Meat, fish, eggs, nuts, avocados, cheese, and cooking oils are all high in fat and naturally low in carbohydrates. Many of these foods contain zero carbs, while others carry only a few grams per serving. If you’re following a ketogenic or low-carb diet, building meals around these foods makes it straightforward to hit a typical target of 70 to 80 percent of daily calories from fat while keeping carbs to 5 to 10 percent.
Meat and Poultry
All cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and poultry contain zero carbohydrates. The difference between cuts comes down to how much fat they carry. Fattier cuts give you more energy per bite without adding any carbs, which is exactly what a high-fat diet calls for.
Among beef cuts, rib steak is one of the richest options at about 17 grams of fat in a 3-ounce serving (roughly 240 calories). Brisket comes in around 21 grams of fat for the same portion. Rib roast, pork belly, chicken thighs with skin, and lamb shoulder are all reliably high-fat choices. Leaner cuts like chicken breast or eye of round still have zero carbs but deliver less fat, so you’d need to add fat from other sources.
One thing to watch: processed meats like sausages, jerky, and deli meats often contain hidden carbohydrates. Manufacturers commonly add corn syrup, sucrose, dried whey, and other binders or sweeteners during processing. A few grams per serving can add up if you’re eating these regularly. Always check the nutrition label on anything cured, smoked, or pre-seasoned.
Fatty Fish and Seafood
Fatty fish deliver a combination that’s hard to beat: high fat content, zero carbs, and a concentrated dose of omega-3 fatty acids that support heart and brain health. Atlantic salmon leads the pack, with farmed salmon providing about 1.24 grams of the long-chain omega-3s EPA and DHA per 3-ounce serving. Wild-caught Atlantic salmon is nearly identical at 1.22 grams.
Herring, mackerel, and sardines round out the top tier. Atlantic herring provides about 0.94 grams of EPA and DHA per serving, while sardines deliver 0.74 grams and Atlantic mackerel comes in at 0.59 grams. All of these fish have zero carbs and enough fat to anchor a meal. Canned sardines and canned salmon are affordable, shelf-stable options that work well for quick lunches. Just avoid varieties packed in sugary sauces, which can add several grams of carbs.
Shrimp, crab, and other shellfish are low in both fat and carbs, so they’re compatible with a low-carb approach but won’t contribute much toward your fat goals on their own.
Eggs and Dairy
Eggs are one of the most versatile high-fat, low-carb foods. A single large egg has about 5 grams of fat and less than 1 gram of carbohydrate. The fat is concentrated in the yolk, so whole eggs are the way to go here.
Full-fat cheese is another staple. Hard cheeses like cheddar, gouda, and parmesan typically contain less than 1 gram of carbs per ounce, with 8 to 10 grams of fat. Cream cheese, brie, and mascarpone are similarly high in fat and low in carbs. Butter and ghee are almost pure fat with zero carbs. Heavy cream has a trace of carbohydrate (about 0.4 grams per tablespoon) and roughly 5 grams of fat.
The dairy products to be cautious with are milk, yogurt, and ice cream. Lactose is a natural sugar, and a single cup of whole milk has about 12 grams of carbohydrate. If you use dairy for richness, stick with the higher-fat, lower-volume options like cheese, cream, and butter.
Avocados
Avocados are the standout plant food for high-fat, low-carb eating. A whole medium avocado contains about 22 grams of fat, with 15 of those grams coming from monounsaturated fat, the same type found in olive oil. It has 13 grams of total carbohydrate, but 10 of those are fiber, leaving just 3 grams of net carbs.
That ratio of 22 grams of fat to 3 grams of net carbs makes avocado one of the most fat-dense whole plant foods available. Half an avocado adds richness to salads, eggs, or burgers without meaningfully increasing your carb count.
Nuts and Seeds
Not all nuts are created equal when you’re watching carbs. Macadamia nuts are the best option, with about 21 grams of fat and only 1.5 grams of net carbs per ounce. Pecans are close behind, with roughly 20 grams of fat and 1 gram of net carbs per ounce. Both are ideal for snacking or adding crunch to meals.
Walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts are reasonable choices, though their net carb counts are slightly higher (2 to 3 grams per ounce). Brazil nuts and pine nuts also fall into this category. The nuts to limit are cashews and pistachios, which carry 7 to 8 grams of net carbs per ounce, enough to eat into a tight daily carb budget quickly.
For seeds, hemp hearts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds are all high in fat with minimal net carbs. Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds have moderate carbs but are still reasonable in small portions.
Olives and Cooking Oils
Olives are essentially a fat-delivery vehicle. Green olives contain about 4 grams of fat and just 1 gram of carbohydrate per serving. Black olives have a similar profile. Toss them into salads, eat them as a snack, or blend them into tapenade for a quick fat boost.
Cooking oils and other pure fats are 100 percent fat with zero carbs. The ones worth keeping in your kitchen depend on how you cook. Avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points at 570°F, making it ideal for searing, roasting, and high-heat cooking. Extra virgin olive oil has a lower smoke point around 375°F, so it’s better suited for sautéing, dressings, and finishing dishes. Coconut oil provides a different flavor and a higher proportion of saturated fat. MCT oil, derived from coconut, is popular in coffee and smoothies because it’s rapidly absorbed.
Why Fat Keeps You Full
One reason high-fat foods work well for carb-restricted diets is their effect on hunger. Your body regulates appetite through two key hormones that work in opposition. One is produced mainly by stomach cells and ramps up hunger before meals. The other is produced primarily by fat cells and suppresses appetite by signaling that you have enough stored energy. The balance between these two hormones, sometimes called the “hunger tango,” determines how satisfied you feel after eating.
Meals high in fat tend to keep that hunger hormone elevated for longer after eating compared to high-carb meals, which suppress it more sharply but briefly. The practical result is that a breakfast of eggs cooked in butter with avocado tends to hold you for hours, while a bowl of cereal with the same calorie count may leave you hungry by mid-morning. This isn’t the only reason people find high-fat diets easier to sustain, but it’s a meaningful one.
Balancing Fat Types
Eating high-fat doesn’t mean all fats are interchangeable. U.S. dietary guidelines recommend keeping saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories. On a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 22 grams, roughly the amount in 3 ounces of cheddar cheese or a few tablespoons of butter.
The simplest way to stay within that range while eating a high-fat diet is to emphasize unsaturated fat sources: avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish. Use butter, cheese, and fatty cuts of meat for flavor and satisfaction, but let the monounsaturated and omega-3-rich foods do the heavy lifting. This approach gives you the fat-to-carb ratio you’re looking for while keeping the overall fat profile more balanced.