Are refried beans keto

Are Refried Beans Keto? Best Ways To Enjoy Keto Refried Beans

It’s Taco Tuesday and you are following a keto diet. With all of the delicious Tex-Mex offerings, what should you choose? Are refried beans keto?

Refried beans are not keto-friendly. Traditional refried beans contain 13.85 net carbs per 100g serving. There are ways you can enjoy your favorite refried bean flavors and textures and stay within your dietary guidelines. Consider a modified keto diet or try black soybeans, lupini beans, and mock refried beans as keto-friendly replacements.

What Makes A Food Keto Friendly?

A keto diet is a high-fat low, carb diet that has been used for years to treat many health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and epilepsy among others.

The most important part of following a keto diet is staying in ketosis. The way to do that is to not eat more than 50 grams of carbohydrates a day. Many people ideally consume 25 grams or less.

Carbohydrates should take up less than 5% of your caloric intake. A good ratio to follow is 1.5 grams of net carbs for 100 calories of food.

What Are Net Carbs?

Net carbs are not the total carbohydrates listed in a food. The net carbs are the carbohydrates minus the fiber amount. This calculation is done because fiber does not have a significant metabolic effect on your body (it doesn’t spike blood sugar).

Let’s Look At An Example

What are the net carbs in carrots? 100 grams of carrots contain 6.7g of carbs and 2.8g of fiber. To determine the net carbs in carrots you simply subtract the fiber from the carbs 6.7g carbs – 2.8g fiber = 3.9g of net carbs. There are 3.9g of net carbs in 100 grams of carrots.

Are Carrots Keto-Friendly?

Since 3.9g of net carbs are more than the suggested amount of 1.5g per 100 grams of food, I would say carrots are not keto-friendly. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy carrots while following a keto diet is just means to watch your portion size and overall intake of net carbs.

Simplfing What Makes A Food Keto Friendly

To easily follow a keto diet foods should contain less than 1.5g of net carbs for 100 grams of food. Your daily intake of net carbs should not exceed 25 to 50 grams of net carbs.

Carbohydrate Content In Refried Beans

Let’s look at the amount of carbohyrates are are in refried beans. This chart is based on 100 grams of refried beans.

The canned refried bean brands used in my chart are Amy’s , Eden Organic , and Rosarito.

TYPE OF BEANCARBOHYRATESFIBERNET CARBS
Classic Traditional Refried Beans18.464.6113.85
Fat-Free Refried Beans12.503.908.6
Restaurant Style Refried Beans10.403.207.2
Refried Black Beans14.614.6110
Refried Kidney Beans14.614.6110

How Many Net Carbs Are In Refried Beans?

Tradiditonal refried beans contain 13.85 net carbs.

Are Refried Beans Keto Friendly?

Refried beans are not a keto-friendly food. The net carbs in refried beans far exceed the recommended amount of 1.5g of carbohydrates for 100g of food.

How Much Is 100 Grams Of Refried Beans?

100 grams of refried beans is a portion size that is a little less than a half of cup.

What makes a food keto friendly

How To Eat Refried Beans On A Keto Diet

Now that we know refried beans are not a keto-friendly food, can we still find a way to enjoy them on a keto diet?

There are ways to enjoy your favorite tex-mex beans while staying on your diet.

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet

If you are following a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) you are rotating between the strict high-fat low carb ketogenic diet 5-6 days a week to higher carb intake days 1-2 days a week.

During your higher carbohyrates days you can eat refried beans.

Targeted Ketogenic Diet

You may be following a Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD) where you follow a strict keto diet the majority of the time except on days where you perform intense exercise. On our exercise days, you are able to consume more carbohydrates.

This version of the keto diet is not meant for the casual person who exercises, it’s designed for those who are endurance trainers or who participate in moderate-intensity exercise.

If you fall into this catagory of keto diets you can enjoy refried beans on your exercise days.

Standard Ketogenic Diet

What if you only follow the Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD) and limit your carb intake all of the time. Can you still find a way to eat refried beans?

Black Soybean Refried Beans

Try some black soybean refried beans to enjoy that well know bean texture and flavor. Black soybeans contain 3.85 net carbs per 100-gram serving. They aren’t as low in carbs as we would like but, they are within a range that could be included in your diet.

Lupini Beans

Lupini beans are a popular Mediterranean legume that comes from the seed of the Lupinus albus plant. They are similar to fava beans they are high in protein and low in carbs which makes them a perfect keto-friendly refried bean option. Lupini beans contain 5 net carbs per 100-gram serving.

Mock Refried Beans

If we need to avoid beans all together creating mock refried beans may be a great option. There are many mock refried bean recipes that have a similar flavor and texture as traditional refried beans without all of the carbs.

How To Make Keto-Friendly Refried Beans

Making your own keto friendly refried beans is the way to enjoy refried beans classic flavors without all of the carbs.

Instant Pot Low Fat Refried Beans

This easy instant pot refried beans recipe uses lower-carb black soybeans. The vegetarian refried bean recipe includes jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, and garlic to flavor the beans.

Luipini Beans Refried Beans

This refried bean recipe is made from low-carb lupini beans. The recipe includes all of your traditional Tex-Mex flavors plus a squeeze of fresh lime.

Beanless Refried Beans

This beanless keto-friendly refried bean recipe is made from eggplant and a combination of onion, garlic, and traditional Tex-Mex seasonings to make a delicious refried bean substitute that can be enjoyed on a keto diet.

how to eat refried beans on a keto diet

FAQ

Are Refried Beans Good For A Low Carb Diet?

Traditional refried beans contain 18.46 grams of carbohydrates for less than half of a cup serving. Due to the high volume of carbohydrates they are not a good food to consume on a low carb diet.

Do Refried Beans Have Carbs In Them?

Yes, refried beans have a high amount of carbohyrtes in them.

Conclusion

Refried beans are not a keto friendly food since they contain a high amount of carboyhyrates per serving.

There are ways you can enjoy this delicous and nutrious tex-mex favorite and continue to follow the keto diet.

Modified Keto Diets

If you follow a modified keto diet like the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) or Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD) you are able to eat higher carbohydrate foods like refried beans during your designated high carb meals.

Lower Carbohyrate Beans

Black soy beans and Lupini beans are great lower net carb options to use in your favorite refried beans recipe.

Beanless Refried Beans

Skip using high carb beans altogether and replace them with a mock refried bean recipe that is full of flavor and texture.

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