Can you eat high protein on keto?
Yes. The old warning about protein 'kicking you out of ketosis' is overstated for most people; protein intakes of 1.6–2.2g per kilogram are compatible with a ketogenic diet.
High Protein Keto Foods
Keto and high-protein coexist fine as long as you pick sources that carry protein without carbohydrate: meat, fish, eggs, and the harder cheeses.
The constraint on keto is not protein, it is carbohydrate. That rules out legumes and grains, which means your protein has to come from animal foods, eggs, dairy and a few seeds.
The upside is that these are the densest protein foods available: chicken breast at 31g per 100g, tuna at 29g, and parmesan at 35g.
Keto-friendly protein foods
Protein and calories per 100g, from the Protein Hunter database.
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🧀 Parmesan | 35g | 420 |
| 🐔 Chicken breast (cooked) | 31g | 179 |
| 🦃 Turkey breast (cooked) | 30g | 175 |
| 🍖 Pork tenderloin (cooked) | 30g | 200 |
| 🎃 Pumpkin seeds | 30g | 559 |
| 🥩 Beef sirloin (cooked) | 29g | 196 |
| 🐟 Tuna (canned in water) | 29g | 131 |
| 🐟 Salmon (cooked) | 25g | 250 |
| 🐟 Sardines (canned) | 25g | 250 |
| 🧀 Cheddar | 25g | 403 |
| 🦐 Shrimp (cooked) | 24g | 111 |
| 🧀 Halloumi | 22g | 313 |
| 🥚 Whole egg | 13g | 155 |
| 🧀 Cottage cheese (low-fat) | 12g | 72 |
Per 100g.
Keto protein rules that matter
- Fattier cuts carry fewer grams of protein per 100g — ribeye is 25g versus sirloin at 29g. Both are keto; only one is protein-dense.
- Canned fish is the fastest keto protein: a tin of tuna is roughly 29g per 100g with zero carbohydrate.
- Watch cured meats — salami and chorizo are protein sources, but the calories climb quickly.
- Greek yogurt and cottage cheese fit most keto targets and are far leaner than hard cheese.
Add up your whole meal
Type what you ate in plain words and Protein Hunter returns protein and calories for the full plate.
Try the Protein CalculatorCommon questions
What is the best keto protein food?
Chicken breast, canned tuna and eggs give the most protein per calorie with essentially no carbohydrate.
Is cheese a good keto protein?
Hard cheeses like parmesan carry 30g+ per 100g, but 400+ calories. Use them as a booster rather than the main source.
Keep reading
Protein CalculatorAdd up any meal in plain words.Protein database230+ foods with protein and calories.How much protein per daySet the target these foods feed into.What is Protein Hunter?
Protein Hunter is a protein and nutrition app with a database of 232 foods — from a leaf of kale to a wagyu steak — plus AI tools that answer protein questions, count a whole meal, build recipes to a macro target, and track what you actually eat.
- Search any food
- Count a full meal
- Recipes to your macros
- Scan a plate or label
Why it's different: the numbers are calculated from a fixed ingredient database rather than guessed, and when a target is not physically achievable the app says so instead of inventing a figure.
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