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When eating low-carb you limit the amount of carbs you eat daily. Can you eat nuts on low-carb diets and if so, which ones are the best?
Carbohydrates or carbs in short are one of the three macronutrients. Keeping your carb intake low can offer benefits. You can fit in many types of nuts on low-carb diets and on top of that they can offer a lot of valuable nutrients.
Are nuts OK on low-carb diets like keto?
The amounts of carbs in nuts per 100 grams vary a lot from type of nut to type of nut. In general, you can fit nuts into low-carb diets but you may have to exercise some portion control.
Most nuts can also be OK on strict low-carb diets like the keto diet but you may have to keep portions small and choose the types of nuts lowest in carbs.
In general nuts are one of the most nutrient-dense low-carb friendly food groups. Even in small amounts they can offer you a lot of valuable nutrients.
Keep in mind that if your goal with eating low-carb is losing weight it is likely OK to go over your carb limit every once in a while if that means being able to consume nutrients that are beneficial for your metabolism and health.
At the same time you do not want to overdo it with nuts if your goal with staying low-carb is losing weight. Nuts contain a relatively high amount of calories.
Below you can find a list of nuts ranked from lowest to highest in net carbs, total carbs minus carbs from fiber, per 100 grams. From a botanical definition standpoint, some of these are not actually nuts and other “nuts” are not present but this list uses foods that are typically known as nuts.
This ranking does not take into account total calories. If you are interested in a ranking like that you can check out the list of the best nuts for weight loss.
1. Pecans
Pecans are the nut lowest in net carbs in this list thanks to their low total carbohydrate and high fiber content. Like most nuts, pecans are also very high in vitamins and minerals.
100 grams of pecans contains (1):
- Net carbs: 4.4 grams
- Calories: 691
- Protein: 9.2 grams
- Carbs: 14 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 9.6 grams
- Fat: 72 grams
- Manganese: 225% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Copper: 60% of the DV
- Thiamin: 44% of the DV
- Magnesium: 30% of the DV
- Zinc: 30% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Pecans are a common ingredient for several dessert dishes like pecan pie. If you want to stay low carb and keep your weight under control it may be smarter to eat these nuts raw. Even then, there are many nuts better for weight loss than pecans.
2. Brazil nuts
Brazil nuts originate from big trees in the Amazon forest.
Keep in mind that brazil nuts are extremely high in selenium. This is a big reason to not overdo it with brazil nuts even if it does not put you over your daily carb limit.
As an adult, you want to stick to 20 grams of brazil nuts or less to stay under the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for selenium (2). More than that and you may experience negative side effects.
100 grams of brazil nuts contains (3):
- Net carbs: 4.8 grams
- Calories: 656
- Protein: 14.3 grams
- Carbs: 12.3 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 7.5 grams
- Fat: 66.4 grams
- Selenium: 2739% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Magnesium: 94% of the DV
- Copper: 87% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 73% of the DV
- Manganese: 61% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Brazil nuts are also the nuts highest in magnesium on this list. You can get an amazing 94% of the Daily Value of magnesium with 100 grams of brazil nuts.
3. Macadamia nuts
Next on the list, there are the macadamia nuts. They are a great food to get a lot of calories per 100 grams, for some people who struggle with reaching their daily fat intake that is great, for most other people this is not helpful.
Even with that in mind macadamia nuts are healthier than many other processed snacks.
100 grams of macadamia nuts contains (4):
- Net carbs: 5.6 grams
- Calories: 718
- Protein: 7.9 grams
- Carbs: 14.2 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 8.6 grams
- Fat: 75.8 grams
- Manganese: 207% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Thiamin: 80% of the DV
- Copper: 38% of the DV
- Magnesium: 33% of the DV
- Iron: 20% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Macadamia nuts are a great source of vitamins and minerals per 100 grams but you may want to avoid them if you easily overeat on calories.
4. Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts, also called filberts, are not just used in certain chocolate products. They are also a great nut option to consume a lot of protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and calories while keeping your carbohydrate intake low.
100 grams of hazelnuts contains (5):
- Net carbs: 7 grams
- Calories: 628
- Protein: 15 grams
- Carbs: 16.7 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 9.7 grams
- Fat: 60.7 grams
- Manganese: 309% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Copper: 86% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 75% of the DV
- Thiamin: 43% of the DV
- Magnesium: 41% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
5. Walnuts
Walnuts are another very popular food, botanically speaking not a nut. Even so they do deserve a spot on this list because of their nutrient composition and relatively low number of net carbs.
100 grams of walnuts contains (6):
- Net carbs: 7 grams
- Calories: 654
- Protein: 15.2 grams
- Carbs: 13.7 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 6.7 grams
- Fat: 65.2 grams
- Manganese: 171% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Copper: 79% of the DV
- Magnesium: 40% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 35% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 27% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
One of the main remarkable attributes of walnuts is their high omega-3 fatty acid content. Omega-3 is considered to be one of the healthiest types of fat.
6. Peanuts
While peanuts are technically legumes, they have a very similar nutrition profile as nuts. Peanuts are one of the most popular “nuts” in the world although this popularity is partly because of the existence of peanut butter.
100 grams of peanuts contains (7):
- Net carbs: 7.6 grams
- Calories: 567
- Protein: 25.8 grams
- Carbs: 16.1 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 8.5 grams
- Fat: 49.2 grams
- Manganese: 97% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Niacin: 60% of the DV
- Folate: 60% of the DV
- Copper: 57% of the DV
- Thiamin: 43% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Besides being suited for low-carb diets in small amounts and an amazing plant-based protein source, peanuts are one of the best nuts for weight loss.
A popular way to consume peanuts is peanut butter. If you eat peanuts that way make sure you avoid peanut butter high in added sugar if you want to keep your carbohydrate intake low.
7. Almonds
Almonds are used for many different products like almond milk, almond butter, and almond flour. Just eating almonds raw is a great way to increase your intake of important nutrients while keeping your carb intake low.
100 grams of almonds contains (8):
- Net carbs: 9.5 grams
- Calories: 575
- Protein: 21.2 grams
- Carbs: 21.7 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 12.2 grams
- Fat: 49.4 grams
- Vitamin E: 131% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Manganese: 114% of the DV
- Magnesium: 67% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 60% of the DV
- Copper: 50% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Apart from being relatively high in protein almonds are also the nuts highest in fiber and calcium on this list. Almonds have an impressive nutrient content, even for nuts. That makes them extremely nutrient-dense compared to most other foods and possibly worth considering even if they are slightly higher in net carbs.
Some people love to eat their almonds covered in chocolate. This is a delicious way to eat them but sadly also a fast way to add a lot of calories to your diet.
8. Pistachios
Pistachios are the popular green nuts that often come in a shell. These nuts have been consumed by humans for thousands of years (9).
The amount of net carbs in pistachios is relatively high compared to most of the other nuts on this list. You can still fit in some on low-carb diets but especially for strict low-carb diets like the ketogenic diet, you will have to exercise a lot of portion control.
100 grams of pistachios contains (10):
- Net carbs: 17.7 grams
- Calories: 557
- Protein: 20.6 grams
- Carbs: 28 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 10.3 grams
- Fat: 44.4 grams
- Vitamin B6: 85% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Copper: 65% of the DV
- Manganese: 60% of the DV
- Thiamin: 58% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 49% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Pistachios come with an in-built portion control mechanism when you buy them shelled. The peeling you have to do slows down how fast you eat pistachios which can help you prevent overeating on them.
You do want to mostly avoid the pistachio cakes and ice creams out there if you are aiming to keep your carb intake low.
9. Cashews
Cashews are another popular “nut”, botanically a seed, to eat to increase your intake of valuable nutrients.
Cashews are even higher in net carbs than pistachios. It is still possible but this means that cashews are even harder to fit in low-carb diets. For most people cashews are not keto-friendly.
100 grams of cashews contains (11):
- Net carbs: 29.4 grams
- Calories: 553
- Protein: 18.2 grams
- Carbs: 32.7 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 3.3 grams
- Fat: 43.8 grams
- Copper: 110% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Manganese: 83% of the DV
- Magnesium: 73% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 59% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 43% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Cashews are the nut highest in iron in this list. They are also the nut lowest in calories per 100 grams but they are rather low in fiber compared to the other nuts.
If you struggle with hunger a lot it might be better to skip the cashews.
