Keto Diet Food List: What to Eat and What to Avoid on Keto

Let’s be real: there’s a lot of stuff you can’t eat on keto.

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But we always like to look at the positives, and — on that note — there’s also a lot of delicious food you can eat on keto.

We’ve compiled nearly all the keto-friendly pantry essentials you can enjoy right here. You can use this list to guide your grocery shopping and meal planning while on keto.

For your reference, we’ve also included a handy list of foods to avoid. Be sure to enter your email below, and we’ll send a clean, printable copy to your inbox.

How to Count Carbs on Keto

In addition to having a food list handy, it’s a good idea to know how to calculate carbs for any food. That way, you can make decisions about foods that may not be on this list.

To check a carb count, you’ll need to locate the Nutrition Facts label on a package of food. It’s usually on the back or side. From there, you’ll need to make note of a few things detailed on that label:

Here’s how to calculate net carbs, which are the carbs that impact your blood sugar levels (and the type of carbs most people on keto choose to count, rather than total carbs):

How to Count Carbs on Keto

  1. Subtract dietary fiber and sugar alcohols from total carbohydrates.
  2. Be sure to stick to the serving size detailed on the label when you eat the food.
  3. If you eat multiple servings, multiply the net carb count by how many servings you ate to determine how many net carbs you consumed. If you ate the entire package, multiply the net carb count for one serving by the servings per container.

Foods You Can Eat On a Keto Diet

Here’s a list of foods to eat on keto, along with their net carb count for a specified serving size. All nutrition information comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) FoodData Central, unless otherwise specified (*).

Meat

Most plain meats are keto-friendly foods, and completely carb-free.

Vegetables

Many vegetables are low in carbs and can therefore be part of a keto diet. Generally, you’ll only need to avoid root vegetables and corn.

Fruits

Unfortunately, most fruits are too high in carbs for keto. Berries are the exception.

Seafood

Like meats, plain seafood is naturally keto-friendly.

Dairy

Some full-fat dairy products can be part of a keto diet, but others are too high in naturally-occurring milk sugar.

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Nuts & Seeds

Most nuts and seeds are keto, but just know they’re very high in calories — which can sabotage you if you’re trying to lose weight.

Sauces, Fats, and Oils

For the most part, these are all keto-friendly. However, for optimal health, it’s best to avoid highly-refined seed oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and canola oil as much as possible.

Baked Goods

Generally, baked goods aren’t keto-friendly. However, there’s now a huge market for keto products and you may be able to find keto cakes, cookies, pastries, and breads that are low in net carbs.

Even if they’re labeled “keto,” though, it’s important to check the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient list to ensure that these foods are a good fit for your needs.

Spices & Herbs

Most spices and herbs are keto, especially since they’re typically used only in small quantities.

Sweeteners

While sugar is off the table on keto, there are several alternative sweeteners that are zero-calorie and zero-carb.

Beverages

For the most part, sugary drinks like fruit juice, milk, sugar-sweetened sodas, and other sugary drinks like tea or punch are the only beverages off-limits on keto.

Condiments

Condiments and sauces can be a sneaky source of hidden sugars, but the ones listed below are usually fine for keto.

Miscellaneous

Here are some other keto-friendly foods that don’t fit neatly into any other categories. As a reminder, for many of these products there can be variations in carb content between brands and flavors, so always verify its keto-friendly status using the Nutrition Facts panel.

Foods to Avoid on a Keto Diet

Here are the foods that you need to strictly avoid on keto because of their high carb content.

This isn’t a complete list. There are several packaged foods that are too high in carbs for keto. When in doubt, be sure to check the Nutrition Facts label.

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Grains

Dairy

Sugary Fruits

Sugary Beverages

Legumes

Keto Food List Leaflet

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