Foods to avoid on keto (the “Purge list”)

What not to eat on keto!

You probably found this post from reading about how to get your family on board with keto. If not, that’s OK, too.

In any case, while some people have had an easy time starting keto by just focusing on eating everything except for carbs, it can cause confusion since there are SO many kinds of carbs out there…sweets, starches, grains, legumes, and even questionable vegetables.

Many people often ask me, “Is this OK to eat, on keto?” If you’re also one of the people who has been confused as to what foods to avoid on keto for success with the ketogenic lifestyle, this list is for you!

Overwhelmed? Here’s a TL;DR version

What foods to avoid on keto:

• Oils except for animal fats (and coconut/avocado/olive oil in small amounts)
• Grains
• Beans and legumes
• Most fruits
• Starchy vegetables
• Sugars and sweets

If you chose to continue reading, great! While this list of foods to avoid on keto may seem discouraging and restrictive, I have the best antidote for you, which is, of course…all the wonderful foods you CAN eat on keto.

What foods to avoid on keto – the full list – we’ll start with the obvious… sweets and treats

Sugar, honey, agave-anything (granules, nectar, syrup), corn syrup, maple syrup, “raw” sugar, turbinado sugar, coconut sugar, cane sugar, maple sugar should all be removed from your home, period.

Remove all sweet drinks: fruit juice, soda, energy drinks, iced coffee drinks, smoothies, and any other beverages that are sweetened with sugar or honey.

No more sweets of any kind, like candy, chocolate, cookies, and pastry, donuts, cakes, brownies.

Fruit snacks of ALL kinds… not just the obvious gummy treats or fruit leathers—are not keto friendly whatsoever. The following should also be tossed and avoided: dried fruit like raisins, prunes, dates, dried mangos, dried papaya, dried apricot, dried pineapple, crystalized/sugared ginger, banana chips, and apple chips.

Get rid of ALL boxed or bagged cereals, granola, and oatmeal. That includes breakfast bars (and protein bars), and instant breakfast drinks.

And of course, breads and snacks to avoid on keto

Remove all breads, rolls, garlic toast, pitas, bagels, and tortillas/wraps (unless specifically low carb wraps/tortillas).

Toss snacks including potato and tortilla chips/corn chips, corn nuts, popcorn, cheese puffs, and pretzels. Those are the obvious ones, but there are some weird ones, too

That includes all the crackers. Yes, even the “whole grain” and stone ground ones. There are some new kinds of crackers and chips being marketed as “healthy alternatives” now too. These are made from stuff we don’t need to eat on keto: quinoa, powdered peas, beets, soybeans, etc. So watch out for those, and throw them out. Also, a lot of carbs are hidden in very low-calorie snacks such as rice cakes & rice chips, and veggie chips & and strings.

Just remove/avoid all other snacks that aren’t nuts, jerky/sausages, pork rinds (chicharrones/cracklins), or 100% cheese chips, or string cheese.

Pantry goods to avoid on keto

Remove all starch and grain-based pantry goods, such as dry or canned pasta/noodles and all rice.

No more beans! This includes dry/canned beans, peas, and lentils. Green or wax beans/string beans are fine.

Toss or donate stuffing mixes/croutons, and ALL potato mixes (hash brown side dishes/casseroles like scalloped or au gratin, and instant mashed, etc). Remove all breadcrumbs and batters/breading mixes for fish or meat.

Get rid of all grains such as rice/wild rice, barley, couscous, quinoa, oats, sorghum, bulgur, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, and all sprouted grains.

Also, donate or give away all canned or dry soups, except for broths, stocks, and bouillons, those are keto-friendly.

The baking aisle is not your friend!

Toss all baking ingredients, such as all flours made from wheat, rice, barley, corn/masa, millet, rye, etc., including baking mixes which would be things like pancake or waffle mix, mixes for biscuits or muffins/cupcakes, brownie or cookie mixes, and cookie doughs.

Purge out all frostings, gelatin mixes, puddings, baking/candy chips (like butterscotch, mint, and chocolate chips), and also toss all flavors/extracts that have sugar in them.

Check your fridge door for foods to avoid on keto

Time to get rid of all the bottles and jars of sweet glop that are likely jam-packed in your refrigerator door. That includes sweet condiments, jellies/jams, and sauces, and especially sweet Asian cooking and dipping sauces like oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce, and teriyaki sauce. Got something in your fridge that’s not on this list? If in doubt, check the label for sugars, and toss, accordingly.

Keep regular mustard (yellow, stone ground or whole mustard, hot or deli brown mustard, and Dijon are fine) and get rid of sweet mustards, sweet mayos/Miracle Whip (and store brands of it), and ketchup.

No more sweetened pickles or peppers/olives. toss any and all sweet relishes, pimentos, chutneys and sweet krauts.

Oils and fats to avoid on keto

The keto ‘no-no’ list includes seed oils and trans fats, too.

Throw out the margarine, canola oil, vegetable oil (this includes shortening), corn oil, and soybean oil. Less common oils to avoid on keto: grapeseed oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil. Oil “blends” of questionable origin should also be tossed.

Keep butter/ghee, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, lard/bacon fat, tallow, duck fat, and any other animal fats around (despite the info out there, animal fats are healthy). This leads me to dressings…back to the fridge door!

Oil & vinegar-based salad dressings and cream/buttermilk-based dressings are OK in limited quantities. Most are made with soybean and canola oil, which are inflammatory, and you don’t want that. Use them up quickly and then avoid in the future. If you have olive oil and vinegar at home, it’s easy to make your own keto salad dressing (recipes here).

For now, use up the creamy & mayo-based dressings you have, but avoid buying more that have soybean/canola oil in them. And get rid of the sweet dressings (French/Western, Honey mustard, Asian sesame, balsamic, etc.). There are plenty of sugar free and low carb alternatives to these available online and in stores.

Freezer foods to avoid on keto

Don’t think your freezer is safe from the purge list! There are many frozen food products that are not your keto-friendly friends!

TL;DR version: If it’s not a bag of frozen plain green vegetables or a hunk of whole meat or fish sitting in your freezer, toss it, and when shopping, just stay out of the frozen foods aisle altogether!

If you prefer to see what you’re working with, continue reading. I’ll start with the obvious…

Ice cream and other novelty frozen desserts–toss them all from your freezer and skip this section of the store completely, in the future. Most of these products are not worth the cost (I’ve tried enough of them) and will only keep you from succeeding in your new lifestyle.

Cakes, brownies, all frozen baked goods/desserts! I mean, these should be super obvious, but I don’t even know what else to list here, because I haven’t shopped in the frozen aisle since 2015, apart from occasional glimpses into the veggies compartment…

Pancakes & waffles, or other breakfast items like frozen sandwiches and pockets, toaster pastries, French toast and French toast sticks, breakfast burritos or breakfast pizzas, breakfast buns or biscuits, sausage rolls or battered sausages on a stick. Avoid all sausage products that have more than 1-3 carbs per serving (check labels, most have sugar and/or corn syrup, especially maple or blueberry style). All ready-to-bake biscuit and cinnamon rolls or frozen Danish/pastry…toss and avoid.

Frozen pizzas, garlic toast or garlic bread, all frozen baked goods like dinner rolls, biscuits, all breaded foods like fish, chicken tenders/breaded wings, patties/nuggets, breaded appetizers, should be given away, and do not purchase any of these in the future.

Do not eat or buy any kind of noodle or pasta dish frozen food, including meat or veggie lasagna. Basically nearly all frozen microwaveable meals—even the ones featuring a hunk of meat in one section—are gross and still high in carbs (and contain disgusting ingredients like seed oils, starches and fillers), so best to just avoid altogether.

Many frozen vegetables, believe it or not, totally aren’t keto-friendly

Beans and rice…whether separate or together, so get rid of them. That includes ALL rice and veggie blends (brown rice, wild rice, “stir fry” blend, “soup or stew” style blend, etc.) and also includes edamame. Green or wax beans/string beans are fine.

ALL potatoes (sweet and regular), french fries, hash browns, wedges, tots, frozen skillet or microwave potato dishes, etc.

The not-so-obvious frozen vegetable foods to avoid on keto

Other starchy veg you should toss from the freezer and avoid in the frozen foods section are as follows…

Green peas, corn, lima beans, and black-eyed peas. Carrots, yucca, acorn & butternut squash (zucchini/yellow squash & spaghetti squash are fine), sweet potatoes, yams. Green or wax beans/string beans are fine.

Check your produce bin for non-keto foods

Even though a lot of vegetables (and a few fruits) are totally safe for keto, you may not be aware there are some that will not do you any favors whatsoever. Time to take stock of what you have that’s good, and what to purge/give away…

Fresh peas, corn, carrots, beans, including fava, lima beans, and black-eyed peas, are not keto (again, green or wax beans/string beans are fine.). Also, winter squash (zucchini/yellow squash & spaghetti squash are fine), yucca, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and yams—are all starchy and higher in carbs and are foods to limit or avoid on keto.

Banana, pineapple, grapes, papaya, apples, grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, clementines, grapes, mangoes, tangerines, plums—are all basically sugar.

That’s pretty much an exhaustive list of foods to avoid on keto! Like I pointed out before, don’t be overwhelmed, focus on what you CAN eat on keto (there’s LOTS) and if in doubt, check labels and avoid.

Succeeding on keto means whatever works for your body. But if your body is not giving you the results you want, revisit this list of foods to avoid on keto, and tweak as needed.

150+ keto recipes – $10.99 for immediate download here

Psst! I just added a new post which outlines ways to go about tweaking keto foods if you’ve been following the keto lifestyle awhile and are struggling with it.