Keto nuts, seeds & legumes: compare food forms and portions

Direct answer: nuts, seeds, and legumes are not one keto category. A whole nut, a nut butter, a seed, a cooked bean, and a sweetened paste can have different carbohydrate, fiber, and portion profiles. The named food, its preparation, and the amount eaten are more useful than the category label.

Medical disclaimer. This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting the ketogenic diet or making changes to your diet, exercise, or medication — especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication, or have a medical condition such as diabetes, or kidney, liver, or heart disease. See our editorial & medical-review policy.

Dense foods need a precise portion comparison

Many of these records use a cup, tablespoon, ounce, or cooked yield as the source’s household measure. That makes the listed-portion values traceable, but it does not mean those measures are interchangeable or recommended. A tablespoon of a spread and a cup of beans are different food situations, even if both are included in this hub.

Browse by form, not by a blanket rule

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

Food form	Records to compare	What to verify
Whole nuts	Macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, unroasted	The actual handful, coating, roasting ingredients, and package serving size.
Seeds and seed-like ingredients	Chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, unsalted	Whether a tablespoon, recipe amount, or larger household measure is relevant to the meal.
Nut and seed spreads	Almond butter, lower sodium, cashew butter, peanut butter	Added sugar, oil, starch, flavorings, allergens, and the product label.
Beans, lentils, and chickpeas	Black beans, canned, lentils, from dried, chickpeas, canned	Dry versus cooked measure, sauce, drained weight, and the carbohydrate contribution of the planned portion.
Processed legume dishes	Baked beans, beans and tomatoes, hummus, plain	Recipe ingredients and whether a prepared product matches the source description.

Net carbs are only one comparison field

The individual pages calculate net carbs as total carbohydrate minus dietary fiber, capped at zero. That convention helps compare the source records consistently, but it cannot decide a person’s total carbohydrate limit, protein needs, energy needs, or tolerance for a particular food. A packaged item can also differ from the source record, particularly when it contains sweeteners, starches, or added fiber.

Use the net-carbs guide for the method and the net-carb calculator for a label and portion you enter yourself. For anyone with a nut, peanut, sesame, soy, or other food allergy, the database is not an allergen-safety resource: read the current label and account for cross-contact warnings.

Plan with the rest of the diet, not one ingredient

These foods can be compared alongside vegetables, dairy & alternatives, and grains, starches & baked foods. Readers planning a vegetarian or vegan pattern can continue to the vegetarian keto framework or vegan keto guide; both require more than a net-carb lookup.

Complete nut, seed & legume record directory

Browse all 52 selected USDA records in this nut, seed & legume 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.

Almond butter

• Almond butter, lower sodiumlower-sodium

Almond paste

• Almond pasteingredient

Almonds unroasted

• Almonds, unroastedwhole food

Baked beans

• Baked beansbaked

Baked beans vegetarian

• Baked beans, vegetarianbaked · vegetarian

Beans and tomatoes

• Beans and tomatoes, no added fatno-added-fat

Black beans

• Black beans, from canned, no added fatcanned · from-canned · no-added-fat
• Black beans, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Brazil nuts

• Brazil nutswhole food

Cashew butter

• Cashew butteringredient

Cashews unroasted

• Cashews, unroastedwhole food

Chestnuts

• Chestnutswhole food

Chia seeds

• Chia seedswhole food

Chickpeas

• Chickpeas, from canned, no added fatcanned · from-canned · no-added-fat
• Chickpeas, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Coconut

• Coconut, freshfresh

Coconut packaged

• Coconut, packagedwhole food

Flax seeds

• Flax seedswhole food

Hazelnuts

• Hazelnutswhole food

Hummus

• Hummus, plainplain

Kidney beans

• Kidney beans, from canned, no added fatcanned · from-canned · no-added-fat
• Kidney beans, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Lentils

• Lentils, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Macadamia nuts

• Macadamia nutswhole food

Natto

• Nattowhole food

Papad grilled or broiled

• Papad, grilled or broiledgrilled · broiled

Peanut butter

• Peanut butteringredient
• Peanut butter, lower sodiumlower-sodium
• Peanut butter, lower sugarlower-sugar

Peanuts

• Peanuts, boiledboiled
• Peanuts, roasted, saltedroasted · salted
• Peanuts, roasted, unsaltedroasted · unsalted

Peanuts dry roasted

• Peanuts, dry roasted, saltedroasted · salted · dry
• Peanuts, dry roasted, unsaltedroasted · unsalted · dry

Peanuts unroasted

• Peanuts, unroastedwhole food

Pecans unroasted

• Pecans, unroastedwhole food

Pine nuts

• Pine nutswhole food

Pinto beans

• Pinto beans, from canned, no added fatcanned · from-canned · no-added-fat
• Pinto beans, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Pork and beans

• Pork and beanswhole food

Pumpkin seeds

• Pumpkin seeds, unsaltedunsalted

Refried beans

• Refried beansprepared food

Sesame seeds

• Sesame seedswhole food

Soy nuts

• Soy nutswhole food

Split peas

• Split peas, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Sunflower seeds

• Sunflower seeds, plain, saltedplain · salted
• Sunflower seeds, plain, unsaltedplain · unsalted

Tahini

• Tahiniingredient

Walnuts excluding honey roasted

• Walnuts, excluding honey roastedroasted

Wasabi peas

• Wasabi peaswhole food

White beans

• White beans, from canned, no added fatcanned · from-canned · no-added-fat
• White beans, from dried, no added fatdried · from-dried · no-added-fat

Source and method

This hub organizes selected records from USDA FoodData Central’s Survey (FNDDS) release. Each linked page presents its food description, preparation state, FoodData Central ID, source portion, and per-100 g nutrient values. The directory does not assume a generic nut, seed, bean, or branded spread has the same composition as a named source record.

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

1. August 24, 2026First published