Kelsey is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who has worked with 500+ clients to help them achieve their health and nutrition goals.
Are beans keto-friendly? It’s a critical question you’ll need to answer if you’re on the keto diet and love a warm bowl of chili. Chili can use the most amazing beans to create a burst of flavor. However, knowing which beans are keto-friendly will help you make a bowl of chili without thinking about your favorites.
Are beans keto-friendly? This isn’t the easiest question to answer if you love popular comfort foods like chili or soup. However, you’ll find clarity about which beans are keto-safe and which require careful tweaks with our secret on the keto diet. Let’s discover the secrets.
Are beans keto-friendly? Some beans are suitable for keto without changing anything, including:
However, some beans aren’t suitable for keto or need careful changes to eat them in recipes like soup or chili. Let’s discover the secrets of beans on keto.
Harvard U. states that while on the keto diet, you should receive 70-80% of daily calories from healthy fats, 10-20% from protein, and only 5-10% from carbs (13). This means you’ll only have up to 40 grams of carbs on a 2,000-calorie-per-day keto diet.
Counting net carbs is another method to keep your carbs lower than the recommended amount to stay in ketosis. Deduct the fiber amount from the total carbs to get your net or impact carbs, the type your body absorbs, which counts towards your daily allowance.
Everything you eat should fit into your daily allowance of 40 grams. However, some people have only 15-30 grams of net carbs daily, to lose weight on keto (16).
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Some beans, even when they have other health benefits, are too high in carbs. Let’s discover which beans you shouldn’t eat on the keto diet unless you follow the bean secret.
Keto-friendly beans have a secret. One cup of beans can be split into 6 servings to fit your keto diet. For example, a cup of cooked and unsalted kidney beans has 27.3 g of net carbs (4). Divide that among six servings, and you only eat 4.55 g of net carbs.
This won’t work with all recipes, especially those containing other ingredients with many carbs. However, some beans are possible to eat if you cook them first and add them to recipes with six servings. Check the macros of all the other ingredients before enjoying beans.
Still, you can’t enjoy an unsalted, cooked cup to a cup of raw kidney beans, with 64.2 g of net carbs (3). You’ll still get 10.7 g of net carbs per serving in a 6-serving recipe, and that’s only from the beans. Secret two is that cooked beans are lower in carbs than raw beans.
Black beans are a legume loaded with fiber, which is normally good. However, the USDA shows that a cup of cooked and unsalted black beans contains 40.8 g of total or 25.8 g of net carbs (1). Black beans in a recipe with six or more servings have 4.3 g of net carbs.
Cranberry beans, also known as Roman beans, are only keto-friendly in multi-serving recipes. A cup of cooked and unsalted cranberry beans contains 43.3 g total or 28.1 g of net carbs (21). A 6-serving recipe will add 4.68 g of net carbs per serving.
Fava beans, also known as broad beans, may work in multi-serving recipes. A cup of cooked and unsalted fava beans contains 33.4 g total or 24.22 g of net carbs (7). Add 4.03 g of net carbs per serving in a recipe using at least six servings.
Great Northern beans are another keto-friendly option in multi-serving recipes. A cup of cooked and unsalted navy beans contains 37.33 g total or 24.94 g of net carbs (2). Portioning the net carbs into a recipe with six or more servings yields 4.14 g per serving.
Unfortunately, a cup of cooked and unsalted lima beans has 39.3 g total or 26.1 g of net carbs (18). Lima beans have a staggering 14.7 g of protein and 13.2 g of fiber but the carbs mean you should add a cooked cup to a recipe with at least six servings.
Kidney beans are only edible on keto in cooked form and are added to a recipe with six servings. The USDA shows a cup of cooked and unsalted kidney beans has 40.4 g total or 27.3 g of net carbs (4). Only use cooked kidney beans diluted with other ingredients.
Cooked mung beans are only suitable for keto use in a 6-serving recipe. A cup of cooked and unsalted mung beans 38.68 g total and 23.33 g of net carbs (19). Using a cup of cooked and unsalted mung beans in a recipe with six servings equals 3.8 g of net carbs per serving.
Navy beans only work in multi-serving recipes. A cup of cooked and unsalted navy beans contains 47.4 g total or 28.3 g of net carbs (22). Divide the net carbs into a 6-serving soup or chili recipe, and you can add 4.71 g of net carbs per serving.
Pinto beans are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. A cup of cooked and unsalted pinto beans has 44.84 g total or 29.45 g of net carbs (5). Dividing a cup of cooked and unsalted pinto beans into a 6-serving recipe has 4.9 g of net carbs per serving.
A cup of cooked and unsalted white beans won’t work with a 6-serving recipe because it has 44.9 g total or 33.6 g of net carbs (20). This equals 5.6 g of net carbs per serving and counts too much toward your daily net carb allowance for one ingredient.
Read more: Is Pho Keto? The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Pho on a Low-Carb Diet
Some beans are suitable for keto without having to dilute them in recipes. Let’s discover the lower-carb beans you can eat to your heart’s content without multi-serving recipes.
A cup of cooked and unsalted black soybeans has 16 g total or 2 g of net carbs (11). Meanwhile, the portion has 12 g fat, 22 g protein, and 14 g fiber for a well-rounded keto bean replacement. It’s a high-protein, low-carb bean for keto.
Green beans are a tasty and snappy choice for keto, pun intended. A cup of cooked snap green beans only has 5.3 g of total and net carbs (6). It’s ideal as a side dish, but only has 0.5 g of fat and 1.34 g of protein.
Some beans are rich in protein with little carbs. For example, a cup of cooked edamame or soybeans has 13.8 g total or 3.8 g of net carbs with a whopping 18.4 g of protein (14). Meanwhile, the cup of soybeans has 8 g of fiber and 12.1 g of fat for a keto-friendly option.
White and brown rice isn’t good for keto. The USDA shows a cup of cooked brown rice has 49.6 g total or 46.48 g of net carbs (24). Meanwhile, a cup of cooked and unsalted white rice has 44.6 g total or 43.96 g of net carbs (25). Instead, consider cauliflower rice on keto. A cup of cauliflower rice has 5 g total or 2 g of net carbs (9).
Are lentils keto-friendly? Lentils can replace beans in soup or chili recipes with at least six servings. A cup of cooked and unsalted lentils contains 40 g total or 24 g of net carbs (10). You’ll eat 4 g of net carbs toward your serving count in a 6-serving recipe.
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Beans may have too many carbs to add to your recipes with other carb-heavy ingredients. In that case, it helps to have some replacements. Low-carb vegetables substitute beans in chili and soup. Healthline suggests these as the lowest-carb vegetables (26):
Health suggests keto cycling for anyone missing beans or other ingredients not allowed on the keto diet (17). Keto cycling lets you follow the keto diet strictly for six days weekly and have one cheat day. The cheat day lets you eat higher-carb foods and beans. Alternatively, follow strict low-carb keto rules for two days and have one day to eat more carbs.
Keto cycling may help your body transition between fuel sources better. However, Czech Republic researchers found that cyclical keto diets may negatively impact lean muscle mass, even if they promote weight loss (27). The researchers believe further study is necessary. Ultimately, keto cycling may help weight loss but also have negative effects on your muscles.
Avoid black beans on the keto diet if you can’t add them to a recipe with at least six servings (1). Also, a cup of lima beans has 26.1 g of net carbs, and a cup of pinto beans has 29.45 g of net carbs (18, 5). Splitting the macros into recipes with six or more servings will mean you eat 4.35 g of net carbs per serving with lima beans and 4.9 g with pinto beans.
You can eat raw tomatoes on keto. WebMD suggests a medium-sized tomato has 5 g total and 4 g of net carbs (15). However, processed forms of tomato have denser carbs. For example, a tablespoon of tomato puree contains 1.4 g total or 1.1 g of net carbs (8).
Hummus isn’t suitable for keto because of the primary ingredient: chickpeas! The USDA lists a cup of cooked and unsalted chickpeas or garbanzo beans has 44.9 g of total or 32.4 g of net carbs (12). It’s rich in fiber, with 12.5 grams, but it has too many carbs.
Quinoa isn’t recommended for the keto diet. The USDA lists a cup of cooked quinoa at 39.4 g of total carbs or 34.22 g of net carbs (23). You should eat fewer than 40 g of total carbs or 30 g of net carbs daily to stay in ketosis (13, 16).
Are beans keto-friendly? Unfortunately, most aren’t. However, use our keto bean secret to incorporate beans into your diet, or use some alternatives, including green beans or edamame. Weight loss requires some sacrifice but doesn’t mean you avoid everything. Follow our guidelines to eat beans safely on occasion on the keto diet.
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