Low carb diets are popular. There’s no doubt about that. They offer the chance to improve your health and even lose weight, without giving up any of the foods that you love. To do so, you need to find the right foods, which includes no carb breakfast foods.
Now, as you can probably imagine, very few foods contain no carbs at all. Most will contain some carbs, often in the form of fiber. Fiber isn’t digested, so low carb diets tend to subtract the fiber content when they’re calculating their carb consumption.
You’ll see the same pattern with foods on this list. They’re all low carb breakfast choices, ones where most the calories come from fat or protein. When there are carbs present, most of these will be in the form of non-digestible fiber.
Table of Contents
No Carb Breakfast Foods (With Pictures!)
Eggs
Eggs are the obvious place to start this list, as they’re naturally low in carbs and are already a common breakfast choice. In fact, a single egg contains less than half a gram of net carbs. This is impressive when you consider the number of nutrients that eggs have to offer.
Eggs are versatile too. They can be prepared in many ways, so you’re not going to get bored.
The other advantage is that eggs are filling. An egg-based breakfast can easily keep you going for hours, even all the way through until lunch. The same can’t be said for a piece of toast with jelly on your way out the door.
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Keto Bread
Bread is still a classic breakfast choice for many people, but it’s a no-go if you’re wanting to cut out your carbs. Thankfully, there are creative low carb solutions to just about every food challenge, so you can still enjoy bread without the carbs.
Well… kind of.
There are various low carb bread options that you can try, such as cloud bread, 90-second bread, and even some keto bagels. They all have their distinct properties. For example, cloud bread largely relies on eggs and cream cheese, so you end up with a distinct eggy flavor.
While keto bread is never going to be the same as carb heavy bread, it can be appealing in some situations.
We’ve featured plenty of keto bread recipes on the site, including the following:
- Keto Seed Bread
- Keto Cloud Bread
- Keto Cauliflower Bread
- Keto Cheese Bread
Egg Cups
Egg cups are an easy choice if you want breakfast that you can simply pick up and take with you. The cups are often baked in a muffin tray and consist of beaten eggs along with some ingredients for texture and flavor.
Popular low carb ingredients in egg cups include spinach (even frozen spinach will work), cheese, broccoli, mushroom, ham, and even jalapenos – just not all at once. Most recipes use one or two extra flavoring ingredients and perhaps some spices.
This breakfast has many advantages, including the fact that it is high in protein. The egg cups can also be eaten hot, warm, or cold, which gives you plenty of flexibility.
Avocado Egg Boats
We’ve already mentioned avocados and eggs on this list, but the ingredients are even more powerful when you combine them. The flavor profiles work exceptionally well together and you end up with a satisfying breakfast that tastes as good as it sounds.
There are already many meals that rely on avocado and egg, including simply adding a poached egg to avocado on toast. The problem is that most such meals contain a decent number of carbs.
Avocado egg boats get around this problem, as the avocado is used as the base of the meal. No need to rely on anything carb-heavy.
The image really tells you everything there is to know about the breakfast. You’re simply placing an egg in the hole of an avocado, then baking the ingredients in the oven until the egg has cooked. While baking an avocado may sound a little odd, the process gives it a delectable texture that you don’t get otherwise.
You can, of course, vary how you make this meal. Adding other ingredients is a common technique, such as chopped ham, bacon, or cheese. Doing so adds some extra nutrients and may make your breakfast even more filling.
A Fry Up
Many of the foods in a classic English breakfast are naturally low in carbs, including the meat and the fried eggs. You could easily include some fried veggies or perhaps a bed of leafy greens to create a more balanced meal.
After all, many veggies get most of their carbs from fiber. You’ll need to check their carb content first, but a good starting point is to focus on vegetables that grow above the ground. Root vegetables, like potatoes, tend to be much higher in carbs.
Bacon And Eggs
While we’re on the topic, let’s not forget the breakfast staple of bacon and eggs. Both ingredients are naturally low in carbs and rich in protein. They also taste good together.
Homemade Granola
You can make homemade granola that contains very few carbs. The trick is to choose your ingredients carefully. You’ll want to be entirely skipping any grains, as these are high in carbs.
Focus on nuts and seeds as your main ingredients instead. This will give you an energy-dense breakfast. You could eat the mix as cereal, sprinkle it on top of another meal, or even eat it by the handful like trail mix.
Just pay attention to your portion sizes, as most of the ingredients will be high in fat, protein, and calories. While fat isn’t as unhealthy as popular culture suggests, keeping an eye on your calorie intake is still very important.
Frittata
A frittata is a little like a giant egg muffin, one that you can cut into chunks and eat warm or take on the go. Frittatas are perfect if you’re serving a crowd, as you just need to throw all the ingredients together and then cook the meal.
The ingredients in a frittata are similar to egg muffins, including options like spinach, ham, and cheese. The larger size of a frittata makes it easy to experiment with a variety of ingredients, rather than restricting yourself to just a few
A Breakfast Bake
Breakfast bakes and breakfast casseroles come in many forms, with different flavors and ingredient combinations. The general idea, however, is that you’re adding a bunch of ingredients together, then baking the finished mixture in the oven.
Many such meals will heavily rely on eggs. After all, eggs are low in carbs and are filling too.
Using eggs is far from essential, as many recipes skip the eggs altogether. For example, you might find a breakfast bake that uses various vegetables, sausage, and cheese.
Once again, you’ll need to choose your ingredients carefully to make sure that the meal is low in carbs. Looking for recipes classified as keto is a good place to start, as the keto diet is very low in carbs.
Cauliflower Hash Browns
Potatoes are a poor choice if you’re trying to cut down on carbs, but cauliflower makes a surprisingly good replacement. With the right recipe, you can make hash browns using riced cauliflower instead of potatoes. These can even end up having a similar texture to regular hash browns.
Cauliflower hash browns won’t taste quite the same as their conventional counterparts, but that goes without saying. Even so, the replacement is a good one. It might even be enough to satisfy your hash brown craving.
Low Carb Waffles Or Pancakes
Regular waffles and pancakes rely on white flour and tend to be quite high in carbs. But, this isn’t the only way to make these breakfast staples.
Some recipes rely on low carb ingredients instead. This might include using almond flour or coconut flour. Once again, the texture and flavor of the finished product won’t be the same as the version made with regular flour.
Still, it’s impressive to be able to have waffles and pancakes on a low carb diet, even if they’re not perfect.
Keto Breakfast Sandwich
Low carb breakfast sandwiches are surprisingly easy to make. You just need to sub out the bread for something that is low in carbs. The low carb breads that we mentioned earlier might be perfect here. You could use a 90-second bread recipe for a small and fast breakfast, or something different if you want a more filling meal.
There are other substitutions too.
For example, you can use a thin and crispy sausage patty instead of bread. This gives you the same flavors as a regular breakfast sandwich – the sausage is just on the outside, rather than in the middle.
You can even make sandwiches using avocado instead of bread. While the shape of the avocado means that these look more like hamburgers than sandwiches, they’re still appealing breakfast choices.
Egg Burritos
Making a low carb breakfast burrito is fairly easy, once you get the wrap figured out. One trick is to make the wrap out of egg. So, you’re basically making a thin omelet, allowing this to cool and then using it as a wrap for the other ingredients.
You can include whatever fillings you’re interested in, as long as they are low in carbs. For example, you might follow the style of a traditional breakfast burrito, where you are using ingredients like cheese and bacon. Or, you might focus on Mexican flavors, where you rely on salsa and beans as key ingredients.
Breakfast Bowls
Bowl-based meals allow you to combine many nutrient packed ingredients in a single place. Some of these use flavors that you would associate with breakfast, while others would taste just as good at any time of the day.
While cutting down carbs does limit your options for bowl ingredients, there are still many options that you can rely on. Instead of using a carb-rich ingredient like rice or quinoa as the base of the bowl, how about relying on cauliflower rice instead?
A breakfast-themed bowl might rely on ingredients like ground beef and scrambled eggs as well. Or, you could rely on another combination, like a fried egg and fried onions. There are many recipes out there to give you inspiration.
Bulletproof Coffee
Bulletproof coffee is popular among keto dieters. The original version features coffee from the Bulletproof brand, ghee, and Brain Octane oil (which is a form of C8 MCT oil). However, many people make their own versions, often using butter and coconut oil as the main ingredients.
The butter/ghee and coconut oil/MCT oil provide plenty of fat, which is helpful for your macro balance. The MCT oil is also directly relevant for keto, potentially making it easier to get in ketosis or remain there.
While the coffee isn’t nearly as filling as a full breakfast, it is more satisfying than you might expect. Many people find that it is enough to keep them going for hours.
Chia Pudding
A chia pudding doesn’t sound like a keto meal, as chia seeds contain a decent number of carbs (seriously, you get around 12 grams of carbs in a two tablespoon serving) . However, most of these carbs come from fiber, so they’re not a problem at all.
The fiber is actually helpful for many people. After all, you’re often avoiding many fiber rich foods when following a keto diet. It’s easy to end up with insufficient fiber intake, especially if you’re not planning well.
Chia puddings are also both delicious and versatile. You can easily experiment with ingredients to make whatever flavor combination you prefer. Plus, the puddings can be prepared the night before, so there’s no effort needed at breakfast time.
Eggs With Avocado And Smoked Salmon
Eggs, avocados, and salmon are all popular keto ingredients. Avocado and salmon are both high in healthy fats, while all three ingredients give you plenty of nutrients.
The three also work really well with each other, especially at breakfast time. There isn’t much work involved either. You’ll often only need to cook the eggs at breakfast time. What could be easier than that?
Keto Smoothie
Okay, we’re slightly cheating here, as smoothies are a type of drink rather than food. Still, smoothies have plenty of things going for them. They’re also perfect as a low effort breakfast.
Smoothies are particularly good when you’re trying to lose weight. This is because they can be filling, while also containing fewer calories than a full meal.
Of course, you need to design your smoothies carefully. You’re looking for a drink that has a good balance of macros and isn’t too high in calories. Thankfully, there are plenty of delicious recipes to choose from, including the following:
- Keto Coffee Smoothies – great for a morning pick me up
- Keto Spinach Smoothies – bright green and packed with nutrients
- Keto Matcha Smoothies – for a powerful hit of antioxidants
- Keto Chocolate Smoothies – for a breakfast that tastes like dessert
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are often served as part of dinner, but they can be delicious for breakfast too. The trick is to stuff them with keto friendly ingredients. Thankfully, there are plenty of these to choose from.
Many recipes rely on a hamburger-based filling. This often means including lean ground beef and taco seasoning. Cauliflower rice is a useful addition too, giving you extra nutrients and mixing up the texture.
Some recipes use ricotta cheese as an ingredient too. It’s easy to see how this works well, as cheese is always an exceptional contrast to ground beef.
Breakfast Salad
What about a breakfast salad? The right salad works incredibly well, giving you a great balance of nutrients, fat, and protein.
The trick is to choose your ingredients well. You’re not just looking for a low carb salad. You also want one that is filling and has a good balance of flavors and textures.
Try starting traditionally, with a base of dark leafy greens. Eggs are great next. You could poach these or perhaps hard boil them and slice them.
We need more protein than that, so perhaps some low carb nuts. You might include some type of meat too, like lean sliced chicken breast or smoked salmon. Avocados are a great addition too, giving you creaminess and healthy fats.
Finally, what about some fruit for flavor contrast? Raspberries are excellent here, as they have a vibrant flavor and are low in carbs.
Is It Better To Skip Breakfast On Keto?
There are endless debates about whether it’s best to skip breakfast or not. Keto dieters do often skip breakfast. Doing so seems to make it easier to stay in ketosis and might make the diet easier to follow.
Bulletproof coffee is also used as an alternative to breakfast. This calorie-dense drink can be satisfying and provides plenty of energy, with barely any carbs.
Still, the best approach ultimately depends on your needs. Some people can skip breakfast without any major dip in energy, while others find they really need that first meal. It’s important to do what feels right to you – rather than following a so-called best practice.
