List of All Zero Carb Foods, By Food Category

To help simplify everything, let’s distill our zero carb list down to its simplest components:

Zero Carb Meats

Fresh meats:

• Beef
• Veal
• Lamb
• Pork
• Fowl
• Organ Meats (except for liver in most cases)
• Game Meats
• Exotic Meats

Processed meats*:

• Hot dogs
• Salami
• Sausages
• Bacon
• Ham
• Deli Meats
• Salted and cured meat
• Smoked meat
• Jerky, meat sticks, and other dried meat products
• Canned meat

* read labels carefully and avoid any carb-containing ingredients to minimize net carb intake

Zero Carb Seafood

Fresh, Canned, or Smoked*:

• Cod
• Flounder
• Sole
• Haddock
• Halibut
• Sardine
• Swordfish
• Flatfish
• Spanish Mackerel
• Grouper
• Tuna
• Trout
• Salmon
• Catfish
• Bass

*check ingredients for all canned and smoked varieties to avoid hidden carbs

Zero Carb Fats and Oils

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Grass-fed butter or ghee
• MCT oil
• Avocado oil
• Animal fats

Zero Carb Snack Options

• Pepperoni slices
• Pork rinds
• Bone broth
• Smoked fish
• Canned fish
• Canned meat
• Dried meat products
• Seaweed

Read ingredient labels carefully. Many prepackaged snacks come with added sugars or other carb-containing ingredients.

Zero Carb Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings

• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Most sugar-free Hot Sauces
• Mustard
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Basil
• Chives
• Dill
• Chili Powder*
• Curry Powder*
• Cinnamon*

*Consume these spices in moderation because they have higher trace amounts of net carbs.

Zero Carb Sweeteners

• Stevia extract
• Monk fruit extract
• Pure erythritol
• Swerve sweetener
• Any sweetener blend that only consists of stevia extract, monk fruit extract, and/or erythritol

To minimize net carb intake, it is best to only use these sweeteners with no other added ingredients.

Zero Carb Drinks and Beverages

Most of your fluid intake should come from these sources:

• Water
• Coffee
• Tea
• Sparkling Water
• Club Soda
• Seltzer water
• Soda water

Consume these drinks in moderation:

• Sugar-free and carb-free energy drinks
• Diet drink mixes or drink enhancers with no added sugars
• Diet soda and other diet drinks

Zero Carb Alcohol

• Gin
• Rum (unflavored)
• Vodka (unflavored)
• Whiskey
• Tequila
• Scotch
• Bourbon
• Brandy
• Cognac

Alcohol can disrupt ketosis and impair your keto diet results even if your drinks have no carbs in them.

Zero Carb Options with High Fat and Low Protein

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Grass-fed butter or ghee
• MCT oil
• Avocado oil
• Animal Fats
• Pepperoni

Zero Carb Options with High Protein and Lower Fat

• Leaner cuts of zero carb meats (skinless chicken breast, turkey breast, veal, etc.)
• Ground meat (turkey, chicken, beef, veal, pork, etc.)
• Leaner lunch & deli meats with no carb-containing fillers (ham, turkey, chicken, etc.)
• Game Meats (venison, bison, ostrich, caribou, elk)
• Exotic Meats (such as ostrich, camel, and emu)
• Smoked fish
• Canned fish (skinless, boneless, and canned in water for lowest fat option)
• Skinless canned chicken breast

Zero Carb Options with High Fat and High Protein

• Bacon
• Hot dogs
• Salami
• Sausages
• Fattiest cuts of meat (steak, ribs, lamb chops, short rib, pork belly, etc.)
• salted and cured meats (e.g., corned beef)
• Dark meat fowl with the skin on (e.g., chicken thighs and duck legs)
• Canned fish (in olive oil with skin on for most fat)
• Pork rinds
• Dried meat products (e.g., jerky, biltong, meat sticks)

Low-calorie Zero Carb Options

• Seaweed snacks
• Bone broth
• Shirataki noodles

There you have it — a condensed version of our zero carb lists to help you with keto grocery shopping and meeting your macronutrient (and micronutrient) intake targets.

Although it is possible to follow a diet is made up of only zero carb foods, we don’t recommend it. There is no reason to maximize carb restriction for health or for weight loss.

As long as you are in ketosis, you are technically on the keto diet, and as long as you are in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Following an almost zero carb diet is simply not practical, not sustainable, and not worth it for most people.

Plus, if you restrict carb as low as possible, you will miss out on the health benefits of keto-friendly fruits, vegetables, and cheese. Below, you can find a detailed list and breakdown of the items that were included in the list.