Is Salami Keto and Actually Good for You?
Deli meats like salami are growing in popularity with keto dieters because they’re such a low cost, readily available source of meat. Indeed, salami can be quite a solid source of both protein and dietary fat. But is salami keto? As in really keto?
Read on as we take an in-depth look at this popular deli meat in order to definitively answer that very question.
What Makes Salami Such a Popular Choice for Low Carb Diets?
Before answering whether or not salami is a genuine keto approved food, let’s first take a look at 3 of the main reasons why salami is so popular in the first place amongst low carb dieters:
- Salami is a cheap and easy to acquire deli meat that can be enjoyed in a variety of different ways.
- It offers up impressive amounts of both dietary fat and protein, with 100 grams of salami providing you with a whopping 26 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein.
- Salami is rather easy to incorporate into a variety of different low carb recipes. You can use it for making appetizers, casseroles, and more.
Is Salami Keto?
Deli meats like salami can be keto-friendly.
It really does start to get into a more gray area with deli meats and whether or not they’re fully keto because there are so many different ways to cure meat and to flavor deli meat.
As far as salami goes, it’s absolutely a 100% keto-friendly food when enjoyed in its dried, natural state. The trouble is when you start to go shopping for your salami at your local grocery store deli department and pick up meat that’s been pumped full of sugars and other unwanted preservatives.
If you want to be able to enjoy salami while on the keto diet, just be mindful of where you’re sourcing it from and be sure to stick with trusted keto brands. See further below for our top 3 keto approved salami brand recommendations.
Salami Nutrition Facts
Here is the approximate nutritional breakdown for a 100 gram serving size of cooked salami (made with a mixture of beef and pork):
- 336 calories
- 26 grams dietary fat
- 22 grams protein
- 2.4 grams carbs
- 0 grams dietary fiber
- 1 gram sugar
- 89 mg cholesterol
- 1740 mg sodium
- 316 mg potassium
What Are the Best Keto-Friendly Salami Brands?
Here are our top picks for the 3 best keto-friendly salami brands:
- Union Snacks Peppered Genoa Crisps – Enjoy your salami as a crispy snack with these peppered Genoa crisps; they’re zero calorie and zero carb.
- Fortuna Sausage Calabrese Salami – An all-natural dried salami, this product is also 100% gluten-free and nitrate-free.
- Salumi Chicago Uncured Spanish Chorizo – Salumi Chicago is widely regarded as one of the very best sources of high quality salami meat (and other deli cuts). Their Spanish chorizo is highly recommended.
Keto Salami Alternatives
Looking for a keto approved substitute for salami? Here are our top picks for a few other keto-friendly deli meat options:
(Learn more: Is Pepperoni Keto-friendly?)
Is Hebrew national salami keto friendly?