Easy Low-Carb Snacks: Your Ultimate Grab-and-Go Guide (Healthy and Keto-Friendly)

In this article: 

• Low-carb snacks can help with weight loss and blood sugar. Include protein, healthy fats, and fiber to satisfy hunger and support nutrition. 
• Learn why managing blood sugar is key for achieving health goals, and how low-carb snacks can fit into your plan. 
• Here are ideas for homemade snacks and grab-and-go low-carb snacks to buy from grocery stores and convenience stores. Many quick-service restaurants have low-carb snack options. 
• Keep reading for ideas for high-protein snacks, low-carb high-fat snacks, and low-carb snacks to satisfy sweet, crunchy, and salty cravings. 
• Talk to your healthcare provider before making changes to your dietary patterns, and work with a provider if you’re on a low-carb or keto diet.
• Lark can help you make sustainable changes to support health for life with 24/7 availability and personalized coaching. 

When you’re feeling hungry but your next meal isn’t in sight, it’s time for a snack. The right snack can satisfy hunger, keep blood sugar and energy up, and provide essential nutrients, all while keeping you within your calorie limit.

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A bag of chips or cookies may be common, but it’s just as easy to find nutritious, lower-carb options to satisfy hunger and manage blood sugar. The trick is to plan ahead so you have a full assortment of appetizing, nutritious snacks for every occasion. In this guide, you can learn about having low-carb snacks ready when you need them so you can always stave off hunger. 

Why We Need Healthy Snacks

It’s easy to understand the importance of choosing healthy snacks when you consider the roles of snacks in American diets. More than 90% of adults eat at least 1 snack on a given day, according to the USDA, with 78% of adults consuming at least 2 snacks daily. 

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Snacks provide 23% of American adults’ calories. They don’t just satisfy physiological hunger. People may snack because of cravings, social situations, or environmental triggers. 

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Given how much snacking happens in the US, it’s important to choose healthy snacks. Snacks offer opportunities to get more fruits and vegetables, fiber, protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients, but they often contribute sugar, refined grains, and excess fats. Some of the most common snack choices are sweet bakery products like cookies and muffins, potato and corn chips, and candy. They’re high in calories and carbohydrates, and low in essential nutrients. 

What’s a Healthy, Low-Carbohydrate Snack?

A healthy, low-carbohydrate snack adds nutrients to your diet, curbs hunger, and supports energy. It also lets you stay on track with your calorie and carbohydrate goals for weight loss or maintenance. 

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Fiber, healthy fats, and protein are considered filling nutrients. Include one or more of them for a more satisfying snack because they can help reduce hunger for hours. They slow emptying of food from the stomach, so you feel full for longer. They also help stabilize blood sugar so your blood sugar doesn’t spike as high after a meal, or dip as low after a blood sugar high. 

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The calories in a healthy low-carb snack may be 50 to 300 calories. The calorie level can vary depending on many factors, such as these. 

• Calorie goals for the day
• How many meals and snacks you normally eat
• How hungry you are
• When your next meal is planned
• What you planning to do before you eat next, such as work out

Many snacks may be about 100-200 calories. 

How Many Net Carbs in a Low-Carbohydrate Snack?

The number of carbohydrates in a low-carb snack may be about 5 to 10 grams of net carbohydrates. This can vary depending on your carbohydrate needs and goals. 

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Here are some guidelines. 

Ask your healthcare provider how many snacks you should have, and how many carbohydrates to aim for in each snack.

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When counting carbohydrates, you might come across the concept of net carbohydrates. The net carbs are the types of carbs that impact your blood sugar. These are sugars and starches. Dietary fiber is also a type of carbohydrate in food, but it has minimal impact on blood sugar. 

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To calculate net carbs, just subtract grams of dietary fiber from grams of total carbohydrates. Here’s how to calculate net carbs. 

Net carbs = (Total grams of carbohydrates) - (Grams of dietary fiber) 

Since dietary fiber lowers net carbs, using net carbs can steer you towards choosing higher-fiber foods like vegetables, nuts, and berries. 

Ready-to-Eat: The Best Low-Carb Snacks to Buy

Grab-and-go low-carb snacks can help you satisfy hunger. They can also support efforts to eat healthier because they make it easier to have something healthy on hand at a moment’s notice. Here are some easy-to-find foods from supermarkets or convenience stores that you can take to work or keep in the car for on-the-go snacking.

Here are some choices to consider.  

Many packaged snack foods are high in refined carbohydrates, low in nutrients, or both. They can also be high in sodium and excess fats. Here are some ready-to-eat supermarket snacks to limit. 

• Potato and tortilla chips, white crackers, and pretzels
• Cookies, snack cakes, sugar-sweetened cereal, and candy bars
• Pork rinds (“chicharrones”) and processed meat snacks like sausage sticks and deli meat cubes and slices

Protein bars and protein shakes can be low in carbs, but choose them carefully. Many are highly processed and have artificial sweeteners, flavors, and preservatives. They tend to be calorie-dense, so they’re not that filling compared to whole foods. They can be high in saturated fat, which isn’t good for heart health. 

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Purchasing snacks in single-serve portions can help with portion control. Guacamole cups, 100-calorie packs of almonds, low-fat string cheese sticks, and tuna pouches are examples. They can be convenient and support healthier eating. 

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However, single-serving packets are often more expensive per serving than multi-serving bags or boxes. If single-serving packages aren’t in your budget, it’s okay to make your own packets for portion control. Big bags of nuts or cheese crisps, jars of peanut butter, and containers of cottage cheese can all be far less expensive than single-serving packages. 

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When you purchase a multi-serving package, you can divide it up all at once by putting one portion each into several sandwich bags or small containers so they’re ready when you need them. Or, just take one portion when you need it. When you serve yourself on a plate or into a container instead of eating from the bag, it’s easier to eat just one serving. 

Low-Effort Low-Carb Snacks: Nutritious DIY Choices

Embrace making your own low-carb snacks! You get to choose your favorite ingredients and flavors, and it can be easy to have a wide range of healthy and delicious options available whenever you are hungry. 

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Aim for 1-3 low-carb ingredients, such as the following.

• Carb-free proteins, like chicken, tuna, lean ground turkey, grilled shrimp, and eggs
• Low-carb proteins, like beans, cheese, Greek yogurt, and cottage cheese
• Low-carb or carb-free healthy fats, like avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and peanuts
• Non-starchy vegetables like greens, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, and celery
• Lower-sugar fruit like berries, peaches, and tangerines

If you choose starchy carbs and they fit into your carb count goals, look for small portions of whole grains like 1 cup of popcorn, ¼ cup of oatmeal, 1 slice of bread, or ⅓ cup of brown rice.

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Here are some ideas for inspiration.

Here are more tips for making your low-carb snacks work for you.

• Consider making multiple portions at once so there’s enough for the next few days
• Experiment with different variations, like different vegetables, herb combos, or cheese varieties
• Choose nutritious ingredients, like olive oil instead of butter, skinless chicken instead of chicken with skin or sausage, and fruit instead of fruit drinks

Low-Carb Sweet and Savory Snacks to Satisfy Cravings While Staying on Track

Got a craving? There’s a low-carb snack for that! Sweet, crunchy, salty, creamy, or crispy, try these options for satisfying cravings when they hit. At the same time, these healthier choices can help stabilize blood sugar and help reduce future cravings.

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Low-Carb Sweet Snacks

Low-Carb Savory Snacks

• Almonds or peanuts with ½ ounce of dark chocolate (at least 85% cocoa)
• Cocoa-dusted or cinnamon sugar-sprinkled roasted garbanzo beans or almonds
• ½ banana frozen in slices with ½ ounce of peanut butter or peanuts
• ½ cup of berries with whipped cream

• Cheese crisps from a bag or make your own in the microwave or oven
• Baked kale chips with parmesan cheese or sea salt
• Roasted salted nuts or peanuts
• 1 cup of air-popped popcorn with parmesan or shredded cheddar cheese

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Ultimate List of Low-Carb Snacks

Here are low-carb snack ideas, grouped by number of carbohydrates. 

Group 1: Zero to 5 Grams Net Carbs (Strict Keto Focus)

1. Hard-Boiled Eggs
2. 1.5 ounces of cheese slices or cubes, like cheddar, swiss, provolone, or jack
3. Natural turkey jerky with no sugar or nitrates added
4. Canned or pouch tuna or salmon (choose unflavored or check for added sugars)
5. ¼ medium avocado or ¼ cup guacamole
6. 5-10 black olives or low-sodium black olives
7. 1 cup of celery sticks, bell pepper strips or cucumber slices, optional with ½ ounce low-fat cream cheese or 1 tablespoon of hummus
8. 1 ounce of pecans, walnuts, or macadamia nuts
9. Low-sodium broth with cooked chicken and mushrooms, spinach or other greens, or cabbage
10. 1 ounce of parmesan or other cheese crisps
11. Shrimp with cocktail sauce
12. Skewer with cooked chicken cubes and mozzarella cheese
13. Skewer with cheese and olives
14. Egg salad with 1 hard-boiled egg, diced celery and onion, spices, and 2 teaspoons of mayo or 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
15. Baked avocado sticks with olive oil and salt and pepper
16. Hollowed cucumber or bell pepper half stuffed with tuna and 1 tablespoon of salsa
17. 5 macadamia nuts with ½ ounce of 90% dark chocolate
18. 1 ounce of pecan halves with cinnamon and ½ cup of unsweetened almond milk
19. Roll-ups with lettuce leaf, nitrate-free turkey breast slices, and provolone cheese slice
20. Egg muffin bites made with egg whites, cheese, and diced vegetables
21. Small salad with chicken on greens with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Group 2: 5 to 10 Grams Net Carbs (General Low-Carb Focus)

22. 1 ounce of almonds, pistachios, cashews, or peanuts 
23. ½ cup of cottage cheese
24. 1 low-fat string cheese stick
25. Caprese salad: ½ cup of tomato slices with basil leaves, 1 ounce of mozzarella cheese, and olive oil
26. 1 cup of carrot sticks or baby carrots roasted in olive oil
27. 1 cup of broccoli or cauliflower florets and 2 tablespoons of hummus
28. ¼ cup of edamame in the pod
29. ¼ cup of roasted garbanzo beans
30. Green salad with 2 tablespoons of toasted almonds or sunflower seeds, 1 ounce of cheese, and ¼ cup of berries
31. 1 cup of celery sticks with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
32. ½ apple, sliced, with 1 ounce of cheddar cheese
33. ¼ cup of ricotta cheese with cinnamon

Group 3: 10 to 15 Grams Net Carbs (Moderation Focus)

34. Snack mix with 1 ounce of nuts and ¼ cup of plain whole-grain Oat O’s cereal
35. ½ medium apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
36. ½ cup of strawberries and ½ ounce of nuts
37. 1 cup of watermelon and 1 ounce of feta cheese
38. 1 graham cracker and 1 ounce of cheddar cheese
39. ½ banana, sliced, topped with ½ ounce of melted dark chocolate
40. ½ cup of plain Greek yogurt with ½ cup of blueberries
41. ½ cup of black or pinto beans with 1 ounce of cheddar cheese
42. ½ cup of Oat O’s in ½ cup of unsweetened almond milk (cinnamon optional)
43. 1 cup of vegetables with ½ cup of corn and black bean salsa
44. ¼ whole-grain pita with 2 tablespoons of hummus plus shredded lettuce
45. ½ cup of grapes and 1 hard-boiled egg
46. 2 cups of air-popped popcorn
47. 3 ounces of chicken and ⅓ cup of cooked sweet potato
48. ½ cup of corn with 3 ounces of cooked ground turkey and Mexican seasoning
49. 1 cup of chicken and brown rice soup with vegetables
50. ½ small baked potato with broccoli and Greek yogurt

How Lark Can Help

Smart snacking can improve weight management, energy, and nutrition, and low-carb snacks can be accessible and satisfying. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

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Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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