Is Artichoke Keto-Friendly? (& Substitutes)

Vegetables are often low-carb but not always. Find out whether artichokes are standard and keto-friendly or an exception in this category.

You can eat artichokes steamed, boiled, and even some parts raw, on its own, with some sauce, or as a part of a variety of recipes.

100 grams of cooked artichoke contains around 3.4 grams of net carbohydrates which means total carbs minus fiber

This is a relatively small number of carbohydrates so it is fair to say that artichoke is generally very keto-friendly.

At the same time, you need to keep in mind that in combination with certain diets, even small amounts of carbs can be enough to kick you out of ketosis.

Additionally, artichokes are not unique in how low-carb it is. You could prefer some of the substitutes that are even more keto-friendly too.

Carbs in artichoke

The number of carbs in artichoke is not the only thing that matters but it is an important detail when following a ketogenic diet.

100 grams of cooked artichoke contain the following amounts of carbs (1):

• Total carbs: 12 grams
• Of which fiber: 8.6 grams
• Net carbs: 3.4 grams

There are situations where 3.4 grams of net carbs could kick someone out of ketosis.

At the same time, cooked artichokes contain a relatively low number of net carbohydrates compared to many other foods. In turn, it is fair to say that they are relatively keto-friendly.

One medium artichoke is about 120 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:

• Total carbs: 14.3 grams
• Of which fiber: 10.3 grams
• Net carbs: 4 grams

By making your portion of artichoke bigger, it would become slightly more challenging to fit it into your diet while staying in ketosis.

That being said, even 4 grams of net carbohydrates is very doable. Especially if you consider how filling the 10.3 grams that come with the artichoke will be.

Other nutrients in artichoke

It is easy to fall into the trap of only focusing on the carbohydrates in foods like artichoke while following a ketogenic diet.

Other nutrients like fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals still influence whether you stay in ketosis and your general health.

100 grams of boiled artichoke contain the following nutrients (1):

• Calories: 53
• Protein: 2.9 grams
• Carbs: 12 grams
• Part of the carbs that is fiber: 8.6 grams
• Fat: 0.3 grams
• Folate: 22% of the DV (Daily Value)
• Vitamin K: 18% of the DV
• Vitamin C: 12% of the DV
• Manganese: 11% of the DV
• Magnesium: 10% of the DV

And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.

Artichoke is not the most impressive in nutrients besides fiber but the nice amounts of a variety of vitamins and minerals do add up.

Because artichoke is relatively low in carbs, you should be able to fit other nutritious foods into your keto diet as well.

Carbs in artichoke dip

Artichoke dip is a type of smooth mix of artichoke, mayonnaise, cheese, and a few other ingredients.

Exactly what these other ingredients are and in what amounts they are present influences the keto-friendliness of this dish a lot.

That being said, 100 grams of one example artichoke dip contains the following amounts of carbs (2):

• Total carbs: 5.5 grams
• Of which fiber: 0.9 grams
• Net carbs: 4.6 grams

Again, this will not necessarily always be the case but the example artichoke dip is somewhat low in carbs. In turn, you can say that it is relatively keto-friendly.

How many net carbs are there in artichoke hearts?

You can also choose to eat artichoke hearts specifically because you like their taste and/or texture. 100 grams of artichoke hearts contain the following amounts of carbs (3):

• Total carbs: 10 grams
• Of which fiber: 5 grams
• Net carbs: 5 grams

Artichoke hearts specifically are somewhat higher in carbs than the combination with other edible parts.

They can still be keto-friendly but you may need to pay more attention to keeping your portions small.

Why artichoke is not always keto-friendly

Quickly going over the keto fundamentals can help you understand why artichokes can be keto-friendly in some situations but not in others. This will also help you approach this diet in a smarter way.

Ketogenic diets are ways of eating where you get into ketosis. This is a state where your body mainly uses fat as fuel (4). To get into this state, you need to limit how many carbohydrates you eat.

Exactly how much depends on details like your body weight, genes, muscle mass, activity levels, etc. For example, if you exercise a lot, you will be able to eat more artichokes on a ketogenic diet.

This makes things more complicated but there are still general guidelines that are not perfect but show what it can take to get and stay into ketosis.

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 on a ketogenic diet.

For most people, these ketogenic diet stats come down to eating around 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day.

It is important to note that you typically don’t include fiber from artichokes and other food sources in these amounts.

Fiber is a category of carbohydrates but your body only absorbs a tiny amount of them in a keto-friendly way.

Is artichoke dip keto?

As mentioned, one example of artichoke dip contains around 4.6 grams of net carbs per 100 grams (2). This is generally keto-friendly. Especially if you eat the dip in reasonable amounts.

That being said, in combination with certain diets, you may need to keep your portions of artichoke dips small.

Additionally, different artichoke dip recipes can contain different amounts of carbohydrates which will influence whether they are keto.

Are marinated artichokes keto-friendly?

If you find the taste of regular artichokes bland, you can consider marinating them with herbs, spices, and other ingredients.

It is hard to make any general statements about how keto-friendly this mix will be since it depends a lot on the ingredients you use and in what quantities.

That being said, if you keep artichokes the main ingredient, marinated versions will often be relatively keto-friendly too.

Substitutes for artichoke on keto

Artichokes are not the only keto-friendly plant-based food out there. There are a variety of low-carb vegetables and other foods you can consider too.

You may like these artichoke substitutes just as much or more in terms of taste and nutrients. At the same time, they could make it easier to keep your diet low in carbohydrates.

The numbers next to the substitutes are the amounts of net carbs in 100 grams of the vegetables (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10):

• Chicory: 0.9 grams of net carbs
• Spinach: 1.4 grams of net carbs
• Green leaf lettuce: 1.5 grams of net carbs
• Celery: 1.8 grams of net carbs
• Radishes: 1.9 grams of net carbs
• Asparagus: 2.1 grams of net carbs

Similar to artichokes, even these tiny amounts of carbs could theoretically kick you out of ketosis.

That being said, this is even less likely with these lower-carb vegetables.

What is your goal with keto?

Overall, artichokes will be relatively keto-friendly. Even so, they could also potentially increase your carb intake just a bit too much and kick you out of ketosis.

Whether this is a problem and to what extent depends on your goals with the ketogenic diet.

There are people who need/want to stay in ketosis every minute of the day. These individuals want to be really careful about their carbohydrate and in turn, artichoke intake.

On the flip side, for fitness goals like losing weight and improving general health, artichokes can still be helpful even if they increase your carb intake too much to stay in ketosis.

The ketogenic diet has its benefits but it is often not the only way to achieve the goals above.