Low Carb Side Dishes

June 19, 2026

Low carb side dishes come down to taking out the starch and the thickener. Swap the potatoes and rice for vegetables, and thicken the creamy ones with cream and cheese instead of flour or a can of soup. What is left runs in the low single digits of net carb. Here are my keto sides, sorted so you can pick by what you are in the mood for, what it costs you in carbs, and how it is made.

Low carb side dishes by type

Net carbs are per serving and rounded. Each one links to the full recipe.

Side	Type	Net carbs	Method
Cauliflower popcorn	Roast, snack swap	about 3 g	High-heat roast
Creamed spinach	Cream	about 4 g	No-flour, broiled top
Green bean fries	Fry swap	about 4 g	Roast hot, no breading
Green bean casserole	Cream, baked	about 6 g	From-scratch cream, bake
Mushroom bisque	Soup	about 6 g	Pureed, no roux
Bacon brussels sprouts	Roast or braise	about 7 g	Brown in bacon fat

Where a vegetable side hides its carbs

A "vegetable" side is not automatically low carb. The carbs almost always sneak in from the same four places, and each has a clean fix that points to one of these recipes.

Canned cream soup. The condensed soup in a classic casserole is a carb load. Make the cream sauce from scratch with cream and cream cheese, the way the green bean casserole does.
A flour roux. Creamed sides and bisques usually start with flour and butter. Skip it and thicken with cream and cheese or a puree, as in the creamed spinach and the mushroom bisque.
Fried onions and breading. The crunchy toppings are pure starch. Crushed pork rinds and parmesan crisp up the same way, and an egg wash makes a coating grip, as on the green bean fries.
Boiling. Boiled vegetables turn limp, grey, and watery. High-heat roasting caramelizes them instead, the way the brussels sprouts and cauliflower popcorn do, and squeezing frozen spinach bone-dry keeps creamed spinach thick.

Fix those four and almost any vegetable becomes a side you can put next to a roast without a second thought. Several of these, the casserole and creamed spinach especially, are built to make ahead and carry to a holiday table.

Sources:

USDA FoodData Central, nutrient reference for the vegetables, cream, and cheeses in these sides
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, low-carb side dish notes

Frequently asked questions

What makes a side dish low carb?

Taking out the starch and the thickener. Swap the potatoes, rice, and bread crumbs for vegetables, and thicken sauces with cream and cheese instead of flour or canned soup. What is left, vegetables in cream and fat, lands in the low single digits of net carb.

Which side here has the fewest carbs?

Cauliflower popcorn at about 3 grams, then creamed spinach and green bean fries at about 4. The casserole, mushroom bisque, and brussels sprouts run a little higher at 6 to 7 because of the vegetables themselves.

How do you thicken a side without flour?

Cream and cream cheese, or a puree. As cream cheese melts it bodies up a sauce the way a flour roux would, and blending cooked-down vegetables gives soup a thick base. No flour and no canned soup needed.

What replaces fried onions or breading?

Crushed pork rinds mixed with parmesan. They crisp golden in the oven for the crunch fried onions or bread crumbs would add, with none of the starch. For a coating that grips, an egg wash first helps it stick.

What are the best make-ahead low carb sides for the holidays?

The green bean casserole and creamed spinach both assemble a day ahead and bake before serving, and the mushroom bisque reheats well. They are built to travel to a family table.