Pecans are the lowest carb nut you’ll find at most grocery stores, with just over 1 gram of net carbs per ounce. If you’re willing to look a bit harder, pili nuts edge them out at roughly 0 grams of net carbs per ounce, though they’re far less common. Either way, nuts as a group are one of the most keto-friendly snack categories available, and several varieties clock in under 3 grams of net carbs per serving.
The Lowest Carb Nuts, Ranked
Net carbs are what matter for low-carb and keto diets. You get that number by subtracting fiber (which your body doesn’t absorb as sugar) from total carbohydrates. Here’s how the top contenders stack up per 1-ounce (28-gram) serving:
- Pili nuts: ~0 g net carbs (1 g total carbs, 1 g fiber)
- Pecans: ~1 g net carbs
- Macadamia nuts: ~1.5 g net carbs
- Brazil nuts: ~1.5 g net carbs
- Walnuts: ~2 g net carbs
- Almonds: ~2.5 g net carbs
Pili nuts are a tropical nut native to Southeast Asia. They’re extremely high in fat (24 g per serving) and almost carb-free, making them technically the winner. The catch is price and availability. A bag of pili nuts often costs two to three times what you’d pay for pecans, and many stores don’t carry them at all. For most people shopping at a regular grocery store, pecans are the practical answer.
Why Pecans Are the Best Everyday Choice
An ounce of pecans is about 18 to 20 halves, which feels like a generous handful. That serving delivers just over 1 gram of net carbs along with 20 grams of fat, making pecans one of the highest-fat, lowest-carb foods you can eat. They’re also rich in fiber: 10 grams per 100-gram portion, which helps explain why their net carb count drops so low.
Pecans work well as a snack on their own, but they’re also versatile in cooking. You can crush them into a breading for chicken or fish, blend them into fat bombs, toss them into salads, or use pecan flour as a low-carb baking substitute. Their buttery, slightly sweet flavor means they don’t need much seasoning.
Macadamia Nuts: A Close Second
Macadamia nuts are 75% fat by weight, and 80% of that fat is monounsaturated, the same heart-healthy type found in olive oil. A clinical trial found that people who ate a macadamia-rich diet lowered their total cholesterol from 201 mg/dL to 191 mg/dL and saw similar drops in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol compared to a typical American diet.
At about 1.5 grams of net carbs per ounce, macadamias are only slightly higher than pecans. One ounce is 10 to 12 nuts. They’re creamier and more calorie-dense than most nuts, so they’re particularly satisfying if you’re trying to hit a high fat intake without eating large volumes of food. The main downside is cost: macadamias are consistently one of the most expensive nuts on the shelf.
Brazil Nuts: Low Carb With a Catch
Brazil nuts land in the same low-carb range, with about 1.5 grams of net carbs per ounce. Per 100 grams, they contain 15.1 grams of total carbs and 7.9 grams of fiber, putting their net carb density on par with macadamias.
The thing to know about Brazil nuts is selenium. They’re the richest food source of this mineral on the planet, and eating too many can push you into excess. High selenium intake over time has been linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions. Most nutrition guidelines suggest keeping your intake to 3 or 4 Brazil nuts per day at most. That’s actually a perfect serving size for a low-carb snack, but it means you can’t treat them the way you’d treat a bowl of pecans.
Which Nuts to Avoid on Low Carb
Not all nuts are created equal. Chestnuts are the biggest outlier: 10 roasted European chestnuts pack 44.5 grams of carbohydrates, more than a slice of bread. That’s because chestnuts are starchy rather than fatty, which makes them fundamentally different from tree nuts like pecans or walnuts.
Cashews and pistachios are the most commonly eaten nuts that can trip people up. Cashews contain about 8 grams of net carbs per ounce, and pistachios come in around 5 grams. Neither is catastrophically high, but if you’re aiming for 20 to 25 grams of net carbs per day on a strict keto diet, a couple of handfuls of cashews can eat up most of your budget. Dried coconut (the sweetened, shredded kind) is another sneaky source, with over 12 grams of carbs per ounce, largely because of added sugar.
Making Nuts Work on a Low-Carb Diet
The biggest risk with nuts isn’t the carb count per ounce. It’s portion creep. Nuts are calorie-dense and easy to overeat, especially when you’re snacking directly from a bag. A single ounce of pecans has about 200 calories. Three or four handfuls later, you’ve consumed 800 calories and 4 to 5 grams of net carbs, which is still reasonable on the carb front but may not align with your overall goals.
Pre-portioning helps. Measure out 1-ounce servings into small containers or bags so you know exactly what you’re eating. If you’re choosing between nuts at the store and carb count is your primary concern, reach for pecans or macadamias. If budget matters, pecans are almost always cheaper. Walnuts are another solid, affordable option at just 2 grams of net carbs, and 8 to 14 halves make a filling snack. For variety, rotating between all three keeps things interesting without meaningfully increasing your carb intake.