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Those of us on a vegetarian or vegan ketogenic or low carb diet (yes, we exist – there’s dozens of us!) often find ourselves in the position of trying to eat food, without seeming too weird, especially when eating socially. This is even worse if you can’t eat gluten (Celiacs unite!). It’s not easy finding gluten free low carb vegan meat substitutes to bring to events!
While I typically suggest eating a whole foods diet with minimal processed foods, there are times when you’re going to be at a barbecue, just wishing you had something aside from mixed greens and almonds. There are plenty of recipes out there for meat substitutes, but that’s not what this article is about. Today, we’re going to look at low carb meal substitutes you can find at your grocery store, so that when you get last minute invited to some sort of grilling event, you’re covered.
…or you know, you just don’t feel like soaking walnuts overnight.
Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Toona
While the reviews here aren’t great, I actually really like this product. I use it for vegan keto sushi bowls and for toona salad lettuce bowls, and sometimes I just mix it with roasted veggies and eat it for lunch like that. It’s pretty tasty, has solid macros and is even soy-free.
- 100 calories per serving
- 2g net carbs
- 9g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- soy-free
Lightlife Smart Bacon
- 20 calories per slice
- 0g net carbs
- 2g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in the refrigerated section, often with tofu
Gardein Chick’n Scallopini
- contains: soy
- 100 calories per serving
- 3g net carbs
- 9g protein
- found in the freezer aisle
- non-GMO Project verified
Gardein Beefless Ground
- contains: soy
- 120 calories per serving
- 4g net carbs
- found in the freezer aisle
- non-GMO soy & canola used
Beyond Meat Beyond Chicken
- 120 calories per serving
- 2g net carbs
- 20g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in either the freezer or dairy aisle
- Flavors: Lightly Seasoned, Grilled & Southwest
- this stuff is definitely processed, but it tastes incredible close to the real thing
Beyond Meat Beyond Meatballs
- 200 calories per serving
- 3g net carbs
- 18g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in the freezer aisle
- Flavors: Italian & Swedish
Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Crumble
- 100 calories per serving
- 1g net carbs
- 13g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in the freezer aisle
- Flavors: Feisty & Beefy
Beyond Meat Beast Burger
- 260 calories per serving
- 3g net carbs
- 23g protein
- contains: antioxidants, iron, calcium, vitamins B6, B12, D, potassium, DHA and ALA OMEGA-3s for muscle recovery
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in the freezer aisle
- in large patties & sliders
Lightlife Tofu Pups
- 50 calories per serving
- 0g net carbs
- 7g protein
- non-GMO ingredients used
- found in the refrigerated section, often with tofu
Thank you so much for breaking it down into simple terms, will continue keto diet. Before I found this I was about to give up. Thanks tons
I’m so glad you found this information helpful! Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. I’m always happy to answer. 🙂
I’m a little late to the discussion but this post is extremely helpful!!! I’m starting a Keto Vegetarian way of eating and these suggestions are great!! Thanks so much!!!
Hi Stephanie, thank you for commenting! I’m so glad you found this helpful. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have! Best, Liz
Are Morningstar products not considered keto? Thank you SO SO much for this post!!
Hi Joanna, I know some Morningstar products are – just be sure to check the label for the carb count. 🙂
Also tofu pups and smart bacon from Lightlife are a great choice!!!
Good to know. I’ll add it to the list! thank you Andrea!! 😀
My wife is trying the Keto diet, but I am the primary cook in the house. My question is about the all the GF recommendations. Seitan is a staple of our vegetarian diet. It’s pretty low in net carbs. Is there a reason all your recommendations are GF. Should she be avoiding gluten too?
Hi Andy! This is a great question – many people do tend to avoid gluten on keto (as it can be pro-inflammatory), but it’s not necessary to do so. I avoid it personally because I have Celiac. So, all of my recipes are GF out of my own necessity and I tend to recommend GF products because I don’t like recommending things I haven’t tried. 🙂
Long story short – you can totally have seitan and gluten. There are actually a lot of low carb products on the market that have gluten in them, and I hear they’re pretty good!
For me Tofurky Slices have been also a good resources for example:
Oven roasted slices (serving 5 slices) 13 g protein and 5 g total carbs (1 g is fiber) so net carb are 4 gr.
Hello
I’m just about to start my 4 week Keto, wish me luck. I’m not a big fan of processed food and noticed that on week 4 I have a Beyond Burger
Lettuce Wrap. What could I replace this meal with?
Thanks
Hi, Kay! You got this!
Totally understand on the mock meats – you could easily replace the burger in this wrap with baked/grilled tofu or tempeh. You could also replace this with another meal with similar macros. For instance, you could replace the burger with Zucchini Pad Thai. Since both of those days are higher on protein, you wouldn’t really need to make up the difference there. 🙂
All of the nutrition info for the recipes is in the back of the plan, so you can compare them more easily, if that sub doesn’t work for you! And of course, feel free to reach out with any more questions. 😀
Hello. I am currently on day 2 of my meat-free keto; I noticed that day 3 has Hemp seeds, it’s banned from my country since it’s considered like a drug, What would be the best substitute?
Hi Kholoud, this is a great question! You can simply substitute sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (both hulled) in place of the hemp. Sunflower seeds have a creamier texture in sauces and soups, so if it’s for a sauce, I would recommend those. 🙂
I hope this is helpful!
The first few items on the list above all say ‘contains gluten’ ?
Many Quorn products have barley malt favouring in them and even though some are deemed below the permitted limited of gluten , many Coeliacs don’t tolerate them well. I have COeliac disease and also have to avoid soya products because of Hypothyroidism, so none of these are suitable unfortunately
Hi Georgina, thank you for the commend! The first two should have said “may contain gluten” as the do have the barley malt flavoring that you pointed out. Not everyone who eats a GF diet actually has Celiac, and so those were originally included for those people who could eat minute amounts of gluten. I actually also have Celiac, but wanted to provide options for as many diets as possible 🙂
I’m glad you commented though, because going back to the Quorn website, I can’t even find those products anymore, so perhaps they’ve discontinued them? I’ve removed them from the list as they now seem to be gone from Quorn’s site. :/
Awesome site you have here but I was curious if you knew of any message
boards that cover the same topics discussed in this
article? I’d really like to be a part of online community where
I can get advice from other knowledgeable people that
share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me
know. Bless you!
Hi! Thank you for the kind words! The facebook group Vegan Keto Made Simple is a great resource for this! They’re very active and the moderation team is so kind, supportive and just generally wonderful. 🙂