The keto diet offers a diverse range of health benefits that make it one of the most popular diets in the world. Since 2013, the keto diet has remained the number one most searched for diet system in the world, and has been adopted by celebrities, sports players, professional athletes, and health conscious individuals around the world.
The keto diet requires careful management of daily macronutrient intake, and doesn’t allow for slip-ups. Even the slightest amount of excessive carbohydrate intake can throw the metabolism out of ketosis, which can be extremely frustrating as ketosis can take several days to induce.
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For this reason, following the keto diet means adhering to a strict diet plan that, while it allows a lot of freedom in food choices, needs to be constructed carefully to avoid excess carbohydrate consumption. Accounting for meals on the keto diet is a simple matter of breaking down your macros and assembling a basic meal plan, but finding healthy keto-friendly snack options can be more difficult.
As keto causes the body to run on fat, not carbohydrates, keto snacks should be packed with fats- but not all fats are created equal. The keto diet works best with healthy saturated fats such as those found in meats, dairy products, and oils like olive, avocado, and macadamia oil. By basing your snacks around these ingredients, it’s easy to create balanced and filling snack options that are packed with dietary fiber, protein, and ketone fuel fats.
Top 18 Ketogenic Healthy Snack Recipes
We’ll proceed to run through a list of twenty high-powered keto friendly snacks that you can integrate into your keto diet without disrupting your macros:
1: Keto Stuffed Mushrooms
Mushrooms are one of the most popular foods on the keto grocery list. Extremely low in carbs while packing a powerful protein punch, mushrooms are also extremely rich in zinc, folate, vitamin D, and niacin. Mushrooms also provide potent anti inflammatory benefits that can help to minimize delayed onset muscle soreness.
Stuffed mushrooms are a great alternative to carb-rich baked potatoes, and can be packed with turkey bacon, sausage, butter, cheese, cauliflower, or goat cheese to provide a delicious high-fat source of ketone energy. Simple to prepare and cook, Keto stuffed mushrooms are the perfect blend of keto superfoods.
2: Deviled Eggs with Avocado
Eggs are a great addition to any diet, keto or not, but deviled eggs are commonly avoided by health-conscious individuals due to the use of ready-made mayonnaise in their recipe. While homemade mayonnaise is generally a great option of keto dieters, ready-made mayonnaise is packed full of sugar, artificial preservatives, and other harmful ingredients.
Swapping out the mayonnaise in deviled eggs with avocado, however, transforms deviled eggs into a great keto snack, delivering both protein and fats from the eggs and healthy monounsaturated fatty acids from the avocado. Avocados are also loaded with dietary fiber, which helps to regulate digestive function while on the keto diet.
3. Paleo Brownies
Brownies are definitely not a food that many people associate with the keto diet, as the high levels of sugar and carbohydrates contained in the average chocolate brownie absolutely destroy ketosis. The keto health movement and paleo movement, however, have made a wide variety of keto-friendly brownie recipes widely available.
By substituting coconut oil and arrowroot starch for grain flours, it’s possible to create a delicious, low calorie brownie packed full of nut chunks that provide the body with a fat boost, in addition to a massive dose of potassium and magnesium. It’s even possible to sweeten up keto brownies with a little stevia, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar with none of the calories or carb content.
4: Keto Buffalo Chicken Tendies
Everybody loves chicken tenders, but the breading used in most deep-fried or baked chicken tenders is extremely high in carbohydrates. Swapping out the breading or almond flour, however, makes a highly keto-friendly solution that delivers the same crunchy, tender flavor sensation.
Simply dip chicken strips in egg and cream, then dust them with a coating of almond flour mixed with herbs and spices. Instead of frying, bake in the oven until golden brown. Creating homemade mayonnaise and sauce mixes is a great way to enhance the flavor of your crispy chicken tenders while providing your body with a few extra grams of healthy fat.
5: Keto Pretzels
Pretzels are another common food that keto dieters crave due to their high carbohydrate content. Game day just isn’t the same without a chewy pretzel, but fortunately there are many recipes floating around that make it possible to make keto-friendly pretzels.
Swap out the wheat grain in your dough recipe for almond flour, add dried yeast, mozzarella cheese, pretzel salt, and cream cheese to make a chewy, delicious pretzel. Keto pretzels are ready in just fifteen minutes and can be made in large batches, making them an ideal inclusion in your keto meal prep days.
6: Blackberry & Nut Fat Bombs
Fruit is generally a no-no while on the keto diet, as the fructose contained in most fruits is converted into glucose, which throws the body out of ketosis. Blackberry Nut Fat Bombs, however, contain almost no carbohydrates and use blackberries only as a natural flavoring agent, making them a delicious and fruity way to increase your fat intake.
Consisting of macadamia nuts, cream cheese, blackberries, mascarpone cheese, coconut oil, and coconut butter, Blackberry Nut Fat Bombs fit the average daily macros for the keto diet and provide a keto-safe way to indulge your cravings without compromising ketosis.
7: Almond Flour Cheese Crackers
One of the most common foods that keto dieters miss most are crunchy snacks. Chips, crackers, and other high-carb instant snack foods are all forbidden while on keto, which can be difficult to deal with when the carb cravings strike. Nuts and pork rinds can only provide a modicum of satisfaction when you’re in the mood for a crunchy snack.
Fortunately it’s possible to combine almond flour and cheese to create tasty options such as Rosemary Sea Salt Cheese Crackers. Mix up two cups of cheese of your choice, some almond flour, cream cheese, egg, sea salt, and rosemary, and separate into small squares before baking, and in just 20 minutes you’ll have a delicious keto-friendly, crunchy, cheesy snack.
8: Bulletproof Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate is traditionally sweetened with a large amount of sugar, so for this option you’ll need to find yourself some organic sugar-free cocoa powder. Combine cocoa powder with coconut oil or MCT oil, grass-fed butter, and hot milk to create a frothy, warm, and delicious drink
Bulletproof hot chocolate delivers all of the benefits of bulletproof coffee with none of the stimulant hit, making it ideal for an evening energy boost with no impact on your sleeping patterns. For extra flavor, add a pinch of cinnamon or organic stevia to sweeten up your bulletproof hot chocolate without imbalancing your macro intake.
9: Hasselback Zucchini
Just like Hasselback Potato, Hasselback Zucchini is slathered with sour cream, bacon, green onions, and other delicious toppings, but is almost completely free from carbs. Slice up a zucchini accordion-style and pack the gaps with your chosen toppings and cheeses, then bake in the oven for ten minutes.
One zucchini contains just 6 grams of carbs, so it’s fine to smash down a Hasselback Zucchini or two during the day as a quick keto snack, but watch the overall carbohydrate intake for the day to ensure you don’t disrupt ketosis.
10: Fat Head Nachos
Fat Head pizza is one of the most popular keto food options on the internet, and uses an almond flour, cream cheese, mozzarella and egg baked base in lieu of a traditional wheat flour dough base. The Fat Head pizza base is the ideal pizza base replacement, and allows keto dieters to enjoy their favorite pizza toppings without disrupting ketosis.
Fat Head nachos are similar to Fat Head pizzas, but use the fat head base as an alternative to corn tortilla. Bake yourself up some fat head pizza bases, slice them up into tortilla shapes, and then create a delicious nacho mix. Keto friendly nacho ingredients include salsa, jalapenos, beef mince, guacamole, and bacon, which can be enhanced with the addition of cilantro, chili, and cumin.
11: Bulletproof Coffee
Bulletproof coffee is the gold standard of keto snacks, and delivers a powerful energy boosting dose of caffeine combined with an instant hit of healthy fats that the body is able to convert into ketones almost immediately, making it the ideal way to start the day or power through a difficult afternoon at work.
Creating bulletproof coffee is as simple as dropping a stick of butter into your preferred coffee blend or mixing in a spoonful of MCT oil. The high popularity of the keto diet has also made a wide range of keto coffee creamers and shake powders available, which are all keto-friendly ways to turbocharge an everyday cup of coffee with a potent ketone energy boost.
12: Keto-Friendly Baked Meatballs
Meatballs aren't the most keto-friendly food, even though they contain high levels of protein and fat. Most meatball recipes include flour or breading to improve consistency, which adds far too many carbs for them to be compatible with the keto lifestyle. Swapping out wheat flour for a small amount of cassava flour and adding extra melted coconut oil, however, turns meatballs into a great keto snack.
Lamb and bison mixed baked meatballs offer the ultimate fat to protein ratio for the keto diet, and are extremely cost-effective. It’s even possible to stuff your meatballs with extra cheese to increase their total fat content if you’re having difficulty reaching your 75% fat macro intake for the day.
13. Carb-Free Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Avocados aren’t typically used in desserts, but offer a silky smooth texture and neutral flavor profile that makes them ideal for use as a base in many different keto desserts. Ready made chocolate pudding is definitely not keto friendly, but making your own at home from avocado, stevia, raw cocoa powder, and sea salt creates a delicious chocolatey pudding that’s absolutely carb-free.
To enhance the flavor of your Carb-Free Chocolate Avocado Pudding, consider adding chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts and a pinch of organic cinnamon. Raw cocoa provides the body with cocoa flavonoids, which offer a wide range of health benefits and antioxidant properties.
14. Coconut Boosters
Coconut is one of the most powerful and versatile keto ingredients on the market. Rich in MCT oils, packed with fiber, and extremely low in carbohydrates, coconut makes a great addition to any keto diet plan. Many keto dieters use coconut cream or coconut milk in their keto shakes, while others use coconut flour to create carb-free baked goods.
Combining coconut oil, chia seeds, vanilla extract, and coconut flakes makes a delicious quick coconut snack that, when frozen, provides keto dieters with a cool, refreshing energy boost with no carbs, sugars, or other unwanted macronutrients.
15. Green Bean Fries
The keto diet doesn’t allow for cheat meals or cheat foods, which causes some keto dieters to get creative in finding keto-friendly ways to cook up low carb approximations of their favorite high carb foods. By coating green beans in olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, it’s possible to create a high fat, keto friendly alternative to potato fries.
To create green bean fries, wash and snip your beans, coat them with egg wash, then dip them in a parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika mix. Baked in the oven for 15 minutes at a high temperature, this recipe provides a crunchy and delicious snack that’s easy to work into your keto macros.
16. Low Carb Banana Walnut Bread
Regular banana bread recipes are already low in carbohydrates, but it’s possible to minimize the carbohydrate content of a banana bread recipe even further to create a tasty, magnesium and potassium-rich snack that can help balance the intake of essential micronutrients while following the keto diet.
Creating low carb banana walnut bread means swapping out the wheat flour for almond flour, which dramatically lowers the carbohydrate content while preserving the fresh, moist texture of banana bread. The higher total carbohydrate content of almond flour banana bread is balanced out by its high fiber content, which ends up lowering the net carb content significantly.
17. Artichoke & Chèvre Dip
Artichokes are a criminally underused keto-friendly vegetable that offer a wide range of health benefits. Extremely rich in antioxidants and dietary fiber, artichokes boost cognitive function and cardiovascular health while offering an extremely high protein content. Combined with chèvre, or goat cheese, artichoke hearts make a fat-rich keto snack that tastes great.
Combine a can of drained artichoke hearts in a food processor with lemon juice, sea salt, goat cheese, minced garlic, olive oil, and chives to create a tasty dip. Feel free to munch away using celery to dip, as it contains a net carb content of just 0.6 grams per stalk.
18. Keto Samosas
Samosas are an indian takeaway favorite, but incorporate carb-rich dough into their recipe that makes them incompatible with the ketogenic diet. Replacing the dough in a samosa recipe with a combination of almond flour, cumin, salt, and mozzarella cheese, however, creates a delicious, cheesy alternative to dough samosas that are just as nutritious.
Pack your samosas with cauliflower, onion, butter, and any other vegetables you have laying around to max out your fat macros for the day and gain an immediate ketone energy boost.
