Low carb substitutes— but TEXTURE!

March 14, 2025 6:57 PM

I’m looking for low carb substitutes that will scratch the itch of a nice toothsome noodle, or a chewy hunk of sourdough. I’m looking for foods that have the satisfying mouthfeel of a good hunk of carbs. Think chew and tear and stretch. Yes I know about zoodles and cauliflower mash and bread alternatives, and I’m aware that most of that delish high-carb texture comes from the starches and gluten of high-carb ingredients. Recipes not necessary but welcome, ideas and suggestions are great!!
posted by Grandysaur to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Check out konjac products, e.g. konjac noodles. Rather chewy/toothsome and low carb. Also maybe jackfruit, e.g. a curry.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:03 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]

The best low carb noodles I have found are the ones from Farm Girl keto. You have to make them yourself but they are the most noodle-like.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:12 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]

Not sure if you want specifically a noodle or anything low carb but my bite-tear-chew favourites are karnatzel. Jerkey might also hit those buttons.
posted by platypus of the universe at 7:17 PM on March 14

I’m pretty into this bread from Costco.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 7:18 PM on March 14

A very good steak would scratch these itches for me.
posted by zippy at 8:22 PM on March 14

I loathe the konjac noodles, but some people like them - worth a try. My personal favorite low carb substitute for noodles are shredded palm hearts (the “angel hair” version) and spagetti squash. You can vary the cooking time to get the right consistency for you.

Spaghetti squash: cut lengthwise, remove seeds, rub in some oil all around, add salt and pepper, cook cut side down in the oven at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes depending on size, turn and cook a few minutes more (5-10). Use a fork and tongs to scrape out the meat. I honestly do this at least once a week and use the pulp for several meals. Bonus: the seeds are great roasted!

Bread is harder. There are some supposedly low carb breads with a sourdough texture, but I find that they spike my blood sugar anyway, so haven’t tried very many types.
posted by gemmy at 8:33 PM on March 14

String cheese, fatty bacon, pressed tofu or seitan? Maybe lion’s mane mushrooms or rehydrated oyster mushrooms or shredded king trumpet mushrooms.
posted by hooray at 8:36 PM on March 14

I really find Nori sheets to have the dense chewy feel of bread if they are moistened a bit. I am never happy eating a lettuce wrap (even though I love lettuce in the filling) but anything wrapped in nori is, to me, as satisfying as a dense carby wrap.
Another one is Egglife brand wraps, made from egg whites.
posted by ojocaliente at 8:59 PM on March 14

FYI if you cut spaghetti squash across its waist/equator, you get longer ‘noodles’. A splash of oil seems to be key for getting good noodle separation vs being more squash-like.
posted by janell at 9:45 PM on March 14 [1 favorite]

Fried tofu cubes ? Like the kind from a restaurant
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:13 PM on March 14 [1 favorite]

Carba-nada noodles are great

Fathead dough recipes or anything else involving cheese, really—the cheese substitutes the crispiness and chewiness of starch

I like the low carb bread at Aldi, and artisanal sourdough doesn’t spike me too badly.

Kelp noodles, if soaked in lemon juice and baking soda as per package directions
posted by music for skeletons at 10:27 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]

Tofu puffs (like these) cooked in a soup or sauce

Enoki mushrooms?
posted by btfreek at 10:35 PM on March 14 [3 favorites]

I like the Kaizen brand lupini pasta and rice. They are best al-dente. And don't miss the rinse step (you can reheat after).

I've been enjoying Hero bread and the bagels aren't bad at all (probably the most chewy of their products). (Note: their products are not gluten-free, if that is a requirement).

I made this bread from the Diet Doctor pretty regularly until I started buying Hero bread. It worked for bread and really isn't a bad roll. This bread is gluten free.
posted by miscbuff at 10:57 PM on March 14 [1 favorite]

"Chew and tear and stretch" sounds like a nearly exact description of seitan, which is low-carb despite being literally made out of gluten!
posted by dusty potato at 11:20 PM on March 14 [6 favorites]

Bean curd knots. They’re sold dried or frozen in Asian food stores. I wouldn’t use them as a substitute for noodles exactly but the texture might satisfy you. They’re made from the skin that form on top of heated soy milk while making tofu.
posted by needs more cowbell at 2:34 AM on March 15 [4 favorites]

Thinly sliced Portobello mushrooms.
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 2:48 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]

Gram flour is low carb and very rich in protein. I like making farinata, and then topping it with slow-cooked onions, or something.But there are many Indian, French and Italian recipes out there.

The same with buckwheat -- 100% buckwheat soba noodles are more chewey than those that are half wheat or normal wheat or rice noodles. Which is good. I mostly make a sort of noodle salad with them. Look out for the 100% buckwheat noodles though, very often you get a wheat blend, and they are not low-carb at all. They are very expensive, so more of a treat than an everyday thing for me.

Blinis are traditionally made with buckwheat, but I couldn't find a savory recipe online that didn't use wheat flour as well. It's been a while since I last made them, but I think I just made something like a leavened pancake batter and fried them, no recipe. Very nice and chewey.
posted by mumimor at 4:32 AM on March 15 [3 favorites]

Expanding on tofu knots, there's a wide range of tofu skin/yuba products in sheet, stick, and noodle (doufu si) forms, both fresh and dried. You may need to go to H-Mart or a Chinese grocery for the fresh stuff and more unusual forms.

Like seitan (another great suggestion), more traditional recipes tend to treat them as a meat substitute, but they can also be an analog to a dumpling wrapper or a noodle.
posted by pullayup at 7:03 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]

Fried tofu - like ka prow tofu.
posted by mercredi at 7:32 AM on March 15

I won't claim they'll work as a plate of pasta but in soup spuralized dikon is -- to me -- indistinguishable from a real noodle. Spiralize it thick for the toothsome and boil it in separate water before adding ti the soup or else it will make your soup bitter. Of course soup noodle texture isn't really stretch and chew, so not exactly the bread texture you want but definitely a noodle texture.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:23 AM on March 15

This low carb pizza quiche makes a nice chewy pan-style pizza... no crusty edges, but the base is dense and moist. Not "custardy" like regular quiche filling.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:15 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]

Seconding Kaizen products, made from lupin flour. I find them practically indistinguishable from normal protein-enriched pasta. They are deliciously chewy and toothsome in texture, and also eye-wateringly expensive. But kinda worth it, if you don’t eat pasta that often. The owner has some great recipes too.
posted by Weng at 11:33 AM on March 15

Seaweed? Wakame and hijiki are the first two that come to mind, but there are a lot of different types with a bit of chew and crunch.
posted by A Blue Moon at 2:37 PM on March 15

I love noodles but I'm exploring ways to get the noodle experience without spiking my blood sugar.

Like others have suggested, there are of course konjac noodles. I recently tried them and found them to be a good substitute, but they're a bit of a pain to prepare so that they're flavorless (it involves rinsing, boiling, and then dry-frying them before adding them to your dish).

They're also sold in smaller quantities at most grocery stores compared to traditional pasta, but I understand they might be sold in larger quantities at Asian grocery stores.

Thanks for asking this question--I'll be interested to see all the answers!
posted by dean_deen at 2:32 PM on March 17