Vegetables For Keto: What To Include, What To Avoid, And More

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Medical News TodaySubscribeVegetables for the keto diet

Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, MS, RD — Written by Lois Zoppi — Updated on March 14, 2025

Vegetables to include
Vegetables to avoid
Other tips
Summary

Vegetables form a large part of a ketogenic, or keto, diet. Keto friendly vegetable options include celery, tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms. A person may wish to avoid starchy vegetables due to their higher carbohydate content.

Keto diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates a person can eat. Instead, a person eats a high amount of fats and a moderate amount of protein.

Keto diets aim to put the body into a state of ketosis. This occurs when the body burns fat for energy instead of carbs. Ketosis can lead to weight loss.

This article looks into some of the best vegetables for keto diets and suggests some recipes a person can try to incorporate them.

Vegetables to include in a keto diet

Woman Cooks Salmon With Spinach and Mushrooms as a way of adding vegetables into a keto diet — Grace Cary/Getty Images

Generally, a person following a keto diet should aim to limit their carb intake to no more than 50 grams (g) each day. Therefore, not all foods are suitable for a keto diet, and that includes some vegetables.

Vegetables with a very low carb content include:

Asparagus

Raw asparagus contains 5.1 g of carbs and 1.9 g of dietary fiber per 100 g. A person can eat asparagus for its high iron, potassium, and vitamin C content as well.

People can eat asparagus raw. They can also steam or sautee it for inclusion in a wide range of dishes.

Celery

Raw celery contains 3.32 g of carbs per 100 g. It is very low in calories and contains many essential nutrients, such as calcium and potassium.

Celery may also help protect against cancer. A 2022 review states that the apigenin content in celery may contribute to a process called apoptosis. In cancer prevention, apoptosis is the death of damaged or potentially dangerous cells.

Tomatoes

Different types of tomato contain different amounts of carbs, for example 100 g of raw grape tomatoes contains 5.51 g of carbs and 2.1 g of dietary fiber, while 100 g of roma tomatoes contain 3.84 g of carbs and 1 g of dietary fiber.

Tomatoes also contain important nutrients, such as potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.

Spinach

Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that many people know for its high potassium and iron content.

The carb content of mature spinach stands at 2.64 g per 100 g and 100 g baby spinach contains 2.41 g of carbs. Both contain 1.6 g of dietary fiber.

Lettuce

Raw iceberg lettuce contains 3.37 g of carbs per 100 g.

Lettuce can be the main ingredient in salads. Therefore, a person can combine it with other low carb vegetables to create a nutritious meal that does not take the body out of ketosis.

Mushrooms

Different types of mushrooms contain different amouts of carbs:

Mushroom type	Carbs per 100 g	Dietary fiber per 100 g
White button	4.08	1.7
Lion’s mane	7.59	4.4
King oyster	8.5	3
Shiitake	8.17	4.2
Portabella	4.66	1.9
Pioppini	5.76	2.8
Oyster	6.94	2.8
Maitake	6.6	3.1
Enoki	8.14	2.9
Crimini	4.01	1.8

Mushrooms are a popular breakfast food. A person could pair them with egg whites to make a keto friendly omelet.

Cucumber

Cucumber is another popular salad vegetable. It contains many essential nutrients, including vitamin K.

Cucumber is also suitable for the keto diet, as its carb content is just 2.95 g per 100 g. To make the carb content lower, a person can peel the cucumber before eating it as this reduces the carb content to 2.16 g and 0.7 g of dietary fiber.

Zucchini

Raw zucchini contains 3.11 g of carbs per 100 g and 1 g of dietary fiber.

Zucchini is a very versatile vegetable that a person can include salads, sandwiches, and garnishes. A person can also make zucchini noodles as a low carb alternative to pasta dishes.

Zucchini is easy to grill, boil, or bake into a range of nutritious dishes.

Learn more
Learn more about what to eat on the keto diet:
How many carbs can I eat on a keto diet?
Keto diet: 1-week meal plan and tips
Which fruits can I eat on a keto diet?
What to include on a keto grocery list

Vegetables to avoid in a keto diet

People may wish to avoid starchy vegetables while following a keto diet. Vegetables with more than 5 g of carbs per 100 g of weight are starchy vegetables.

Some vegetables that a person following a keto diet may wish to avoid include:

Vegetable	Carbs per 100 g
sweetcorn, raw	14.7 g
potatoes, raw	16 g
sweet potatoes, raw	17.3 g
beets, raw	8.79 g
parsnips, cooked	16.47 g
peas, raw	14.45 g
yams, cooked	27.4 g

Other tips

People following a keto diet usually limit their daily carb intake to 50 g. However, to maximize the chance of staying in ketosis, a person can limit their carb intake to 20 g per day.

A person generally does not need to limit the amount of fat they consume while following a keto diet.

»MORE:What can you eat on a low carb diet?

Summary

Keto diets are low carb, high fat diets that force the body to burn fat for energy instead of carbs. This means that people must eat a low amount of carbs each day to put their body into a state known as ketosis.

Although vegetables are a healthy part of any diet, some vegetables contain too many carbs to be suitable for inclusion in a keto diet.

As a result, a person should check whether or not the vegetables they are pairing with other carbs in their meals will take them over their daily carb limit and stop them from keeping their body in ketosis.

Nutrition / Diet
Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesMedical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Food data central. (n.d.). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
Starchy vegetables. (n.d.). https://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/starchy-vegetables.html
Yan Y, et al. (2022). Comprehensive quality and bioactive constituent analysis of celery juice made from different cultivars.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9498075/

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Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, MS, RD — Written by Lois Zoppi — Updated on March 14, 2025

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Tag » How Many Carbs In Lettuce

Vegetables For Keto: What To Include, What To Avoid, And More

Vegetables to include in a keto diet

Asparagus

Celery

Tomatoes

Spinach

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Cucumber

Zucchini

Vegetables to avoid in a keto diet

Other tips

Summary

How we reviewed this article:

Latest news

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