That’s how many vegetables the keto diet really contains!

Written by Marina Lommel
3 minutes reading time
17. July 2023 zuletzt aktualisiert am 15. November 2026 von Kimberly Werner
Titelbild mit Aufschrift Gemüse & Keto Diät / Cover image with caption Vegetables & Keto Diet

Often you hear that in a ketogenic diet must be completely abandoned fruits and vegetables. Here is the proof to the contrary.

In a ketogenic diet, you lower the amount of carbohydrates to under 30 g (or under 15-20 g for stricter forms). However, with 3 meals per day, one meal can thus contain at least 5 g of carbohydrates. If you only eat fried eggs or a Bulletproof Coffee in the morning, you can happily consume 10 g of carbohydrates from vegetables in the remaining two meals.

Other foods also contain carbohydrates in small amounts, e.g. eggs and nuts as well as dairy products. At the beginning of a ketogenic diet, we recommend consuming rather less dairy products and getting the carbohydrates mainly from nutrient-rich vegetables. So you can easily consume 600-900 g of vegetables per day. You can safely do without dairy products if you cover your calcium requirements with calcium-rich vegetables such as kale, arugula or spinach. 100 g of kale contain almost twice as much calcium as 100 ml of milk.

Those who approach a ketogenic diet correctly eat even MORE vegetables than those on an average diet. Vegetables form the basis of every meal in the ketogenic diet, replacing potatoes, rice and pasta as “side dishes” for satiety. The result is a much higher variety of nutrients on the plate.

In this regard, a study was also published last year, which presents that a well composed LCHF diet (Low Carb High Fat), provides all the necessary micronutrients.

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The table: This is how many vegetables you can really eat on keto

In the left column you can see different vegetables in alphabetical order. To the right, you can see how much (in grams) of that vegetable you can eat to reach 5 g or 10 g of carbohydrates.

For example, 833 g of mushrooms, 403 g of pak choi or 664 g of sauerkraut contain only 5 g of carbohydrates. Would you have thought that?

5 g carbohydrates 10 g carbohydrates
Artichoke hearts 313 625
Eggplant 201 402
Oyster mushrooms 192 385
Bamboo shoots, fresh 521 1042
Cauliflower 217 435
Beans, young green 98 196
Broccoli 185 370
Brokkolini 167 333
Mushrooms 833 1667
Chicory 208 417
Chinese cabbage 403 805
Cocktail tomatoes 167 333
Oak leaf lettuce 500 1000
Iceberg lettuce 333 667
Endive 403 806
Lamb’s lettuce 625 1250
Fennel 167 333
Vegetable onion 102 204
Kale 200 400
Cauliflower 50 100
Carrots 74 147
Kohlrabi 135 270
Lettuce 472 943
Herb mushrooms 152 303
Leeks 153 307
Turnip 106 213
Chard 833 1667
Morels 1000 2000
Okra 100 200
Pak Choi 403 805
Bell bell pepper, yellow 94 189
Bell bell pepper, green 172 345
Bell bell pepper, red 78 156
Parsnips 41 83
Chanterelles 2941 5882
Pick lettuce 179 357
Portobello (giant mushroom) 1000 2000
Princess beans 100 200
Queller 114 227
Radicchio 333 667
Radish 235 469
Radish 209 418
Rhubarb 368 735
Romaine lettuce 294 588
Romanesco 214 427
Brussels sprouts 152 304
Beet 60 119
Red cabbage 141 282
Arugula 238 476
Cucumber 278 556
Sauerkraut 664 1328
Shallot 152 303
Black salsify 236 472
Celery tuber 222 444
Shiitake mushrooms 111 222
Asparagus, green 250 500
Asparagus, white 250 500
Spinach 820 1639
Pointed cabbage 185 370
Celery stalk 229 459
Rutabaga 100 200
Porcini mushrooms 943 1887
Thai asparagus 250 500
Tomatoes 192 385
Jerusalem artichoke 125 250
White cabbage 120 239
Savoy cabbage 171 342
Zucchini 222 444
Sugarloaf 333 667
Sugar snap peas 50 100
Onion, red 102 204
Onion, white 102 204

 

Since you have diligently written to us that you would also be interested in a fruit article, we of course have more for you here.

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Foto: shutterstock.com / Anna Shkuratova

This article was written by

Marina Lommel

Marina founded Foodpunk after graduating in nutritional science and is currently the company's CEO. During her studies she worked in various fields, including the science desk of a radio station, TV and university science magazine editorial teams, and the Parkinson's research lab at the DZNE. Marina is also the author of 5 popular science books on nutrition.

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