Can you have tomato on a keto diet? Let's find this out.
This is the SIXTH post in a never-ending series of shorter information-rich articles with nutrition facts about specific types of food and their compatibility with a well-formulated keto diet. If you are serious about your keto challenge, then this article (and other articles in the series) is a must-read for you.
Today, you will learn a bit more about eating tomatoes on a ketogenic diet. They are one of the most popular vegetables out there. But can you eat tomatoes on a keto diet? Are they OK on this eating plan? Can you eat them in any amount you want? Let’s find this all out together.
Want to discover other specific vegetables, fruits or example foods and learn more their keto compliance? Great! Take a look at the entire category of keto foodsor study the ABC Keto section with multiple lists of keto diet foods with lots of tips, visual guides and lists of foods. Thanks to these lists and guides, you will become a real keto diet master who doesn’t make any common mistakes.
Nutrition Facts About Tomatoes
The tables below present you the most important nutrition facts about tomatoes. As you can see, they show the information and data that will be the most useful for keto diet followers who need to count their daily carb intake not to exceed 20 g.
We are, obviously, also interested in health here on ABC Keto, so you can also see the nutrients in which tomatoes are also especially rich.
For your convenience the tables show values per 100 g (3.5 oz) and 170 g (6 oz) which is the usual weight of a medium-sized tomato. The values given in percentages refer to the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) based on a 2000-calorie diet.
Nutrition Facts Of Tomatoes
This table shows nutrition facts about tomatoes per 100 g (3.5 oz).
Nutrition fact
Value
Calories
18 kcal
Fat
0,2 g
Total Carbs
3,9 g
Sugar
2,6 g
Dietary Fiber
1.2 g
Protein
0,9 g
Vitamin A
17%
Vitamin C
21%
Nutrition Facts Of A Medium-Sized Tomato
This table shows nutrition facts about tomatoes per 170 g (6 oz) which is usually how much a medium-sized tomato weighs.
Nutrition fact
Value
Calories
31 kcal
Fat
0,3 g
Total Carbs
6,7 g
Sugar
4,5 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Protein
1.5 g
Vitamin A
28%
Vitamin C
36%
Good news! You can have some tomatoes on a keto diet.
Tomatoes & Their Keto Compliance (7/10)
Here you will find the information and necessary facts about how keto-compliant tomatoes are.
HOW KETO COMPLIANCE IS CALCULATED: The keto compatibility of a given fruit or vegetable is analyzed based on its amount of net carbs and glycemic index (GI). These two values are the best reflection of how keto-friendly a given product is. 1 is the worst type of fruit or vegetable that will spike blood sugar and insulin. 10 means the veggie or a fruit is keto-friendly and you can eat it almost without any restriction.
Tomatoes are vegetables that grow above the ground and these vegetables are generally OK on a keto diet. However, the veggies that are considered absolutely the best for keto are the leafy green ones. That’s why you can certainly have tomatoes but I would suggest a little bit of caution with them.
Here are a few facts and tips of advice on eating tomatoes on a keto diet:
LOW IN CALORIES. Tomatoes only have only 18 calories per 100 g and this makes them really low-calorie foods. This means you can eat several tomatoes, feel very full (if not stuffed) and still consume (probably) less than 100 kcal. Sounds like a great deal!
LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX. The glycemic index (GI) of tomatoes is 15 which is considered low. This means tomatoes aren’t likely to raise your blood sugar or spike insulin. That’s the whole point of a keto diet.
HAVE A FEW CARBS. Tomatoes aren’t very rich in fiber (only 1 g per 100 g) and have some carbs (about 3 per 100 g). If your daily limit is 20 g, you can quite easily reach most of it with just a few huge tomatoes. Make sure to count them against your daily carb intake if you want to always go below 20 g.
OK IF EATEN WHOLE. Avoid tomato juices or sauces. They are usually much higher in carbs and sometimes even contain added sugar. I recommend only eating whole tomatoes and always eating them raw.
Want to learn more about other vegetables or fruits and their compliance with a keto diet? Check grapefruits out.
Tomatoes On A Ketogenic Diet & Health Impact (9/10)
In this section you will find all the necessary information and facts about how healthy tomatoes are.
HOW HEALTH IMPACT IS ASSESSED: Any conscious keto diet follower knows that the main focus of this eating plan is health and well-being. Weight loss and body composition improvements are usually only a nice “bonus” to the diet. Anyway, all the vegetables are also analyzed based on the amount of nutrients, vitamins, minerals or toxic ingredients they contain. 1 is the worst veggie that is only slightly better than poison and should be avoided. 10 is a very healthy vegetable that you can consume lots of.
Okay, so here are a few important facts you should know about tomatoes and their positive impact on health:
TECHNICALLY A FRUIT. Tomatoes are technically fruits but due to their low amount of carbs and calories are generally categorized as vegetables. And a healthy ones. This is just an interesting fact.
RICH IN VITAMINS & MINERALS. Even though tomatoes are mainly rich in vitamin C and vitamin A, they are also a good source of potassium (which is crucial both for health and on keto), vitamin K1 and folate (B9).
RICH IN IMPORTANT PLANT COMPOUNDS. Tomatoes are also rich in important plant compounds like lycopene, beta-carotene, naringenin and chlorogenic acid. These antioxidants have really positive impact on our health and can help prevent cancer or heart disease.
If you want to learn more about positive health effects of tomatoes, check this article out.
Bottom Line
As you can see tomatoes are very OK both in terms of their health properties and keto compliance. Yes, you can eat tomatoes on a ketogenic diet. Most people like their taste and they can be a perfect addition to basically any type of meal. You can also grab one tomato and treat it as a healthy snack.
However, they still have some carbs and “technically” are fruits so I recommend counting them against your daily carb intake in you are on a very strick keto plan that doesn’t allow more than 20 g of net carbs a day.
If you are on a more liberal plan though, you can eat as many tomatoes as you like (almost). Just make sure to avoid tomato juices, sauces or ketchup because they are usually a lot higher in carbs and can even contain added sugar.
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Hi William 🙂 And that’s good. Even though tomatoes are technically fruit they are in fact relatively safe veggies 🙂 And if you are physically active there is no way they could hinder your progress or kick you out of ketosis.
6 Comments
Sounds great i want to make a marinara sauce for my miracle noodles.
So feel free to make one and let me know how it turned out to be! I’m very curious.
Hi Olga, tomato is my favorite fruit on keto by far and the only one I eat 🙂
I don’t count tomatoes carbs and manage to stay in ketosis most of the time. I can even eat like 2-3 tomatoes a day.
Hi William 🙂 And that’s good. Even though tomatoes are technically fruit they are in fact relatively safe veggies 🙂 And if you are physically active there is no way they could hinder your progress or kick you out of ketosis.
This is good news.. I just made tomato soup.. will not have large portions.. but excited! 🙂