Is peanut butter ketogenic?- A detailed Guide

Peanut butter is one of the most delicious kinds of butter and a firm favorite around the world.

On the other hand, the keto diet is also very popular and has thousands of health benefits.

What is peanut butter?

Peanut butter is a paste made from dry-roasted peanuts. However, it is not true for all commercial brands.

It often contains some additional ingredients to improve or modify texture such as emulsifiers, sweeteners, sugar, salt, etc.

Does Nutrition of Peanut Butter can go with a keto diet?

Peanut butter is high in healthy fats, protein, and fiber as well as calories. It can definitely go with a keto diet.

According to the US food composition database, one serving (2 tbsp or 32g) of peanut butter can provide –

• Calories – 188 kcal
• Total carb – 7.6 g 
• Fiber – 1.8 g 
• Net carb –  5.8 g
• Protein – 7 g
• Fat – 16 g

How much fat in peanut butter?

Peanut butter contains 50% fat by its weight. One serving( 32 g) of peanut butter contains 16g fat.

It’s another benefit for your health on a  keto diet can be that it contains just 3.4 g saturated fat which we also called unhealthy fat.

It provides 72% calories from fat, which makes it one of the ideal nuts for the keto diet.

Peanut butter contains 3.4 g saturated fat,  7.7 g monounsaturated fat, 4.5 g polyunsaturated fat.

2. Other Vitamins and minerals

The keto diet is generally considered a nutrient-deficient diet due to its restrictive nature but peanut butter also contains lots of nutrients in a fair amount.

According to the US food composition database, 2 tbsp of peanut butter can provide –

• Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) – 14% of RDA
• Niacin – 21% of RDA
• Vitamin B6 – 9% of RDA
• Folate – 6% of RDA
• Magnesium – 12% of RDA
• Phosphorus – 11% of RDA
• Manganese – 23% of RDA

How many Carbs in peanut butter?

Peanut butter is a low carb food. It contains 5.8g net carb and 1.8g fiber.

Carbs in peanut butter are just around 15% of their weight and provide just 13% of calories from carbs.

These carbs do not raise your sugar level because its Glycemic index is only14.

But commercial brands add sugar, which can increase the glycemic index so try to keep peanut butter is minimum on a ketogenic diet.

Net carbs content can vary from brand to brand, but if you choose brands that contain only natural ingredients and no added sugar then that butter will contain less than 5g net carbs.

Net carbs in Peanut butter v/almond butter v/s Sunflower seed butter

Can you eat Peanut Butter on a keto diet?

Yes, peanut butter is keto-friendly and you can have it on keto. But, not all peanut butter is keto-friendly.

On a keto diet, you want to eat more than 60% of the calories from fat and less than 30g net carbs a day.

Nutritionists say “not all the peanut butter are keto-friendly and healthy, before buying you should look at the number of extra ingredients such as emulsifiers, sweeteners, sugar, salt, etc.”

On a keto diet, more than 70% of calories should come from fat and less than 10% of calories come from carbs.

If we take a look at this side of peanut butter. It is an ideal food for a keto diet.

One serving (2tbsp) of peanut butter can provide 188 calories, 5.8g net carbs, and 16g fat.

However, if you are following the targeted keto diet (TKD) or cyclic keto diet (CKD) which is for people with an active lifestyle then you can eat peanut butter at any time of the day and as much as you want.

But you should limit yourself to just one serving of peanut butter, especially if you are on keto for weight loss.

Pros and cons of peanut butter

Best keto Peanut Butter to Buy from Amazon

These are the few best choices of peanut butter that we can find for you.

1. Teddie All Natural Peanut Butter

No preservation and sugar added to this product which makes it better for a keto diet.

It is the lowest carbs peanut butter brand. Its ingredients are natural and simple. It is organic food made with low carbs recipes.

Macros – 190 Calories, 7g Total carbs, 3g fiber, 4g Net Carbs, 16g Fat, 8g Protein

Servings – 2 tablespoon (32g)

Price – $13.29 (3 packs)

Why is good for you?

• No added sugar
• Certified Gluten-free
• Non-GMO
• Natural peanut butter

2. Smucker’s Natural Chunky

Smucker’s Natural Chunky peanut butter is made with two simple ingredients, fresh-roasted peanuts and a dash of salt.

Smucker’s peanut butter is one of the lowest carbs peanut butter brands.

It is also the cheapest peanut butter in this list.

Macros – 190 Calories, 7g Total carbs, 3g fiber, 4g Net carbs, 16g Fat, 8g Protein

Servings – 2 tablespoon (32g)

Price – $24.96 (6 packs)

Why is good for you?

• 8g Protein per serving
• Natura
• Non-GMO
• Gluten-Free

3. Justin’s Classic Peanut Butter

It contains only two ingredients, peanuts, and salt, and no added sugar. It contains 210 calories per 2 Tbps serving.

Macros – 210 Calories, 6g Total carbs, 1g fiber, 5g Net Carbs, 18g Fat, 7g Protein

Servings – 2 tablespoon (32g)

Price – $4.56

Why is good for you?

• 7g Protein 
• 0g Trans fat
• 1g Fiber
• No added sugar
• Certified Gluten-free
• Kosher
• Gluten-free
• Very delicious

Best alternatives to Peanut butter to buy From Amazon

Peanut butter is the eight most allergic food item.

So there are chances you can be allergic to peanut and want to know the best alternates of peanut butter.

1. Almond butter

Almond butter is also the lowest carbs nut butter.

According to the US food composition database, 2 tbsp of peanut butter can provide –

• Calories – 196 kcal
• Total carbs – 6 g
• Fiber  – 3.3 g
• Net carbs – 2.7 g
• Protein – 6.7 g
• Fat – 17.7 g (Saturated Fat – 1.8g, Monounsaturated Fat – 12.2g, and Polyunsaturated Fat – 4.0g)

Almond butter is slightly healthier because it contains just 1.8g saturated fat, which makes it better than peanut butter.

Almond butter contains 3g less net carbs than peanut butter. But, almond butter has a little bit higher prices.

2. Sunflower seed butter

Sunflower seed butter is generally used as substitutes when there is an allergy concern with tree butter. These are cheaper than almond butter.

According to the US food composition database, 2 tbsp of Sunflower seed butter can provide –

• Calories – 197 kcal
• Total carbs – 7.4 g
• Fiber  – 1.8 g
• Net carbs – 5.6 g
• Protein – 5.4 g
• Fat – 17.6 g (Saturated Fat – 1.9g, Monounsaturated Fat – 3.3g, and Polyunsaturated Fat – 12g)

Almond butter v/s Sunflower seed butter v/s peanut butter

How to make Keto-friendly Peanut Butter at home?

You can easily make peanut butter at home. You should make peanut butter at home.

These are easy to make and it will save you money. More than that you will know all the ingredients you have added.

Ingredients

• Dry roasted peanut butter.
• Keto-friendly sweeteners (erythritol, monk fruit, or stevia).
• Himalayan salt if you need it.

Instructions 

• Blend peanut until desired consistency reached. For smooth peanut butter blend for less time and for smooth peanut butter blend for a longer time.
• Add a pinch of Himalayan salt for salt.
• Sweeteners are entirely optional. If you like sweet peanut butter, then add some keto-friendly sweeteners (erythritol, monk fruit, or stevia).
• Store it in a jar.

How much peanut butter a day on a keto diet?

Peanut butter can perfectly fit into the keto diet.

You can enjoy peanut butter on a keto diet as much you want. But remember peanut butter also high in calories.

The daily recommended value of peanut butter on keto is One serving (2 tbsp or 32g) of peanut butter. 

Peanut butter contains high calories.

You would need just 21 tablespoons of peanut butter to reach 2000 calories a day. 

One tablespoon contains 98 calories and one serving which is 2 tbsp contains 196 calories. 

You would need 51 minutes of Walking (3mph) or18 minutes of running (6mph) or

26 minutes of Bicycling (10mph) to burn these calories.

So, If you are trying to lose weight on a keto diet then enjoy peanut butter in moderation amount.

Final thought

Peanut butter is super delicious and you can easily overeat.

Remember that peanut butter is also high in carbs, just one serving contains 200 calories.

So if you are trying to weight loss enjoy peanut butter in moderation, especially on the keto diet. 

If you do not like peanut butter there are some better alternates of peanut butter that you can eat on a  keto diet. Just stay healthy and in ketosis.

Most Frequently asked questions

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