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Keto Food List, Stock Your Keto Kitchen Easily

This keto food list is for you if you decided to try the keto diet and are not sure what are the permitted foods you can consume.

In order to stay on track, it will be important to stock your keto kitchen with foods you can enjoy so that you do not feel deprived.

Understanding what you can or can not eat while doing the keto diet can seem like a daunting task, so I am here to walk you through the process.

I’m sharing a free printable keto grocery list that includes all the basics of how to start the diet and stay in ketosis.

All the foods listed are low in net carbs and will help take the guesswork out of grocery shopping for keto. This will allow you to lose weight while monitoring your carb intake.

Having a keto food list will ensure you are having the right amount of carbs per day. Raise your good fatty acids and enjoy the full-fat option.

Although there is a slight learning curve when first attempting a ketogenic diet, it’s actually quite simple once you get the basics down, part of that includes setting up your keto kitchen.

Keto grocery list
Keto Grocery List

Keto Food List

Let’s begin with the necessary purge. You will need to be willing to get rid of a lot of the foods that will no longer serve you. Why keep them around to tempt you?

The goal is to fail-proof your kitchen for keto and that means to carb-proof your pantry. And stock your keto kitchen cabinets and fridge for success.

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Start with the obviously packaged junk snacks and then move to other high-carb foods. If it’s going to be a source of temptation, the food must go.

Now I understand that it may not be feasible if you are forced to live with junk food because of other members of your family. In that case, try rearranging your pantry so that the junk is in a  separate location in your kitchen. This is especially important in the first few weeks of starting keto.

In time, you will notice how these foods don’t nearly tempt you as easily.

Is It Necessary To Buy Every Item On The Keto Shopping List?

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It’s not necessary to purchase everything listed in this keto food list in order to diet successfully. I encourage you to use it as a guide to help you plan your meals. As you weekly plan your meals you will slowly build your keto pantry.

When choosing what to stock your keto kitchen with, consider items you already enjoy and stock the ones you will need the most.

I also suggest that before you rush to purchase anything, you do a thorough inventory of what is already in your pantry and fridge.

Why invest in items you know you will eat rarely?  Keep in mind that you can always keep tweaking your low-carb kitchen as time goes by.

What Can I Not Eat On A Keto Diet?

Since the keto diet is one that is high in fat, low in carbs, and moderate in protein, you will need to start by avoiding foods that are high in carbs. This will include certain fruits and vegetables.

Rather than focus on what you can’t eat, I recommend you look at the vast items you can enjoy on the keto diet. 

What Foods Should You Include On A Keto Diet?

Best Keto Grocery List

Aim for plenty of fresh vegetables, especially in the form of leafy greens. For the most part, you should avoid or limit underground vegetables since they tend to be higher in carbohydrates.

When it comes to which fruits are permitted on the keto diet, I recommend small quantities of berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, blackberries, cranberries, and rhubarb. Berries have the lowest amount of fruit and should be your first choice of fruit. 

Carb Proof Your Pantry

Having a properly stocked low-carb kitchen can help ensure your success. This is why checking the labels of all the foods in your pantry is key. Be sure to read those food labels carefully to determine how many carbs each item has and to look for hidden sugars.

It’s also to keep in mind the servings listed on the label. I can’t tell you how many times I have been shocked to read that the serving listed is way less than what the average person would consider being the case.

Remember you will be determining the net carbs counts. To do so, you look for the listed total carb grams and subtract the fiber grams, this will give you the net carbs.

Determine to only allow back foods that are low in carbs and keto-friendly. Thankfully, there are lots of pre-packaged foods coming to the market every day that fit these criteria.

Top Keto Pantry Must-Haves

Now for the fun part, restocking. On a low-carb keto plan, you will be eating more fresh produce and other perishable foods. So, make sure you plan accordingly.

Next comes the part where you need to be extra vigilant with your condiments and sauces. Unfortunately, the majority will be loaded with sugar and hidden.

These hidden sugars can prevent you from entering ketosis and so you need to become a bit of a detective. Sugar likes to hide in just about everything and under the guise of names that are hard to even pronounce.

Do your homework and find out exactly what’s in all of your food. Generally, you’ll find that low-fat items are the worst offenders because they have replaced fat with sugar. Just steer away from anything that says low-fat.

Stocking Your Keto Baking Pantry

Move on to stocking your baking pantry. When it comes to using traditional baking items, most will not meet the low-carb standard. This is where low-carb flours have to take the place of regular wheat flour.

Notice I did not say gluten-free. This is because not all gluten-free flours are low-carb. In fact, many are made with potato or rice starch, which is extremely high in carbs. The lesson here is to remember to read your labels carefully.

I encourage you to read my favorite low-carb baking tips for assistance when choosing what items to include in your baking pantry, as well as my advice on how to bake successfully.

Quality Protein

The Keto Diet focuses on quality proteins instead of carbohydrates. For this reason, choose the highest qualities you can afford.

Organic is best but not always feasible, so do your best to source your protein choices from reliable merchants.

As far as meat is concerned, the sky is pretty much the limit. Be willing to try new meats, as all are allowed, including fowl, fish, and shellfish.

When incorporating seafood, aim for higher-fat, fatty fish options such as salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, and caviar. When consuming seafood that is lower in fat, such as trout, halibut, cod, sole, grouper, bass, and flounder, add more healthy fats to help out the macro ratios. This is also the case with shrimp, scallops, crabs, lobsters, mussels, and oysters.

Cold cuts are acceptable on a low-carb diet, but avoid those containing nitrates and check the label for gluten, sugar, and starch fillers.

Some people find that including low-carb pre-made products helps with their transition. Tread lightly here since many of these can stall your progress. Again, use only in the first few weeks and aim to ween off.

Can I have Dairy On A Keto Diet?

If you are not sensitive to dairy, you have many options when it comes to dairy products. Consuming dairy can help boost fat macros with little to no carbs.

What must be avoided is milk; choose heavy cream in its place. All cheeses are permitted, from the gourmet to the humble. As is butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and plain Greek yogurt in moderation.

Keep in mind that some people report that when they consume lots of dairy on a low-carb diet, their weight loss is hindered. As a reminder, this is why everyone needs to customize their diet to fit them perfectly.

Embrace Healthy Fats

You will need to learn to embrace fat. In a low-carb keto plan, your body uses fat for fuel, so adding natural fats to your diet makes sense.

No need not fear fat. What spells disaster is when we eat these saturated fats with a high-carb diet. I

Make sure you use hearty, healthy oils high in omega 3 and avoid partially hydrogenated oils like canola, margarine, and all other man-made oils.

Oils such as olive, coconut, avocado, ghee, and MCT oil should be included while doing keto.

Eggs will be a big part of your diet, and we are talking about the real thing here.  Ditch those egg white substitutes that come in a box. Use real butter, not fake margarine, as our bodies cannot recognize overly processed oils.

Oils And Fats To Avoid

There are certain types of fats you will want to avoid. These are the hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils found in fast foods and margarine.

You also want to avoid seed oils because they are quite high in omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. These include oils such as canola oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil.

What Are Permitted Sweeteners On The Keto Diet

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

When it comes to choosing which sugar substitute to consume while doing a keto diet, I have several for you to choose from. 

My go-to choice is Lakanto Monk Fruit because the texture is spot on since there is barely any aftertaste. It is a monk fruit and erythritol blend.

Lakanto Monk Fruit gets its sweetness from antioxidants called mogrosides instead of fructose or sucrose. It’s why it’s a great all-natural sugar substitute and has zero calories and zero glycemic index.

I’m also partial to  Swerve, an erythritol blend. Unlike other natural sweeteners like stevia, it has no bitter aftertaste and measures just like sugar.

It’s also a sugar substitute that browns and caramelizes just like sugar. Swerve is made from ingredients found in select fruits and starchy root vegetables and contains no artificial ingredients, preservatives, or flavors.

Swerve is the name brand of Erythritol it’s unlike other sugar alcohols since it has a 0 % impact on blood sugar.

You could also use the stevia and erythritol-based brand Pyure for most of my baked goods.  But if using Pyure, you will want to use 1/2 the amount called for in this recipe since it’s much sweeter.

Lastly, if you can easily find a more natural sugar substitute, you can also use Splenda. 

However, when you need a confectioner sugar substitute. Both Lakanto and Swerve have great ones.

Grab Our Books & APP

In case you don’t know, we have authored two books for you, Essential Keto Bread and Essential Keto Desserts, both inspired by your requests over the years. It’s my prayer these keto cookbooks will help make keto a delicious breeze for you.

Gain access to simple and delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even desserts with our FITTOSERVEGROUP APP.

Join Our Jesus And Keto Movement 

Looking for an online support system to help you stay the course on keto? As a family, we came to the keto diet looking at it from a Christian perspective. As believers, we live our lives supported by God’s grace.

Knowing firsthand the benefits of this decision, we have created a closed Christian group that is using the keto diet to transform their lives. We invite you to join our Private Facebook Group and see if it’s not the key you have been missing.

Be sure to request our FREE Jesus and Keto E-Book (First 7 Days) We hope it blesses you.

keto grocery list

Stock Your Keto Kitchen Easily

Yield: Stock Your Keto Kitchen
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Active Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Estimated Cost: $300

A complete keto food list that will help you stock your keto kitchen easily.

Materials

Low Carb/Keto-Friendly Vegetables

  • Asparagus
  • Artichoke Hearts
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Broccoli 
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots 
  • Celery
  • Cauliflower
  • Chayote squash
  • Cucumber
  • Eggplant
  • Green Onions
  • Green beans
  • Kohlrabi
  • Leeks
  • Mushrooms
  • Okra
  • Peppers
  • Pea Pods
  • Radishes
  • Summer Squash
  • Spinach
  • Sauerkraut
  • Salad greens
  • Tomatoes
  • Turnips
  • Water Chestnuts
  • Zucchini

Animal Protein

  • Anchovies
  • Bacon
  • Beef, all cuts
  • Buffalo 
  • Chicken, drumsticks, thighs are best
  • Cornish hens
  • Duck
  • Ground beef
  • Ham
  • Herring
  • Lamb
  • Mackeral
  • Pancetta
  • Pork, all cuts
  • Rabbit
  • Salami
  • Salami
  • Sardines
  • Sardines
  • Sausage
  • Shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, etc.)
  • Turkey
  • Venison
  • Tuna, fresh or canned in water

Dairy

  • Eggs
  • Cream cheese
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Sour cream
  • Cheese: soft cheeses
  • Cheese: hard cheeses

Nuts And Seeds, And Nut Buttters

  • Almonds
  • Almond butter
  • Brazil nuts
  • Cashews
  • Cashew butter
  • Chia seeds
  • Flax seeds
  • Hazelnuts
  • Hemp Seeds
  • Hemp Seeds
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Pecans
  • Pine nuts
  • Pine nuts
  • Walnuts
  • Peanuts
  • Peanuts
  • Peanut butter
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Sunflower Butter
  • Tahini

Fats

Pantry

  • Chicken, beef, vegetable stock
  • Tomato products: canned tomatoes and tomato paste (look for the brands with the lowest carb count)
  • Canned vegetables: green chilies, roasted red peppers, chipotle peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, hearts of palm

Condiments

  • Lemon or lime juice (1 gram of carb per tablespoon)
  • Olives
  • Horseradish
  • Capers
  • Sugar-free salad dressings
  • Soy sauce (avoid soy sauce if you are gluten sensitive)
  • Salsa, avoid ones that have added sugar
  • Most bottled hot sauces (such as Tabasco)
  • Cider and white vinegar (use balsamic vinegar sparingly)
  • Mustard 
  • Sugar-free ketchup
  • Dill pickles or relish

Fruit

  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Cranberries
  • Mulberries
  • Rhubarb
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries

Baking Ingredients

Miscellaneous

Beverages

  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Diet drinks (limited amounts)

Instructions

  1. Clean out your pantry and refrigerator from junk food and high carb foods that are not listed here. Or set aside a designated area for your low carb, keto items.
  2. Stock your refrigerator with fresh vegetables, protein, and keto-approved foods fruits.
  3. Stock your pantry with low carb foods/staples. Avoid overly processed foods. Be sure to read the food labels for hidden sugar.

Notes

Although it would cost hundreds of dollars to fully stock your keto pantry and fridge, you can get the majority of the items you'll need for $300. This would include the basic protein, vegetables, and some keto-friendly staple items.

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Beverly

Tuesday 18th of January 2022

Thanks for the grocery list. I've been looking for maple extract, but no one has it on hand. I want to make maple syrup. I have been on the keto diet for 2 weeks. I am losing weight slowly, and learning as I go. Your site is very helpful.

Hilda Solares

Wednesday 19th of January 2022

Hi Beverly, Congrats on your decision to go keto. Amazon has several great maple syrup extracts you can try. There are also many keto-friendly sugar-free maple syrups you might consider so that you do not have to make your own. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any other questions. We are here to serve you.

Sher

Monday 22nd of April 2019

Thanks so much for this information!

Hilda Solares

Monday 22nd of April 2019

Hi Sher! Glad it helped you.

Daryl Felps

Thursday 15th of October 2015

Great post

Jen

Wednesday 29th of July 2015

I love this list so much! It's so helpful especially for me when I try to get back into the swing of low carb. I was off the wagon but I need to get back on. Thank you for this!

fittoservegroup

Wednesday 29th of July 2015

So glad it helps you. Here to encourage you. ?

stephieestie

Wednesday 29th of July 2015

Great and extensive list! :)

fittoservegroup

Wednesday 29th of July 2015

Enjoy!

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