It can be hard to estimate what fungi like mushrooms look like in terms of nutrition. Find out whether they are generally keto-friendly or not.
Before going into the details, this article will focus on the regular types of mushrooms that are edible and used in the kitchen.
Next, even within this category of mushrooms, the individual types can vary in turns of net carbs and in turn, how keto-friendly they are.
That being said, of the mushrooms I looked at, the net carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber) varied from 2.3 to 5.1 grams per 100 grams.
Since these amounts are relatively low to reasonable in carbs, it is fair to say that mushrooms are generally keto-friendly.
At the same time, you want to know that even small amounts of carbohydrates can sometimes kick you out of ketosis. You still want to keep an eye on the other foods you eat.
This article will also go over the carbohydrate content of a few different mushrooms so you can see which ones are the most keto-friendly.
How many carbs there are in edible mushrooms
How many carbs there are in edible mushrooms is an important detail for figuring out whether they are keto-friendly and in what amounts.
As mentioned, different types of mushrooms can vary in terms of nutrition details.
The following examples of edible mushrooms come from our list of the best mushrooms for weight loss.
The edible mushrooms with the lowest number of net carbs, and thus generally the best mushrooms for keto, are raw white mushrooms and morel mushrooms with about 2.3 grams of net carbs per 100 grams (1, 2).
The edible mushroom with the highest number of net carbs is the enoki mushroom with about 5.1 grams of net carbs per 100 grams (3).
The edible mushroom with the median number of net carbs (out of our list) is the portabello mushroom with about 2.6 grams of net carbs per 100 grams (4).
As you can see even the mushrooms lower on the list of low-carb mushrooms are still relatively low in carbs. In turn, you should be able to fit them into your diet while staying in ketosis.
Do make sure you don’t forget to pay enough attention to the other things you eat.
Carbs in dried mushrooms
A variety of edible mushrooms are also available in their dried form. Removing the water in them changes the nutrition information per 100 grams and in turn, how keto-friendly they are a lot.
As an example, you can find the comparison between raw shiitake mushrooms (5) and dried shiitake mushrooms (6) in the table below.
| Values Per 100g | Raw Shiitake Mushrooms | Dried Shiitake Mushrooms |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 34 calories | 296 calories |
| Total Carbohydrates | 6.8 g | 75.4 g |
| Of Which Fiber | 2.5 g | 11.5 g |
| Net Carbs | 4.3 g | 63.9 g |
| Protein | 2.2 g | 9.6 g |
As you can see, dried mushrooms are not the greatest idea when following a ketogenic diet.
Why mushrooms are not always allowed in a keto diet
Even low-carb foods like mushrooms can sometimes kick you out of ketosis. Going over the ketogenic diet fundamentals can help you understand why this is and how to avoid it.
Any way of eating where you get in ketosis is a type of ketogenic diet. Ketosis is a state where your body mainly burns fat as fuel (7).
To get and stay in ketosis you need to keep your carbohydrate consumption under a certain level. Exactly where this level is can vary from person to person due to differences in body weight, muscle mass, activity levels, and more.
This fact of ketogenic diets makes things more confusing but there are still some general guidelines. These are not perfect but they do help you get an idea of how many grams of mushrooms would fit into your ketogenic diet.
A typical recommendation is that you want to get 55%-60% of your calories from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates to stay in ketosis.
If you do the calculations, you will likely notice that you can eat around 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day.
Keep in mind that you typically don’t include fiber in mushrooms and other foods in these amounts even if it is a category of carbohydrates. Your body deals with fiber in more keto-friendly ways.
How many mushrooms can you eat on keto?
With the guidelines above and how many carbohydrates you already consumed, you can figure out how many grams of mushrooms you can eat on keto.
As an example, let’s say you concluded that you can eat around 24 grams of net carbohydrates a day and that you already ate 21.7 grams of net carbs.
In that case, your estimations would imply that you can still eat around 100 grams of white mushrooms without getting kicked out of ketosis.
Again, keep in mind that these are rough estimations. Ideally, you would be able to measure your ketone levels to be more precise.
Are white mushrooms keto-friendly?
As mentioned above, 100 grams of raw white mushrooms contain around 2.3 grams of net carbohydrates (1).
Since this is relatively low, it is fair to say that white mushrooms are generally keto-friendly. At the same time, still keep the keto fundamentals from above in mind.
Are baby bella mushrooms keto-friendly?
Baby bell mushrooms, aka cremini mushrooms, contain the following amounts of carbs (8):
- Total carbs: 4.8 grams
- Of which fiber: 0.6 grams
- Net carbs: 4.2 grams
There are more keto-friendly mushrooms but baby bell mushrooms are still reasonably low in carbs. In turn, you can say that they are relatively keto-friendly.
Best mushrooms for keto
Some mushrooms are better for keto than others. You can find the three best ones of our list of the best low-carb mushrooms and their net carbohydrate content per 100 grams right here (2, 1, 9):
- Morel mushrooms: 2.3 grams of net carbs
- White mushrooms: 2.3 grams of net carbs
- Chanterelle mushrooms: 0.9 grams of net carbs
Keep in mind that these mushrooms still contain some amounts of carbohydrates.
That means you may need to watch your portion sizes and the other things you eat to actually stay in ketosis.
How to eat mushrooms on keto
By now you know that mushrooms tend to be keto-friendly. The next step is figuring out in what recipes you will implement more of them.
The first option is to simply add mushrooms to a salad with some low-carb vegetables. You can also make mushroom soup and omelets which are generally keto-friendly.
Another creative way of using mushrooms is using portabello mushrooms as low-carb/low-calorie burger bun replacements.
Lastly, you can also make stuffed mushrooms with keto-friendly ingredients like cheese, meat, spices, and herbs.
Why do you want to stay in ketosis?
Even small amounts of mushrooms can sometimes raise your carb intake too much to stay in ketosis. Whether this is an issue and to what extent depends on why you want to stay in this state.
As an example, there are people who need/want to stay in ketosis 24/7. These individuals can likely still consider mushrooms but they want to be careful about their portions.
On the flip side, mushrooms are good for weight loss and health even if they kick you out of ketosis.
Ketogenic diets can be helpful for these health goals but they are typically not the only ways to achieve them.
Are mushrooms high in carbs?
Different types can vary in exact amounts but mushrooms tend to be relatively low in carbs. For example, 100 grams of portabello mushrooms contain around 3.9 grams of carbohydrates (including 1.3 grams of fiber).
Related posts:
