40 Vegetarian Keto Recipes (2025)

FAQs

Can you do a keto diet if you are vegetarian? ›

If you are on a vegetarian diet and are curious about keto, the good news is that it's possible to follow a keto diet that doesn't include animal products.

Most ketogenic diet guidelines recommend limiting your total carbohydrate intake to 15-30 grams or 5%-10% of your total calorie intake a day. Eating more than 50 grams of carbs may disrupt ketosis.

Regardless of age, the keto diet is an excellent option for ditching that hard-to-lose weight (especially belly fat).

You do not have to limit vegetables if you are on the keto diet or are considering it. Plenty of low-carb vegetable options include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.

It's totally fine and safe to eat up to 6 eggs a day while on the keto diet. You can consume even more eggs per day occasionally, as long as you make sure that you eat your greens, healthy fats and proteins from other sources.

Despite the many health benefits of fruit, there is an issue with some fruits on the keto diet. Grapes and bananas, for instance, contain high quantities of carbs. 1 cup of grapes has approximately 26 grams and a medium banana, 24 grams of carbohydrate. As a rule, these fruits should be avoided.

While cheating may be helpful for some eating patterns, it's far from ideal for the keto diet. That's because this diet relies on your body staying in ketosis. To do so, you need to eat fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day. Eating more than 50 grams can kick your body out of ketosis ( 2 ).

Peanut butter can definitely be part of a keto diet, but it's best to stick to plain options that are free of extra flavors and sweeteners. Almond butter is a good choice, too, and it's slightly lower in carbs. Additionally, you should be mindful of your portion size if you're trying to lose weight.

One of the main principles of the keto diet is to limit carbohydrate intake, which includes sugar. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much sugar you can have on keto. Limiting your sugar intake to 20 to 30 grams daily or less is recommended to stay in ketosis.

Cookies, candies, cakes, ice cream, and packaged sweet bakery items qualify as processed desserts. They share common traits like added sugars, refined flour, and unhealthy fats that make them problematic for health after 50. The added sugars and refined carbs in sweets and desserts cause rapid blood sugar spikes.

Is it OK to stay on a keto diet forever? ›

Even if properly followed, a ketogenic diet is not intended to be adhered to long-term, nor is it uniquely effective. Studies show that after 6 months, a ketogenic diet does not lead to significantly higher weight loss than other weight loss approaches.

"With a keto diet, the breakdown is approximately 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein and 5 percent carbohydrates." For example, a woman who weighs 150 pounds and is moderately active is recommended to eat 25 grams of carbs (think one medium sized apple!), 86 grams of protein (a little over three 3 oz chicken breasts) ...

Hummus can definitely be part of your keto diet, but just one or two servings can quickly expend a significant portion of your daily carb allotment. If you do eat hummus, you'll want to limit yourself to a small amount — perhaps just 2–4 tablespoons (30–60 grams), which provide 4–8 grams of net carbs.

Avocados

Avocados are a really popular choice with people following the keto diet since a whole avocado contains only 17 g of carbs — of which 14 g is fiber — and 30 g of fat. They are also high in many vitamins and minerals, including potassium and B vitamins.

If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you can still do the keto diet by making a few adjustments. Instead of meat, you can use plant-based sources of protein like tofu, nuts, and seeds. Non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and spinach can replace high-carb foods. You can still eat healthy fats like avocado and coconut oil.

Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds are low in carbs, but high in protein and fat. This includes almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. Soy: Foods like tofu and tempeh are high in protein and fat, but low in carbs. This makes them acceptable on a low-carb vegetarian/vegan diet.

Vegetarian and vegan diets can be heavy in carbs, from grains, bread, starchy vegetables, and fruits. However, following a low-carb vegetarian or vegan diet is entirely possible. The following are examples of foods rich in protein and fat, low in carbs, and free from animal products: tofu.

While the keto diet is still used for medical purposes, it, and keto-friendly diets like it, have also been adopted by many other people who primarily want to manage their weight. And, over the years, it's morphed from the traditional meat-heavy plan into a newer plant-based keto diet.