Following a specific eating plan always comes with a learning curve, and that’s especially true when it comes to the ketogenic diet. The high-fat, low-carb eating plan includes food lists that can be used as a guide (just like other types of diets), but there’s also some math involved.
“With keto, 70% of [your] calories [should come] from fat, 20% [should come] from protein, and 10% [should come] from carbohydrates,” says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN. That means it’s not just about sticking to lists of approved foods but balancing the right ratios of fat, protein and carbs. Peanut butter, for example, contains all three, but some brands also are quite high in sugar, which keto devotees should only consume in moderation.
If you’re wondering how to eat peanut butter while on keto, the type of peanut butter you choose matters and so do the other foods you pair it with. Want to enjoy a PB smoothie without getting knocked out of ketosis? Here’s what to keep in mind, according to registered dietitians.
Peanut Butter Nutrition Facts
2 tbsp of natural peanut butter:
- Protein: 8 g
- Total fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Total sugar: 1 g
- Calcium: 20 g
- Iron: 1 g
Is Peanut Butter Keto-Friendly?
In general, registered dietitian Abigail Rapaport Fay, RDN, says that natural peanut butter is absolutely keto-friendly. This is because it follows the ratio of high fat, moderate protein and low carb (and low sugar). Molly Devine, RDN, a registered dietitian and the author of Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, agrees, saying, “The majority of calories in natural peanut butter come from fat, it has no added sugar and all of the carbohydrates are from fiber and a small amount of naturally occurring sugar in the peanut itself.”
Blatner emphasizes that it’s a total myth that people following the ketogenic diet can’t have any carbohydrates, so even though peanut butter has 7 grams of carbs per serving, it’s still a keto-friendly food. “Keto doesn’t mean you can’t eat carbs, you just have to be mindful of your total carbs,” she says. So even though peanut butter is keto-friendly, it does matter what you pair it with.
For example, Fay says that apples and bananas aren’t keto-approved fruits because they are quite high in carbs, so pairing peanut butter with one of these foods could knock you out of ketosis. But she says that 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter paired with celery or berries or in a smoothie with spinach and almond milk are all keto-approved ways to nosh on the nut butter. Devine says another keto-friendly way to enjoy it is in a stir-fry with lots of veggies.
Since the overall amount of carbohydrates matters when it comes to the ketogenic diet, Devine says it also means that serving size matters too. “A common misconception is that something keto-friendly can be consumed in unlimited quantities,” she says. “This simply isn’t true. Not only because those naturally occurring carbs in peanut butter can add up, but also because consuming excess calories over time will lead to weight gain, whether the food is keto-friendly or not.”
The big takeaway here: Natural peanut butter is keto-friendly, depending on how large of a serving you’re having and the other foods you pair it with. But that’s not all that matters: The type of peanut butter you choose plays a role too.
Is Skippy Peanut Butter Keto?
Two of the most popular brands of peanut butter are Skippy and Jif. Are these two beloved brands keto-friendly too? Well, it depends. Devine says that if the peanut butter you’re eyeing is loaded with added sugar, it’s no longer keto-approved. “Added sugars will cause glucose and insulin to spike, which not only prevents metabolic ketosis but can cause sugar and carbohydrate cravings as well as increased hunger,” she says.
Fay says that both Skippy and Jif sell peanut butters with no added sugar. Skippy’s no-added-sugar peanut butter contains 18 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of natural sugar per serving. Jif’s no-added-sugar offering contains 17 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein, 7 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of natural sugar per serving. Both follow the set keto ratio making them keto-approved.
But even if your go-to peanut butter is the original Skippy or Jif, Fay says it can still have a place in the keto diet because what really matters is what you’re eating overall, not just one specific food. “If that’s the peanut butter you can afford or you like the taste of, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she says.
Is Peanut Butter More Keto-Friendly Than Other Nut Butters?
Peanut butter definitely isn’t the only nut butter to choose from; cashew butter, almond butter and sunflower seed butter are just some of the other options you’ll see lining the shelf too. Good news — all of them are keto-friendly, too! “Nut butters made of pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts or almonds will have slightly fewer carbs than peanut butter, while ones made with pistachios or cashews will have slightly more,” Blatner says.
No matter what nut or seed butter you’re considering adding to your cart, the same rules apply when figuring out whether it’s keto-friendly or not: Check the nutrition label to see if the ratios mirror the ketogenic diet’s ratios and pay attention to the sugar content.
General Tips For Knowing If a Food Is Keto-Friendly
Remember the keto ratios that Blatner spelled out? You may want to snap a photo of them to save to your phone because they are the key to knowing if a food is keto-approved or not. “You know if a food is keto-friendly because it follows the ratios of the diet: high in fat, moderate in protein and very low in carbs,” she says. In a typical day, she says that most people following the keto diet eat between 20 grams and 50 grams of carbohydrates. “If you eat three meals a day, that’s about 15 grams of carbohydrates per meal,” she says.
Devine says that there are a few key ways to know if a food is keto-friendly or not when shopping at the grocery store. Your first clue: the nutrition label. “[For a food to be keto-friendly], there need to be zero grams of added sugar and under 5 grams of natural sugar,” Devine says. “Also, the total — not net — carbohydrates should be under 10 grams.”
Devine says that foods such as nuts, dairy products, low-sugar fruits and non-starchy vegetables have naturally occurring sugars along with fiber. This means that they will contain some carbohydrates, but they don’t have added sugar or sugar alcohols, so they are keto-approved. “Many commercial food products will advertise low ‘net carbs,’ which is the total carbs minus fiber minus sugar alcohols. But these products actually contain a lot of additives and fillers, which the body does not process well,” Devine says. For this reason, she advises focusing on whole foods and looking at the total number of carbs, not the net carbs, when figuring out if a food is keto-friendly or not.
Emily Laurence
Emily is a freelance writer and certified health coach who specializes in writing about mental health, fitness, healthy food, and social justice issues. Emily spent six years as an editor and writer at Well+Good, covering everything from food trends to serious issues like the opioid crisis in America and gun violence. She has also worked at Seventeen, Elle, and Twist magazines. She regularly writes for publications including Forbes, Parade, Shape, and The Huffington Post. Emily lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her cat Evie.
