We all know that if we are going to eat a keto or a low carb diet that we will have to sacrifice the potatoes, but don’t worry, there are plenty of keto-friendly potato alternatives out there. Read through our list of favourite food items to turn into our potato favourites. Even better, we’ve gone through a list of our favourite potato dishes and how we make out keto-friendly alternatives, to save you all of the hard work! ?
Ketogenic diets are designed around getting your body to switch fuel sources from glucose to burning fat. This is done by reducing the number of carbohydrates that you are eating on a daily basis to under 20 grams of carbohydrates, which should equate to around 5% of what you are eating.
The result of this being that blood sugar levels are stabilised which assists with weight loss amongst other benefits.
This means that you cannot eat high carb foods on a keto diet, potatoes are one such food. However, don’t go into panic mode, you can still eat, chips (fries if you’re in the US), crisps (chips in the US) and all of your potato favourites.
Before starting keto, I did a lot of research around all of the different ‘fad’ diets out there, looking at what you could and could not eat. The most important thing for me was that whatever diet plan I chose in the end, had to be a lifestyle I could live with.
For me, that included being able to eat all of the things that I enjoy, chips, crisps, roasts etc. After months of research, keto was the only diet that did exactly that, it was the only diet that meant I wasn’t depriving myself of anything that I wanted.
Why Do I Need an Alternative to Potato when eating a Keto Diet?
You do not ‘need’ an alternative to potato when eating a keto diet, however, if you deprive yourself of everything you are probably used to eating, keto will soon seem very restrictive.
It is when we are told that we cannot have something that immediately we want it.
The easiest way of avoiding falling into that trap is by giving yourself everything if you want, just make sensible keto-friendly substitutions.
So, why can’t you have potatoes? The answer to that one is simple, they are far too high in carbs, this is the case with most root vegetables.
Even if you are eating dirty keto, there is no way that they can fit within your macros.
Nutritional Values of White Potatoes
The nutritional value of white potatoes per 100 grams can be seen below;
- Carbs: 21 grams.
- Protein: 2.1 gram.
- Fat: 0 grams.
- Fibre: 2.1 grams.
- Sugar: 1.5 grams.
- Calories: 94 cal
Therefore, per 100 grams of potatoes, you will be consuming in excess of 19 grams of net carbs. The whole aim of the keto diet it to keep your daily carb consumption under 20 grams of carbs (check out our beginners guide to keto if this is new information to you).
To put this into perspective further, a medium portion of McDonald’s fries is approximately 114 grams. This medium box of fries would set you back nearly 22 grams of net carbs, so you would already be over your allowance for the day. It is for this reason that keto-friendly potato substitutes need to be used. This way you can enjoy your favourite foods, enjoy your favourite carb side dish, without breaking the carb bank!
Do Sweet Potatoes have fewer Carbs than White Potatoes?
I hear the savvy ones among you thinking that you can cheat the system by substituting your white potatoes for sweet potatoes as a healthy alternative.
Sorry to disappoint you, but sweet potatoes only contain around 2 grams net carbs fewer than white potatoes, so they are not going to be your go-to low-carb alternative.
Check out this article to find out more about sweet potatoes and why you cannot eat them on a keto or low-carb diet.
Now we should understand why regular potatoes, white or sweet, are not appropriate if you are trying to eat a keto, or even a low-carb diet, lets get onto the important bit to understand what we can use as a replacement for potato.
So What Are the Keto-Friendly Potato Alternatives?
Here is a list of our favourite carb substitutes for potatoes;
- Almonds
- Aubergine (Eggplant)?
- Avocado ?
- Broccoli ?
- Cauliflower
- Celeriac
- Courgette
- Daikon Radish
- Kale
- Swede (Rutabaga)
Here we have drawn up a list for you of our favourite keto-friendly potato alternatives for our favourite, pre-keto potatoes dishes. As you will see, they not only cut out the carbs but are also a great healthy alternative, especially if you are wanting to make the familys lives a little healthier!
Chips (Fries)
Everybody loves a chip (or fries if you’re in the US!). There are a number of keto alternatives you have to replace these. Some of our favourites are;
- Sliced Avocado – coat in a fine almond flour and cook as you would your normal fries/chips; shallow fry, deep fry, air fry, oven bake.
- Sliced Celeriac – one of the most like regular potato fry, they have the same firm texture. Slice the celeriac into the size you want, parboil them in saltwater, season as you wish and them cook as you normally would.
- Sliced Swede (Rutabaga) – these are slightly softer in texture than the celeriac fries and are sweeter in taste, but are actually great with a sprinkling of paprika. These are actually more akin to a sweet potato substitute. Parboil and cook as you would your normal potato chips/ fries.
- Sliced Courgette – this is another great option, no need to parboil these! Simply slice, place on a baking sheet, season, even add a bit of grated parmesan and then bake in the oven.
- Sliced Aubergine (Eggplant) – this is towards the bottom of the list as these are my least favourite fried substitute, they can end up a little soft. I love these, as a snack, I just don’t want them as my fries substitute. Your opinion may differ, and we’d love to hear if it does in the comments below. ✍️Slice these into shape, I like to season with salt and pepper and then some finely grated parmesan. This makes a wonderful side to chicken.
Roast Potatoes
I love roast potatoes with a Sunday dinner, and there is no reason that you need to miss out here are some of our favourite keto-friendly roast potato alternatives;
Celeriac – Cube into roast potato shaped pieces, parboil in salted water. Drain and leave to cool. Toss in olive oil, season again with Himalayan salt, then roast in the oven or air-fryer as you would normally. These really are a good potato alternative.
Raddish – these are perfect for the ‘crunch’ of a roast potato. No need to do any prep work with these. Just toss them in some olive oil. Season as desired, I just like to keep it simple with some salt as they already have a peppery ‘kick’, and roast as you would normally.
Crisps (Chips)
Crisps (or chips if you’re in the US) are great, whether you’re having a night watching Netflix, or are just wanting a little snack, there are a number of great options that can scratch this itch!
- Sliced Courgette – sliced courgette is a simple potato substitute for crisps/chips. Slice thinly, season and bake in the oven.
- Kale – line a baking sheet with kale, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with Himalayan sea salt. Bake in the oven, keep an eye on these as they can soon burn (speaking from experience!). These can go really nice and crispy and make a great snack with a glass of wine of an evening.
- Sliced Edam – slice Edam and lay on a baking sheet, I will normally leave these out for 48 hours to let them dry out in the air before seasoning and baking them in the oven until they are golden.
- Almonds – a bit different than the vegetable route we have been going down, however, these smoked paprika almonds are a great option if you are looking for a snack to enjoy in front of the TV or pack up and take to the cinema with you in place of a crisp.
Mashed Potatoes
This is another one of my favourite pre-keto foods. You need mash to soak up the gravy from your Sunday roast.
- Creamy Cauliflower Mash – this is the perfect potato substitute for mashed potatoes, here is our creamy cauliflower mash recipe, it really is so simple to throw together.
- Mashed Celeriac – this is another great option for a mashed potato alternative. The only thing I would suggest is rather than using a potato masher, you may be better at blending this in processer as celeriac can be very tough to mash.
- Mashed Swede (Rutabaga) – this is slightly sweeter in taste than the above two options, but it makes a great ‘mashed potato’. Boil until soft and then mash, season as you like, my personal favourite is with a bit of white pepper.
Potato Croquettes
I nearly forgot about these beauties when writing up this list – how could I?! Croquettes are a great side dish to so many meals, or they can be great as a tapas-style dish.
- Cauliflower & Broccoli – You can use cauliflower, broccoli or both to make these low-carb croquettes. Just finely grate the head of cauliflower/broccoli, or blits in the food processor, season and then add a beaten egg to the mixture. Gradually add almond flour of psyllium husk until the mixture is thick enough to shape in your hands. Shape into croquettes and cook as you would normally.
- Celeriac – I have only tried this once and it was great! Boil your celeriac until soft. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Then add a beaten egg and almond flour or psyllium husk until you can form a shape with them and cook as normal.
Hash Browns
This is a bit of a cheat really as I make has browns in the same way that I make my croquettes. I will tend to only use the cauliflower and skip the broccoli if I am eating these from breakfast. I don’t know why, but eating broccoli for breakfast is just a step too far for me at the minute, but never say never!
Potato Dophinoise
These really are a dreamy treat, and so easy to make low-carb. There are a number of simple ways you make this dish of deliciousness.
- Sliced Celeriac – Celeriac is my go too for most keto potato alternative dishes. Slice as you would potato and construct in the normal manner, just switch out the milk for more cream and water (a 50/50 mix of cream and water will give you the same consistency as the milk) or use almond milk.
- Sliced Courgette – slice and layer the same as you would potato. Make your sauce as per the instructions above.
- Slices Aubergiene – slice and layer the same as you would potato. Make your sauce as per the instructions above.
Potatas Bravas
Who doesn’t love this Spanish tapas classic?! I love tapas, it’s a great meal to share with friends, and can easily be made keto-friendly.
- Cubed Celeriac – chop celeriac into 1 cm cubes, as you would potato. I boil mine in water until they start to go slightly soft to the touch. Dry them off on a paper towel and then fro off your little cubes as you would normally. Add you tomato-based sauce and voila, nobody will know that this is not the real thing, much less a low-carb alternative.
There it is! Our round-up of our favourite low-carb potato substitutes, with a bit of meal prep these are easy to fit into your diet.
Final Thoughts
Just because you cannot eat potatoes does not mean that you have to miss out on all of your favourite potato side dishes and mains. There is plenty of keto-friendly alternatives to the potato that you can try, it’s just a case of experimenting to see what suits you. Have a go and see what you think!
Is there a potato dish that we have forgotten to give you an alternative for? Let us know in the comments below and we will see what we can find to satisfy your potato cravings. ???
