Because the keto diet is a very low-carbohydrate diet, many people assume that you cannot eat fruit on the keto diet.
However, there are a select group of fruits you can eat on keto that are considered low-sugar, low-carb fruits.
But, what fruits are keto-friendly? How many carbs do keto fruits have? For example, how many carbs in strawberries? Is watermelon keto? Is cantaloupe a keto-friendly fruit?
In this article, we will discuss eating fruits on keto, focusing on the best keto fruits and looking at carbs in strawberries, carbs in watermelon, carbs in cantaloupe, and carbs in other popular fruits to help you decide which fruits you can eat on keto while staying within your target carbs per day.
We will look at:
- What Fruit Can You Eat On Keto?
- 8 Keto Fruits To Add To Your Diet
Let’s get started!
What Fruit Can You Eat On Keto?
Before we look at the best keto-friendly fruits, it’s helpful to establish why eating fruit on keto can be problematic.
The keto diet is a high-fat, very low-carb diet.
Most keto diet experts say that you should limit your total carb intake on keto to 5% of your daily caloric intake, or no more than 20 to 50 grams of carbs per day max.
Even whole, natural, unprocessed fruit contains carbohydrates and natural sugars, which is why you can only eat a very small amount of fruit on keto, and you have to be deliberate in your choices of keto fruits by selecting the lowest sugar fruits and lowest carb fruits.
The best keto fruits are fruits that are the lowest in sugar and are generally high-fiber fruits.
This is because the low sugar will help you stay within your carb goals, and the fiber will help slow the digestion and absorption of the sugar in fruit so that you can stay in ketosis.
If you eat a high-sugar fruit such as bananas or pineapple, your blood sugar will rise significantly after eating the fruit due to the high-glycemic nature of the fruit.
This will take you out of ketosis and negate the benefits of the keto diet.
To this end, even if you are eating the best fruits for keto, you need to make sure that you are spacing out your fruit intake over the course of the day and not exceeding the fruit serving size.
Having a lot of fruit all at once, even if the fruit is technically a “keto-friendly fruit,“ may provide too many grams of carbs all at once.
This will shift your body out of metabolic ketosis and allow your cells to start relying on the carbs in the fruit you just ate rather than ketones from oxidizing fat.
Thus, when you are looking at the carbs in strawberries, carbs in cantaloupe, carbs in watermelon, or carbs in any of the potential keto fruits for that matter, it is imperative that you look at the serving size of the fruit and make sure to stay at or below it.
So, what fruits are keto-friendly? Let’s find out!
8 Keto Fruits To Add To Your Diet
Keeping in mind that even the best keto fruits have to be eaten in calculated moderation to stay within your keto carb limits, here are some of the best fruit you can eat on keto:
#1: Avocados
Avocados are often lumped in with vegetables, but avocado is actually a nutrient-dense fruit.
Moreover, avocados are one of the best keto fruits.
The primary reason why avocados are a good fruit for keto is due to the fact that one thing that is fairly unique about avocados in terms of falling under the umbrella of “fruits“ is that avocados are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
Because the keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet, the high-fat content of avocado makes this fruit more aligned with the keto diet macros and nutrient needs than even most of the other best low-sugar fruits for keto.
Not only are avocados high in healthy fats, but they are also low in net carbs, largely due to the fact that avocado is an extremely high-fiber fruit.
In fact, a 100-gram serving (3.5 ounces) of fresh avocado has 8.5 grams of carbohydrates and almost 7 grams of fiber, meaning there are only 1.5 grams of net carbs in the fruit.
Ultimately, the best fruits for keto are not only low-sugar fruits and low-carb fruits overall, but also high-fiber fruits since the extremely low-carb intake on the keto diet by default means that fiber intake is also quite low.
Because fiber plays such an important role in digestion, maintaining the healthy gut bacteria, and promoting satiety, using your meager keto carbs allowance for high-fiber vs starchy carbs or refined carbs is an important nutritional decision to be healthy on keto.
Avocados also provide other key micronutrients that can be rather deficient in the keto diet, such as potassium, vitamin C, vitamin E, folate, and vitamin K.
#2: Lemons
Lemons are one of the best keto fruits, though most people don’t love eating plain lemons because they are so tart and not very sweet (which is why the lemon is a top keto-friendly fruit).
However, while you might not want to suck on fresh lemon wedges, you can add lemon to water for lemon water as a good keto-friendly drink, or you can use lemon as a citrus vinaigrette for keto dinners like salmon or on keto salads as a dressing.
Lemon is a good source of vitamin C, and an entire lemon has only about 5.5 grams of carbohydrates, including 1.5 grams of dietary fiber, for a total of 4 grams of net carbs in this keto fruit.
#3: Strawberries
Strawberries are a good fruit for keto because they are high in vitamin C, manganese, and folate, which are micronutrients that aren’t found in many keto-friendly foods.
So, how many carbs in strawberries? One cup of strawberries has a little less than 12 grams of carbs and about 3 grams of fiber for 9 grams of net carbs.
#4: Starfruit
Starfruit is a less popular fruit but a good low-carb fruit for keto. One whole fruit has only 6 grams of carbs with 2.5 grams of fiber.
#5: Raspberries
Raspberries are a great low-carb fruit. They are pretty high in fiber and low in sugar, which is why this is one of the best fruits to eat on keto.
In fact, 1 cup (123 grams) of raspberries provides only 7 grams of net carbs (15 grams of total carbs and 8 grams of fiber.)
Here again, like avocado for keto, the benefit of choosing this fruit for keto is that you are getting a lot of fiber in the limited carbs that you are able to eat.
#6: Watermelon
One of the most common questions about eating fruit on keto is: is watermelon keto friendly?
Watermelon can be considered a keto-friendly fruit in moderation.
It does contain a lot of sugar, but because watermelon is about 92 to 95% water by weight, if you have a relatively small serving, you can eat watermelon on keto without going over your carb limits.
One cup of fresh watermelon has about 11.5 g of carbs and about half a gram of fiber.
This means that you won’t want to have a lot of watermelon on keto; keep your portions at 1 cup a day or less so that you can focus on other fibrous carbs.
However, having a little bit of watermelon should be fine, and you’ll also get lots of potassium and vitamin C, along with the antioxidant lycopene, which is also found in tomatoes and helps reduce oxidative damage.
#7: Cantaloupe
Although most people gravitate towards wanting watermelon on keto, cantaloupe is a better melon for keto because it is a little bit higher in fiber and lower in sugar, making it a great keto-friendly fruit.
It is also packed with vitamins in minerals such as vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K, along with beta carotene, an antioxidant.
#8: Tomatoes
Another one of the best keto diet fruits is the tomato. Like avocados, we tend to lump tomatoes in with vegetables, but they are botanical fruits.
They are one of the best low-carb fruits.
One cup (180 grams) of raw tomatoes has only 7 grams of carbs and 4 grams of sugar, plus 2 grams of fiber, along with tons of antioxidants and very few calories, making this not only one of the best keto fruits but also one of the best fruits for people following keto for weight loss.
Overall, if you are choosing a keto fruit that is higher in carbs, you should make sure that you are not eating other carbs in the meal or snack so that the glycemic load of the meal with the fruit doesn’t take you out of ketosis.
In other words, don’t have keto fruits with yogurt, cottage cheese, or other sources of carbohydrates.
Instead, pair fruit on keto with only fats and proteins.
Like adding fiber to your diet, eating fruit on keto alongside fats and proteins will help slow the digestion and absorption of the carbs in fruits, which will help keep you in ketosis.
A good example of a keto fruit snack would be blueberries with turkey jerky or a handful of strawberries alongside fried eggs for breakfast.
Wondering if yogurt is keto-friendly? Check out our guide here to find out.
