Low Carb, High Protein Foods
Two filters, one table: every row here stays at or under 5g of carbs per 100g, then ranks by protein. Hard cheese opens at 41.6g protein against 3.7g carbs, bacon follows at 37g with 1.4g, and the braised lean cuts deliver 36.7g at literally zero carbs. This is the keto and cutting shopper's shortlist — protein first, carbs nearly absent.
How this ranking works
The carb ceiling is 5g per 100g (a widely used low-carb threshold for a food, stricter than a full meal's), and ranking within it is by protein grams, descending. The family scope rules apply. The two columns printed side by side — protein and carbs — are the whole point: you can verify both numbers on every linked food page.
The table: top 20
Source: the Alkemos food database — the same rows each food’s page shows (per-100g values; every name links to that food’s full page).
Reading the table
The cheese paradox
Yes, the hardest cheese out-proteins the leanest steak per 100g — 41.6g versus 36.7g — because cheese is concentrated milk with the water gone. The price sits in the calorie column (451 versus 203), so cutters read this table right-to-left: meat first, cheese as the flavour layer.
Zero-carb is real here
Dozens of braised beef, veal and lamb rows carry a true 0g of carbs — meat in its lean cooked form. That is why carnivore-style plates and strict keto both anchor on this end of the database: the protein arrives unaccompanied.
The daily rotation
The economical core of this table is familiar: chicken breast, canned tuna, eggs and cottage cheese all live under the 5g ceiling with 20-31g of protein each. The exotic rows are for variety; the staples are what actually fill the week.
Common questions
Why 5g of carbs as the ceiling?
It is a strict per-food line: a plate built entirely from sub-5g foods keeps even a large mixed meal inside typical low-carb budgets. The number is stated on the page so you can judge it — and every row's exact carb figure sits in the table beside the protein.
Why does cheese outrank meat?
Per 100g, concentrated dairy edges lean meat because moisture was removed at the cheese press, not in your kitchen. Per calorie, meat wins. Both truths sit in the table's two columns — protein and calories — so choose by your budget, not by the rank number alone.
What about vegetarian rows?
Eggs, cheese and cottage cheese carry the vegetarian flag under this ceiling; the plant proteins — lentils, chickpeas, beans — sit well above 5g of carbs per 100g and belong to the fiber ranking's side of the database instead. That trade-off between plant protein and carbs is exactly what low-carb vegetarian planning navigates.
Turn these tables into a plan: the Macro Calculator splits your daily budget into grams — free, no account needed.
New to this topic? Start from the curated Low Carb Foods collection — the hand-picked staples — then come back for the full ranking.