Incorporating low carb fruits and vegetables into your meal plan can help you stick to your low carb goals while also receiving essential vitamins.
Getting enough fruits and vegetables each day can be a challenge for some, but we all know it’s important.
Not only do fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that support our bodies’ daily functions, but research has shown that these foods can help reduce the risk of
In addition to conveying these health benefits, fresh fruits and vegetables are generally low in fat and calories, which may make them an appealing choice for people watching their weight. However, some dieters may be wary of them if they’re trying to cut carbs.
Although fruits and vegetables do contain carbohydrates, that’s no reason to leave them off your plate. Fruits and veggies contain varying amounts of carbs, so choosing the right ones, in the right amounts, means you can enjoy the health benefits of these delicious and versatile foods while you cut carbs.
Read on for our lists of the best low carb fruits and vegetables to incorporate into your healthy low carb eating plan.
Some low carb diets specifically say to avoid fruit, at least for a certain part of the diet. This is because fruit tends to have a higher carbohydrate content than most vegetables, due to its higher amount of naturally occurring sugars.
If your doctor has recommended that you avoid sugar, or fructose in particular, you should follow your doctor’s instructions. But if not, you can likely find a way to fit fruit into your low carb diet.
Here’s our list of the best low carb fruits.
1. Watermelon
This quintessential fruit of summer scores lowest in carbohydrate content, packing only
2. Berries
Berries are a popular choice for people watching their carb intake. Strawberries have the fewest carbs of all types of berries, while blackberries have the fewest net carbs.
For each 100 g of strawberries, you’ll get
For each 100 g of blackberries, you’ll get
Raspberries are also an excellent choice, as they net only
What does “net carbs” mean?
Some types of fruit have fewer carbs per standard serving, mostly due to their higher water, or have fewer absorbable carbohydrates due to their high fiber content. These absorbable carbs are often referred to as net carbs.
Fiber is a carbohydrate, but it’s one that your body can’t absorb, so it doesn’t affect your blood sugar like other carbohydrates do. So some people consider net carbs more important than total carbs.
To obtain a food’s net carb value, simply subtract the grams (g) of fiber it contains from its total carbohydrates.
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3. Cantaloupe
This popular orange melon is great on a hot summer day and contains only
Melons are also considered to be low-fructose fruits. Some people like to eat cantaloupe or honeydew with tuna salad. Try blending cantaloupe with lime, mint, and water to make a refreshing agua fresca.
4. Avocados
Yes, avocados are a fruit, and they have relatively low carbohydrate content to boot. For each 100 g of avocado, you’ll get an estimated
In addition, that serving of avocado will give you healthy monounsaturated fats, which are known to be good for heart health. Slice avocado on top of a salad or wrap, make an avocado tomato salad, or serve it with boiled eggs. Learn 16 more reasons why you don’t want to miss out on avocados.
5. Honeydew
Honeydew, another melon, comes in at
Try prosciutto-wrapped honeydew melon balls for a sweet-and-salty appetizer.
6. Peaches
A sweet and juicy treat, peaches surprisingly don’t have too many carbohydrates. For every 100 g of fruit, you’ll get
Vegetables get less of a bad rap than fruits do when it comes to carbs. They generally contain less sugar, and thus fewer carbs than fruits.
Even when you’re limiting carbs, vegetables should be an important source of nutrition in your diet. They’re high in fiber and lower in overall calories per serving than any other food group. Also, they contain an array of healthy compounds, including phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals.
In general, the higher the water content in a vegetable, the lower the carb content per standard serving.
These are the best low carb choices.
1. Cucumbers
Cucumbers are a refreshing and nutritious addition to any salad — Greek or otherwise! Peeled, they contain just
2. Iceberg lettuce
Perhaps one of the most popular — though least nutritious — vegetables, iceberg lettuce has only
3. Celery
Celery has the same number of carbs as iceberg lettuce (
4. White mushrooms
Mushrooms contain only
5. Spinach
For every 100 g of spinach, you’ll get
6. Swiss chard
Another nutrient-dense leafy vegetable, Swiss chard packs only
7. Broccoli
A nutrient-dense cruciferous vegetable, raw broccoli contains
8. Bell peppers
A light, crunchy snack when raw, or excellent sautéed with your other favorite vegetables, bell peppers have just
9. Zucchini
Zucchini can be “zoodled,” or turned into noodles with the help of a spiralizer or serrated peeler. This makes for a delicious and lower-carb alternative to pasta, at just
Or, try zucchini thinly sliced and grilled or roasted, and then layered with other vegetables and sauce for a low carb “lasagna.”
10. Cauliflower
Cauliflower has just
Just grate it using a food processor and then serve it, cooked or raw, either as a side dish or mixed in with other vegetables and protein, and topped with a dressing of your choice.
11. Asparagus
Asparagus has
12. Alfalfa sprouts
Alfalfa sprouts, which are the sprouted seeds of alfalfa, have
13. Radishes
Radishes have just
Sliced radishes make a great addition to salads, or enjoy whole radishes with a pinch of sea salt or dipped into your favorite spread or dressing.
14. Arugula
Arugula is a versatile leafy green that has just
Try it in salads mixed in with other greens, or cooked into sauces, soups, or stews.
15. Radicchio
Radicchio has just
Radicchio can be enjoyed raw or cooked in a number of ways. It even holds up to grilling.
16. Tomatoes
Tomatoes have just
Enjoy them raw as an easy, healthy snack with salt and pepper, as toppings on salads or sandwiches, or cooked into soups or used to make sauces.
Other vegetables
Pickled or fermented vegetables, from cucumber pickles to cabbage sauerkraut or kimchi, can be another low carb option to vary your vegetable intake. Opt for fermented, not just pickled, vegetables, which contain gut-healthy probiotics. Check the list of ingredients to make sure no sugar was added.
Vegetable nutrition chart
Below is a quick and easy guide to the nutritional value of low carb vegetables — feel free to bring it with you on your next food shopping trip! Remember, these values are for raw vegetables (carbohydrate content can shift slightly during cooking).
| Vegetable | Total carbohydrates | Fiber | Net carbs | Calories | Fat | Protein |
| alfalfa sprouts | 2.1 g | 1.9 g | 0.2 g | 23 | 0.69 g | 3.99 g |
| celery | 3.0 g | 1.6 g | 1.4 g | 16 | 0.2 g | 0.7 g |
| iceberg lettuce | 3.0 g | 1.2 g | 1.8 g | 14 | 0.1 g | 0.9 g |
| zucchini | 3.11 g | 1.0 g | 2.11 g | 17 | .32 g | 1.21 g |
| white mushrooms | 3.3 g | 1.0 g | 2.3 g | 22 | 0.3 g | 3.1 g |
| radishes | 3.4 g | 1.6 g | 1.8 g | 16 | 0.10 g | 0.68 g |
| spinach | 3.6 g | 2.2 g | 1.4 g | 23 | 0.4 g | 2.9 g |
| cucumber | 3.6 g | 0.5 g | 3.1 g | 16 | 0.1 g | 0.7 g |
| arugula | 3.65 g | 1.6 g | 2.05 g | 25 | 0.66 g | 2.58 g |
| Swiss chard | 3.7 g | 1.6 g | 2.1 g | 19 | 0.2 g | 1.8 g |
| asparagus | 3.88 g | 2.1 g | 1.78 g | 20 | 0.12 g | 2.20 g |
| tomatoes | 3.89 g | 1.2 g | 1.69 g | 18 | 0.2 g | 0.88 g |
| radicchio | 4.48 g | 0.9 g | 3.58 g | 23 | 0.25 g | 0.25 g |
| bell peppers | 5.88 g | 1.2 g | 3.51 g | 18 | 0.0 g | 1.18 g |
| cauliflower | 4.97 g | 2.0 g | 2.97 g | 25 | 0.28 g | 1.92 g |
| broccoli | 6.64 g | 2.6 g | 4.04 g | 34 | 0.4 g | 2.8 g |
* Nutritional values as determined by the
So now you’ve got your list of low carb fruits and vegetables. How much of these foods you’ll want to include in your meals depends on the type of low carb diet you’re following.
The main types of low carb diets include:
- General low carb. According to the American Diabetes Association, the recommended daily allowance of carbohydrate intake is 130 g per day. Therefore, a daily intake of less than 130 g of carbs per day would be considered a “low carb” diet.
- Caveman diets. Some diets, such as the “paleo” approach or the “primal” diet, call for reducing carbohydrate intake. However, specific numbers may vary from person to person, depending on individual needs and goals, resulting in a range of 100–150 g of carbs per day, to as low as 50 g per day.
- Ultra-low carb. Some people on a very restrictive low carb diet, such as the ketogenic diet, are usually limited to 20-50 g carbohydrates per day.
No matter which diet you follow, you should be able to add a few servings of low carb fruits and vegetables to your meals every day.
It’s always a good idea to talk with your doctor before making any extreme dietary changes, including severely changing your carbohydrate intake.
Low carb dieting doesn’t have to mean only protein and fat all the time. Fruits and vegetables can play an important nutritional role in your low carb eating plan.
Keep these lists of low carb fruit and vegetable options handy to help make your plate more interesting and your nutrition more complete as you adhere to your low carb plan.
