Although vegetables are typically encouraged on the keto diet because they’re lower in carbohydrates, some vegetables like carrots have a higher amount of sugar and starch that are discouraged while on keto.
Are carrots keto? Carrots shouldn’t be considered keto-friendly because they do contain almost 9 grams of net carbs per serving; however, if you keep your net carbs under 25 grams per day, then you could include carrots on the keto diet.
Although carrots may not be the most keto-friendly option, there are potential benefits to including carrots in small quantities while on the keto diet.
After reading this article you’ll learn:
- If carrots are keto-friendly
- How to include carrots while doing keto
- Which benefits carrots could provide to those on keto
Why Carrots Aren’t A Keto-Friendly Option
Carrots aren’t a keto-friendly option because one cup of chopped carrot has roughly 12 total carbs, 6 grams of sugar, and 3.6 grams of fiber, which means they have 8.4 grams of net carbs per serving.
The net grams of carbs for carrots (and all foods) are determined by taking the total amount of carbs in a serving of carrots and subtracting the fiber. Once you’ve subtracted the fiber from the total carbs per serving, you’re left with the carbs from sugar and starch.
The carbs from sugar and starches are counted towards our daily carb intake because if they’re overconsumed they can kick you out of ketosis and halt your progress.
So even though carrots are much lower in carbs than many other foods, there are better vegetable alternatives to carrots for the keto diet.
How To Include Carrots On A Keto Diet
With the keto diet, generally, most people are trying to keep their carbs at or below 25 grams of net carbs per day and if they do so they can technically have whatever foods they desire and still be in ketosis.
For this reason, you could have carrots while on the keto diet but you have to be conscious of your daily carb allotment so that you aren’t going over your daily target.
One cup of carrot in your daily intake can stack up a decent amount of net carbs, so if you’re going to include carrots in your diet then it’s probably best to use a small amount each day by reducing your portion size or adding them to a recipe that is divided between multiple servings.
You can always modify your recipes to make them more keto-friendly by reducing the number of carrots that you’re using. For example, if a recipe calls for a cup of chopped carrots, you can simply reduce the amount to a half cup instead.
Keto-Friendly Carrot Recipes
The best keto-friendly carrot recipes are:
- Sugar-Free Keto Carrot Cake (5.5g of net carbs per serving)
- Keto Roasted Glazed Carrots (3g of net carbs per serving)
- Keto Carrot Cake Bars (2.8g of net carbs per serving)
What Benefits Do Carrots Have For Those On Keto?
The benefits of carrots are that they:
- Improve eye health
- Support bone health
- Reduce the risk of cancer
Improve Eye Health
Carrots are one of the best foods for maintaining your eye health, especially as you age, because of their high levels of beta carotene that get converted to Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is beneficial for the maintenance of good vision and prevention of night blindness, and one cup of carrots supplies a whopping 427% of your daily Vitamin A.
Support Bone Health
There is also evidence that suggests that the consumption of carrots could help support the overall health of your bones because of the Vitamin K that they provide.
It has been shown that those with low levels of Vitamin K have lower bone density and an increased risk of fracture, so eating carrots which are high in Vitamin K could help to prevent these bone-related issues.
Reduce The Risk Of Cancer
Carrots have also been proposed as a food that could reduce your risk of certain types of cancer because of the carotenoids that they provide.
There has been evidence that the carotenoids that carrots contain could reduce the risk of prostate, colon, gastric, and breast cancers but more research is required in this area of study.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Carrots Per Day Can I Eat On Keto?
You can eat as many carrots as you like on keto as long as you’re staying within your daily carb allotment, which is likely around 25 grams of net carbs per day. It’s probably best to keep your carrot intake under one cup per day so that you have some carbs left over for other foods.
Are Baby Carrots Keto?
Baby carrots are not keto-friendly for the same reason as regular carrots, they contain too many carbs per serving to be considered keto-friendly. But as long as you’re conscious of your carb intake with baby carrots, you could include them in your diet.
Final Thoughts
Though you can get away with adding a small amount of carrot to your keto diet, there are certainly better choices. From an overall health standpoint, carrots are loaded with plenty of vitamins and minerals and are a very healthy food choice, but the vitamins and minerals found in carrots can be found in many other keto-friendly foods.