50+ Keto Chicken Breast Recipes - Whole Lotta Yum (2024)

FAQs

Will chicken breast take me out of ketosis? ›

For meat lovers, the best news is → both white meat and dark meat are perfectly fine to eat when following a keto diet. However, note that the best type of chicken to use is definitely chicken breast as it is the leanest cut.

"With a keto diet, the breakdown is approximately 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein and 5 percent carbohydrates." For example, a woman who weighs 150 pounds and is moderately active is recommended to eat 25 grams of carbs (think one medium sized apple!), 86 grams of protein (a little over three 3 oz chicken breasts) ...

Meat and poultry

Meat and poultry are considered staple foods on the keto diet. Fresh meat and poultry contain no carbs and are rich in B vitamins and several important minerals. They're also a great source of high quality protein, which may help preserve muscle mass during a very low carb diet ( 18 , 19 , 20).

Chicken breast, for example, is a staple for those observing the keto diet. It's rich in protein, with 31 grams per 100-gram serving, has zero carbs, and contains important nutrients like vitamin B6, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, calcium, and cobalamin.

The Best Meats for Keto

Only about one-fifth of your meal should be protein. If you've done that math, that makes high-protein meat choices, like skinless chicken breasts or fish, things you should only eat sparingly.

For most of us, when you do these calculations, we should eat around 90-120 g of protein per day. So this is 1.5 chicken breasts or two 6-8-oz steaks per day.

When following a keto diet, it's important to pay attention to the portion size of the food you eat. While roasted chicken is generally considered a keto-friendly food, the amount you eat can affect your daily macronutrient intake and potentially impact your weight loss progress.

This will depend on the type of keto diet you're on. Generally, you can consume one to two pieces of steak a week, but your protein and fat intake should be supplemented with other meats like fish and chicken.

Simply put, you cannot lose weight or maintain your health without exercising appropriate portion control with your food intake. If you are overeating, you will never see results, whether or not you are on the keto diet.

The good news is that you can effectively eat as many eggs as you want on a ketogenic diet, as long as they fit your overall calorie and macronutrient requirements. Eggs have a fantastic macro profile nearly identical to the 'ideal' keto ratio.

Is KFC chicken good for keto diet? ›

Though other chicken options at KFC may not be keto-friendly, the grilled chicken is. KFC Fried Chicken is not a healthy choice at all as it contains about 8-11 grams of carbs per medium-size piece whereas KFC Grilled Chicken is the healthiest option to consider when you are following a low-carb diet.

Yes, rotisserie chicken is keto-friendly. It's a carb-free option and a great source of protein (20-25 grams of protein per portion size). But you need to be careful about the part of the whole chicken you eat since some options have a high-fat content (mostly from saturated fats).

The bottom line. You should avoid cheat meals and days on the keto diet. Consuming too many carbs can kick your body out of ketosis — and it takes several days to 1 week to get back into it. In the meantime, your weight loss may be disrupted.

If you occasionally want to “carb up,” or if you can maintain ketosis at a higher level of carbs, eating 50 grams of carbs means you're still staying relatively low carb. Here's 50 grams of refined or higher carb foods: three slices of bread, three potatoes, a cup of rice and a cup of pasta.

The range of evaluated studies – all published between 2002 and 2022 – found that most trials defined low-carb as having 100 grams or less of carbohydrates daily. But many also had much stricter definitions, with carbs taking up only 40-60 grams per day.

“Protein will not kick you out of ketosis if you have a lot of it, but it will definitely lower the amount of ketones in your blood.” Since slightly more protein shouldn't affect your body's ability to stay in ketosis, this version of the diet delivers the same weight loss benefits as standard keto, Spritzler says.

Generally speaking, skinless chicken breast is the leaner option and often the cut most widely suggested for weight loss. This is because dark meat like the thighs (as well as the wings and legs) is higher in fat than the breast. In a 100g serving of chicken breast, you'll get about 3.24g of fat [2].

While chicken is not a carbohydrate-containing food and therefore does not raise blood sugar levels directly, its protein content can still prompt the body to release insulin. This is a normal part of the body's metabolic process to manage nutrients effectively.

The traditional KFC fried chicken is not considered Keto-friendly as it is breaded and contains high-carb coatings. However, you can enjoy a Keto-friendly version by removing the breading and opting for grilled or unbreaded options. Pay attention to added sugars in sauces as well.