Keto diet food list

A printable keto food list, sorted by what to eat freely, what to keep small, and what to leave on the shelf. Part of the Keto guide.

1. 01

   Eat freely: proteins

   Eggs, chicken (thighs especially), beef, pork, lamb, fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout), shellfish. All effectively zero-carb. Buy bone-in, skin-on where you can, the fat carries the meal.

2. 02

   Eat freely: fats and oils

   Extra-virgin olive oil, butter, ghee, avocado and avocado oil, coconut oil, beef tallow. Olive oil for cold and finishing, a high-smoke-point fat for searing.

3. 03

   Eat freely: low-carb vegetables

   Spinach, kale, arugula, chard, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, asparagus, green beans, peppers, mushrooms, cucumber, celery. The plate filler. Cauliflower replaces rice and mash.

4. 04

   Eat freely: full-fat dairy

   Aged and hard cheeses, cream cheese, heavy cream, full-fat Greek yogurt (plain), butter. Check yogurt labels for added sugar, plain only.

5. 05

   Keep small: nuts, seeds, berries

   Almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamias, chia, flax, pumpkin seeds. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries in roughly half-cup portions. Nuts are easy to over-eat, weigh a portion once so you know what it looks like.

6. 06

   Keep small: tomatoes, onion, garlic

   Useful for flavor, modest in carbs, easy to lean on too hard. A little builds a sauce; a lot builds a carb load. Cook with them, do not make them the bulk.

7. 07

   Skip: grains and starch

   Bread, pasta, rice, oats, cereal, potatoes, corn, tortillas. The non-negotiable list. Cauliflower, zucchini, and shirataki are the stand-ins worth keeping.

8. 08

   Skip: sugar and most fruit

   Table sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, soda, juice, and high-sugar fruit (banana, mango, grapes, apple). Sugar hides in ketchup, BBQ sauce, teriyaki, balsamic glaze, and most bottled dressings.

9. 09

   Skip: beans, legumes, low-fat products

   Black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and anything labelled low-fat or diet, where removed fat is usually replaced by sugar or starch. Read the total-carbohydrate line, not the marketing.