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Keto meat, poultry & eggs: compare preparation and ingredients

Direct answer: many plain meat, poultry, and egg records contain little calculated net carbohydrate, but the preparation and product formulation still matter. Coatings, marinades, sweet cures, sauces, and meatless alternatives can describe a different food from the plain raw or cooked item beside it.

Compare the preparation, not just the protein source​

“Chicken,” “beef,” or “eggs” is not precise enough for a nutrition comparison. The database distinguishes raw from cooked foods and preserves terms such as skin eaten, coated, deli, sausage, or meatless. That allows a reader to compare a food record without silently assuming that every recipe or brand has the same ingredients.

Browse by the question you are actually asking​

Small-screen view: this comparison table scrolls sideways. Swipe or drag it horizontally to see every column.

ComparisonRecords to openWhat can change the result
Plain meat and poultry formsBeef, ground, raw, chicken breast, baked or roasted, chicken thigh, baked or roastedSkin, cooking method, added fat, sauce, and the edible portion.
Egg preparationEgg, whole, raw, egg, whole, boiled or poached, egg omelet or scrambled, no added fatAdded milk, cheese, vegetables, cooking fat, and the number of eggs actually used.
Cured, deli, and convenience productsBeef jerky, bologna, hot dog, turkeyBrand recipe, sweeteners, starches, sodium, allergens, and serving size on the current package.
Coated animal-protein preparationsChicken breast, fried, coated, chicken drumstick, fried, coated, chicken wing, fried, coatedBreading, batter, sauces, and ingredient changes between recipes.

For tofu and formulated meat alternatives, use the separate plant proteins directory. It keeps those records together so a meatless product is not treated as interchangeable with a plain animal-protein record.

Portion and food safety are separate questions​

The listed portion on a page is a USDA household measure used to scale per-100 g data. It is not a protein target or a recommendation about how much to eat. The database also cannot replace cooking-temperature, storage, allergen, pregnancy, kidney-disease, or medication-specific guidance. Use the food label and a clinician’s advice when those questions apply.

Calculated net carbs on the linked pages equal total carbohydrate minus dietary fiber, capped at zero. This is a consistent comparison method, not a promise that a food is appropriate for every ketogenic diet or medical condition. The net-carbs guide explains the calculation; the meal-prep and storage guide addresses the separate practical issue of preparing food safely.

Build the rest of the plate deliberately​

Use vegetables, seafood, and fats & condiments to compare the components commonly paired with these records. The keto food list and high-protein keto guide explain broader dietary patterns without treating a food-composition table as a personal plan.

Complete meat, poultry & egg record directory​

Browse all 89 selected USDA records in this meat, poultry & egg group

Entries are grouped by food concept, then by the exact USDA food form. Open the record that matches the preparation and product you are comparing.

Bacon bits

Bacon or side pork

Beef bacon

Beef chipped

Beef corned

Beef deli meat

Beef jerky

Beef sausage

Beef stew meat

Blood sausage

Bologna

Bratwurst

Canadian bacon

Chicken

Chicken breast

Chicken deli meat

Chicken drumstick

Chicken feet

Chicken salad spread

Chicken tail

Chicken thigh

Chicken wing

Chicken wings

Chorizo

Egg substitute

Egg whites

Egg yolks

Eggs

Ground beef

Ham

Ham deli meat

Ham ground

Ham luncheon meat loaf type

Ham prosciutto

Ham salad spread

Head cheese

Hot dog beef

Hot dog meat and poultry

Hot dog turkey

Italian sausage

Knockwurst

Liver paste or pate

Liverwurst

Luncheon meat loaf type

Mortadella

Polish sausage

Pork bacon smoked or cured

Pork pig's feet

Pork sausage

Pork skin rinds

Scrapple

Spam

Thuringer

Turkey

Turkey bacon

Turkey deli meat

Turkey or chicken and pork sausage

Turkey or chicken sausage

Vienna sausage

Source and method​

Each linked record is traceable to USDA FoodData Central’s Survey (FNDDS) release. The page preserves the source’s food description and preparation wording, gives the FoodData Central ID, and shows both per-100 g values and the calculation for the listed portion. Current recipes and packaged products can vary; the record should not be used to fill in missing label information.

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central Survey (FNDDS) 2021–2023, released October 31, 2024. FoodData Central documentation, dataset downloads

Article history

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