Meat is often keto-friendly but salami has a somewhat different preparation process. Find out if this food is still low in carbs or not.
Salami is a type of sausage that is a combination of fermented and air-dried meat with other ingredients like salt, spices, fat, garlic, herbs, etc.
That means salami is generally keto-friendly but that these other ingredients can still add a few carbs. Just how many carbs will vary from brand to brand.
In the nutrition data of an example of hard pork salami, there are around 1.6 grams of net carbs per 100 grams.
You do want to keep in mind that there are brands that add ingredients like sugar to their salami. To avoid this on keto it can be smart to double-check the nutrition label of the salami you are considering.
Besides that, remember that there are many other keto-friendly types of meat and other protein sources too. You don’t absolutely have to eat salami.
Carbs in salami
The ketogenic diet is a relatively low-carb diet so you definitely want to know how many carbohydrates there are in salami.
This can help you estimate how much would fit into the rest of your diet.
One example of 100 grams of dry or hard pork salami contains the following amounts of carbs (1):
- Total carbs: 1.6 grams
- Of which fiber: 0 grams
- Net carbs: 1.6 grams
In theory, even these 1.6 grams could sometimes kick you out of ketosis. In practice, it is fair to say that this example salami will typically be keto-friendly.
One ounce of the same salami is about 28 grams and contains the following amounts of carbs:
- Total carbs: 0.4 grams
- Of which fiber: 0 grams
- Net carbs: 0.4 grams
Making your portions smaller will also decrease how many carbs you eat. An ounce of salami will be even easier to fit into your ketogenic diet.
Carbs in other types of salami
As mentioned, the ingredients in salami can vary.
This can mean using different types of meats but also adding different quantities of herbs, nuts, spices, etc. Some brands even add sugar to their salami.
Here are the amounts of net carbs per 100 grams in a few other types of salami (2, 3, 4, 5):
- Cooked salami (beef and pork): 2.4 grams of net carbs
- Cooked salami (beef): 1.9 grams of net carbs
- Cooked salami (turkey): 1.6 grams of net carbs
- Italian salami (pork): 1.2 grams of net carbs
The differences in net carbs in these types of salami are not that big but they could be relevant in your personal situation.
When in doubt, it can be smart to read the nutrition label of the salami you are considering.
Other salami nutrition facts
Carbohydrates get a lot of attention on the ketogenic diet but other nutrients like fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals are still important.
These also influence whether you stay in ketosis and how good your general health will be.
100 grams of the example dry or hard pork salami contain the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 407
- Protein: 22.6 grams
- Carbs: 1.6 grams
- Part of the carbs that is fiber: 0 grams
- Fat: 33.7 grams
- Sodium: 94% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Thiamin: 62% of the DV
- Vitamin B12: 47% of the DV
- Niacin: 28% of the DV
- Zinc: 28% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts.
Salami is not just low in carbs. It can also provide you with a lot of nutrients including fat in great amounts. This means it can be a valuable addition to ketogenic diets.
One thing you do want to keep in mind is that it is possible to overdo it with certain nutrients.
In the case of salami, you may need to be careful about your sodium intake if you already eat a lot of foods with this nutrient.
Why salami could sometimes kick you out of ketosis
Salami is still keto-friendly but in some situations, even a tiny amount of net carbs can kick you out of ketosis. To understand why this is and to avoid it, it can be helpful to go over the keto basics.
Ketogenic diets are basically any way of eating where you get into ketosis. This is a state where you mainly use fat as fuel which is achieved by keeping your carb intake low enough (6).
Just how many carbohydrates you can eat while staying in ketosis will depend on details like your body weight, muscle mass, activity levels, etc.
To make things more straightforward an oversimplified guideline is getting 55%-60% of your macronutrients from fat, 30%-35% from protein, and 5%-10% from carbohydrates.
In practice, this often means eating around 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day. These typically don’t include fiber since it is a unique category of carbohydrates with different effects.
With these ketogenic diet statistics, you understand that you can eat a lot of salami on this diet. At least if the rest of your foods are reasonably low-carb.
Substitutes for salami on keto
Salami is not the only way to eat more protein and/or fat on keto. There are a variety of substitutes that are often even a bit more keto-friendly.
You may prefer these in terms of taste and/or nutrients anyway. Additionally, they can help you switch up the foods in your ketogenic diet.
The values next to the foods are the amounts of net carbs per 100 grams (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12):
- Salmon: 0 grams of net carbs
- Beef: 0 grams of net carbs
- Eggs (hard-boiled): 1.1 grams of net carbs
- Shrimp: 0 grams of net carbs
- Chicken: 0 grams of net carbs
- Tuna: 0 grams of net carbs
Basically all meats (including fish) do not contain carbohydrates but do contain nice amounts of protein and fat.
Depending on how you prepare these foods tiny amounts of carbs in the forms of herbs and spices could be present.
Remember the other nutrients in salami
One of the main principles behind the success of ketogenic diets is that the low-carb foods you eat tend to be very filling. In turn, it becomes easier to avoid overeating.
At the same time, you need to know that fats and proteins still add up to the daily number of calories you eat.
It is true that different calories have different effects but it is still possible to overdo it with keto-friendly foods.
In simpler words, if your goal with the ketogenic diet is something like weight loss, you may need to limit your portions of salami anyway due to their high calorie count.
Even if the salami would not kick you out of ketosis.
