Are Beans Keto? (Which Ones You Can Eat on a Low-Carb Diet)

Beans are considered a superfood because they have many nutritional benefits and can help reduce risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity all while being gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian friendly, and relatively low cost.  

Whether you’re cooking keto meals for yourself or looking for someone else to do that for you, sometimes you just need to know if a food is safe to eat on keto. For beans that means… 

Table of Contents 
Why Are Beans Not Keto Friendly? 
– The Lowest Carb Bean for Keto 
– Other Types of Beans 
High-Protein, Low-Carb Keto Alternatives to Beans 
Plant-Based Protein Alternative to Beans 

Why Are Beans Not Keto Friendly? 

Because keto is a low-carb, high fat diet, and most types of beans fall into high-carb categories, they are not best suited for a ketogenic diet. Though the range can vary, one serving of any type will likely take up a large chunk of your daily carbohydrate allowance.  

Here is what the carbohydrate content for a cooked, single serving (about 1/2 cup) of the most common types of beans looks like: 

The Lowest-Carb Bean for Keto 

Referencing the list above, mung beans are the most keto-friendly beans to eat but depending on the type of keto diet you’re following (yes, there are different types!), all the above may be off limits! 

Other Types of Beans 

While we’ve so far been talking about the types of beans that usually come to mind, there are other kinds of beans that you might still have keto-related questions for.  

Are other kinds of “beans,” like green beans, coffee beans, cocoa beans, or soybeans, keto? The answer is some are, and some are not.  

A half cup of cooked green beans has about 3g of net carbs, making them a very healthy and low-carb option for your keto diet, while soybeans (or edamame) have about 7.5g of net carbs. However, many soy-based products will have varying carb content. For instance: 

1 cup of soy milk: 13.5g net carbs 
1 serving (3.5oz/100g) tofu: <2g net carbs 
1 serving (3oz/85g) tempeh: 16g net carbs 

A single, 1 cup serving of black ground coffee beans have virtually no carbs but eating whole coffee bean snacks (especially chocolate-covered ones!) can have upwards of 15g of carbs per ounce! Chocolate covered snacks like coffee beans can have even more carbs is thanks to cocoa beans, which translate to about 15g of carbs per 1oz of dark chocolate or 9g net carbs for plain cocoa beans.  

High-Protein, Low-Carb Keto Alternatives to Beans  

The good news about all this is that there are PLENTY of low-carb, high protein options that you can eat to help up your protein and give you all the nutrients you need to stay healthy while abstaining from beans.  

While beans have the benefit of being both high in protein and high fiber, there are individual foods that can come together to fulfill their nutritional needs. These can include: 

· Ground turkey, chicken, or beef – High protein, low fat 
· Flax and chia seeds – Low carb, high fiber 
· Cottage cheese – High protein, low sodium 
· Nut butters – High protein, full of healthy fats 
· Greek yogurt High protein, packed with probiotics 
· Salmon and tuna – High protein, rich in Omega 3 fatty acids 
· Eggs – High protein, low cholesterol 
· Blackberries and raspberries – High fiber and antioxidants 
· Coconut – High fiber, rich in copper and antioxidants 
· Cauliflower – High fiber, rich in Vitamin C and B-vitamins 
· Red Cabbage – High fiber, good source of essential micronutrients and Vitamin K 

Alternatives that work as strong replacements in recipes that call for beans (like they do for this Easy Keto Chili) can include: 

· Tofu
· Mushrooms
· Zucchini 
· Peppers
· Asparagus
· Jicama 
· Okra 
· Eggplant 

Plant-Based Protein Alternatives to Beans 

Eating a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you have to go fully vegan or vegetarian. Incorporating more plant-based foods or plain ol’ delicious whole vegetables and fruits into your everyday diet has a number of health benefits like lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, healthy weight loss, and lower risk of developing cancer.  

But either way, whether you’re a practicing vegan venturing into keto, or just trying to eat more whole foods, finding non-animal products full of protein is easy. Try these on for size! 

· Tofu (3oz) – 1.6g net carbs / 7g protein 
· Avocados (100g) – 8.5g net carbs / 2g protein 
· Beyond Meat (1 patty) – 5g net carbs / 20g protein 
· Broccoli (1 cup) – 4.6g net carbs / 2.6g protein 
· Peanut butter (2 Tbsp) – 4.1g net carbs / 8g protein  
· Hemp hearts (3 Tbsp) – 1g net carbs / 10g protein 

Plant-based protein powder – varies depending on brand. Vega’s Sport Vanilla Protein powder has about 2g of carbs and 30g of protein per serving.  

Plant-based milks – varies depending on brand. Ripple’s Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk has 0 carbs and 8g of protein per cup. 

(Note: Explore more plant-based protein options here!)