How Many Carbs in a Banana? The Ultimate Guide to Carbs in Food

Have you ever found yourself hungry but in a hurry, frantically typing “how many carbs in a banana” or “carbs in eggs” into Google?

We’ve been there. Oh, we’ve been there.

That’s one reason Carb Manager exists, after all! We wanted an app that highlighted carb counts but still provided a well-rounded look at overall nutrition.

We’ve been keeping tabs on the most common “how many carbs” searches online and compiled them all into one helpful resource right here.

What are carbs?

Carbs are one of the three macronutrients, along with fat and protein. These are the major (“macro”) nutrients that provide calories that the body can use for energy. Alcohol provides calories too, but it’s not classified as a nutrient because the body doesn’t require it.

The main role of carbs in the body is to provide glucose, a form of easily-accessible sugar that can quickly and efficiently be converted to energy. All digestible carbs break down into glucose, or sugars that the body can convert into glucose.

Carbs also provide fiber, which is indigestible. Fiber can help improve digestion and provides a food source for the beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.

Still, carbohydrates also have the biggest impact on blood sugar and insulin levels. For people with insulin resistance, going on a low-carb diet like Keto can help to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels — making it easier to lose weight and improve their metabolic health. 

On a low-carb diet, many people choose to count net carbs. This removes the indigestible carbs like fiber from the total carb count, so the only carbs counted are those that can impact blood sugar levels.

When you start Keto or another low-carb diet, you’ll also need to have a good grasp of what exactly a high, medium, or low-carb food means. 

Here’s a general guideline that you may find helpful when making food choices:

• High-carb foods: These foods contain 11 or more grams of net carbs per serving.
• Medium-carb foods: These foods contain 6-10 grams of net carbs per serving.
• Low-carb foods: These foods contain 5 grams of net carbs or less per serving.

Just remember that this scale is designed for Keto diets, which typically restrict carbs to 25-50 grams per day. If you follow an eating style that allows for more carbs, you likely won’t consider foods with 11 grams of carbs to be “high carb.” But on Keto, 11 grams of carbs could be nearly 50% of your daily carb allotment.

That's why, on Keto, you'll want to stick to low-carb foods, eat medium-carb foods sparingly, and avoid high-carb foods.

How many carbs are in common foods?

Wondering how many carbs are in a banana or an egg? Here are your answers just below.

Common Foods High in Carbs

These foods all contain 11 grams of net carbs or more per typical serving and should be avoided on Keto.

• Banana: 24 grams per medium banana
• Rice: 22 grams per ½ cup of cooked rice
• Sweet Potato: 26 grams per medium sweet potato
• Grapes: 26 grams per 1 cup of grapes
• Potatoes: 26 grams per medium baked potato, plain, skin not eaten
• Oatmeal: 24 grams per 1 cup of oatmeal
• Black Beans: 13 grams per ½ cup of black beans
• Apple: 19 grams per medium apple
• Blueberries: 18 grams per 1 cup of blueberries
• Corn: 14 grams per ½ cup of corn
• Cantaloupe: 11 grams per 1 cup of cantaloupe 

Common Foods with Moderate Carbs

These foods contain 6-10 grams of net carbs per serving. You can include these on Keto, but you’ll need to be really careful about portion sizes.

• Popcorn: 10 grams per 2 cups of popcorn
• Strawberries: 8 grams per 1 cup of strawberries
• Watermelon: 10 grams net carbs per large slice of watermelon
• Onions: 9 grams per medium onion
• Brussels Sprouts: 7 grams per 1 cup of Brussels sprouts

Common Foods Low in Carbs

All of these common foods contain less than 5 grams of net carbs in a typical serving size. They’re perfectly Keto friendly in the serving sizes listed below.

• Eggs: 1 gram per large cooked egg
• Tomatoes: 3 grams per medium tomato
• Avocado: 1 gram per ½ avocado
• Broccoli: 6 grams per ½ cup of broccoli
• Carrots: 4 grams per medium carrot
• Cauliflower: 1 gram per ½ cup of cauliflower
• Green beans: 4 grams per 1 cup of raw green beans
• Cabbage: 3 grams per ½ cup of cabbage
• Cheese: 1 gram per 1 ounce of cheese
• Cucumber: 3 grams per medium cucumber
• Mushrooms: 2 grams per ½ cup of mushrooms, cooked
• Vodka: 0 grams per 1-½ fluid ounces of vodka
• Zucchini: 3 grams per medium zucchini
• Celery: 1 gram per 4 medium stalks
• Asparagus: 2 grams per ½ cup of asparagus

Which foods can I eat on Keto?

On Keto, you’ll want to stick to foods on this list in the medium and low-carb sections (but mostly the low-carb section).

Although you may occasionally choose to include high-carb foods, they should be included sparingly, or it will be really difficult to stick to Keto and remain in ketosis.

In addition, on Keto, you can also eat:

• Meats and proteins: beef, chicken, fish, shellfish, pork, eggs
• Fruits: raspberries, strawberries, coconut, avocado
• Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, greens, kale, spinach, salad greens, zucchini, yellow squash, brussels sprouts, okra, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, nut butters, chia seeds, flax seeds, 
• Fats and oils: olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, tallow, lard, bacon grease
• Dairy: heavy cream, cream cheese, sour cream, cheese
• Other: vinegar, herbs, spices, mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce

How to check carb counts with Carb Manager

Want a pocket reference guide to carb counts? Be sure to download the Carb Manager app.

Here’s how you can quickly and easily check the carb count for any food.

1. When you open the app, hit the plus sign.
2. You can choose to either add, scan, or say a food.
3. Once you have the food pulled up, enter the portion size you plan to eat to view the carb content and add it to your log.

You can also add your go-to foods to your favorites list or create custom meals out of foods that you commonly eat together. 

With Carb Manager, you won’t have to hunt for carb counts — our database of thousands of foods will be right at your fingertips.