Keto Food List: 13 Cheat Sheets for What to Eat

A keto food list is mostly meat, fish, eggs, cheese, healthy fats, low-carb vegetables and a few berries. You limit bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar and most fruit. The 13 picture cheat sheets below show what to buy, what to swap and how many net carbs each food carries, so you can shop and cook without guessing.

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I’ve coached for more than 20 years as a NASM-certified trainer and NESTA nutrition coach. Most people who struggle with keto don’t lack willpower. They just don’t know which foods fit, so every meal turns into a research project. A clear list fixes that.

How to Use These Cards

Each card covers one part of the keto food list: shopping, proteins, fats, vegetables, fruit, swaps, flours, sweeteners, dairy-free options, foods to limit, label reading and electrolytes. Net carb figures are estimates for the serving shown.

If you’re brand new, read my keto for beginners guide first. To set your own carb, protein and fat targets, use my macro calculator.

Start With the Shopping List

A good keto week starts at the store. If the right foods are in your kitchen, the meals mostly take care of themselves.

Keto Grocery List

Stock these five groups and you can build almost any keto meal in minutes.

• Proteins: eggs, ground beef, chicken thighs, salmon
• Healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, butter, nuts
• Leafy greens: spinach, kale, romaine, bok choy
• Low-carb vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, Brussels sprouts
• Dairy: cheddar, cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream

The takeaway: Pick two or three items from each group every week. That’s enough variety to avoid boredom without a long list.

Keto on a Budget

Keto doesn’t have to mean expensive cuts and specialty products. These six staples are some of the cheapest foods in the store.

• Eggs: the lowest-cost protein you can buy
• Ground beef: cheaper than steak and works in bowls, burgers and skillets
• Chicken thighs: more flavor and usually a lower price than breasts
• Cabbage: lasts for weeks and costs very little per serving
• Frozen broccoli: no waste, no prep and ready in minutes
• Canned tuna: a shelf-stable lunch with zero carbs

The takeaway: Build most meals from these staples and save specialty items like almond flour for the weekend. My guide to a weekly grocery list that saves money walks through the planning.

Proteins and Fats

These two groups make up most of what’s on a keto plate. Neither one adds many carbs, so they’re the easy part.

Zero-Carb Proteins

Plain meat, poultry and fish have no carbs at all. Eggs and shrimp have less than 1 g per serving.

• Beef: 0 g net carbs
• Chicken: 0 g net carbs
• Salmon: 0 g net carbs
• Pork: 0 g net carbs
• Shrimp: under 1 g per 4 oz
• Eggs: under 1 g each

The takeaway: The carbs hide in what goes on the protein. Skip breading, sweet glazes, honey-cured meats and barbecue sauce.

Keto Fats to Cook With and Add

Fat gives keto meals their flavor and keeps you full. It also carries a lot of calories, so use what the meal needs rather than adding extra for its own sake.

• To cook with: olive oil, avocado oil and butter
• To add: avocado, olives, and nuts and seeds

The takeaway: One tablespoon of oil has about 120 calories. If weight loss is your goal, measure oils instead of pouring.

Vegetables and Fruit

Vegetables are where most of your keto carbs should come from. Fruit fits too, as long as you stick to berries and keep portions small.

Low-Carb Vegetables Ranked

Leafy greens barely count, and most other non-starchy vegetables land between 2 and 4 g net carbs a cup.

• Spinach: under 1 g per cup raw
• Lettuce: under 1 g per cup
• Mushrooms: about 2 g per cup
• Asparagus: about 2 g per cup
• Cauliflower: about 3 g per cup
• Broccoli: about 4 g per cup

The takeaway: Fill half your plate with these. Cutting vegetables is one of the most common keto mistakes, and it’s the fastest way to feel lousy.

Lowest-Carb Fruits

Most fruit is too high in sugar for keto, but these six fit in small portions.

• Avocado: about 2 g per half
• Cherry tomatoes: about 2 g per half cup
• Raspberries: about 3 g per half cup
• Blackberries: about 3 g per half cup
• Strawberries: about 4 g per half cup
• Lemon juice: about 1 g per tablespoon

The takeaway: Measure berries instead of eating them from the carton. A half cup is a real serving, but a full carton can hit half your daily carbs.

Swaps and Substitutes

You don’t have to give up burgers, pasta nights or baking. You just need a few swaps that do the same job with far fewer carbs.

6 Easy Keto Carb Swaps

Each swap keeps the meal you like and drops most of the carbs.

• Tortillas: lettuce leaves
• Burger buns: portobello mushroom caps
• Mashed potatoes: mashed cauliflower
• Rice: cauliflower rice
• Spaghetti: zucchini noodles
• Ramen noodles: shirataki noodles

The takeaway: A cup of cooked white rice has about 44 g net carbs. The same amount of cauliflower rice has about 3 g.

Keto Flours Compared

Keto baking uses nut and seed flours in place of wheat. They behave differently, so follow keto recipes rather than swapping cup for cup.

• Almond flour: about 3 g net carbs per quarter cup
• Coconut flour: about 8 g per quarter cup, but recipes use far less
• Ground flaxseed: about 1 g per quarter cup
• Psyllium husk: under 1 g per tablespoon
• Wheat flour: about 23 g per quarter cup, for comparison

The takeaway: Almond flour is the easiest place to start. Coconut flour soaks up liquid, so a recipe needs only about a quarter as much.

Keto Sweeteners

Some sugar substitutes have almost no effect on blood sugar. Others act a lot like sugar.

• Choose: stevia, monk fruit, allulose and erythritol
• Limit: maltitol, which raises blood sugar more than other sugar alcohols
• Skip: sugar, honey, maple syrup and agave

The takeaway: Check sugar-free candy labels for maltitol. Large amounts of sugar alcohols can also cause bloating, which I cover in my post on sugar-free gum and sweeteners.

Dairy-Free and Vegan Keto Swaps

Keto leans hard on cheese and cream, but you can skip dairy and still make it work.

• Whole milk: unsweetened almond milk
• Heavy cream: full-fat canned coconut milk
• Butter: olive oil or avocado oil
• Meat, for vegan keto: firm tofu, plus mushrooms, nuts and seeds

The takeaway: Always buy the unsweetened version. Flavored nut milks and coconut creamers can carry as much sugar as regular milk.

Carbs to Limit, Labels and Electrolytes

The last three cards cover what to cut back on, how to count carbs on packaged food and how to avoid the tired, foggy feeling many people get in week one.

Foods to Limit on Keto

These foods are high in carbs, so most people on keto skip them or save them for rare occasions.

• Bread and pasta
• Rice and oats
• Potatoes and corn
• Beans and lentils
• Sweets and candy
• Soda and juice

The takeaway: None of these foods are bad. They just use up your daily carbs fast. One cup of cooked pasta has about 40 g net carbs.

How to Read Net Carbs on a Label

Net carbs are the carbs your body actually digests. Fiber passes through, so you subtract it.

• Total carbs: 12 g
• Minus fiber: 8 g
• Net carbs: 4 g

The takeaway: You can subtract erythritol and allulose too, but count about half of any maltitol. Hidden carbs in sauces and snacks are one of the signs you’re doing keto wrong.

Electrolyte Foods for Keto

When you cut carbs, your body lets go of water and minerals. That’s a big reason for the headaches and fatigue people call the keto flu.

• Sodium: broth and salting your food
• Potassium: avocado, spinach, salmon and mushrooms
• Magnesium: pumpkin seeds, almonds and spinach

The takeaway: Salt your food, sip broth and eat your greens, especially in the first week. My first week of keto breakdown explains what to expect day by day.

Keto Food List at a Glance

Tips for Making Keto Shopping Easy

1. Shop the edges of the store first. Meat, eggs, dairy and produce cover most of your list.
2. Read labels on anything packaged. Sauces, dressings and deli meats often have added sugar.
3. Buy frozen vegetables. Frozen broccoli, spinach and cauliflower rice save time and never go bad.
4. Keep a few grab-and-go foods. Hard-boiled eggs, cheese, olives and nuts stop you from reaching for crackers. My list of keto meals for when you have no time to cook has more ideas.
5. Don’t rely on keto snack products. Bars and treats labeled keto can still be high in calories and easy to overeat.

Your This-Week Plan

1. Day 1: Save the grocery list card and shop for two proteins, two vegetables and one fat.
2. Day 2: Swap one carb at dinner, like cauliflower rice in place of regular rice.
3. Day 3: Read the label on one sauce or dressing you use often and check its net carbs.
4. Days 4 and 5: Salt your food, add a cup of broth and eat leafy greens daily.
5. Days 6 and 7: Plan next week’s list from the cards you used most. If you eat out, my guide to ordering keto at restaurants shows what to say at the counter.

Not sure whether you want strict keto or a looser low-carb plan? My post on keto vs low-carb breaks down the difference.

Quick Questions

The Bottom Line

A keto food list comes down to one pattern: protein, low-carb vegetables and enough fat to cook with and feel full. Add a few swaps for the carbs you miss and read labels on anything packaged.

Save these cards to your phone or pin them for your next grocery run. After a couple of weeks, you won’t need the list at all.

This article is for general education, not medical advice. Nutrition values are estimates and will vary with brands and portions. If you’re pregnant, have a health condition, or take medication for blood sugar or blood pressure, check with your doctor before starting keto.