Is Dark Chocolate Keto Friendly? Can you eat chocolate on a low-carb diet? With the best keto-friendly brands, dark chocolate bar options and recipe ideas.
Is Dark Chocolate Keto Friendly?
Is Dark Chocolate Keto Friendly? That’s a question I’m often asked by blog readers and followers of a low-carb diet.
The short answer is that yes – you are likely to find chocolate bars or chocolate chips that are low enough in sugar and grams of net carbs to both satisfy your sweet tooth and be able to fit into your keto diet plan.
For me, the best option to get the most of the health benefits of unsweetened chocolate is to opt for one free of too many artificial sweeteners, which just don’t agree with me, and rather opt for one as low in natural sugars or a natural sweetener like stevia or monk fruit sweetener instead.
How Many Carbs In Chocolate?
Depending on the chocolate bars or chocolate chips you pick, the carb content and included ingredients can vary wildly. You’ll find that the higher percent cocoa solids equates to a lower sugar amount and fewer carbs.
Unfortunately regular milk chocolate and white chocolate tends to have a high sugar content as opposed to dark chocolate brands that naturally have less sugar due to the higher portion of cocoa butter and cocoa content, sometimes including unsweetened cocoa powder.
Sugar-free chocolate can often include sugar alcohol or artificial sweeteners which, as I mentioned, don’t agree with me, so I prefer to opt for a small serving size of an 85% or 90% dark chocolate that has a rich chocolate flavor without artificial ingredients.
As a general rule of thumb small amounts of low-carb chocolate is a great option to get your chocolate fix, while also helping you to stay on plan to achieve your own personal health and weight loss goals.
As mentioned, different types of chocolate will have a different carb count. With that being said, here is a look at the nutritional value from one of the best keto chocolate options that I could find at my local grocery store, 85% Lindt, per 100g:
- 584 calories
- 46g Fat
- 27g Saturated Fat
- 22g Carbohydrates
- 15g Sugars
- 12.5g Protein
I’d recommend not consuming an entire block of chocolate in one sitting, but aiming for around a 25g portion so that the dark chocolate fits within your daily macros. A 25 gram portion of 85% Lindt would have the following nutritional content:
- 146 calories
- 11.5g Fat
- 6.75g Saturated Fat
- 5.5g Carbohydrates
- 3.75g Sugars
- 3.125g Protein
In addition to Lindt 85%, 90% or even 99%, depending on where you are in the world, there are a number of other brands producing keto friendly chocolate.
These include Green and Blacks Organic Dark Chocolate, Lily’s Sweets Chocolate Chips and one of my personal favorites is budget friendly Aldi, which have an 85% dark chocolate option that’s perfect in all kinds of keto recipes.
Easy Keto Desserts Recipes With Chocolate
Here are some keto lifestyle friendly recipes to satisfy your chocolate cravings.
Hot Chocolate – as a chocolate lover, I enjoy a warming, indulgent mug of hot chocolate most days, no matter the weather.
This sweet treat is super easy to make and is naturally low in g net carbs. Simply heat almond milk and a little heavy cream until just starting to gently bubble, then whisk through a couple of dark chocolate squares to melt and pour out into a mug. You can top your drink with a little whipped cream to naturally elevate the fat content to help you meet your daily keto macros.
Chocolate Mousse – this keto chocolate recipe has only a few simple ingredients including an entire bar of low carb friendly chocolate. This easy recipe is full of healthy fats and also happens to be potentially dairy free, as long as the chocolate you pick is without milk solids, which 85% plus chocolate tends to be. (Just be sure to check the packaging carefully if serving to someone who has a dairy allergy.)
Keto Fudge – you can create indulgent fudge with a good chocolate that doesn’t have much sugar, peanut butter and your keto sweetener of choice. These are perfect to be able to enjoy the taste of those always popular peanut butter cups while being keto journey friendly.
Fat Bombs – keto dieters often find that a great way to get into a state of ketosis, and stay there, is to include fat bombs in their diet.
There are plenty of easy keto recipes and delicious options when it comes to creating the bite sized treats without many added sugars, including adding in coconut oil, butter or in the case of my 2 ingredient fat bomb recipe – mascarpone cheese.
Keto Truffles – these decadent chocolate truffles are low in grams of carbs and contain only 3 high quality ingredients – low carb chocolate, butter and heavy cream.
The ingredients are simply melted together and then set in the fridge, before being cut into bite sized squares and stored in an airtight container to be able to quickly grab when sweet, chocolate cravings strike.
Chocolate On Keto Video
Here’s a video with a look at some of the high-quality dark chocolate options that I found in my local grocery stores. Hit play below or click here to watch on YouTube.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to enjoy keto chocolates when following low carb diets. Of course you can simply enjoy a small portion on it’s own, or follow one of the above recipes to have your sweets and eat it too!
More Ketogenic Diet Chocolate Desserts
Disclaimer – this post is meant for informational post only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your health professional before making any dietary changes.
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