The keto diet can be tricky, especially when you’re looking for new foods to add to help you mix it up a bit. If you’re curious about edamame and whether or not you can add it to your keto diet plan, here’s everything you need to know.
What is Edamame?
Edamame is a young, green soybean. While mature soybeans are firm and dry, edamame is soft and easy to eat. You can find it both in the pod and hulled, and either option is pretty affordable. Edamame served in the pod is a popular appetizer that’s easy to eat, and the hulled version is often cooked and added to salads and rice dishes. You can find it fresh or frozen.
Is Edamame keto?
Edamame is a legume, which is normally not considered keto-friendly. But the truth is that edamame can be keto-friendly, depending on how many net carbs you are aiming for.
How many carbs does Edamame have?
Generally, legumes like edamame are not keto-friendly, but edamame is different. Although a cup of shelled edamame has about 9g of carbs, it also has 4g of dietary fiber, equalling only 5g of net carbs.
Depending on how many carbs you aim for, edamame may be a good addition to a keto diet. People usually stick to between 20 and 50 net carbs a day when doing keto. If you’re trying to stick to 20g, a serving of edamame is a quarter of what you can have for the whole day. But, if you’re sticking to 50g, you have a little more wiggle room and can easily integrate edamame.
What are the other nutritional benefits of Edamame?
Edamame has a lot of great benefits for the keto dieter that make it worth incorporating into a strict keto diet. Because it has a lot of fiber, it has a low glycemic index, so it doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes. It also has a good amount of soy protein. A ½ cup has 8g, which can help you meet your macro goals if you’re looking for new protein sources.
Edamame beans and the edamame pod are also packed with nutrients and vitamins, including folate, iron, potassium, and vitamins K and C. If you’re having a hard time working in the right nutrients, edamame may be a good choice.
What are the downsides of Edamame?
There aren’t too many downsides to eating edamame. It may cause gas and bloating in some people, but generally, it’s a pretty healthy food
If you add edamame to a keto diet, you have to be careful about how much you eat. As mentioned, a single ½ cup serving has 5h net carbs, which is fine. But if you eat too much, you can easily go over your carbs for the day. Edamame is fine in moderation. Just be sure you don’t overdo it because too many carbs will take you out of ketosis.
How to eat Edamame on keto
Eating edamame raw is the easiest way to enjoy it. Some people dip it right into soy sauce and eat it as a simple keto-friendly snack.
But there are many other ways to eat edamame, too. You can boil edamame, saute it in olive oil and garlic, and serve it as a side dish with your favorite protein or mix it into cauliflower rice. You can also boil edamame beans and substitute it for pasta, mixing your edamame noodles with your favorite keto-friendly pasta sauce. Just watch your serving size to stay in ketosis!
