Cooking on the Keto Diet

Cooking for the keto diet isn’t much different than normal ways of making food. The only exception will be the ingredients used, since the keto way of eating requires the absence of heavy carb ingredients such as wheat flour, sugar, syrups, and others. Popular alternatives include sugar alcohols such as stevia, coconut and almond flours, vegetables such as cauliflower and butternut squash and zucchini, and shiitake mushrooms (a popular keto-friendly alternative for pasta).

Healthy Fats

The ketogenic diet replaces carbohydrate consumption with fat consumption. Fats aren’t the villains of healthy eating. For example, Omega-3 is a very healthy fat (abundant in fish dishes). However, not all fats are good for your diet. High amounts of saturated fats in your diet can be unhealthy. Although the keto diet encourages fat consumption, it’s important to remember that not all fats are equal. This is important to know especially if you’re using cooking oils.

Cooking Oil

Cooking oil contains fat. But, not every cooking oil contains the same amount and types of fats. The healthiest cooking oils are extra refined olive oil, avocado oil, virgin coconut oil, and ghee. Butter is considered healthier than some cooking oils but it contains a high amount of calories and saturated fat—and should be used in moderation.

Another consideration for cooking oil is the smoking point. It’s the highest temperature that cooking oil is effective before it breaks down, turns into smoke and free radical particles. Healthy cooking oils have a low smoking point, whereas unhealthy cooking oils have a high smoking point. We have a table of smoking point temperatures that provides approximate values for each type of cooking oil.