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Quick Summary tl;dr
Legumes aren’t hard to replace once you stop trying to mimic them exactly and focus on what they actually do in a dish.
For stews, curries, and soups, vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, and green beans can replace the bulk. For bowls and sides, options like lupini beans, chopped nuts, or hemp hearts work better. For dips like hummus, zucchini, cauliflower, or macadamia nuts hold up well.
Some options (like edamame, black soybeans, or seitan) can work but may not be ideal for everyone. They’re better seen as occasional tools, not foundations.
You don’t need a perfect substitute. You just need swaps that make your meals still feel satisfying.
If you eat low-carb, legumes can be one of the trickiest foods to work around.
Beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas — they show up everywhere: soups, curries, salads, chili, hummus. They’re filling, familiar, and often treated like a default “healthy” food. For years, we were told to build meals around foods like these because they were seen as the foundation of a balanced diet.
But that framing is finally shifting. The new real food guidelines have flipped the food pyramid, putting protein and whole foods at the base instead of grains and starchy carbs. That change matters, because it validates what a lot of people have already learned the hard way: meals don’t need to rely on grains and legumes to be nutritious, satisfying, or complete.
The frustrating part is that so many recipes depend on legumes for bulk and texture. Remove them, and the dish can feel unfinished.
The good news is that you don’t need a perfect one-to-one replacement to make these meals work. Some ingredients step into the same role surprisingly well — not by pretending to be beans, but by giving you that same substance and satisfaction in a way that fits a low-carb approach. Below are the swaps that make sense in everyday cooking.
Why Legumes Are Tricky on Low-Carb
Most legumes are simply higher in carbs than people expect. A small serving of lentils, chickpeas, or beans can easily take up a large chunk of your daily carbs, especially if you’re eating low-carb or keto.
To make things more confusing, some legumes fit better than others. Green beans, sugar snap peas, peanuts, lupin beans, and small amounts of edamame can work for many people. Others — like lentils, chickpeas, and most dried beans — are harder to include regularly without pushing carbs higher than planned.
The bigger issue, though, isn’t just the numbers. It’s that legumes often play a structural role in meals. They add bulk, texture, and substance. Take them out, and dishes like curries, stews, salads, and dips can suddenly feel flat.
That’s where swaps come in: not perfect replicas, but ingredients that serve the same purpose on the plate — giving you body, texture, and satisfaction without relying on high-carb legumes.
Swaps for Soups, Stews, Curries, and Chili
These are the meals where beans and lentils usually carry the whole dish. Take them out, and things can start to feel thin and disappointing. These swaps are what I actually use to fix that.
Zucchini
This is one of my most-used swaps. Not because it’s clever, but because it’s easy and it does the job. I use zucchini all the time in curries, soups, and stews where lentils or split peas would normally go. It picks up flavor well, cooks quickly, and fills the dish out without turning everything into mush. Add some Keto Naan Bread and you've got the perfect dish tat doesn't even feel low-carb.
You can see it doing exactly that in this Vegetable Curry, Italian Pork Zucchini Skillet, Deviled Zucchini Breakfast Hash, and even in this Mexican Chili, where it can help (if added) make the bowl feel like a proper meal rather than just meat and sauce.
Eggplant
Eggplant is what I reach for when I want something that feels more filling than zucchini. It holds its shape better, takes on spices well, and works especially well in slow-cooked dishes where you’d normally rely on beans for substance. In the Greek Calamari Stew, eggplant is doing most of the work when it comes to texture — the dish would feel flat without it.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is what I reach for when I just need more food in the bowl without changing the character of the dish. Finely chopped or in small florets, it blends into soups, curries, and thick sauces without stealing the show.
One of my favorite examples is the Curried Chicken Cauliflower Skillet, where cauliflower teams up with chicken and curry spices in one pan and actually takes the place of what lentils or peas would normally do. It doesn’t try to be beans — it just gives you that satisfying texture and keeps the meal feeling complete.
Green Beans
This one tends to surprise people, but chopped green beans are genuinely useful in soups and chili-style dishes. They don’t “replace” beans in any direct way — but they stop the dish from feeling empty. Recipes like Tex Mex Soup and Persian Lubia Polo Meatballs show how well this works in practice.
Edamame (when it fits)
I wouldn’t build meals around edamame, but small amounts can still work if you’re not eating strict keto and you tolerate soy. It’s higher in carbs than everything above, so it’s more of a “use on purpose” option than an everyday base.
When You’re Missing the “Thickness” (Not the Beans)
Sometimes it’s not the beans you miss — it’s the way they make a stew, soup, or curry feel thicker and more filling. If a dish tastes good but feels a bit thin, small amounts of peanut butter, nut and seed butter (like almond or tahini), or coconut butter (also called coconut manna) can help.
They don’t replace beans, but they do bring back that richer texture you often get from lentils or chickpeas. A spoonful stirred into a sauce, curry, or soup is usually enough to make the whole dish feel more complete.
Swaps for Stir-Fries, Salads, and Bowls
This is where chickpeas, lentils, and beans usually show up by default — tossed into salads and bowls to make them feel more substantial. The problem is that once you remove them, the whole thing can quickly turn into “just leaves and toppings.” These are the swaps I actually use to avoid that.
Sugar Snap Peas
If there’s one legume that still makes sense in many low-carb meals, it’s sugar snap peas. They’re fresh, crunchy, and much easier to fit in than lentils or chickpeas. Plus, they are exceptionally high in vitamin C.
They work especially well in meals like Chicken, Chorizo & Avocado Salad, Salmon & Tabbouleh Low-Carb Bowl, Vegetable Laksa with Shirataki Noodles, Nasi Goreng, Chilli Beef Skillet with Pumpkin & Kale, and Asian Vegetable & Noodle Stir-Fry, where they add texture without turning the whole dish into a carb bomb.
Nuts (chopped or sliced)
Chopped nuts are one of the simplest ways to replace lentils or chickpeas in salads. They add crunch, substance, and fat — which often works better in practice than trying to copy the original ingredient.
This is especially useful in composed salads and bowls, where you want something that makes the meal feel complete instead of like a side dish with toppings.
Hemp Hearts
Hemp hearts are one of those ingredients that look small but make a real difference. Sprinkled over salads or bowls, they add texture and protein without changing the flavor much.
They’re not something you build a whole dish around, but they work really well as part of the structure — especially in meals where lentils would normally play that role.
Edamame (when it fits)
Edamame can work well in salads and bowls if you tolerate soy and you’re not eating strict keto. Think of it as a small add-in that gives you a bit of that “bean-like” bite — not something you base the whole meal on.
It fits best in meals like chopped salads, Asian-style bowls, stir-fry bowls, and meal-prep containers where you’d normally toss in chickpeas or beans for texture.
Swaps for Hummus and Dips
This is one of the places where legumes feel hardest to replace — especially if you’re used to chickpea hummus being a regular thing. The good news is that you don’t need chickpeas to get a dip that’s creamy, satisfying, and worth making.
Macadamia Nuts
This is the closest you’ll get to a traditional hummus texture without chickpeas. Macadamias blend into a smooth, rich base and work really well with garlic, lemon, and tahini. If you served the Macadamia Hummus without saying what’s in it, most people wouldn’t guess it’s chickpea-free. And as a bonus, macadamias are naturally low in carbs and higher in monounsaturated fats compared to most other nuts.
There’s also a fermented version — Fermented Macadamia Hummus — which keeps the same texture but adds a deeper, slightly tangy flavor. The Avocado Hummus uses macadamias as the base as well, just with avocado added for a fresher, lighter variation. It doesn’t pretend to be classic hummus, but it works in the exact same way: as a dip, part of a spread, or alongside vegetables and crackers.
Avocado
Avocado doesn’t try to imitate chickpeas — it just makes a very good dip in its own right. The texture works, the flavor works, and it pairs well with the same things you’d normally serve with hummus. Avocado Hummus is a good example of how this can feel familiar without pretending to be something it isn’t.
Zucchini
Zucchini works surprisingly well here, especially when it’s roasted first.
Roasted Zucchini Hummus shows how effective this can be. The flavor stays mild, the texture is smooth, and you end up with something you’d happily eat with veggies or crackers — not something you’re forcing yourself to accept because it’s “low-carb.”
Eggplant
Eggplant doesn’t need to pretend to be chickpeas — it already holds its own. Baba ganoush has existed forever for a reason: roasted eggplant blended with garlic, lemon, and tahini just works. Baba Ganoush is a good reminder that you don’t need chickpeas to make a dip worth putting on the table.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of the most underrated bases for dips. When roasted first, it blends into something far creamier than people expect. Buffalo Cauliflower Hummus is a good example of this — the texture holds up, and it actually feels like a proper dip rather than a compromise.
Swaps for Sides and Meal Prep
This is where beans often show up by default — on the side of a meal, tossed into containers for meal prep, or added to “bulk things out.” You don’t need them. These are the options that actually hold up day after day.
Green Beans
Green beans are one of the easiest swaps to lean on. They work hot or cold, hold their texture, and don’t turn into something sad by day two. They’re a solid side on their own (like these Skillet Almond Green Beans), and they also work well in meal-prep style dishes where you’d normally use beans for bulk.
Lupini Beans
If you’re looking for something that genuinely echoes beans in texture and satisfaction, lupini beans are one of the closest things you’ll find on low-carb.
They can stand in well in salads and bowls where you might miss beans — especially in recipes like the Anti-Keto Flu Nourish Bowl, where lupini adds bulk and chew without dragging the carb count up. It’s not exactly the same as a bean stew or chili, but in something like a mixed bowl or meal prep container, they make a real difference.
⚠️ A quick note: lupini beans and lupini products can vary in carb content and how people tolerate them, so it’s worth trying them on your terms and seeing how they work for you.
Nuts (chopped or sliced)
Chopped nuts are one of the most underrated meal-prep tools. They work especially well sprinkled over salads, roasted vegetables, and protein bowls where lentils or chickpeas would normally go. You don’t need much — a small handful adds texture and keeps meals from feeling flat. This is less about replacing beans and more about replacing the role beans usually play.
Hemp Hearts
Hemp hearts fall into the same category. They’re not something you eat by the bowl, but they’re very useful as part of the structure of a meal. Sprinkled into salads, bowls, or meal-prep containers, they add substance without changing the flavor much. If you’re used to relying on lentils for that “something extra,” this is one of the simplest swaps to try. Plus, they are high in electrolytes, especially magnesium.
The Less Ideal Options
These are still low in carbs, but they’re not options I’d personally build meals around. Not because they’re “bad,” but because there are usually better, more whole-food choices that work just as well.
Black Soybeans
Black soybeans are lower in carbs than most beans and behave very much like traditional beans in recipes. If you’re specifically looking for something that cooks and eats like a real bean, they’re one of the closer matches.
The trade-off is that they’re still soy. That’s a food many people choose to limit for different reasons, including its potential hormonal effects. If soy is something you’re cautious about, this probably isn’t the swap you’ll want to rely on regularly. ( Patisaul, 2016)
Seitan
Seitan is very low in carbs and high in protein, which is why it often shows up in low-carb vegetarian recipes. The issue is that it’s essentially concentrated gluten.
If gluten is something you avoid — whether due to sensitivity, digestion, or autoimmune issues — this is an easy one to skip.
Final Thoughts
Legumes do a lot of the work in meals — they add bulk, texture, and structure. When you remove them, the gap can feel bigger than expected. But you don’t need perfect replicas to fix that.
Zucchini, eggplant, cauliflower, green beans, nuts, seeds, and even small amounts of edamame can all cover different roles depending on the dish. Some work best in stews, others in bowls, others in spreads like hummus. And in a few cases, ingredients like lupini beans can get you surprisingly close to the original.
The point isn’t to copy beans. It’s to build meals that still feel complete, still taste good, and still fit the way you want to eat. Once you see what legumes were actually doing in a recipe, it becomes much easier to swap them out without the dish falling apart.
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