Technically, garlic is a vegetable. It’s related to the onion, and it’s widely available. You can find fresh garlic, garlic salt, garlic paste, and more, making it easy to add garlic to just about any dish. But is garlic a keto-friendly food? Is garlic keto friendly?
What is Garlic?
Fresh garlic comes in large bulbs or heads made up of smaller cloves. It takes a little work to get to the edible part. You have to break apart the bulb to get to a single clove, then cut or smash it before you can use it. Luckily, there are plenty of other forms of garlic available that are much easier to use.
Is Garlic keto?
Garlic is keto-friendly, and you’d have to eat a lot of it to go over your carb goals for the day, regardless of what type of garlic you’re using. That’s great news because you can add garlic to just about any dish to really up the flavor.
How many carbs does Garlic have?
A single clove of raw garlic has about 1g of carbs. Generally, you’ll use only one or two cloves for a recipe (though some people prefer much more), so the effects that it has on your net carbs are minuscule.
Other forms of garlic are measured a little differently, but they’re all only about one carb. For example, about 1 tsp of garlic salt or minced garlic is about 1 carb, but about ¼ tsp of garlic powder is. If you’re using these other forms of garlic, make sure you read the labels, just to be on the safe side.
What are the other nutritional benefits of Garlic?
Garlic is said to have a variety of health benefits. It may prevent the common cold, lower blood pressure, and improve cholesterol levels. You may not experience these benefits if you only add a clove of garlic or two to your diet every once in a while, but there are some upsides to eating it regularly.
What are the downsides of Garlic?
The biggest downside of eating garlic is that it can give you bad breath, and the more you eat, the more likely it is to happen. Garlic may also exacerbate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and other GI issues. If you are sensitive to FODMAPs, you might have issues with garlic.
How to eat Garlic on keto
You can add garlic to just about any keto recipe, but there are some easy ways to work it into a ketogenic diet.
Olive oil is an important source of good fats for anyone on keto, and garlic-infused olive oil is an easy way to add more flavor and some additional benefits. All you have to do is press a few cloves of fresh garlic and add it to your olive oil.
Garlic butter is a great keto food, too. Melt half a stick of ghee or grass-fed butter and mix in a garlic clove or two. Drizzle it over chicken wings, grilled chicken breast, or any other protein, and add some parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese for a great meal.
