Best vegetables for weight loss, plus beans, lentils and salads

Which vegetables are best for weight loss?

The best vegetables for weight loss are non-starchy vegetables that are high in water and fibre: leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, green beans, courgette, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and celery. Most give 15 to 45 calories in a generous portion, so you can fill half your plate without adding much energy.

No vegetable burns fat. Vegetables help because they take up room on the plate and in the stomach that would otherwise go to richer foods, and because they need chewing and time.

Before you change what you eat, talk to your doctor first, especially if you have a long-term condition or take regular medicines. This page gives general information, not personal medical advice.

What studies show about vegetables and weight

A meta-analysis in the Western Journal of Nursing Research pooled 16 studies with 3,719 adults living with overweight or obesity. Programmes that raised fruit and vegetable intake led to about 2.8 kg more weight loss on average, with larger effects in longer programmes.

The programmes differed a great deal, so the exact number matters less than the direction. Eating more vegetables, as part of an overall plan, tends to help rather than hinder.

Long-term population studies point the same way, but the effects are smaller. A systematic review of ten cohort studies in Nutrients rated the evidence as moderate quality and found that people who ate more vegetables were less likely to gain weight over the years.

Some vegetables do better than others

Harvard researchers followed 133,468 American adults for up to 24 years and compared changes in what they ate with changes in their weight. Every extra daily serving of vegetables was linked with slightly less weight gain over each four-year period.

The type made a difference. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, and green leafy vegetables were linked with less weight gain, while more corn, peas and potatoes went with a little more.

Vegetables that were both higher in fibre and lower in glycaemic load did best. This is observational research, so it cannot prove cause and effect, but it fits well with how filling these vegetables are.

Numbers are rounded and approximate, calculated by Obesity Foundation from the USDA SR Legacy database for vegetables cooked without salt or fat. Oil, butter, cheese sauce and frying change them completely.

For fruit, see our separate guide to the best fruits for weight loss. For how vegetables compare with protein and fibre foods in general, our food table puts them side by side.

Are beans good for weight loss, and which beans are best?

Yes, beans are good for weight loss. A portion of cooked beans brings about 8 to 11 grams of fibre and about 10 grams of protein for 150 to 175 calories, a mix that few other foods offer.

That mix is the point. Fibre and protein both slow eating down and keep hunger away for longer, and beans cost very little, whether dried or tinned.

What the bean trials show

A systematic review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at 21 randomised trials with 940 adults. Diets that included pulses, at a median of about 132 grams a day, led to slightly more weight loss than similar diets without them, over a median of six weeks.

The extra loss was small, about a third of a kilo. It was also seen in trials where people were not trying to eat less, and a few trials suggested a small drop in body fat.

So beans are not a quick fix. They are a steady, cheap building block that makes a lower-calorie diet easier to live with.

Which beans are best for weight loss?

All plain cooked beans are good choices, and the differences between them are small. Black beans and pinto beans have slightly more fibre, while kidney beans and white beans are a little lower in calories or higher in protein.

Firm tofu values vary a lot between brands, depending on how much water is pressed out. Check the label of the one you buy.

Baked beans, refried beans and green beans

• Baked beans are a useful, cheap meal on wholemeal toast. The sauce adds sugar and salt, so reduced-sugar and reduced-salt versions are the better buy.
• Refried beans from a tin are lighter than many people expect, but traditional versions are made with fat and are salty. Vegetarian or fat-free versions, or mashing your own pinto beans with spices, keep them lighter.
• Green beans are a different food altogether. They are the young pods, so nutritionally they belong with broccoli and courgette as a low-calorie vegetable.

Will beans give me wind?

Some people get more wind when they start eating beans, but for most it settles within a few weeks. In three US feeding studies, adults ate half a cup of beans every day for 8 or 12 weeks.

In the first week, about half or fewer reported more wind from pinto or baked beans, and only about one in five from black-eyed peas. Most of those who noticed more wind felt it had eased by the second or third week.

Start with a few spoonfuls a day and build up over two or three weeks, and drink enough water. If you have irritable bowel syndrome, ask your doctor or a dietitian first, because some beans are a common trigger.

Are lentils, chickpeas, tofu and edamame good for weight loss?

Yes. Lentils, chickpeas, tofu and edamame are all good for weight loss, because they give protein and fibre for a moderate number of calories and can replace fattier meat in many meals.

Each one has its own strengths, so it helps to know how they differ.

• Lentils are the quickest pulse to cook from dry, need no soaking and have the fewest calories of the plain cooked pulses in the table. Red lentils fall apart into a thick sauce; green and brown ones hold their shape in salads.
• Chickpeas are the most energy-dense of the common pulses, because they hold a little more fat. They are still a good choice; just use a measured portion rather than a whole tin each.
• Tofu is the most protein-rich legume food here. It has very little taste of its own, so marinate it, or cook it in a strong sauce.
• Edamame are young green soya beans. They give more protein than other beans with less carbohydrate, and are easy to keep in the freezer.

In the large Harvard cohort study, tofu and soya foods showed the strongest link with less weight gain of all the vegetables studied. That does not prove that soya itself causes weight loss, but it shows that soya foods fit well into a weight loss diet.

If you want to eat little or no meat, our guide to the best diet for weight loss compares vegetarian, vegan and Mediterranean eating for weight loss.

For full meals built on these foods, see our high protein meals, which include tofu dishes, and the bean and lentil dinners in our healthy recipes for weight loss.

Are salads good for weight loss (and when a salad is not light)?

Salads are good for weight loss when they are built from vegetables, a measured protein food and a light dressing. A salad with a creamy dressing, cheese, croutons or a lot of pasta can easily contain more calories than a hot meal.

The word “salad” says nothing about the calories. What matters is what goes on top of the leaves.

The salad experiment

In a study at Penn State University, 42 women came to the lab for lunch once a week for seven weeks. On most days they first had to finish a salad, and then they could eat as much pasta as they liked.

When the salad was light, with less and lighter dressing and cheese, the whole meal contained 7 % fewer calories with a small salad and 12 % fewer with a large one. When the same leaves came with more full-fat dressing and cheese, the meal contained 8 % and 17 % more calories than with no salad at all.

The same vegetables gave opposite results. A big, light salad helps; a big, rich salad works against you.

The Caesar-style bowl has the fewest vegetables and the most calories per bite, and much less fibre. Most of its calories come from the dressing, cheese and croutons, not from the lettuce.

Pasta salad is not off limits. Halving the pasta, tripling the vegetables, adding beans and swapping mayonnaise for a yogurt dressing gives a bigger bowl with twice the protein and three times the fibre.

How to build a salad that fills you up

1. Start with a big base of leaves and crunchy vegetables: at least half the bowl.
2. Add one protein food, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, egg, tuna or chicken, so the salad lasts until the next meal.
3. Add a little starch if you like, such as new potatoes, wholegrain bread or a small scoop of grains.
4. Measure the dressing. One to two teaspoons of oil with lemon or vinegar is enough for a large bowl.
5. Use cheese, nuts, seeds and croutons as a garnish, a small sprinkle for taste rather than a layer.

Our guide to nuts and healthy fats compares shop-bought dressings and gives three homemade ones. Eggs, tuna and chicken make good salad toppings too; our guides to eggs for weight loss and meat and fish for weight loss compare them.

Is cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower rice good for weight loss?

Yes. Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower belong to the cruciferous family, which showed one of the clearest links with less weight gain in the Harvard cohort study. They are cheap, filling and give a large portion for 25 to 45 calories.

• Cabbage keeps for weeks in the fridge and works raw in slaws, shredded into stir-fries or cooked in soups and stews.
• Broccoli has more protein and fibre than most green vegetables. Frozen florets are just as useful as fresh.
• Cauliflower has a mild taste, so it blends into curries, mash and sauces without taking over.

Eating cabbage in large amounts is not a diet on its own. We explain why the cabbage soup diet disappoints, and give better recipes, in our guide to weight loss soup.

Cauliflower rice: a simple swap

Cauliflower rice is raw cauliflower grated or pulsed into rice-sized pieces and then briefly fried in a dry pan or steamed. It is not a replacement for real rice in taste, but it is a good way to stretch a portion.

The half-and-half mix is often the easiest change to keep, because the meal still tastes of rice. Many people do the same with mashed potato and cauliflower.

If you have diabetes and use insulin or medicines that can cause low blood sugar, a large drop in carbohydrate can change your blood sugar. Talk to your diabetes team before swapping all your rice or potatoes.

Are pickles and sauerkraut good for weight loss (salt check)?

Pickles and sauerkraut are very low in calories, so they can add crunch and flavour to a weight loss diet. The catch is salt: both are preserved in brine, and a single large dill pickle contains more than half of the daily sodium level that European experts consider safe and adequate.

The European Food Safety Authority sets 2 grams of sodium a day, about 5 grams of salt, as a safe and adequate intake for adults. Many people already eat far more than that from bread, cheese, processed meat and ready meals.

Sweet pickles are lower in salt but contain sugar: a large sweet gherkin has about 6 grams of sugar. Rinsing tinned beans helps a little, but in the USDA data rinsed kidney beans and chickpeas kept around 85 to 90 % of their sodium, so choosing a low-salt tin makes a bigger difference.

Does the gut bacteria angle help?

Some pickles and sauerkraut are fermented, which means bacteria have turned the sugars in the vegetables into acid. In a small Stanford study, 36 healthy adults were asked to eat either more fibre or more fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir and fermented vegetables, for several weeks.

The fermented food group ended up with a more varied mix of gut bacteria and lower markers of inflammation. Weight was not what the study set out to measure, so it tells us nothing about pickles and weight loss.

Enjoy pickles and sauerkraut as a tasty side in small amounts. If you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, or have been told to eat less salt, check with your doctor how much fits. Vinegar shots and other drink trends are checked on our page about weight loss drinks.

Do starchy vegetables like carrots, squash and corn count?

Starchy vegetables count as healthy food, but treat them as the starch on your plate rather than as unlimited vegetables. Corn, peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams and plantain have two to five times the calories of broccoli or courgette for the same weight.

That is why the Harvard cohort found that people who ate more of them gained a little more weight over time, while people who ate more non-starchy vegetables gained less. Starchy vegetables are not unhealthy; they are simply closer to rice and bread in energy.

Which vegetables are starchy?

• Starchy: potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, plantain, sweetcorn and garden peas. Count a fist-sized portion as your starch.
• In between: butternut squash, pumpkin, beetroot and parsnips. A bit sweeter and denser than leafy vegetables, but still fairly light, so a normal side portion is fine.
• Not starchy: carrots, despite their sweet taste, give about 33 calories in a large carrot. You can use them freely, raw or cooked.

Peas are a special case. They are starchy, but they also bring more protein and fibre than most vegetables, so a spoonful in a stew, soup or rice dish is a good addition.

For rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pasta and bread, our page is rice good for weight loss? compares portions and explains how to fit them into a plate.

How to eat more vegetables every day (portions, frozen and tinned, cheap ways)

The easiest way to eat more vegetables is to add them to meals you already eat, rather than to plan separate “healthy” dishes. Aim for vegetables at lunch and dinner, and let them take up about half the plate.

How many vegetables a day?

Advice differs a little by country, but the direction is the same everywhere. The Dutch Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum) advises adults to eat at least 250 grams of vegetables a day, while Dutch adults on average eat about 167 grams.

The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise three servings of vegetables and two of fruit a day. Eating more vegetables than this is fine, and it helps you reach your fibre target; our macro calculator shows how much fibre you need.

The plate method in our portion control guide turns these numbers into a simple picture: half the plate vegetables, a quarter protein and a quarter starch.

Frozen, tinned and jarred vegetables count

Frozen, tinned and jarred vegetables all count, as long as no salt or sugar has been added. The Dutch Nutrition Centre lists them alongside fresh vegetables, but leaves out vegetable juice, creamy vegetable dishes and fried vegetables.

Frozen vegetables are often the cheapest and least wasteful option. Our guide to the best foods for weight loss describes the research comparing their vitamins with fresh vegetables.

Swap part of the meat for vegetables

Replacing some of the meat in a dish with vegetables or beans lowers the calories without making the portion smaller. In a one-year trial, 73 adults living with obesity were asked to swap red meat for mushrooms in their meals.

Compared with a standard diet, the mushroom group lost about 3.2 kg (7 lb) more and kept it off well during the year. It was a small trial, but it shows how a simple swap can help.

Twelve easy ways to add vegetables

• Stir a bag of spinach into a curry, stew or pasta sauce just before serving.
• Grate carrot or courgette into mince for bolognese, chilli or burgers.
• Replace half the mince with lentils or chopped mushrooms.
• Add a tin of beans or chickpeas to soups, stews and casseroles.
• Keep a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for nights when you have no energy to chop.
• Roast a big tray of vegetables once and use it in meals for three days.
• Have a side salad or a cup of vegetable soup before your main meal.
• Make an omelette or scrambled eggs with peppers, tomatoes and onion.
• Use lettuce leaves or cabbage leaves as wraps for fillings.
• Snack on cucumber, celery, pepper strips or cherry tomatoes with hummus or a yogurt dip.
• Top a pizza or toast with extra vegetables instead of extra cheese.
• Mix half rice and half cauliflower rice, or half mash and half mashed cauliflower.

Vegetables on a budget

Cabbage, carrots, onions, frozen peas, frozen spinach, tinned tomatoes and dried lentils are among the cheapest foods in most shops, and they keep well. Cooking a large pot of bean chilli or lentil stew costs little per portion and fills the freezer for busy days.

Seasonal and reduced-price vegetables are fine to use; cook or freeze them on the day you buy them. Our free eating plan is built around affordable everyday foods like these.

When to talk to your doctor before eating more vegetables or beans

For most people, eating more vegetables and beans is safe and healthy. A few groups should talk to their doctor or a dietitian first, because some vegetables interact with medicines or health conditions.

• Kidney disease. People with kidney disease may need to watch potassium. The US National Kidney Foundation lists beans, lentils, cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and most greens among foods higher in potassium. Your kidney dietitian can tell you what fits.
• The blood thinner warfarin. Green leafy vegetables are rich in vitamin K. A systematic review found no good reason to avoid them, but advised keeping vitamin K intake steady rather than suddenly changing it, so tell your anticoagulation clinic before a big change.
• Diabetes. Beans, peas, corn and other starchy vegetables contain carbohydrate. If you use insulin or tablets that can cause low blood sugar, talk to your diabetes team before big changes in what you eat.
• High blood pressure or heart failure. Choose tinned vegetables and beans without added salt, and keep pickles and sauerkraut small.
• Bowel conditions. With irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease or after bowel surgery, some vegetables and beans may need to be introduced slowly or avoided for a while.

Our doctor visit checklist helps you prepare for that appointment.

Vegetables, walking and moving more

Vegetables and beans help you eat fewer calories without going hungry, while movement helps you protect your muscles and keep the weight off. Together they work better than either one alone.

A short walk after dinner is an easy habit to pair with a vegetable-rich meal. Our page on walking for weight loss shows how to start gently, and our workouts in the levels Start, Build and Strong let you build fitness at your own pace.

How Obesity Foundation helps you lose weight with good food

We help people lose weight and get healthier with good food, suitable exercise and walking. Everything we offer is free, because we are a non-profit.

• A free personal eating plan with plenty of vegetables, beans and lentils, adapted to what you like and can afford: ask for your free eating plan.
• Free workout videos at your level, starting with gentle seated options: get the free videos.
• A free video meeting (in English) to talk about food, hunger and your goals with someone who listens without judgement: book your free video meeting.
• The free Obesity Foundation Club, a personal account to track your progress and ask for help: create your free Club account.

Start with one change this week: one extra vegetable at dinner, or one bean or lentil meal instead of a meat meal. Small changes you can keep add up to real results.