If you’re asking, is besan keto friendly? You’ve at least heard of it. It’s not the most popular ingredient in western cooking, but it has a long and rich history, being a widespread staple across the Indian subcontinent and used in a multitude of ways in multiple countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, and Nepal. That said, while besan can help make many a beautiful dish, those dishes are preferably not to be consumed by someone on a keto diet. Here’s why.
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What is Besan?
Despite what you may be thinking, you may have actually heard of besan and even consumed it – just under another name! Besan is a type of chickpea flour.
Usually, besan is made from one specific variety – Bengal gram chickpea – which is why it’s also often called gram flour.
However, these days most, if not all, types of chickpea flour get referred to as besan, be it gram or not, which is why the name garbanzo bean flour has been used more and more frequently.
Besan has a mild but not wholly neutral taste, with a bit of nuttiness to it.
It has been gaining quite a bit of momentum recently in the fitness community due to its high protein content as well as being gluten-free, and its versatility.
It can easily be used to make bread, savory snacks, desserts, and coating.
The question is: is besan keto?
What is the Nutritional Value of Besan?
Here’s the nutritional value of Besan per 100g of product:
- Carbs: 58 grams
- Protein: 22 grams
- Fat: 7 grams
- Fiber: 11 grams
- Sugar: 11 grams
- Calories: ~390
Net Carbs In Besan
Calculating the net carbs using the standard formula – deducting fiber amount from total carb amount, we can see that there are 47 grams of net carbs in 100 grams of besan.
While besan has quite a high amount of dietary fiber (which, along with high protein content, makes it a star in the fitness community), it’s not quite high enough to negate its high carb content.
Is Besan Keto Friendly?
No, unfortunately, regardless of all its health benefits, besan isn’t keto-friendly and should be avoided while adhering to the keto diet.
There’s simply no way to work flour that nets 47g of carbs per 100g in a diet that’s supposed to stick to less than 20g net carbs per day. As always, we have found some perfect keto friendly alternatives to besan for you.
Keto Alternatives To Besan
The best keto alternatives to besan are classic keto staples, coconut flour, and almond flour. But especially almond flour, due to its characteristic nutty taste.
Almond and coconut flours are both rich in dietary fiber and protein, which besan is primarily prized for; both are naturally gluten-free, and, unlike besan, both have high-fat content which is always a plus when it comes to keto.
Summary: Is Besan Keto Friendly?
Alas, no, besan flour is not keto, it contains far too many net carbs for it to be incorporated into a keto diet. However, almond flour, with its nutty taste and similar texture can be the perfect keto friendly alternative to besan.
