For those following a ketogenic diet, finding plant-based protein sources that won't break your carb bank can be challenging. Beans are often considered an extremely healthy food. That said, you may be able to include small quantities of beans in your diet on occasion. Unfortunately, most beans should be avoided on keto. Edamame, the young green soybeans popular in Asian cuisine, has emerged as a potential option for keto dieters seeking nutritious alternatives to high-carb legumes.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore whether edamame can fit into your ketogenic lifestyle, examine its nutritional profile, and provide practical tips for incorporating these protein-rich beans into your low-carb meal plan.
Understanding the Keto Diet
The keto diet follows a very low carb, high fat eating pattern aimed at achieving weight loss or other health benefits. The ketogenic diet is very low in carbs, high in fat, and moderate in protein. This eating pattern causes your body to switch into ketosis, a metabolic state in which your body burns fat - instead of carbs - to make ketone bodies and use them as fuel. To do so, the ketogenic diet typically limits carbs to no more than 5-10% of your daily calorie intake, or a maximum of about 50 grams per day. You’ll need to sustain this low carb intake to maintain ketosis. Getting too many carbs in your diet will flip your body back into carb-burning mode.
Those who follow the diet are attracted to its ability to cause rapid weight loss, as well as its association with other health benefits, such as improved blood sugar control and reduced seizures among those with epilepsy. However, more research is needed on the long-term effects of the diet on overall health.
Edamame: A Legume with a Unique Profile
Edamame beans are immature soybeans that are typically steamed or boiled in their green shell. They’re considered a legume, a category that also includes beans, lentils, and chickpeas. Legumes, including soy-based foods, are usually thought of as being too carb-rich to be part of a keto diet. However, edamame beans are unique. They have ample amounts of dietary fiber - which helps compensate for their overall carb content.
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Nutritional Profile of Edamame
Understanding edamame's macronutrient breakdown is crucial for determining its compatibility with a ketogenic diet. One cup (155g) of shelled edamame contains:
- 17 grams of protein
- 8 grams of total carbohydrates
- 5 grams of fiber
- 3 grams of net carbs
- 8 grams of healthy fats
With only 3 grams of net carbs per serving, edamame can be considered keto-friendly when consumed in moderation as part of a well-planned ketogenic diet.
Net Carbs in Edamame: A Closer Look
A 1/2-cup (75-gram) serving of shelled edamame has 9 grams of carbs. Yet, when you subtract its 4 grams of dietary fiber, it yields just 5 grams of net carbs. The term net carbs refers to the carbs that remain after subtracting dietary fiber from total carbs.
While edamame can be added to your keto diet, keep your portion size to a modest amount of 1/2 cup (75 grams) to help sustain ketosis.
How Edamame Compares to Other Legumes
Unlike most beans and legumes that are typically avoided on keto, edamame stands out for its favorable macronutrient ratio. For comparison:
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- Black beans: 20g net carbs per cup
- Chickpeas: 32g net carbs per cup
- Lentils: 24g net carbs per cup
- Edamame: 3g net carbs per cup
Health Benefits of Edamame for Keto Dieters
There are many benefits to including edamame in your keto diet. Edamame beans have a low glycemic index, which means they don’t spike your blood sugar like some other carbs might. This is due to their high fiber and protein contents. A 1/2 cup (75 grams) of edamame packs 8 grams of protein, a nutrient that’s important for tissue repair and several other vital functions. What’s more, edamame delivers other important nutrients, including iron, folate, vitamins K and C, and potassium, some of which may be lacking in a keto diet. While folate is important for red blood cell formation, vitamin K aids proper clotting. Vitamin C is also crucial for health, specifically for its role in immune function and wound repair. It can be hard to get enough micronutrients on a strict keto diet, as such a diet cuts out some vegetables, as well as many fruits and grains.
Edamame offers several advantages for those following a ketogenic lifestyle:
- Complete protein source with all essential amino acids
- Rich in fiber, supporting digestive health. The fiber in these soybeans does a lot of work, too - beyond just making them a little better for your carb count, fiber is incredibly important for your body, both in ketosis and not. Your good gut bacteria crave fiber; while you can’t really get energy from it, it’s their favorite food. Better food for them means more of the gut bacteria that help keep you healthy and losing weight.
- High in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids
- Excellent source of vitamins K and folate
- Contains beneficial compounds called isoflavones
Best Preparation Methods for Keto Edamame
Various factors may influence edamame’s designation as keto-friendly. For instance, preparation is something to consider. Edamame can be steamed, boiled, or fried - in or out of its pod. While its fuzzy outer pod is inedible, its bright-green beans are often shelled and eaten on their own. They can also be puréed or incorporated whole into a range of foods, like salads and grain bowls, which may or may not be keto-friendly. Keep in mind that what you’re eating alongside your edamame will contribute to the number of carbs you’re getting in that meal. Taking this into account will aid your efforts to maintain ketosis.
The shells of edamame are often topped with salt, seasoned mixes, or glazes. These preparations, especially those that incorporate sugar or flour, may add to the overall carb count. Not all preparations of edamame are keto-friendly. These beans can be added to dishes that take you over your keto carb limit or may be topped with carb-rich ingredients.
To maximize edamame's keto-friendly potential, consider these preparation methods:
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- Steam fresh or frozen edamame pods
- Season with sea salt and olive oil
- Add to low-carb stir-fries
- Include in keto-friendly salads
- Enjoy as a protein-rich snack
The most common way people eat edamame is usually boiled or steamed, with the pods lightly salted. Soybeans in the pod take longer to eat. There are some methods of preparation that fry edamame but that usually includes seed oils - which are almost all highly unhealthy - and breading of some type, which isn’t keto. Additionally, you might find a type of soybean paste or mash made from edamame, and that concentrates the carbs, which will cause you to eat far more than you want to.
Finding and Storing Edamame
The nice thing about edamame is that it’s pretty easy to find frozen in most grocery stores. There are no specific brands that you should pay attention to - your store’s brand of soybeans should be just fine. The one thing you might look for in the steamer bags since you can just throw these in the microwave and steam them without fussing around with pots and pans. If you’ve got a traditional grocery store near you, frozen edamame should be easy to find. These bags are 10oz, perfect for a family dinner or a snack with some leftovers. They steam directly in the bag and you can add your salt and then dump them out into a big bowl.
Portion Control Tips
While edamame is keto-compatible, portion control remains important. Stick to about 1 cup of shelled edamame per serving to maintain ketosis while benefiting from its nutritional profile. While we suggest you make your own steamed edamame to control portion sizes, these bags are 1/2 cup servings (or just slightly more), so you can eat exact amounts and still feel good about it. These are suggested with a warning - it is very easy to eat salty, crunchy edamame in excess, so be sure you portion these out. However, since they’re dry-roasted, the net carb amount is very low.
Potential Considerations and Side Effects
Before incorporating edamame into your keto diet, be aware of these factors:
- Some people may have soy sensitivities
- Phytoestrogen content may be a concern for certain individuals
- Choose organic options when possible to avoid GMOs
- Consider rotating protein sources for dietary variety
Lectins are proteins in foods that act as a survival mechanism in plants. When someone is sensitive to lectins and eats too much, it might create inflammation in the stomach leading to leaky gut syndrome. So if you’re suffering from a leaky gut, depression or any autoimmune disease, it’s best to avoid edamame since it’s basically immature soybeans.
Keto-Friendly Alternatives to Edamame
There really aren’t many alternatives to edamame but chickpeas are a decent approximation. Chickpeas - or garbanzo beans - can be roasted and eaten like edamame, but again, in moderation.
If you’d rather avoid beans altogether, there are some other keto-friendly foods you can use as substitutes.
- Mushrooms: Like beans, mushrooms can absorb the flavor of what they’re cooked in.
- Eggplant: Eggplant is another good alternative in cooking, although you may want to peel them before cooking because the skin can be bitter.
- Squash: Squashes like yellow squash and zucchini may also be suitable substitutes for beans in cooking thanks to their mild flavor. Zucchini is also a good choice. One cup of zucchini contains three grams of carbs and 17 calories. If you’re craving French fries, consider making some with zucchini. You can even make a cheesy casserole, zucchini gratin or keto frittata with zucchini.
Other keto-friendly vegetable options include:
- Brussels sprout is a cruciferous vegetable containing eight grams of total carbs and 4.5 grams of net carbs per serving. It’s also easy to introduce into your keto diet.
- Celery is the perfect vegetable for weight loss. A cup of chopped celery only has 14 calories and three net carbs. It’s proven to lower blood sugar and pressure and increase testosterone. I like dipping celery sticks in nut butter or hummus for an on-the-go keto snack.
- Asparagus is unique because it’s prebiotic, meaning it only breaks down when it reaches your large intestine.
- Like celery, broccoli is another low-calorie vegetable for anyone looking to lose weight.
Incorporating Edamame into Your Keto Meal Plan: Ideas and Recipes
Eating edamame by itself is unpleasant. First, get half a cup of frozen edamame and boil it in a pot for around four to five minutes. During this time, heat up your pan with some butter and add five slices of bacon. Last, mix the bacon and cooked edamame, and you’re good to go.
If you’re craving some carbs, consider making edamame spaghetti. First, add 200 grams of edamame spaghetti to a pot of boiling water. First, cook your edamame in a pot for three to five minutes. Drain it and toss it into a large mixing bowl. Add your olive oil, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese and give it a nice toss.
Other Keto-Friendly Beans
Most beans are too high in carbohydrates for the keto diet, but some may be a good fit - namely, green beans, lupin beans, and black soybeans. Black soybeans are the best low-carb bean to enjoy on keto, especially if you’re looking for something to replace traditional beans like pinto beans and black beans. Green beans are more like a non-starchy vegetable than a bean, any they can easily be worked into a low carb or keto diet. Although you may have to order them online, lupin beans are a great keto-friendly bean option. Lupin flour is also a popular choice for keto baking. They are bright yellow and traditionally eaten pickled.
Conclusion: Edamame and the Keto Diet - A Balanced Approach
Edamame is nutritious and fine for keto, in small amounts. The bacteria in your digestive tract will thank you for the healthy fiber snacks, and you’ll stay full for a long time.
The keto diet is high fat and very low in carbs. It flips your metabolism into ketosis, a state in which your body burns fat instead of carbs for fuel. To maintain ketosis, your carb intake needs to remain very low - often 50 grams of carbs or less per day.
Typically, legumes are too carb-rich to be included in the keto diet. While edamame is a legume, its unique nutritional profile places it in a keto gray area. While strict keto dieters may find its carb content too high, others may find that it can occasionally be included in their keto diet in modest portions.
In modest portions, edamame can keep you in ketosis while delivering essential nutrients, such as fiber, iron, protein, folate, and vitamins C and K. If your low-carb diet is a bit more flexible, then there’s no harm in eating small portions of edamame occasionally. But if you’re a little flexible, you can enjoy edamame on keto, but keep your portions small to lower carb intake.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of reasons to include edamame beans in a keto diet, such as their high fiber and protein contents.