. You can use the visual guide below to help decide which vegetables are best.
Spinach
Spinach is number one on our list because it is packed with vital antioxidants and nutrients.
Spinach is great for ketogenic dieters because it provides a crunch that you may have been missing while also giving you volume! Spinach also contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, Folic Acids, Iron and Calcium!
Tips for eating: Spinach can be wilted and stirred into soups, mixed with eggs as a great source of Vitamin A. There’s always the option to keep it raw for salads as well.
• Recipe to try: Chicken and Spinach Pizza
Lettuce
Lettuce is very low in carbs and can be used to replace bread when eating hamburgers, tacos or sandwiches. Also, lettuce can be used in combination with spinach as the base of a salad.
Best of all, lettuce contains 2 grams of carbs per serving! Lettuce also has 1 gram of fiber per serving so your net carbs are only 1 gram per serving!
Tips for eating: A crisp, crunchy salad is a natural go-to, but consider using the leaves to make your own DIY Unwich, just like the ones they make at Jimmy Johns!
• Recipe to try: DIY Unwich Wrap
Asparagus
Asparagus is a common low carb vegetable of choice for both ketogenic dieters and non-ketogenic dieters alike, due to its unique flavor and low carbohydrate content. Per 100g, asparagus contains 3.8 grams of carbs and 2.1 grams of fiber. Asparagus is also high in vitamins A and C.
Tips for eating: Asparagus can either be munched on raw, steamed, roasted, or grilled. It tends to be on the bitter side, so you’ll want to spruce it up with salt, pepper, or your other favorite seasonings like lemon or sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese.
• Recipe to try: Steak and Veggies Sheet Pan Bake
Artichokes
Tips for eating: Enjoy this delectable veggie with some Kerrygold butter after steaming or mixed into a keto-friendly spinach artichoke dip.
• Recipes to try: Perfectly Cooked Artichokes
Avocados
Technically a fruit, but let’s not get fussy when it is chock full of nutrients, healthy fat, and delicious to boot!
Whether eaten plain in slices, mashed as guacamole, or even baked, avocado is a keto go-to, with so many ways to be enjoyed
Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats, which have shown to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides. They’re also a great source of vitamin C and potassium so they can typically help with electrolyte issues. Avocados are a unique low carb fruit included in most ketogenic diets due to their super healthy fats. Per 100 grams, avocados contain 8 grams of carbohydrate, however 6 grams of fiber as well, which means only 2g are actual carbohydrates which affect blood sugar levels!
Avocados are a great topping for any meal including salads, eggs, fish, meat and salads! They can also be mixed well in smoothies, puddings etc.
Broccoli
One serving of broccoli contains 4 grams of carbohydrates and 2.5 grams of this is fiber.
Broccoli is a perfect low carb vegetable with serious health benefits; in fact broccoli contains high amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, Folate, Potassium, Manganese and Iron. As a result, broccoli has been linked with lowering cholesterol levels and cancer prevention!
Tips for eating: Broccoli is so versatile! Eat it raw (and dip it into Blue Chesse, steamed, sautéed, roasted, or mixed into a cheddar soup.
• Recipe to try: Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Kale
Kale comes from the same family of other low carb vegetables such as broccoli, however their carbohydrate and micronutrient make-up vary slightly.
Kale contains 6 grams of carbs per 100gram serving with 3.8 grams of fiber. Along with being a great low carb vegetable, kale also packs some serious health benefits as it contains Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Manganese, Calcium and Potassium! But that’s not all, kale is also high in antioxidants which may help reduce inflammation.
Tips for eating: Kale can be used for its nutritional power in salads or air fried for a crunchy treat!
• Recipes to try: Kale Superfood Salad
Bok Choy
Bok Choi is a Chinese vegetable that is very keto friendly
Tips for eating: Bok Choy only has 1 net carb! Add this to your favorite Asian keto dishes or simply roast it for an easy dinner side.
• Recipe to try: Roasted Bok Choy (WholesomeYum.com)
Brussel Sprouts
Tips for eating: Eat Brussels sprouts steamed or roasted, and be sure to season them up with your favorite spices while adding in extra fat as well.\
• Recipes to try: Easy Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Butter Lettuce
Tips for eating: Butter lettuce can obviously be used at the base of a salad, but their leaves are hearty enough to be used as wraps for meats and cheeses.
• Recipe to try: Slow Cooker Carnitas Lettuce Wraps
Cabbage
Tips for eating: Consume cabbage as a cold, creamy, and crunchy slaw, or use the leaves to keep yummy enchilada fillings intact.
• Recipes to try: Creamy Coleslaw
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is another extremely popular vegetable for ketogenic dieters -why? Well, you can load it up with cheese of course or make some cheesy mashed cauliflower.
Cauliflower is also unique because it is often ground up turned into cauliflower rice, cauliflower mashed potatoes, and even cauliflower pizza!s.
• Tips for eating: By far the most common keto vegetable! Roast or steam florets, use riced cauliflower in place of rice, or mash boiled cauliflower up for faux potatoes. The possibilities are endless!
• Recipes to try: Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
Celery
Celery has often been referred to as a negative calorie food as it is so very low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, that some argue it may take more calories to digest celery than it actually provides!
Celery is great for the ketogenic diet as it provides a nice texture and is commonly used to hold fillings such as cream cheese or no sugar peanut butter.
Tips for eating: Typically eaten raw, celery adds that much-desired crunch to the keto diet. It even lends traditional Buffalo flavors to our chicken soup.
• Recipes to try: Buffalo Chicken Soup
Chard
Tips for eating: Though it looks like lettuce, you probably won’t want to chomp on chard in your salad given its raw bitterness. Instead, wilt it into soups, or whip up an easy side by sautéing chard leaves and stems with butter, garlic, and bacon.\
• Recipes to try: Pan Fried Swiss Chard
Cucumber
Tips for eating: Best when cold, crunchy, and ready for snacking. It can even be sliced or spiralized to be the base of a refreshing summer salad.
• Recipe to try: Cucumber Salad
Eggplant
• Tips for eating: Eggplant is a hearty vegetable that can replace noodles in lasagna or used as the crust for your favorite pizza fixings. You can even keep it simple by cubing and sautéing with some extra virgin olive oil and seasoning
• Recipes to try: Eggplant Lasagna
Green beans
Green beans are a member of the legume family, but they have significantly fewer carbs than most other legumes. Sometimes green beans referred to as snap beans.
Added texture alone is enough to validate adding green beans to your dish, but the health benefits include improved brain function during aging. That makes these an excellent choice of vegetable on the ketogenic diet.
Raw, steamed, roasted, blanched, or sautéed are easy ways to cook up this multi-use vegetable.
• Recipe to try: Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Mushrooms
Fungi is a great way to add some flavor into otherwise boring dishes. For example in mushroom cauliflower risotto, the baby bellas add a great texture and flavor. They’re extremely low-carb too, at only 1g net carb (white mushrooms) per cup.
Mushrooms have shown incredible anti-inflammatory properties.
Tips for eating: Add flavor to dishes by incorporating roasted or sautéed mushrooms. If you prefer them raw, they make a great addition to veggie and cheese boards.
• Recipe to try: Portabello Mushroom Pizzas
Peppers
Lower in carbs than its colorful counterpart, the green bell pepper is frequently used in cooking. The good news is that they’re extremely nutritious. They’re filled with vitamin A and have anti-inflammatory properties from carotenoids which they contain.
If you want color, don’t be afraid to add red or yellow peppers since they’re also very low in carbs (only 6g net per one cup, chopped).
Tips for eating: You can do just about anything with peppers—eat them raw, stir fry, grill them on shish-kababs, or even use them to hold your favorite meat and cheese fillings!
• Recipes to try: Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers, Carnitas Nachos
Spaghetti Squash
Tips for eating: Spaghetti squash is mainly eaten after the squash halves are cooked and the flesh inside is scraped (resembling spaghetti). How you top it is up to you.
• Recipes to try: Sausage and Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Spinach
Tips for eating: Spinach can be wilted and stirred into soups as a great source of Vitamin A. There’s always the option to keep it raw for salads as well.
• Recipe to try: Chicken and Spinach Pizza
Tomatoes
Tips for eating: Tomatoes can be chopped (or left whole if they’re small cherry or grape tomatoes) to provide a fresh flavor to salads. On the opposite end of the spectrum, they can be used as a hearty base for soups and chilis.
• Recipe to try: Cabbage Roll Soup
Zucchini
The most commonly used summer squash on keto, we often see it in dishes like Zoodles as a noodle replacement. Be careful with the types of squash you consume as most have much higher carb counts.
Tips for eating: Another keto staple vegetable! While cutting into spears for dipping or slicing for roasted or grilling are common ways to gobble this veggie up, many people spiralize it into “zoodles” to replace pasta.
• Recipe to try: Chicken Pesto Zucchini Noodles
** This is not a full list but a list of the most popular vegetables eaten on the Ketogenic diet that I have found.
What are your favorites?