Following a ketogenic diet in the UK is as easy as in the U.S. but the brands and variety of ketogenic foods differ. In the tables below you will find a complete shopping list of where you can buy every food you may need on a keto diet.

The foods below are listed from the most to the least ketogenic. As a result, this will help you optimize ketosis based on their carb and protein content.

Foods that contain higher amounts of carbohydrates and protein will rank lower. This is because both carbs and proteins can prevent you from entering ketosis. Excess protein consumption converts to glucose which impacts ketosis.

If you are following Weston A. Price or an organic principles protocol see this paleo keto shopping list.

Where to Go to Buy Your Shopping List Items

Most items are available in your local supermarket and will vary in price. The first step is to choose your supermarket based on your price preference and budget. All, except Aldi, have online shopping and home delivery services.

From least expensive to most expensive, the supermarkets are:

(Source: Price audit by Guardian Money 2014)

Basic Ketogenic Diet Shopping List

In general, basic food products don’t differ much between brands and produce. Yet, sometimes there are differences between the same products. We have included these ranges for carbohydrates, fat and protein. This will show how ketogenic the product is.

The following are covered:

  1. Meat and Seafood
  2. Eggs and Dairy
  3. Nuts and Seeds
  4. Fruits and Vegetables
  5. Fats and Oils
  6. Salts and Minerals
  7. Ketogenic Snacks
  8. Ketogenic Drinks

The more you stick to the food groups higher up the page the easier it will be to get into ketosis. It is the same principle within each list. Favor foods at the top of the tables for the highest ketogenic foods.

Meat and Seafood

Overall, the fatty cuts of meat are your friend, as well as oily fish. Lean meats and seafood are fine, as long as you add a lot of fat to them.

Limit your lean meat intake as these cuts are rich in protein and excess protein can turn into glucose. This will interrupt ketosis.

Name Carbohydrates/ 100 g Protein/ 100 g Fat/ 100 g Products Available in UK
Oysters 1 5 1 Counter Live Oysters
Prawns 0 14 1 Tesco Cooked And Peeled Prawns, Cooked And Peeled King Prawns
Pork Belly 0 16 20 Pork Belly
Chicken Thighs 0 17 18 Chicken Thighs
Chicken Drumsticks 0 17 18 Chicken Drumsticks
Pork Loin Joint 0 17 21 Pork Loin Joint
Lamb Mince 20% fat 0 17 20 Lamb Mince 20% Fat
Lamb Leg 0 17 11 Lamb Diced Leg
Beef Mince 20% Fat 0 18 20 Beef Mince 20% Fat
Lamb Shanks 0 20 12 Lamb Shanks
Beef Heart 0 18 4 Sliced Beef Heart
Chicken Wings 0 17 15 Chicken Wings
Smoked Haddock 0 18 1 Boneless Smoked Haddock
Cod Fillet 0 22 1 Cod Fillets
Lamb Chops 0 19 19 Lamb Chops
Ribeye Steak 0 19 20 Ribeye Steak
Pork Chops 0 19 22 Pork Chops
Lamb Liver 0 20 5 Lamb Liver
Lamb Leg Steak 0 20 8 Lamb Leg Steaks
Rump Steak 0 20 10 Rump Steak
Roast Beef 0 20 10 Beef Roasting Joint
Ox Tail 0 20 10 Ox Tail
Beef Steak Mince 0 20 14 Beef Steak Mince
Whole Chicken 0 20 13 Tesco British Whole Medium Chicken, Whole Chicken
Turkey Drumstick 0 32 7 Turkey Drumstick
Pork Loin Steak 0 20 16 Pork Loin Steaks
Sea Bass Fillet 0 20 9 Boneless Sea Bass Fillets
Scallops 3 23 1 Raw Half Shell King Scallops
Smoked Mackerel 0 22 25 Smoked Mackerel
Sirloin Steak 0 22 13 Sirloin Steak
Turkey Breast 0 28 2 Tesco Turkey Breast Quick Cook Steaks, Tesco Mini Turkey Breast Fillets, Turkey Breast Diced
Chicken Breast 0 24 1 Chicken Breast Portions
Salmon Fillet 0 24 12 Tesco 2 Boneless Salmon Fillet, Tesco Half Salmon Side, Smoked Salmon
Guinea Fowl 0 25 12 Whole Guinea Fowl
Duck Leg 0 25 13 Duck Legs
Tuna Steak 0 26 1 Tuna Steaks
Duck Breast 1 27 9 Duck Breast Fillets

Eggs and Dairy

Eggs and dairy products are quite versatile on a keto diet. They are easy to prepare and provide a cheaper alternative to meat and fish. Both dairy and egg protein are quite insulinogenic and can knock you out of ketosis. Therefore, make sure not to eat too much at any given meal and balance them out with plenty of fats.

Name Carbohydrates/ 100 g Protein/ 100 g Fat/ 100 g Products Available in UK
Butter 0 1 82 English Salted Butter, Kerrygold (grass fed) Butter
Double Cream 1 1 50 Double Cream
Soft Cheese 3 6 22 Soft Cheese, Philadelphia Original
Whole Eggs 0 13 9 Eggs, Free Range Eggs,
Organic Eggs
Soft Goat’s Cheese 2 23 25 Counter Goat’s Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese 2 22 18 Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese 0 23 35 Medium Cheddar, Mature Cheddar
Hard Swiss Cheese 0 28 32 Swiss Gruyere
Hard Parmesan Cheese 0 28 30 Parmigiano Reggiano

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are great options to eat on the go, as they need no preparation. Some varieties contain a high amount of carbohydrates so watch out for this. Have a look in the table below.

Name Carbohydrates/ 100 g Protein/ 100 g Fat/ 100 g Products Available in UK
Macadamia Nuts 5 8 76 Roasted and Salted Macadamia Nuts
Flaxseeds 2 18 42 Wholefood Brown Linseeds
Brazil Nuts 5 14 67 Wholefood Brazil Nuts
Sesame Seeds 1 22 58 Wholefood Sesame Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds 5 30 49 Wholefood Pumpkin Seeds
Almonds 10 24 54 Roasted and Salted Almonds, Whole Almonds
Pistachios 12 26 46 Roasted and Salted Pistachio NutsPistachio Nuts
Sunflower Seeds 17 24 51 Sunflower Seeds
Cashew Nuts 24 20 51 Roasted And Salted Cashew Nuts, Cashew Nuts

Fruits and Vegetables

Berries and most above-ground vegetables are low in carbohydrates. They contain negligible amounts in the form of dietary fiber. Starchy root vegetables and sweet fruit are high in carbohydrates, avoid these.

Name Carbohydrates/ 100g Protein/ 100g Fat/ 100g Products Available in UK
Celery 1 1 1 Celery
Lettuce 1 2 1 Iceberg Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce 1 2 1 Romaine Lettuce Hearts Twin Pack
Cucumber 1 2 1 Whole Cucumber
Kale 1 3 2 Kale
Avocado 2 2 19 Ready To Eat Large Avocado, Ready To Eat Avocado Twin Pack
Spinach 2 3 1 Spinach
Asparagus 2 3 1 Asparagus Bundles
Tomatoes 3 1 1 Salad Tomatoes
Broccoli 2 4 1 Broccoli Loose
Cabbage 2 4 1 Sweetheart Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage
Cauliflower 3 4 1 Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts 4 4 1 Brussel Sprouts
Raspberries 5 1 1 Raspberries
Strawberries 6 1 1 Strawberries
Bell Peppers 6 1 1 Red Peppers
Blueberries 14 1 1 Blueberries

Fats and Oils

Fats and oils should be used for cooking or to add extra fat calories to a meal lacking in it, such as lean meats or salads. Choose oils that are high in saturated fat or monounsaturated fat.

Stay away from trans fats and oils that are high in polyunsaturated fat such as vegetable and seed oils (sunflower, canola, soybean, safflower, grapeseed).

The best types of oils to use are:

  • Coconut Oil
  • Avocado Oil
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Macadamia Nut Oil

Top fats to use are:

  • Ghee
  • Lard
  • Tallow/Beef Dripping
Name Brands / Products Available in the UK
Ghee East End Pure Butter Ghee
Coconut Oil Ktc Coconut Oil, Groovy Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Avocado Oil Pure South Press Pure Avocado Oil
Olive Oil Tesco Olive Oil, Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Napolina Olive Oil
Macadamia Nut Oil Olivado Macadamia Nut Oil

Salt and Minerals

Consuming salt is important on a ketogenic diet. Stay away from table salt. Choose a salt that has a high mineral content such as Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt. Add it to your meals or dissolve it in your water to stay hydrated throughout the day. The recommended intake of salt is 3-5g per day.

Name Brands / Products Available in UK
Himalayan Pink Salt Tesco Finest Himalayan Pink Salt Mill, Redmonds Real Salt
Celtic Sea Salt Light Grey Celtic Sea Salt

Ketogenic Snacks

Keto specific products are starting to become available in the UK. Alongside this, there are a wide variety of low carb products available both online and in store.

It is important to remember to double check all snacks marked “Low Carb” or “Keto” as they do not always fit the goal of getting into ketosis.

  • Ketone Bars from Ketosource are the first snack bars tested to confirm they are 100% ketogenic. They have zero glycemic response and increase blood ketones within 30 to 60 minutes (see the trial results on this here).
  • These Keto Bars are the only ketogenic bars on the market with very low protein and carbohydrate. You can buy them from the UK here. Otherwise, they can be shipped internationally from the main site in the US here.

You can search for products with specific net carb content. Most products have sugar alcohols (polyols) in place of sugars. Some polyols don’t count as carbs. Others, like Maltitol, do act like carbs.

Ketogenic Drinks

Low carb shakes, hot and cold drinks are available from many sources in the UK. They contain carbohydrates, mostly in the form of sugar alcohols. However, they can be part of a ketogenic diet.

  • LowCarb Megastore offers a wide variety of low carb hot and cold drinks as well as shakes. The nutritional value is listed for each product. It is an online store and everything can be ordered on the site, however, you have to register to place an order.
  • In the Drinks & Shakes category, only some of their products are ketogenic friendly. The nutritional information is listed so you can check their carbohydrate and protein content.

Summary: The Takeaways

Focus on the top end of the food lists above to get in and stay in ketosis.
To be sure that you are in ketosis and benefiting from this plan, track your blood glucose and ketone levels.

The current gold standard to track your glucose levels is with a Freestyle Libre continuous glucose meter. You can track your blood ketone levels with the On Call Dual GK monitor.

It is safer to verify with these meters, however, most people do not due to the inconvenience and cost of the products.

QUESTION: Are there ketogenic items you are looking for but haven’t found here? Or have you found other basic ketogenic products not here? Let us know in the comments.

mm
Damien Blenkinsopp MBA.

Damien is the founder of Ketosource and the host of the popular health tech/data podcast, The Quantified Body. He has an MBA from London Business School and both French (ESC) and UK 1st Class Hon. undergraduate degrees. His career has had a data-driven and analytical focus, spanning strategy consulting, market analyst and health tech/data. Damien has a passion for health, longevity and predictable results. The Quantified Body and Ketosource projects are both focused on leveraging data and analytical tools to help people get the results they want with confidence. Damien speaks 5 languages and has lived in 11 countries across 5 continents.