High protein low carb snacks
Start with eggs, tinned tuna, cottage cheese or quark. Each has 6g of carbs or less. But 30g of almonds has about a quarter of the protein of a can of tuna, for more calories.
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What are the best high protein low carb snacks?
Tinned tuna, cooked chicken, quark, prawns, cottage cheese and eggs. The first six give 14g of protein or more, with 6g of carbs or less. Edamame comes close, with 12g of protein and 6.5g of carbs.
For scale, a medium slice of bread has about 15 to 20g of carbs. So every snack here has well under a slice’s worth.
| Snack | Protein | Carbs |
|---|---|---|
| Tuna in brine, drained, 100g (a small can) | 25g | 0g |
| Cooked chicken breast, no skin, 75g | 24g | 0g |
| Quark, 150g | 22g | 6g |
| Cooked king prawns, 100g | 16g | 0g |
| Reduced-fat cottage cheese, 150g | 16g | 5g |
| Boiled eggs, 100g (about 2) | 14g | Trace |
| Edamame beans, boiled, 100g | 12g | 6.5g |
Veggie? Quark, cottage cheese, eggs and edamame are all meat-free.
Pick two from the table for this week’s shop. Not sure how much protein you need? See how much protein per day.
Which low carb snacks are low in calories?
Prawns, tuna and reduced-fat cottage cheese. Each has under 110 kcal a portion, with 16g of protein or more.
| Snack | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked king prawns, 100g | 16g | 68 kcal |
| Reduced-fat cottage cheese, 150g | 16g | 102 kcal |
| Tuna in brine, drained, 100g | 25g | 109 kcal |
| Cheddar, 30g | 8g | 125 kcal |
| Boiled eggs, 100g | 14g | 143 kcal |
| Almonds, 30g | 6g | 166 kcal |
| Pork scratchings, 30g | 14g | 182 kcal |
That’s the nut catch. Nuts are low in carbs but about half fat, so the calories add up fast.
If you snack on nuts, weigh out 30g once. Then you’ll know what a portion looks like.
Want something even lighter on the side? 100g of cucumber has 14 kcal and 1.2g of carbs. Celery has 9 kcal and 1.4g.
Keep a tub of cucumber or celery sticks next to your protein snack.
What are good sweet low carb snacks?
Plain quark or cottage cheese with berries. Add the fruit yourself rather than buying a fruit yoghurt.
An adult portion of fruit is 80g, about 7 strawberries. 80g of raspberries adds about 4g of carbs.
Eyeing sugar-free sweets or a keto bar? Sugar-free doesn’t mean carb-free. By law, sugar alcohols (polyols) count as carbohydrate but not as sugars.
Foods with more than 10% added polyols must warn that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects. So try one, not the whole bag. More in how to pick a protein bar.
What are the best keto snacks?
Eggs, tuna, chicken, prawns, cheddar and pork scratchings. All have under 1g of carbs in the portions on this page.
Keto means very low carb. A summary of the UK nutrition advisers’ (SACN) report puts that at 20 to 50g of carbs a day. Diabetes UK puts low carb at less than 130g a day.
| Diet | Carbs a day | Share a 6g snack takes |
|---|---|---|
| Very low carb (keto) | 20 to 50g | Up to about a third |
| Low carb | More than 50g, under 130g | Under an eighth |
| Moderate carb | 130 to 230g | Under a twentieth |
Sources: SACN summary (BJN 2021); Diabetes UK
The catch with cheese and pork scratchings is saturated fat. The NHS says too much can raise bad (LDL) cholesterol.
A 30g piece of cheddar has about 6.5g of it. The NHS says men should have no more than 30g a day, and women no more than 20g.
Been on keto a while? Read cholesterol results on keto. For whole meals, see high protein low carb meals.
How do I pick a low carb snack?
Six checks for your next low carb snack
- Build it on protein: tuna, chicken, prawns, eggs, quark or cottage cheese.
- Check carbs per portion as well as per 100g.
- Don’t take fibre off the carbs. UK labels don’t count fibre as carbohydrate.
- Count polyols as carbs, even on a sugar-free label.
- Weigh nuts and cheese: use the 30g portions from the tables.
- Add sweetness with 80g of berries, not a fruit yoghurt.
Sources: UK food composition data (CoFID 2021); Food labelling law (1169/2011); NHS: 5 A Day portions
Start with one swap this week, like quark and berries in place of a fruit yoghurt.
When to speak to a GP
Cutting carbs can change how some diabetes medicines work, and it isn’t right for everyone. Speak to your GP or diabetes team first if:
- You take insulin or another diabetes medicine that can cause hypos (low blood sugar). Your doses may need changing.
- You take an SGLT2 inhibitor, such as dapagliflozin or canagliflozin. Cutting carbs may raise the risk of DKA, a build-up of ketones in the blood that can be life threatening.
- You have type 1 diabetes. Diabetes UK doesn’t recommend low carb for you.
- You’re planning low carb for a child. Diabetes UK says it can affect growth and shouldn’t be recommended.
Low carb can cause constipation or bad breath. Both are usually temporary. Speak to your GP if they worry you.
Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without your prescriber.
Have diabetes and blood ketones over 3mmol/L, or over 2+ in your pee? Call 999 or go to A&E.
Do the same if you don’t know your ketones but feel thirsty and pee more, feel sleepy or confused, or your breath smells fruity. The same goes if you have these signs and no diabetes diagnosis.