Watching Carbs? These Are The Best Vegetables To Eat (2024)

Stocking up on spinach and avocado.

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In case you needed another reason to eat your vegetables, this chart proves that most of your favorite ones (okay, maybe Delish's favorite) are ridiculously low in carbs! We're talking super low—like one-net-carb-for-three-cups-of-spinach low. If you're thinking about starting the keto diet or even a low-carb diet, this chart will be your bible. Here are some common questions we get about low-carb vegetables:

What vegetables are low in carbs?

Most leafy greens like spinach, cabbage, and kale are low in carbs as well as the rest that are in the chart above. Potatoes, corn, peas, and squash are higher carb veggies.

What is the lowest carb vegetable?

Spinach without a doubt has the least carbs, at 1 net carb per 100-gram serving. For the lowest carb fruits, we've got ya.

What are net carbs?

It's important to note that these carb counts are measured by net carbs, not total carbs. This means total carbs minus fiber. Another important point to remember when checking out this chart is that these carb counts are all measured per 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces.

What does that mean?

This means you can eat over three cups of spinach for 1 net carb, about half an avocado for 2 net carbs, about 10 olives for 3 net carbs, etc. We recommend buying a food scale for the most accurate information.

Recipes

Here's more nutrition info and recipes featuring these low-carb veggies.

Spinach: Packed with vitamins and minerals, such as iron and potassium, spinach is a great addition to smoothies or tossed in a spinach salad with feta.

Avocado: Rich in healthy fats with a bit of protein, avocados are a great addition to salads, like this roasted chickpea and avocado salad or avocado tomato salad.

Cucumber: A water-rich, refreshing snack, cucumbers can be used in many recipes, such as a Mediterranean chickpea salad, tzatziki dip, or lettuce cups.

Zucchini: From grilled zucchini to pesto zoodles and air fryer zucchini, there are endless opportunities to add zucchini to your diet.

Tomato: Get a boost of vitamin C with bruschetta or sheet-pan panzanella.

Cabbage: Cabbage comes in several varieties—try this red cabbage slaw or vegetable cabbage soup.

Kale: Kale is rich in vitamins A, K, and C. Check out this guide on how to cook kale.

Broccoli: Broccoli is loaded with nutrients such as vitamin C and potassium. Try it roasted or in a batch of beef & broccoli.

Peppers: Peppers add a nice crunch to salads, but are also great grilled or stuffed.

Brussels sprouts: These fiber-rich veggies are great grilled, roasted, sautéed, and even shredded.

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Watching Carbs? These Are The Best Vegetables To Eat (2024)

FAQs

Watching Carbs? These Are The Best Vegetables To Eat? ›

Simply put, when you follow a no-carb diet, you avoid all high carb foods. Specifically, try to eliminate whole and refined grains, baked goods, fruits, milk, yogurt, beans, legumes, pasta, bread, sugar-sweetened beverages, and starchy vegetables like peas and corn.

What are 7 great vegetables to cut down on carbs? ›

Our top 20 best low-carb vegetables
  • Watercress – 0.1g. ...
  • Rocket – 0.1g. ...
  • Button mushrooms – 0.3g. ...
  • Curly kale – 1.4g. ...
  • Lettuce – 1.4g. ...
  • Celery – 1.4g. ...
  • Radish – 1.4g. ...
  • Spinach – 1.6g.
Jun 24, 2020

What is the best vegetable for carbs? ›

Veggies That Are Healthy Sources of Carbs
  • Broccoli. 1/15. Serving: 1 cup chopped, raw or cooked. ...
  • Carrots. 2/15. Serving: 1 cup, raw. ...
  • Corn. 3/15. Serving: 1 cup chopped, or 1 large ear. ...
  • Sweet Potato. 4/15. Serving: 1 cup, chopped or mashed, raw or cooked. ...
  • Beets. 5/15. ...
  • Parsnips. 6/15. ...
  • Brussels Sprouts. 7/15. ...
  • Zucchini. 8/15.
Jan 28, 2023

What foods to avoid when watching carbs? ›

Simply put, when you follow a no-carb diet, you avoid all high carb foods. Specifically, try to eliminate whole and refined grains, baked goods, fruits, milk, yogurt, beans, legumes, pasta, bread, sugar-sweetened beverages, and starchy vegetables like peas and corn.

What fruit has the least amount of sugar and carbs? ›

Here are ten low carb fruits you can enjoy even when watching your carbs:
  • Watermelon. Watermelon helps you stay hydrated due to its high water content. ...
  • Cantaloupe. Like watermelon, cantaloupe is mostly water. ...
  • Strawberries. Strawberries contain even more vitamin C than an orange. ...
  • Plums. ...
  • Kiwi. ...
  • Peaches. ...
  • Starfruit. ...
  • Honeydew.

What is the number 1 carb to avoid? ›

1. Sugary Foods. Most people already think of many of the foods in this category as unhealthy treats. Candy, soft drinks, and sweet desserts such as cake, chocolate, and ice cream are all expected entries on a list of carbs to avoid to lose weight.

What is the healthiest carb to eat? ›

  1. Brown Rice. Brown rice is a gluten-free whole grain rich in antioxidants. ...
  2. 2. Fruits. While fruits have various amounts of carbs per serving, they also have nutrients like folate, potassium, and fiber. ...
  3. Maple Syrup. ...
  4. Millet. ...
  5. Oats. ...
  6. Potatoes. ...
  7. Pulses. ...
  8. Quinoa.
Jun 1, 2024

Which fruit is highest in carbs? ›

Fruit. Most fruit is low in starch, but high in sugar and total carbs. Raisins and other dried fruit are especially carbohydrate-dense, as is fruit juice. Bananas, pineapples, grapes, mangoes, apples, and figs are some of the higher-carb fruits.

What's the worst carb for belly fat? ›

She revealed that white bread, high-sugar cereals, sodas, and ultra-processed snacks are some of the ones to steer clear of.
  • White Bread. Often consumed in sandwiches, toast, or alongside meals, white bread is popular due to its versatility. ...
  • High-Sugar Cereals. ...
  • Soda. ...
  • Ultra-processed Snacks.
May 6, 2024

What are the worst carbs to eat after 50? ›

Cookies, candies, cakes, ice cream, and packaged sweet bakery items qualify as processed desserts. They share common traits like added sugars, refined flour, and unhealthy fats that make them problematic for health after 50. The added sugars and refined carbs in sweets and desserts cause rapid blood sugar spikes.

What cancels out carbs? ›

However, some carbs can't be broken down into individual sugars, whereas others are only partially broken down and absorbed. These include fiber and sugar alcohols. Because of this, most fiber and sugar alcohols can be subtracted from total carbs when calculating net carbs.

What happens if you eat no carbs for a week? ›

Severe carb limits can cause your body to break down fat into ketones for energy. This is called ketosis. Ketosis can cause side effects such as bad breath, headache, fatigue and weakness. It's not clear what kind of possible long-term health risks a low-carb diet may pose.

What are 4 bad carb foods? ›

Carbs to Avoid, Plus Better Bets
  • Sugary drinks, sodas, and fruit juices. These often have added sugar. ...
  • White bread. Simply substitute your normal sandwich bread for a whole grain or whole wheat option.
  • Pasta. ...
  • French fries and potato chips. ...
  • Cookies, cakes, and pastries. ...
  • Candy, chocolate, and ice cream.
Oct 8, 2023

Is oatmeal bad carb? ›

With so much talk about so-called 'bad carbs', oats have been written off and cut from many diets. But the truth is, whole grain oats are a complex carbohydrate with nutritional benefits. A bowl of cooked oatmeal breaks down to become energy that's slowly absorbed by your body.

What are the best keto vegetables? ›

You do not have to limit vegetables if you are on the keto diet or are considering it. Plenty of low-carb vegetable options include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.

What are high protein no carb vegetables? ›

Non-starchy veggies include broccoli, spinach, asparagus, mushroom, cauliflower, pepper and more. These are high in protein and very low in carb, which makes them the perfect food to lose weight, especially for those who are vegetarians. Besides these vegetables have several health benefits.

What vegetables are slow burning carbs? ›

Slow Carb Vegetables

Excellent examples include leafy greens, like spinach and kale, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. Starchy vegetables include corn, potatoes, squash and most root vegetables.

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