UPDATED BY FRANZISKA SPRITZLER, RD, CDE on May 7, 2024
One of the greatest things about the ketogenic diet is that once you’ve settled into life in ketosis, you can go a good long time before getting hungry. This is particularly helpful if and when you find yourself somewhere without keto-friendly food options. But another great thing about the keto diet is that keto snacks abound and are easy to keep on hand. Stock up on any or all of the following delicious keto snacks, and you’ll always have just the right thing when you don’t feel like cooking, need a little nibble, or just want an easy keto meal.
Grab and Go Keto Snacks
Even if you’re on a clean keto diet (where you eat only foods made from whole or minimally processed ingredients), there are easy keto snack options that require no cooking or prep. Behold some of the easiest, best keto snacks.
Olives
You’ve gotta love olives! Jarred or canned, they keep for a long time, they come in many different varieties, and they’re loaded with healthy fats. According to the USDA, a 3.5-ounce serving of olives has about 14 grams of fat and about 3 grams of net carbohydrates, so a handful will do you right if you need a little energy. Bonus: Find or make blue-cheese stuffed olives and you get extra fat macros!
Pickles
Another easy-to-keep low-carb snack, crunchy jarred pickles keep in the fridge for months and taste great. Just make sure you buy pickles that have no added sugar in their pickling juice (read the ingredients list).
Cheese Sticks
Talk about grab-and-go! String cheese sticks have nearly equal parts fat and protein (about 6 grams per stick, depending on the brand) and almost no carbs (about 0.6 grams per stick). They’re a perfect tide-you-over keto snack! Want more fat and protein macros and flavor? Wrap your string cheese in a slice of pepperoni or your favorite deli meat!
Cold Cuts
Speaking of cold cuts, sliced meats are wonderful keto snacks on their own. And the higher the fat, the better! When choosing deli meats for keto, consider pepperoni, salami, turkey, chicken, or ham. Just make sure there’s no sugar added.
Sardines
Sardines make every keto snack list for three important reasons: They’re one of the most nutrient-dense fishes around, they’re a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, and they have a perfect fat-to-protein ratio. Heat ‘em up and season ‘em if you’re not excited for straight sardines!
Jerky
It used to be that most beef jerky and other jerky contained sugar. Not anymore. More companies are making sugar-free versions! While jerky is more high-protein than it is high-fat, it’s still a great keto-friendly snack option.
Bone Broth
Intermittent fasters know that bone broth can be a comfort and lifesaver when hunger pangs hit. But it’s also fantastic for the keto diet, especially since it’s now readily available, boxed, and shelf-stable in most grocery stores.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds or Sunflower Seeds
Seeds are wonderfully nutritious and full of good fats as well as fiber. How keto are they? It depends on the seed. Consider this: A half cup of sunflower seeds includes about 370 calories, 32 grams of fat, 12.5 grams of protein, and about 9 grams net carbs. And a half cup of pumpkin seeds has about 340 calories, 29 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein, and less than 5 grams net carbs.
Full Fat Cottage Cheese
The keto breakfast option of full-fat cottage cheese is equally fantastic as a quick snack. We say “full-fat” because low-fat will not do; it contains more carbs and sugars. Even with “full-fat,” you’ll need to be mindful of your portions.
Although there are some new, keto-friendly 8% milkfat cottage cheeses on the market, the most easily available “full-fat” cottage cheeses contain 4% milkfat. Enjoy a half cup of that, and you’ll consume 103 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 11.7 grams of protein, and 3.5 grams of net carbs.
Want to flavor it up? Add a few blueberries, or give it some zest with Italian spices!
Keto Crackers and Cheese
Maybe you already have a favorite source for keto crackers. If you don’t, you can make these keto crackers. We swear by them.
But with or without keto crackers, cheese is a delicious, totally keto snack. However, some cheeses are more keto than others. For example, goat cheese, cream cheese, parmesan, and blue cheese have great fat content and are relatively low-carb, while full-fat ricotta cheese and the aforementioned cottage cheese have relatively higher carb counts and should be enjoyed in modest amounts, especially if you’re on a strict keto diet. Additionally, processed cheeses like American cheese and canned or spray cheese don’t have the same “clean” health benefits of more naturally produced cheeses.
Parmesan Cheese Crisps
These flat, crispy rounds or shards of grated and baked parmesan cheese were trendy before keto, and for good reason! They’re totally delicious and 100 percent cheese! You can find them in stores and online if you don’t want to make your own. (Here’s how to make your own: On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, divide grated parmesan cheese into even little piles. Bake at 425°F/220°C until melted in the middle and crispy at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a spatula, immediately transfer the crackers to a plate to cool.) You can try this with cheddar cheese, too, and even make them into a taco shape and fill them with stuff like roasted chicken, shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, and hot sauce!
Pork Rinds or Chicharrones
Pork rinds are light, airy fried strips of pigskin. Chicharrones are the skin plus a layer of fat. Both are totally a-okay on a keto diet. They’re also easy to find in most grocery stores and come in fun flavors like BBQ. Keep a bag around for quick macro boosts or use them as an edible vehicle for dips like guacamole! We like these.
Nuts
When starting a keto diet, it’s often suggested that you don’t rely on nuts for a snack because they’re so high in calories that it’s easy to eat beyond your macros. But thoughtful noshing is permitted, especially if you lean on the most keto-friendly nuts. We share a list of the best and worst keto nuts and seeds here (hint: Pecans are great, but cashews have a much higher carb count). But a good place to start is with macadamia nuts, which have the highest fat-to-carb ratio of all nuts!
Alternative-Sugar-Sweetened Dark Chocolate
Some ketonians argue it’s better to avoid all things sweet on a keto diet, even if the sweets are made with zero-carb sweeteners, so you can get rid of sugary cravings for good. But plenty of people find keto happiness by snacking on one of the tastier keto chocolates out there. Like what? We like Lily’s brand, which has a ton of options and is widely available. See more keto chocolate options here.
Mix-It-Up Snack Ideas
Sometimes, if you mix a little of this and a little of that, an even better keto snack appears. Examples: a pickle slice and a bit of cream cheese sprinkled with everything but the bagel seasoning and wrapped in a salami slice; pork rinds with guacamole dip; and ham slathered with grass-fed butter or ghee for even more fat macros. Mix and match your favorite flavors to come up with your own new keto snacks.
Keto Snacks that Require a Little Prep
While these snacks need a little preparation, they’re totally worth the effort.
Pepperoni Chips
It doesn’t take much to make pepperoni chips. You simply arrange pepperoni slices on a cookie rack, place the rack over a rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 400°F (200°C) until crispy, about 6 minutes. They crisp even more as they cool.
Bacon
Is bacon a snack? It is on a keto diet! Just make sure you cook up bacon that has no sugar added!
Sausage Links or Patties
Sugar-free sausage links or patties are available at most grocers. A quick-fry in the pan results in a super savory snack, which can be dipped in sugar-free maple syrup for a sweet cravings buster.
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Toss bite-size cauliflower florets with your favorite sugar-free buffalo sauce and melted butter, then roast at 400°F (200°C) until tender, 20 to 25 minutes, and you’ve got keto buffalo cauliflower wings!
Keto-Friendly Vegetables and Dip
There are few snacks more satisfying than the veggie-and-dip combo, especially if you know what veggies and dip to reach for to help promote ketosis. We list some vegetables and dips here, but we’ve got an entire article dedicated to keto-friendly vegetables and a delicious list of additional dips to make.
Keto-Friendly Vegetables
- Green beans
- Broccoli florets
- Celery sticks
- Jicama sticks
- Asparagus spears
- Cucumber wheels
- Bell pepper strips
- Zucchini spears
Keto Dips
- Keto Smoked Salmon Dip
- Keto Hummus
- Keto Lemon-Ranch Dip
- Caesar Dip (with roasted Brussels sprouts!)
- Your favorite guacamole (you can up the macros further by mixing in cream cheese or sour cream)
- Nut butter (Hello, celery and peanut butter or almond butter!)
Caprese Salad Skewers
It’s so easy, so pretty, and so tasty! Threading fresh mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, and cherry tomatoes onto skewers is the one-two-three punch of this recipe. Enjoy the skewers plain, or mix a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dipping!
Egg Salad
Deviled eggs are great, but egg salad is even better! Same ingredients, different presentation. Egg salad can be made in bulk, refrigerated in an airtight container, and grabbed when hunger hits. Enjoyed with a spoon or cucumber wheels, it’s a filling, tasty, snack that’s made in minutes. All you need is to hard-boil some eggs. Mix the cooled yolks of the hard-boiled eggs with mayonnaise, sea salt, and a bit of dry hot mustard. Chop the egg whites, then mix them into the yolk mixture. Or you can swap avocado for the mayo to boost its nutritional content.
Tuna Salad
Another easy mix-and-refrigerate option is tuna salad. Just use tuna canned in olive oil and mix in flavorful additions like vinegar, Dijon mustard, capers, sun-dried tomato bits, or olives, or keep it simple by draining the tuna and then mixing it with mayo and perhaps some diced celery.
Berries with Keto Whipped Cream
While berries are an “eat in moderation” food on a ketogenic diet, they’re still allowed! Plus, a little goes a long way, especially when you add a huge dollop of whipped cream. For example, a half-cup of blueberries and sliced strawberries with a half cup of whipped cream totals about 193 calories, 18.6 grams of fat, 1.6 grams of protein, and 5.4 grams of net carbs.
Chia “Tapioca’ Pudding
This pudding can be for breakfast, dessert, or snack, and it requires very few ingredients. Add fruit or skip it. Either way, this no-cook keto pudding rocks!
More Keto Snack Recipes from Keto-Mojo
Keto Savory Herb and Garlic Granola
Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
The Final Word
There’s a whole world of keto foods and keto recipes that support the low-carb diet! Some are store-bought or no-bake or both, and some you can make yourself with easy keto snack recipes. Some are savory (Buffalo “wings”), and others are sweet (Hello, keto cookies made with almond flour and coconut flour!). Some are readily available in stores, and others you may want to track down and order online from company websites or Thrive Market. All are gluten-free and most can double as appetizers, especially if plated in a pretty way. Whether you’re doing keto for weight loss, as an adjunct therapy, or for overall preventative health, a good selection of keto snacks will help you stay in ketosis and satisfied.
Note: Macros cited in this article are from the USDA database.
