Foods to Avoid on Keto

Are you wondering if you start a keto diet what foods will be banned from consumption? And will you still eat some of your favorite foods? Here's a quick rundown of foods to avoid on keto!

an image of what can you not eat on keto

Foods to Avoid on Keto Diet

While it's easy to refer to a keto food list on the best ketogenic foods, it doesn't quite answer the question of what foods should I avoid on a keto diet? Sometimes just getting a quick and simple run down of what NOT to do answers so many questions.

The main foods to avoid on keto include:

all grains
low fat and nonfat dairy products
high carb sweeteners and sugar products
high carb fruits
high carb vegetables
beans and legumes

While you might've assumed you'd have to give up your high carb favorites like pizza, pasta, and doughnuts, you'll also have to stop eating foods such as non-fat milk, refried beans, and bananas.

Keep reading further down the page to get the breakdown of exactly which types of foods to avoid on keto within each category type.

foods to avoid on keto when you don't know what to eat. Image of different types of foods with a question mark.

What Can You Not Eat on Keto?

Whether or not you're following a strict keto vs lazy keto diet might come into play if you can EVER eat any foods from this list. If you're on a strict keto diet, there won't be enough carbs left in your day to possibly indulge in even a bite of some of the foods on this list.

If you're a lazy keto follower and allow yourself a few extra carbs and ocasionnally enjoy dirty keto snacks like keto candy to help squash the food cravings, eating a tiny amount of banned foods won't kick you out of ketosis.

For example, if carrots are higher carb and are on the list of keto foods to avoid, but then a pot of soup includes 1 carrot that gets split between 8 servings, is it essential to leave the carrot out of the recipe? If that carrot divided up adds 1.5 net carbs to each serving of the final dish, is it really in that sense a keto food to avoid? We'll leave that up to you on how strict you plan to be on a ketogenic diet and how low of carbs you want to eat each day.

Grains

All grains are considered too high in carbs for keto, here’s a list of the most common grain family foods to to avoid, whether it’s an individual grain like rice or a product made from these grains such as bread, pasta or cereal.

NOTE: Some low carb packaged products like Mission Carb Balance Tortillas DO use wheat and then enough fiber gets added that the overall net carbs is low enough to be “keto friendly.” This is a personal choice for you on whether you’re following strict keto and avoid all packaged keto products or if you follow net carbs and periodically mix in store bought products.

Wheat
Flour
Corn meal
Quinoa
Oats
Rice
Bulgur
Barley
Millet
Amaranth

Sweeteners

Here's a list of the highest carb sweeteners to avoid.

White sugar
Brown sugar
Honey
Maple syrup
Corn syrup
Agave nectar
Coconut sugar
maltotol
Dates
Fruit juice concentrate

Fruits

Avoid most fruits on keto, the BEST keto friendly fruits are berries like strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries

Here's a list of the highest carb fruits you'll want to make sure to stay away from.

Bananas
Apples
Pineapple
Mango
Oranges
Pears
Grapes
Peaches
Dried fruits
Fruit juice

Dairy

All non-fat and low-fat milk products are to be avoided since they contain carbs as well as any milk products that add sugar such as ice cream and yogurt.

Ice cream (with sugar)
Non-fat and low-fat milk
Non-fat and low cat yogurt
Yogurt with added sugar or honey
Lower fat cottage cheese
Evaporated milk
Powdered milk

Vegetables

The majority of these are vegetables to avoid in a large quantity, cutting up one carrot for instance and adding it to a soup can still be a keto friendly meal based on the recipe net carbs.

Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Peas
Corn
Parnips
Beets
Butternut squash

Beans & legumes

Essentially all beans should be avoided on keto. The only bean considered low carb is black soybeans that could be eaten in small moderation.

Black beans
Kidney beans
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
White Northern beans
Lima beans
Pinto beans
Refried beans
Black-eyed peas

Wondering what you CAN eat on the ketogenic diet?

Okay, okay, enough about what you can't eat on the keto diet, how about what you CAN? You'll want to read our post all about the keto diet foods!

And be sure to download our keto diet foods list, which is a free gift you'll receive when signing up for our keto/low carb recipe email list.