Find out whether saltine crackers are keto-friendly or not so you don’t undo your hard work with a few crunchy bites.
First of all, different brands of saltine crackers can vary slightly in terms of carb amounts.
At the same time, the general principles will often apply.
100 grams of one example of saltine crackers contain around 71.2 grams of net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber).
You will likely not eat 33 saltine crackers at once.
However, this does make it clear saltine crackers are generally not keto-friendly.
Even in smaller amounts where you don’t get kicked out of ketosis, you consume a lot of your daily carbs in a small amount of food.
Instead, you want to turn to more keto-friendly saltine cracker alternatives.
Are saltine crackers high in carbs?
One of the first things to check to find out whether saltine crackers are keto or not is how many carbs they contain.
As mentioned, different brands can vary in these numbers to some extent.
That being said, one example of saltine crackers contains the following amounts of carbs per 100 grams (1):
- Total carbs: 74 grams
- Of which fiber: 2.8 grams
- Net carbs: 71.2 grams
As you can see, saltine crackers are very high in carbs relative to their weight.
In turn, it is fair to say that saltine crackers are generally not that keto-friendly.
Three saltine crackers are about 9 grams and contain the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 6.66 grams
- Of which fiber: 0.252 grams
- Net carbs: 6.41 grams
If you keep your portions small and pay attention to the rest of your diet, you could theoretically eat a few saltine crackers while staying in ketosis.
That being said, it is likely still not a smart idea to use this many of your daily carbs on such a small amount of food.
Other nutrition information saltine crackers
There are a few cases where you can eat foods slightly higher in carbs in small amounts on keto to get their important nutrients.
The fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals in saltine crackers still influence your weight loss and health.
100 grams of saltine crackers contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 418
- Protein: 9.46 grams
- Carbs: 74 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 2.8 grams
- Fat: 8.64 grams
- Thiamin: 47% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Sodium: 39% of the DV
- Folate: 34% of the DV
- Niacin: 32% of the DV
- Iron: 31% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Saltine crackers contain nice amounts of certain vitamins and minerals and decent amounts of fiber and protein.
At the same time, the number of carbs is so high that it will be hard to implement saltine crackers in your ketogenic diet.
You should be able to find more keto-friendly foods with the nutrients above too.
Why saltine crackers are sometimes keto
In theory, high-carb foods like saltine crackers could be ok for keto in small amounts.
To find out why this is typically not a smart idea and to approach your ketogenic diet in a smarter way, the keto fundamentals can be helpful.
Ketogenic diets involve keeping your carb intake low enough to get into ketosis. This is a state where your body mainly uses fat as energy source (2).
What this means in grams of carbs can vary from person to person. Details like body weight, activity levels, sleep quality, etc. can influence this.
That being said, there are still some general keto statistics to give you some idea anyway.
A typical recommendation is that you want to get about 55%-60% of your calories from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates to get and stay in ketosis.
This will likely mean you can eat around 20 to 50 grams of net carbs a day.
You don’t include fiber in these amounts since your body deals with them in more keto-friendly ways.
Even with that in mind, it should be clear that even small amounts of saltine crackers limit your carb intake from other foods a lot.
Keto substitutes for saltine crackers
It is possible that you still want that crunch and salty snack that saltine crackers would usually offer on keto.
In that case, you can also consider some of these more low-carb keto substitutes for saltine crackers:
- Cheese crisps
- Cauliflower crackers
- Flaxseed crackers
- Other low-carb crackers
Keep in mind that even these keto saltine cracker substitutes still contain some amounts of carbs.
This means you may have to check how many carbohydrates you are already consuming and how much of these crackers still fit.
What is your goal with a keto diet?
Even small amounts of saltine crackers will make it hard to stay in ketosis.
How much of an issue this is depends on what goals you have with the keto diet.
For example, people who need/want to stay in ketosis 24/7, likely don’t want to eat any saltine crackers at all.
On the flip side, for goals like weight loss and general health, there is a bit more wiggle room.
Saltine crackers are still not weight loss-friendly or good for health.
However, you could still argue eating a few if they help you stick to a healthy diet.
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FAQ
How many carbs are there in a 2 pack of saltine crackers?
While brands can vary, there are about 4.44 grams of carbs (including 0.17 grams of fiber) in a 2 pack of saltine crackers.
Are saltine crackers carb free?
No saltine crackers are definitely not carb free. In fact, they contain relatively high amounts of carbs.
How many carbs are there in 5 saltine crackers?
There are about 11.1 grams of carbs, including 0.42 grams of carbs, in 5 saltine crackers.
How many carbs are there in six saltine crackers?
There are about 13.32 grams of carbs (including 0.5 grams of fiber) in six saltine crackers.
