Keto Food List

This ketogenic grocery list is perfect for the beginner and anyone on a keto diet who is stuck for shopping ideas.

We’ve been there, we know that making a shopping list when you’re beginning the keto diet can be a task. So we decided to make the job of creating a list of low-carb grocery items easy.

Keto Foods Shopping List and Grocery Items

Below you’ll find various keto shopping lists grouped into food categories to make it easier for everyone to follow. Fats are what the ketogenic diet is all about, in fact, 70-75% of all your macros should come from fats. 

To find out your daily macronutrient requirements use our free keto calculator and to measure your at what stage of ketosis your it’s important to keep track with a good ketone meter that we review here.

The Best Keto Meats

• Grass Fed Beef (Fattier the better)
• Pork (That is free to roam and grain fed)
• Lamb (Pasture fed)
• Chicken (Free Range)
• Oily Fish (Wild or Ocean farmed)
• Shell Fish (with a nice fatty condiment)
• Duck

List of the best nuts for ketogenic diets:

• Brazil nuts
• Macadamia nuts
• Pecan Nuts
• Walnuts

You can read about the ketogenic benefits of these healthy nuts in our article on The Best Keto Snacks to stay in Ketosis here.

When it comes to cheeses and dairy on your keto foods list, stay away from milk, low-fat and skim varieties of creams and cheeses.

Cheeses and creams are great ingredients for making keto friendly dips and sauces in place of supermarket varieties that are high in carbohydrate and sugar.

List of the best keto cheese and dairy products:

• Heavy Cream (and variations of cream – whipping/light/pouring/double)
• Sour Cream
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Cheddar Cheese
• Brie Cheese
• Cream Cheese
• Swiss Cheese
• Haloumi
• Feta

We won’t try and list them all but when in doubt look at the nutrition label to check for high carbohydrates. Just be careful to steer away from low-fat and skim varieties of cheese as these are not suitable for a ketogenic diet.

Cheeses and creams are great ingredients for making keto friendly dips and sauces.

We’ve left sweeteners out of this list as we have written a comprehensive guide on The Best Sugar Substitutes and Natural Sweeteners for a Keto Diet here.

Keto Fats and Oils Grocery List Run Down

Fats and oils are of course totally fat. In other words 9 grams of fat = 9 grams of fat.

There are no carbs in fat as it is a macronutrient of its own.

Here are our favorite fats and oils that we use often that we keep on our keto shopping list.

1. Ghee is butter with the milk solids removed. Pure ghee is 99-99.5% butterfat with the only trace amounts of dairy. Ghee can be cooked at high temperatures without burning and has a lovely nutty flavor – perfect for curries.
2. Virgin Coconut Oil Top of the essential fats on any ketogenic diet list it has a strong coconut flavor that enhances curries, baked goods, and coffee. It can be used in place of butter to make recipes dairy free, or replace oil.
3. Coconut Oil Spray is super handy in the kitchen. It makes greasing baking trays really easy, and the coconut flavor is not strong enough to overpower your baking.
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an essential for every kitchen. It is excellent for cooking, making dressings and seasoning cast iron pans. If the flavor is too strong, try a Light Olive Oil, it is just as good.
5. Infused Oils are a great way to enjoy the added flavor. We add chili oil to our stir-fries, basil oil to soups and salads and garlic and lemon infused oils to just about everything.
6. Sesame Oilis great for stir-fries, marinades and can be added to just about any Asian dish. It has a lovely nutty aroma and flavor and makes a great mayonnaise.
7. Tallow is fat that has been rendered from beef. If you like deep frying put lard on your ketogenic diet list. It adds great flavor to anything that it is attached to.
8. Lard is fat rendered from pork. It is great for shallow frying, deep frying, roasting, and confit. It makes excellent fried chicken!
9. Peanut Oil is a budget-friendly alternative for tallow and lard when deep frying. It is the best oil to use in a deep fryer with an immersed element.

Keto Herbs & Spices Shopping List

• Salt
• Lite Salt (See why below)
• Pepper
• Thyme
• Basil
• Oregano
• Coriander
• Paprika
• Cinnamon
• Curry Powder
• Chives

The list above are the basic kitchen staples that we keep on hand to give our low carb recipes flavor and texture when cooking.

Salt is one of those ingredients that just about everyone owns. We use iodized table salt for adding to water for vegetables, sea salt flakes for seasoning meat & garnishing.

A little Secret:

We also use “lite salt” not because we want less sodium in our diet. But because Lite Salt it actually has a high potassium content as that’s what they add to make it less sodium. Sodium and potassium are important for staving off keto flu.

Pepper is another pantry staple for most homes. We use 3 types of pepper; Ground White Pepper for dishes where you don’t want to see it or have pieces stick in your teeth, Coarse Black Pepper for recipes where the pepper is a feature, and Freshly Cracked Pepper to serve over our meals.

Spices & Dried Herbs form a fragrant and tasty part of cooking. They’re the heat in your curry, the comforting aroma coming from the oven, and the zing on your taste buds. We use spices in just about every dish and dried herbs in many others.

Low-Carb Sauces & Condiments Shopping List

• Fish Sauce
• Hot Sauce
• Tamari (Gluten-Free Soy Sauce)
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• White Vinegar
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Whole Egg Mayonaisse

A Handy Hint: When searching for allowable low carb sauces (or anything else) always keep an eye out for maltitol. Even though maltitol is technically low-carb, it has been shown to spike insulin and raises blood glucose throwing you out of ketosis, keep sauces and condiments that have it off your shopping list.

You should always have a ketone meter to monitor ketosis, they can give you a good indication of whether what you’ve eaten is affecting blood glucose.

The Best Keto Sauces and Condiments To Buy

1. Fish Sauce is made from fermented anchovies and salt, it makes a great addition to Thai stir-fries, curries, and dipping sauces. Just make sure you don’t add any to your grocery list that has added carbohydrates.
2. Franks Hot Sauce. We didn’t come here intending to use brand names (and no we are not sponsored by them). But Franks Hot Sauce is a great cayenne pepper sauce for those who like it hot. Just a small amount will add a kick to any dish, and it’s perfect for Buffalo Wings.
3. Tamari is a gluten-free soy sauce. For us, it’s an essential ingredient for any Asian style dish, and it can also be used as a “liquid salt to add flavor to your meals.
4. Rice Wine Vinegar is a staple for Asian dishes, but don’t confuse it with Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar – that version contains sugar!
5. Apple Cider Vinegar is great for adding to marinades, sauces, and even drinking. It adds a great zing to dishes. Not only that Apple Cider Vinegar has actually been shown to lower blood glucose if taken before a high carb meal, a great addition to your ketogenic shopping list.
6. White Vinegar is the secret behind the perfect poached egg, and also makes a great cleaning product.
7. Red Wine Vinegar has a strong tart flavor that is great with savory muffins, casseroles or used in a salad dressing.

Check out our post on the benefits of apple cider vinegar.

Ketogenic Groceries List – Canned Goods

• Coconut Cream
• Tuna in oil
• Canned Salmon
• Smoked Oysters
• Anchovies
• Sardines

Of course, we prefer fresh. But canned goods are easy to keep and generally have a long shelf life. Canned and jarred goods are a convenient and versatile addition to your ketogenic shopping list.

Most of the canned seafood is high in healthy fats and minerals as well. Just be sure to read the label to make sure they are ethically sourced and free of anything that isn’t natural.

The Best Keto Canned Groceries

Even though this list of canned goods almost always fit within your keto macronutrients and are very low-carb they do vary from brand to brand so always look at the nutrition label.

1. Coconut Cream is a great non-dairy substitute for milk and also coconut milk that tends to have a higher carb count. We use it in place of cream & milk in recipes, always opt for coconut cream rather than milk to increase the fat and thickness of the end product.
2. Tuna in Oil is a great pantry staple. It can be a snack, added to the last minute meal or form the base of your next meal invention.
3. Canned Salmon is another great pantry staple. It’s high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and easily added to salads, made into fish cakes or just eaten from the tin.
4. Smoked Oysters are higher in carbs than most proteins and are best eaten in moderation. Be sure to choose a brand that packs their oysters in olive oil.
5. Anchovies are small fish that are salted and preserved in brine and used in many cuisines worldwide. Anchovies are an essential grocery item for making a great Caesar dressing.

Low-Carb Nut Butters Groceries

Nut butter can be an excellent low-carb snack but you must check the labels to ensure they do indeed fit in with your keto diet. Unfortunately, authorities around the world still allow companies to game the system with clever marketing.

The best low-carb nut butter

• Natural Peanut Butter
• Macadamia Nut Butter
• Almond Butter
• Brazil Nut Butter
• Walnut Butter
• Pecan Nut Butter

Most nut butters are not only very low carb but contain a perfect ratio of healthy fats vitamins and minerals.

Just go easy on those high in omega-6 fatty acids as they are inflammatory in high doses. We use them on our ketogenic shopping list as an ingredient only.

The Best Keto Friendly Nut Butters

1. Peanut butter, peanuts are a legume but can be consumed in small portions. We always choose a peanut butter that has only one ingredient – peanuts.
2. Macadamia butter is an excellent high-fat, low-carb nut butter. When we’re not making it ourselves, we look for one with minimal ingredients and no preservatives.
3. Almond Butter is an excellent alternative to peanut butter. Always look for one that has as few ingredients as possible.
4. Brazil Nut Butter is a great low carb nut butter. If we don’t have time to make our own, we like this Futters Nut Butter.
5. Walnut Butter is a low carb nut butter but is high in Omega 6s which can cause an inflammatory response if not balanced out by Omega 3s.
6. Pecan Butter is a high-fat spread that is full of vitamins & minerals. It can be used as a substitution for peanut butter in cookies and sweet treats.

This ketogenic food list deals with only fresh food and grocery items, visit our keto supplements page for information on staying in optimum condition while in ketosis.

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