Carbs In Honey + The Best Keto Honey Substitute

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Among all the foods you can enjoy on a low carb lifestyle, one of the most confusing categories is keto sweeteners — especially honey! Like coconut sugar, it’s a minimally processed and natural sweetener… but is honey keto friendly? Let’s take a closer look at how honey fits into a ketogenic diet, the carbs in honey, and the best keto honey substitute to enjoy when you’re watching your carb intake.

New to counting carbs or keto? Learn the keto diet basics here and grab my printable keto cheat sheet system to make it easy.

Is Honey Keto Friendly?

Unfortunately, honey is not keto friendly. How can honey be off limits if it’s naturally produced by bees? Well, it mainly contains the simple sugars glucose and fructose — both of which can send you straight out of ketosis. Honey may be considered conventionally healthy, because it’s natural and contains small amounts of enzymes, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, but it does not align with a low-carb lifestyle.

Is Honey Mustard Keto?

Conventional honey mustard dips and dressings are not keto, as they contain added sugars or honey. These have too many carbs per serving to easily fit in a low carb diet.

However, there are ways to make keto friendly honey mustard. The Easy Keto Cookbook contains an easy recipe for it that tastes like the real thing!

Is Raw Honey Keto?

Raw honey is not keto friendly, either. While raw honey contains the most nutrients (it’s not processed like regular honey, so it has the most micronutrients and is the closest to what the bees produce), it still contains the same amount of sugar and spikes insulin levels. Keto dieters would be better off finding a low carb honey substitute.

How Many Carbs In Honey?

Are there carbs in honey? Yes! Carbs in raw honey and regular honey are the same. Carbs in a tablespoon of honey add up to 17 grams of carbs (total and net carbs) [*, *].

How Many Carbs In Honey Mustard?

Carbs in honey mustard are not great for keto. A single tablespoon contains 3.8 grams total carbs and 3.65 grams net carbs [*], which are 100% from sugar. Besides, typically people consume more than one tablespoon, so it adds up fast.

Serving Size	Total Carbs	Net Carbs
1 tablespoon honey	17g	17g
1 tablespoon honey mustard	3.8g	3.65g

Keto Honey Substitutes

What is a honey substitute for keto? For a long time, there wasn’t one! Stevia or sugar alcohols such as erythritol and xylitol don’t have the same flavor, artificial sweeteners such as sucralose are highly processed, and natural sweeteners like pure maple syrup will still spike blood sugar levels. Plus, it’s difficult to find a sweetener with the same thick, sticky texture as honey.

After months of testing, I developed the absolute best low carb substitute for honey: Wholesome Yum Keto Honey Substitute! It has the same flavor, thickness, stickiness, sweetness, and flavor of honey because it uses real honey flavor (from actual honey!), natural fiber for texture, and natural monk fruit sweetener with allulose. (In fact, all the photos on this page are this product!) You can substitute it 1-to-1 with conventional honey in baking, sauces, and drinks, and each serving has just 15 calories and 0g net carbs.

If you don’t have keto honey, sugar-free maple syrup would be the next best substitute. Wholesome Yum Keto Maple Syrup is thinner than honey (the consistency of maple syrup), but still has delicious sweetness and stickiness.

Keto Honey Recipes & Uses

Use keto honey just like regular honey in sweet and savory recipes! Try these ideas: 

• Sauces & glazes – Make keto honey mustard, brush honey onto bacon wrapped brussels sprouts, whisk into a salmon marinade, or drizzle into homemade teriyaki sauce (and use for keto teriyaki chicken!).
• Toast & bread – Spread honey on a keto English muffin (pictured at the top of this page), almond flour biscuits, or a slice of keto yeast bread.
• Healthy snacks – Substitute keto honey for maple syrup in energy balls, or try it on top of almond flour crackers.
• Easy breakfasts – Sugar-free honey tastes delicious as a garnish for low carb overnight oats or homemade keto yogurt (or coconut yogurt).

Conclusion: Is Honey Keto Approved?

Conventional honey contains too many carbs to easily enjoy on a low carb diet. However, keto honey has all the same flavor and sweetness as the real deal — give it a try!