A practical Australian keto food list: what to eat freely, what to portion, and what to skip — with real carb counts per serve for the foods people actually ask about, from baked beans and walnuts to bananas, honey and beer.
The Keto Food List: What's Keto-Friendly in Australia
5 July 2026 | Category: Keto Meals
Quick answer: A practical Australian keto food list: what to eat freely, what to portion, and what to skip — with real carb counts per serve for the foods people actually ask about, from baked beans and walnuts to bananas, honey and beer.
Use this as the master list, then follow the deep-dives where you need them: keto vegetables, keto fruit, and the full carbs in common foods guide for per-serve counts on everything from rice to red wine.
What "keto" actually means in numbers
A ketogenic diet keeps carbohydrate low enough that the body shifts to burning fat and producing ketones — for most people that means under 50g of carbs a day, and strict keto usually targets 20–25g. That is not much: a single banana (~24g) or one takeaway sushi roll (55g+) can spend an entire strict day's budget.
Australians get one structural advantage: local nutrition panels list carbohydrate excluding fibre (FSANZ "available carbohydrate"), so the number on an Australian label is already the "net carbs" figure US keto blogs make you calculate. When this guide says broccoli is ~4g per 100g, that is the Australian-label basis throughout.
The list below is organised the way you actually shop and ask: a green list to build meals from, an amber list to portion, a red list to skip, and then straight answers to the specific "is X keto?" questions — baked beans, walnuts, bananas, honey and the rest. Figures are typical values from the Australian Food Composition Database and supermarket labels, rounded for planning.
The green list: build your meals here
These foods are low enough in carbs that normal portions barely register against a 20–50g budget. Every workable keto week is mostly assembled from this list: a protein, a pile of low-carb vegetables, and enough fat to make it taste like dinner.
Note the pattern — unprocessed animal proteins are effectively zero-carb, and the vegetables that grow above ground mostly sit under 5g per 100g. The deeper vegetable rundown (including the borderline cases) lives in what vegetables are keto friendly.
| Food | Typical serve | Carbs per serve |
|---|
| Beef, lamb, pork, chicken (plain) | 150–200g | ~0g |
| Fish and seafood (plain) | 150–200g | ~0g |
| Eggs | 2 large | ~0.8g |
| Leafy greens (spinach, rocket, lettuce) | 2 cups | ~1–2g |
| Zucchini, cucumber, mushrooms | 1 cup | ~2–3g |
| Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage | 1 cup (~90g) | ~3–4g |
| Avocado | 1/2 fruit | ~1–2g |
| Olive oil, butter, ghee | Any | 0g |
| Hard cheese (cheddar, parmesan) | 30g | ~0–1g |
| Cream | 2 tbsp (40mL) | ~1g |
| Olives | 10 olives | ~1g |
The amber list: fine in portions, easy to overdo
Amber foods belong on keto — they just need a decision instead of a free pour. Nuts are the classic example: a 30g handful of macadamias (~1.5–2g) or walnuts (~2g) fits easily, almonds (~3g) are fine, but cashews carry ~9g per 30g, and "handfuls" quietly become half-bags on the couch.
Berries are the fruit exception: strawberries at ~6–7g per 100g mean a small bowl fits a strict day, where a banana would not. Tomatoes (~3g per 100g) and onions (~7–8g per 100g raw, but only 2–4g in a typical cooked portion) are cooking staples, not problems. Carrots sit higher (~7–8g per 100g) and are best as a minor ingredient rather than the base of the plate — the full call-by-call is in what fruits are keto friendly and the vegetables guide above.
Dairy beyond cheese needs the same eye: plain Greek yoghurt runs ~4–6g per 100g (a 170g tub is 7–10g), and milk carries ~12g per 250mL glass from lactose — a splash in coffee is ~1g, a latte is not. Dry wine (~2–4g per 150mL glass) and spirits with soda (0g) are the drinks that fit; dark chocolate at 85%+ cocoa costs ~4–5g for two squares.
| Food | Keto-workable serve | Carbs per serve |
|---|
| Macadamias | 30g handful | ~1.5–2g |
| Walnuts, pecans | 30g handful | ~1–2g |
| Almonds | 30g handful | ~3g |
| Cashews | 30g handful | ~9g — limit |
| Strawberries | 1/2 cup (~75g) | ~5g |
| Tomato | 1 medium | ~3g |
| Onion (cooked into a dish) | Typical portion | ~2–4g |
| Greek yoghurt, plain | 170g tub | ~7–10g |
| Milk in coffee | Splash (~30mL) | ~1.5g |
| Peanut butter (no added sugar) | 30g (1.5 tbsp) | ~4–6g |
| Dark chocolate 85% | 2 squares (20g) | ~4–5g |
| Dry red or white wine | 150mL glass | ~2–4g |
The red list: the foods that end ketosis
Nothing here is a "bad food" — these are simply foods whose normal serve exceeds or exhausts a keto budget, so on keto they are skipped rather than portioned. Grains and starches lead the list: bread (~15g per slice), cooked rice (~45g per cup), pasta (~40g per cup), oats (~28g per half-cup) and potato (~26g per medium spud) all spend a strict day in one line item. The complete per-food reference is our carbs in common foods guide.
Sugar wears many outfits: honey is ~17g per tablespoon (no, it is not keto — see below), soft drink ~40g per 375mL can, juice ~24g per glass, and most tropical fruit is carb-dense — a banana is ~24g, a mango cheek ~15g, a cup of grapes ~26g.
Beer is the drink to skip: a full-strength 375mL can runs roughly 8–12g ("liquid bread" is fair), though Australian low-carb beers engineer that down to 1–3g if beer is non-negotiable. Watch the breading and sauces on otherwise-keto food too — a schnitzel crumb adds ~15–20g and sweet chilli sauce ~10g per squeeze.
- Bread, rice, pasta, oats, noodles, pastry: 15–45g per normal serve.
- Potato, sweet potato, corn: ~16–17g per 100g — starches eat like grains.
- Bananas, grapes, mango, dried fruit, juice: 15–30g per serve.
- Honey, sugar, maple syrup, soft drinks: pure carb, 17–40g per serve.
- Full-strength beer: ~8–12g per can (low-carb beers: 1–3g).
- Breaded and sweet-sauced dishes: the coating can out-carb the meal.
"Is it keto?" — straight answers to the most-asked foods
These are the questions Australians actually type in, answered with the serve-size numbers that decide them.
- Are baked beans keto? No. Canned baked beans in tomato sauce run ~11–15g of carbs per 100g including added sugar, so a half-can serve (210g) is ~25–30g — a full strict day in one ramekin. Even sugar-free homemade versions are bean-dense; beans are legumes, and legumes are carb storage.
- Are walnuts keto? Yes, comfortably. A 30g handful carries ~2g of available carbs (walnuts are mostly fat), making them one of the best keto snacks alongside macadamias and pecans. Portion is the only caveat — nuts are energy-dense.
- Are mushrooms keto? Yes — ~1–2g per 100g. One of the most useful keto vegetables for texture and volume.
- Are tomatoes keto? Yes in normal portions: ~3g per 100g. A salad tomato or cooked tomato base fits; a litre of passata is a different decision.
- Are carrots keto? Marginal — ~7–8g per 100g. Grated through a slaw or diced into a sauce is fine; a roast-carrot side is most of a strict day.
- Are bananas keto? No — a medium banana is ~24g, essentially a full strict-keto day. Berries are the fruit that fits.
- Is watermelon keto? Occasionally, in small serves: ~8g per 100g, so a modest half-cup is ~6g. Easy to overshoot at a barbecue.
- Is honey keto? No. Honey is ~82g of carbs per 100g — about 17g per tablespoon. "Natural" does not change the arithmetic; it behaves like liquid sugar.
- Is milk keto? Only as a splash. Lactose puts a 250mL glass at ~12g; a dash in coffee (~1.5g) fits, a latte struggles. Unsweetened almond milk (~0.5g per 100mL) is the standard swap.
- Is cheese keto? Yes, almost all of it — hard cheeses run 0–3g per 100g. Processed cheese slices and sweetened cream-cheese products need a label check.
- Is popcorn keto? Not realistically. Air-popped corn is ~5g per cup, and nobody stops at one cup — a movie serve is 30g+.
- Is peanut butter keto? The 100%-peanuts kind, in portions: ~4–6g per 30g serve. Sweetened spreads are not.
- Is hummus keto? Borderline — ~4–6g per 2-tablespoon serve. A smear works; a dipping session does not.
- Is dark chocolate keto? At 85%+ cocoa, in small amounts: ~4–5g per two squares (20g). Milk chocolate is roughly triple that.
- Is wine keto? Is beer? Dry wine fits in single glasses (~2–4g per 150mL); spirits with soda are 0g. Full-strength beer (~8–12g per can) is the one to skip — or switch to a 1–3g low-carb lager.
Reading Australian labels like a keto veteran
Three label habits cover almost everything. First, read the carbohydrate line per serve, not per 100g — and remember Australian panels already exclude fibre, so no net-carb subtraction is needed. Second, check the sugars sub-line for a fast tell on added sweetness in sauces, marinades and yoghurts.
Third, know the two traps: "no added sugar" is not "low carb" (honey-sweetened, date-sweetened and juice-sweetened products are carb-dense anyway), and polyol sweeteners (erythritol, xylitol) appear in their own line on Australian labels — they contribute little to no available carbohydrate, which is why a well-made keto dessert can legitimately show 3g.
When there is no label — cafés, takeaway, dinner at a mate's — default to the green-list template: visible protein, above-ground vegetables, no bread/rice/pasta/potato on the plate, and sauce on the side. A bunless burger with salad is ~10g at nearly any counter in the country; sashimi instead of sushi rolls saves ~60g in one swap.
A realistic keto day, counted
Here is how the numbers assemble into an actual day at roughly 20–25g — the strict end — without exotic ingredients:
- Breakfast: 2–3 eggs with spinach and mushrooms cooked in butter, long black or coffee with a splash of cream — ~4g.
- Lunch: a keto-range prepared meal or a chicken-and-leafy-greens salad with olive oil dressing — ~8–12g.
- Dinner: steak or salmon with broccoli, zucchini and a knob of garlic butter — ~5g.
- Snacks: 30g of walnuts or macadamias, 30g of cheddar — ~3g.
- Day total: roughly 20–24g — inside strict keto with three real meals and two snacks.
The five mistakes that break keto weeks
Most keto attempts fail on logistics, not willpower. The pattern from thousands of lapsed food diaries is consistent enough to list.
- Chasing zero instead of under-20: skipping vegetables to "save carbs" makes meals miserable and fibre disappear. Above-ground vegetables are cheap carbs — spend on them.
- Not planning the failure meal: the week breaks at the rushed lunch or the 8pm empty fridge, which defaults to bread, rice or delivery. Have one ready-to-heat keto meal standing by for exactly that moment.
- Uncounted amber foods: nuts, cheese and cream are keto-friendly and calorie-dense. If weight is the goal, portions still matter.
- Trusting "no added sugar" and "natural": honey, dates and juice concentrates are carb-dense regardless of the halo. Read the carbohydrate line.
- Ignoring the adjustment window: the first week can bring flat energy as fluid and electrolytes shift. Salt food properly, drink water, and keep training light while it settles — and get personal advice if you have any medical condition in the mix.
How Foober fits a keto week
The hard part of keto is not knowing the list — it is producing three compliant meals a day, every day, with a job. Foober's keto range exists for exactly that gap: chef-prepared meals built on the green-list template (protein plus low-carb vegetables plus real sauces), cooked fresh in Sydney, never frozen, with no added sugar anywhere on the menu and the exact carbs per serve printed on every meal's nutrition panel — most keto-range meals sit under 20g, many well under.
Pair the keto range with the broader low-carb meals for flexible days, or the high-protein range (35g+ of protein per meal) when training is the priority. Meals arrive ready in about 3 minutes — which is the difference between "the plan" and "what actually happened" on a Wednesday night. Browse the full menu with every nutrition panel visible before you order.
- Use keto-range meals to protect the meals that usually break (weekday lunch and late dinner).
- Check carbs per serve on each meal panel — the exact gram count beats any category label.
- Keep green-list staples (eggs, leafy greens, cheese, nuts) at home for the meals around the box.
Keto without the nightly cooking project
Knowing the list is step one; eating from it every day is the actual diet. Browse Foober's keto meals, compare them against the low-carb range, or scan the full menu — every meal shows carbs, protein and calories before you order, so a strict week runs on labels instead of willpower.
General nutrition information only. Figures are typical values from the Australian Food Composition Database and supermarket labels, rounded for planning — brands vary, so check the panel on your product. Keto-style eating can be unsuitable for some people, including those with diabetes, kidney disease, pregnancy, or a history of disordered eating. For personalised advice, speak with a qualified health professional.
A note on this article. Foober blog articles are researched with the assistance of AI tooling for source-gathering and structural drafting, then reviewed and edited by Tee — Foober's founder and certified fitness trainer — for accuracy, tone, and relevance. Nothing on this blog constitutes medical, nutritional, dietetic, or fitness advice tailored to your individual circumstances. Foober is a meal delivery service, not a healthcare provider. For personalised guidance — especially regarding medications, medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or significant dietary changes — please consult a qualified healthcare professional (your GP, an Accredited Practising Dietitian, or equivalent).
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