Embarking on a keto diet requires plenty of preparation and often a total pantry overhaul. Stock up on these essential pantry items so that you can enjoy the keto diet to the fullest.
I’ve been the keto diet for a long time now and it’s a lifelong commitment for me. For over 10 years now, I’ve been eating low carb and gluten-free. And for about 5 of those years, I’ve been fully keto.
In the past decade, I’ve learned a thing or two about a successful keto lifestyle, and I want to pass these tips on to you.
This list of keto pantry staples is quite comprehensive. It includes all the basics, plus an advanced supply list for those of you who love to bake. And you can tailor it to suit your tastes, needs, and additional dietary restrictions.
Ready to conquer the keto lifestyle?
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Preparation is the key to keto diet success
I simply cannot stress this point enough: be prepared.
We live in a gluten and sugar-filled world, and it’s hard to resist temptation when it’s in your face all the time. You are far more likely to slip and get off track if you don’t have a good array of tasty low carb foods around to keep you satisfied.
So making sure to have your pantry well-stocked with keto-friendly snacks is absolutely crucial. And having the ingredients on hand for easy keto dinners and keto breakfasts makes it easier to stay on track.
If you love baking, as I do, it’s important stock up on baking ingredients too. But how do you know what ingredients will work best? What are the basics you should spend your money on?
I’ve done enough experimenting with a huge array of low carb and gluten-free ingredients and I want you to benefit from my experience. My keto baking pantry list has everything you need.
Keep it simple
As with any big lifestyle change, it’s best to start with the basics.
There are so many “keto” products and pre-packaged foods on the market nowadays. It’s a hot keyword and every brand and company is trying to capitalize on the trend. But many of them really aren’t that keto friendly at all.
While it may be tempting to load up on these items, I don’t recommend it. You are much better off sticking with real, whole foods as the building blocks of your healthy diet.
Healthy Fats and Oils
You certainly don’t need all of these in your pantry at once, but having a few options on hand goes a long way for keto cooking and baking.
- Butter: I always have at least two pounds of butter in my fridge. I love it for savory recipes like my keto mushroom soup, and for baking treats like keto sugar cookies.
- Coconut Oil
- Ghee is also good option for dairy-free keto recipes. I adore the brown butter ghee from Tin Star Foods.
- Avocado Oil
- Olive Oil
- Mayonnaise (preferably made with avocado oil, not canola oil or soybean oil)
Rich Proteins
Protein helps fill us up and keep us satisfied. I stock up on ground beef or chicken thighs whenever I see a sale. If you purchase pre-made burgers or sausage, remember to check the label for hidden sources of carbs.
- Eggs: Good for easy meals and for baking! Try my Sheet Pan Frittata for an easy breakfast or dinner.
- Beef: Steak is great, but ground beef is much less expensive. See my favorite keto ground beef recipes.
- Lamb
- Pork
- Poultry: Easy Chicken Broccoli Casserole is a fan favorite!
- Fish
- Bone broth: Sip it plain or make some warm and comforting keto soup.
Fruits and Veggies
Not all fruits and veggies are keto-friendly, so make sure you have a good array of the lower carb options to choose from. These are the ones I keep in my fridge most often:
- Fresh berries
- Avocado
- Lemon and lime
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Cucumbers
- Green Beans
- Mushrooms
- Radish
- Zucchini
- Asparagus
- Bell Peppers
- Leafy greens
Nuts & Seeds
Most nuts and seeds have a high fat content and plenty of fiber, making them a great keto snack. And nut and seed butters are useful for cooking and baking.
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Nut and seed butters
- Peanuts (not a true nut)
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Coconut
Dairy (and dairy-free alternatives)
- Heavy cream
- Cream cheese
- Hard and soft cheeses
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt (full fat)
- Coconut milk/cream
- Dairy-free cream cheese
- Unsweetened nut and seed milks
Keto baking essentials
In case you didn’t already know, baking is my happy place. I keep my pantry stocked at all times with keto-friendly flours and sweeteners so that I can whip up keto cookies or keto chocolate chip muffins any old time.
But while I have a huge array of flours, sweeteners, chocolate, nuts, and other baking ingredients at my disposal, the truth is you don’t need all of that to be a successful keto baker.
This list includes the absolute essentials to get you started. Even if you never buy anything more than what’s listed here, you will find yourself able to create wonderful keto desserts and baked goods.
Any good baking cupboard should always have baking powder, vanilla and other extracts, and salt. Plus plenty of butter, eggs, and cream (or dairy free alternatives) in the fridge!
Keto Flours
Keto flours take some getting used to, as they don’t behave even remotely like wheat flour.
- Almond flour – by far the most common keto flour and incredibly useful and delicious. Please read my tutorial on Baking with Almond Flour for detailed information.
- Coconut flour – also a very common keto flour but you really need to know what you’re getting into. Once you get used to it, it makes some of the best keto cupcakes! Please read Baking with Coconut Flour for more information.
- Sunflower seed flour is a great nut-free alternative to almond flour. And it’s easy to make your own. How to make sunflower seed flour.
Keto Sweeteners
The number of low carb sweeteners and sweetener blends has exploded in recent years. It’s wonderful because we have so many choices now. But all those choices can also be very confusing and overwhelming.
And they don’t all behave the same way! They all have their pros and cons.
Please read The Ultimate Guide to Keto Sweeteners for an in-depth look at how these sweeteners work and how they affect your results.
In my cupboard, I always keep:
- Swerve Sweetener – granular, powdered, and the new Swerve Brown, which is truly the best brown sugar replacement out there.
- Allulose and/or BochaSweet – these are great sweeteners for keto ice cream, keto caramel sauce, and other treats that can re-crystallize with erythritol.
Keto-friendly Chocolate
Once upon a time, there was no good sugar-free chocolate and I had to use chopped up 90% Lindt bars. Now there is a vast array of keto chocolate to choose from. I recommend you keep on hand:
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Unsweetened chocolate – this is 100% cacao chocolate, with no sweetener whatsoever. It’s important to choose quality chocolate like Ghirardelli or Guittard. The cheaper Baker’s chocolate tends to seize more easily and will ruin some of your recipes.
- Sugar-free chocolate chips – ChocZero or Lily’s are the two best brands.
Protein Powder
You will notice that many of my keto cakes and muffins call for protein powder. There is a method to my madness, I promise.
I am not trying to add more protein to my diet, I get plenty of that as it is. But gluten is actually protein that helps conventional baked goods rise properly and hold their shape. In the absence of gluten, another dry protein can make your keto baked goods lighter, fluffier, and more like the ones you used to love.
- Unflavored grassfed whey protein
- Unflavored egg white protein (dairy free option)
Toppy says
I can’t have dairy because of health issues. I didn’t think ghee was dairy free but you have it listed as a dairy free option for butter. Thank you and I love your recipes.
Carolyn says
Yes… for *most* people, ghee is well tolerated as all of the milk solids have been completely removed. I can’t guarantee this for everyone… depends on the source of your issues, I guess. 🙂
Judy says
Just wanted to say Thank you for all that you do to help others learn cryogenic low carb cooking!! I’m getting quite good at baking now and have a much better understanding on the different sweetness and flours !!! I’m excited to try making ice cream using cellulose instead of xylitol! This year I naked sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies ,peanut butter balls, snow balls and thumb cookies and put together two cookie pastor two friends that are both diabetics. So wonderful to give in this way !!
Cheryl Kirby says
Carolyn I love your work. Thank you. I wondering if you know what substitute sweeteners we can use in Australia as I don’t see any Swerve in the supermarkets?
Carolyn says
I am not sure what you can get there but I think Natvia is a common one?
Peta Coulson says
Hi Cheryl, I’m in Australia too and have used the monk fruit sweeteners. Available at Coles and Woolies. Also tastes similar to normal sugar. Hope this helps????
Barbara A Hettesheimer says
Thank you. I love all you send out and this is very helpful. We have followed you for awhile and are grateful for what we have learned. Also we now follow you on YouTube. Thanks for everything. Barb Hettesheimer
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Barb!
Jeanette says
I tried your Raspberry Coffee Cake and it was so absolutely delicious!
Margaret Wood says
My husband has recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I can’t say I do completely keto because I’m new at this and carbs have been my biggest concern. Seems to be working. But we really miss baked goods like pancakes and biscuits. I’m really looking forward to trying your recipes. Not really sure about sweeteners yet. But, glad I found you while searching for pancakes.
Sharron says
Can you grind your own golden flax seeds for the flax meal?
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Yasmeen says
Just discovered your blog. Great resource! Sadly I’m highly sensitive to flaxseed. Would you recommend I substitute chia or hemp? Or anything else?
Carolyn says
Totally depends on the recipe but you will be happy to know I don’t use either very often these days in my recipes! 🙂
Gilly says
Hi can i use the liquid sweetener or is it just the powdered ones? Im excited about starting on the keto journey. Thanks for the help!
Carolyn says
The question is… WHAT liquid sweetener? There are so many.
Here’s a closer look at all keto sweeteners which might help you: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-keto-sweeteners/
Daniel H. Stansberry says
I am extremely allergic to almond flour. I get frustrated when I start looking for recipes, because so many recipes call for almond flour. Is there something that I can substitute with. I would appreciate help and recommendations about this. Thanks so much, Dan
Carolyn says
Hi Dan. Please use the search box on my blog and type in “coconut flour” or “nut free”. I have tones of recipes.
Zarina Jiwa says
Any substitute for collagen peptide? Any recommendation from where to buy and which brand?
Carolyn says
It’s linked in many of my recipes!
Polly says
Great pantry list, and info.I am a retired baker/cake decorator, and I miss baking the old fashioned way. Now that my husband and I have been doing a low carb diet for 2 years ( 80 Pounds lost between us!) I am ready to embrace keto baking- I look forward to your recipes, and thanks for your 10 years perfecting your recipes
Danita says
This is a great list! I’m surprised with how much of these ingredients I already have since I’m pretty new to keto baking. I’ve made a few things so far, keto cookies came out great, keto birthday cake was surprisingly amazing. But then I tried my hand at keto brownies and it was such a fail. I’m ready to go all in on my keto baking journey especially with the holidays coming soon. Thanks for this post! Can’t wait to try your recipes soon
Joy says
Danita,
You need to look up Carolyn’s recipe for her Ultimate Brownies from her blog. They are really, really fantastic!! Just a great brownie!
Pam Thomas says
Thank you very much for this valuable information! As a relatively new keto/low carb person, I want to know all I can, so I can make this lifestyle good for a good tasting for my husband and I. He’s an athlete. so he can eat anything and needs to have simple carbs .I prep them for him and freeze in portion sizes. I try to season and spice for a variety for him and myself.. I love to bake–even though I don’t do it much, anymore, Baking is kind of my last frontier.
Carolynne Timko says
I am new to your blog and just read the first email. Can I substitute dried cherries for dried cranberries? My husband is terribly allergic to cranberries and so I cannot use them? I usually substitute dried cherries-will that work as well and maintain the keto integrity?
Carolyn says
Sure but cherries are really not very keto friendly.
Jo Hubbard says
Just a note from something I just read about top fruits for diabetics. Cherries are listed as #2 for diabetics with a low glycemic index of 22, no sugar spikes, boosts insulin by up to 50%. (Apples are listed as #1 with GI at 20 – 50) Not challenging you, just asking why cherries are not keto friendly? I’m new to Keto concept…
Carolyn says
I am going to be very frank and say glycemic index is a load of hooey. 🙂 What really matters is the carb count. Cherries have a lot of sugar and carbs, as do apples, and it’s fast-acting. Those two fruits would spike me tremendously if I at them in a reasonable quantity, whereas raspberries don’t.
Don’t know who put out that list but it sounds like something the ADA would say. And they are so off the mark so often when it comes to what diabetics should eat.
This is a low carb/keto food blog. Glycemic index is not a carb count.
Carole-anne says
Looking forward to learning low carb cooking !
But I don’t do Amazon so I hope you have another way to order where you still get credit
Linda clarke says
I just need help learning but I’m a good student …thank you for being there
Lorraine says
I am so thankful my doctor included your website in my keto diet materials. I have been ordered on a strict keto diet for a brain tumor, so there is no cheating allowed ever. I have been the baker in my family for years — and a damn good one! Your recipes have given me hope that I can continue to bake delicious treats that won’t affect my ketosis. I look forward to learning to bake anew from all of your successful trials and errors.
Carolyn says
So glad it helps!
Peggy says
Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned over the past 10 yrs. it’s so helpful to those of us who are making the switch to cook & bake healthier!
Judy Oleksik says
How do you incorporate low carb baking into your diet if your trying to loose weight? I am a southern gal and love
bread but don’t eat it. I miss a good biscuit now and then. Trying to take sugar out of diet altogether. I don’t bake
with Stevia but I do use Swerve some and Monkfruit, but I feel it is a bit too sweet. If I make your almond bread how much is a portion and should I eat this every day on a weight loss program? Thank you. Judy
Carolyn says
It entirely depends on your goals, your activity level, and your metabolism. All recipes say how much is a serving…