Salads don’t have to be boring. On a keto diet, you can enjoy a variety of delicious salads from buffalo chicken to a classic Cobb salad. Of course, you have to pay attention to the ingredients and the overall carb count of your meals. But, salads are the ideal dish where you can indulge a little on a keto diet. Traditionally low in carbs, salads don’t even require many modifications to be considered keto. They’re high in healthy vegetables, protein, fiber, and fats. In fact, if you’re hungry on a keto diet, there’s practically nothing better to eat than a salad. It will fill you up, keep you full for hours, and provide essential nutrients.
How to Make a Keto Salad
Most common salad ingredients are keto compliant, but it’s a good idea to double-check your ingredients. All types of low carb vegetables are permitted on a keto diet, including romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, avocados, and more. Healthy fats, such as cheese, avocados, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils are also keto compliant. Eggs, poultry, and beef products are also good to go on a keto diet. This includes the ever-popular salad component: bacon.
One thing to keep an eye out for is hidden sugar in salad dressing. You might not expect it, but most commercial varieties contain a fair amount. Plus, it’s typically hidden in the ingredient list, with names such as dextrose, maltose, barley malt, and more. It’s best to make your own dressing so you know exactly how many carbs it contains and to ensure that it’s free from all sugar derivatives.
Otherwise, feel free to pack your salad with healthy oils, nuts, seeds, cheese, and other foods high in fat. On a keto diet, most of your daily calories will come from fat (70%). A moderate amount will come from protein (25%) and just a tiny fraction (5%) will come from carbs. The best part about these healthy fats is that they taste great and serve to make salads a whole lot less boring.
Top 10 Keto Salads
To help you on your keto journey, we’ve gathered up some delicious keto salads for you to enjoy on the regular. These keto salads are packed with healthy fats and protein and low on carbs:
1. Keto Cobb Salad and Homemade Ranch Dressing
Fresh, healthy, and easy to make, this Cobb salad comes with a delicious homemade ranch dressing. It includes all the Cobb salad essentials, such as bacon, chicken, eggs, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce.
This low carb salad combines broccoli, bacon, cheese, and sunflower seeds in a mayonnaise dressing. It’s creamy and delicious and clocks in at just four grams of carbohydrates per serving.
This keto-friendly salad has all the fixings for a loaded baked potato, but it’s made with healthy cauliflower instead of carb-laden potato. With cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, green onions, and an easy-to-make dressing of sour cream and mayo, it’s a delicious healthy salad.
With just two net carbs per serving, this healthy salad will quickly become a new favorite. It’s made with ground beef flavored with taco seasoning, avocado, cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, and Tex Mex dressing.
5. Keto Tex Mex Salad Recipe with Grilled Chicken
This delectable Tex Mex salad is packed with chicken, avocado, cheddar cheese, low carb tortilla strips, and a homemade ranch dressing. Top it with lime and jalapeno slices for extra flavor.
This salad is a modified, low carb version of a traditional Greek salad. It includes many of the same Mediterranean flavors, such as cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, and Kalamata olives, but with fewer carbohydrates.
Ready in just ten minutes, this creamy keto chicken salad is loaded with chicken, red onion, celery, and mayonnaise. Serve it with lettuce wraps for the perfect keto-friendly lunch.
This salad is packed with all the traditional buffalo chicken flavors, just made keto-friendly. First, you make the buffalo chicken, then pair it with lettuce, bacon, cucumber, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing.
This egg salad couldn’t be easier to make. With avocado, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, dill, and parsley, this salad provides a healthy lunch with plenty of protein and healthy fats.
10. Creamy Shrimp Salad with Dill
With sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, dill, celery, cucumber, red onion, and shrimp, this keto-friendly salad is a quick and easy lunch. Sour cream provides the creaminess for this recipe instead of mayo for a healthy upgrade.
These delicious salads will quickly become a staple in your keto menu. They’re high in fiber and healthy fats, low in carbs, and so not boring.
Some Frequently Asked Questions About Keto Salads to Improve Your Knowledge
What salads can I eat on keto?
You can eat a variety of salads on keto, as long as they contain healthy fats and proteins and are low in carbs. Egg salad, grilled chicken salad, shrimp salad, cauliflower salad, arugula salad, cucumber salad, antipasto salad, Greek salad, Caprese salad, and spinach salad are just a few keto-friendly salads to enjoy.
What lettuce is best for keto?
Romaine lettuce, spinach, and arugula are the best lettuce options for keto. Generally, opt for darker, leafy greens, as they contain more nutrients than iceberg lettuce and other light green varieties.
Can you eat too much salad on keto?
Vegetables do contain carbohydrates, so it is possible to eat too much salad and exceed your carb limit for the day. However, if you’re careful about the greens and other veggies you include and don’t overdo it, delicious salads can be a staple in your keto diet.
What salad dressings are keto?
The ingredients in salad dressings vary from brand to brand and even from variety to variety of the same brand (think zesty ranch, buttermilk ranch, and cucumber ranch). However, there are some salad dressing brands that are keto-friendly. Read the labels carefully and choose a brand and variety with an acceptable carb content. Salad dressings that use fatty oils like avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil are often lower in carbs than other types of dressings.
What veggies are not keto?
While you can enjoy most vegetables on keto, some veggies are higher in carbohydrates. Above-ground vegetables are typically lower in carbohydrates than veggies that grow underground. Avoid starchy vegetables and root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and beets that have more net carbs.
