These keto meal prep recipes are easy, family-friendly and totally delicious. Make sure to download your free keto meal prep plan at the bottom of the article!
When starting any new way of eating, I find that meal planning and meal prep are essential. Changing habits is hard! If you don't have a plan in place and healthy food prepped, it's way too easy to reach for your default items.
This is one of the many reasons I'm so passionate about meal prep! Not only does it make weeknights SO much easier, it really empowers you to stick to your healthy eating goals without the constant battle of willpower. After all, if you've put in the effort to prep those beautiful healthy meals, you're a lot less likely to give in to takeout.
Whether you're brand new to to keto or just looking to expand your low carb recipe repertoire, the 10 easy keto meal prep recipes below will help! These all come from our weekly keto meal plans so they are designed to be prep-ahead and family friendly. I hope you find some new favorites!
But wait, can you eat vegetables on keto?
You may notice that my keto recipes include vegetables. But can you eat vegetables on keto? Don't they have carbs?
There's a bit of a misconception that you can't eat fruits and vegetables on keto. In actuality, you can totally include fresh produce in your keto meal plan, it just takes a bit more planning.
Some veggies are quite high in carbs, but others like peppers, broccoli and zucchini are not. I work to include as many low carb veggies as possible in my keto meal plans to make sure you get all of the vitamins and micronutrients you need to feel your best, while sticking to your daily carb goals.
Including vegetables on a keto diet can take some practice but, once you get the hang of it, it's totally doable. That's one reason that using our dietitian-crafted keto meal plans is so helpful when you're starting a keto lifestyle! Make sure to scroll to the end of the post for your free keto meal prep plan if you'd like to try it out.
What about the kids? Tips for Low Carb Family Dinners
Another hesitation for many hoping to embark on a keto diet is how it will impact family dinners. No one wants to cook multiple dinners every night but many keto meals may not seem kid-friendly.
All of our Prep Dish meal plans are created with families in mind (after all, I feed them to my own family every week!) There are also some simple tweaks you can make to your keto dinner recipes to make them more kid-appropriate:
- Add an easy carb for the kiddos. You can serve your kids any of the below recipes and add a side like brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, fruit, etc. Prep 2-3 easy carb-based sides and rotate them throughout the week when you serve keto dinners to your family.
- Up carbs for the kids at breakfast & lunch. Alternatively, you can serve the below keto recipes to your family as-is, but up their carbs at breakfast and lunch. If you make sure they're getting some form of healthy carbs earlier in the day, they'll be fine with a lower-carb dinner. (Of course, talk to your pediatrician if you have specific questions about your child's nutrition and dietary needs.)
10 Easy Keto Meal Prep Recipes
And now, on to the recipes! These easy keto meal prep recipes are low carb, prep-ahead and totally delicious. This is a glimpse into the types of recipes you'll find in our weekly keto meal plans.
1. Mediterranean Keto Lamb Burgers
To keep this one keto-friendly, eat it in a lettuce wrap – I love it that way! Serve with roasted cauliflower for a nutritious, keto-friendly side. You can also sub ground beef or bison for the lamb if you like.
To Prep Ahead:
- Slice a red onion into thin circles.
- Wash romaine and separate large leaves. Store w/ a paper towel to keep fresh.
- Mix ground lamb w/ spices and form into 4 patties. Store in fridge.
If you follow these simple prep-ahead instructions, these keto burgers are quick enough for a weeknight dinner!
2. Low Carb Crab Cakes
Most crab cakes contain bread crumbs but we use coconut flour as a binding agent to keep these totally keto-friendly. The recipe also includes a delicious lemon garlic aioli which helps up the fat content for these crab cakes. I definitely recommend doubling the recipe for the aioli. Add some cucumbers for dipping and you have a tasty fat bomb!
To Prep Ahead:
- Finely dice bell pepper & thinly slice green onions.
- Combine all ingredients for lemon garlic aioli.
- Combine the following until just mixed together: crabmeat, diced red bell pepper, sliced green onions, seasoning, avocado oil mayo, coconut flour + S&P to taste. Form the patties and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When frozen, transfer to freezer bag/container.
- When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 F and place 2 Tbsp coconut flour on a plate.
- Lightly dust frozen crab cakes with coconut flour (don’t cake on or cakes will be dry). Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 15-20 min, flipping halfway through.
These are great with any low carb veggie side but I personally love them with roasted asparagus and tomatoes.
3. Keto Pesto Chicken with Zoodles
This spinach pesto is SO good – it's another great one to double up on! You can of course buy pre-made zucchini noodles but if you want to try making your own, I have a quick video showing you how.
To Prep Ahead:
- If you're not using pre-made zoodles, slice zucchini into long spaghetti-like strips (best done on a spiralizer or mandolin).
- Chop 2 cloves of garlic.
- Make the spinach pesto and store in the fridge.
And that's it! On the day you want to serve (“dish day” in our Prep Dish lingo), all you have to do is top your chicken with the pesto and bake and sauté the zoodles with the garlic.
4. Easy Low Carb Chicken Recipe w/ Parsley, Kale & Goat Cheese
My parsley chicken was a subscriber-favorite, among kids and adults alike! The side dish, kale and goat cheese, is simple and delicious as well.
To Prep Ahead:
- Finely chop garlic.
- Remove kale leaves from stem. Discard stems and roughly chop leaves, storing with garlic.
- Make the parsley marinade.
With this prep completed, all you need to do on dish day is marinate and bake the chicken. While the chicken is baking, you can sauté the kale and garlic before topping with goat cheese.
This recipe really highlights how just a bit of meal prep can elevate the types of meals you're able to pull off throughout your busy week.
5. Italian Meatballs
Meatballs are a big time favorite with my kids and this is a great example of how keto-friendly meals can be family-friendly too.
To Prep Ahead:
- Grate zucchini and drain moisture.
- Combine the following: ground turkey, grated zucchini, almond flour (or 2T coconut flour), egg, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, grated parmesan, and S&P.
- Form into ~20 meatballs and store in the fridge OR freeze for a future meal.
This is the kind of recipe that I love to double up on. I'll meal prep 2 batches and store one in the fridge for later in the week and the other in the freezer for a week when I need an extra meal!
6. Keto Cajun Shrimp
You'll obvious want to omit the polenta from this one to keep it keto-friendly. Try serving with cauli mash instead! Feel free to drizzle with a bit of extra olive oil or serve with a simple spinach & goat cheese salad to up the fat content a bit as well.
To Prep Ahead:
- Thinly slice bell pepper and slice zucchini into rounds.
And that's really all this one takes! Shrimp are one of my go-to easy weeknight meals because they cook so quickly and require very little prep to be totally delicious.
7. Keto Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
Beef barbacoa is super versatile. Make it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot depending on your preferences. Serve on tortillas for the kiddos and lettuce wraps or salad for those eating low carb. Make it your own!
To Prep Ahead:
- Wash and separate romaine leaves.
- Thinly slice radishes.
- Make barbacoa sauce.
On the day-of, all you need to do is cook the barbacoa in the slow cooker or Instant Pot – so easy!
8. Mexican Pork Salad
Mexican Pork Salad is so popular with our subscribers, it's one of the few recipes I repeat on the meal plans a couple of times throughout the year. It's a keeper!
To Prep Ahead:
- Season, brown and cook the pork in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- Chop onions, tomatoes, green onions and cilantro.
On dish day, top salad with pork and avocado and enjoy the delicious results of your meal prep labors!
9. Low Carb BLT Wraps
If you find yourself missing wraps and sandwiches with your keto lifestyle, I highly recommend embracing the collard wrap. With the right toppings and sauces, they can be ever bit as delicious! The jicama fries that go along with this wrap just may become your new favorite lunch side.
To Prep Ahead:
- Cook your bacon (if you haven't tried cooking it in the oven, I highly recommend it, so easy!).
- Slice jicama into thin sticks (size of french fries) and steam for 5 minutes.
- Slice 2 tomatoes and cut each slice in half.
- Prep collard leaves (instructions in recipe).
- Make the creamy basil dressing and store in the fridge.
When you're ready to serve, all you have to do is bake the jicama fries and assemble the wraps!
10. Bison Meatloaf Recipe
One of my favorite parts about creating meal plans is incorporating healthier versions of favorite comfort foods. I'm honestly honored to have a part in shaping the meals families share together and I want to show people that they can absolutely still enjoy their favorite meals with a few tweaks.
I love serving this bison meatloaf with mashed cauliflower and sautéed spinach.
To Prep Ahead:
- Make the tomato sauce.
- Mix bison, egg, 1 Tbsp prepared tomato sauce, almond flour, salt, grainy mustard, tamari, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, & oregano. Store meatloaf mix & tomato sauce in separate containers.
On Dish Day, simply top the meatloaf with your tomato sauce and bake!
More Keto Meal Planning Resources
If you're looking for more than just delicious & easy keto meal prep recipes, I've got MORE keto meal planning resources for you.
First, make sure to check out my article on How to Craft a Weekly Low Carb Meal Plan That Won't Leave You Hangry. I also created a helpful roundup of the lowest carb fruits – yes, you really can still enjoy fruit on keto!
I also want to make sure you know about our weekly keto meal plans.
Every week Prep Dish subscribers receive 4 meal prep meal plans: Gluten Free, Paleo, Keto and Super Fast.
The keto meal plans includes 4 keto dinners and 2 fat bombs. The meal plans go beyond just recipes, providing prep day instructions to walk you through exactly how to prep the week's food all at once in just a couple of hours.
Want a FREE Low Carb Meal Prep Plan?
I'd love for you to try one of our keto meal plans for yourself to see how incorporating meal prep into your routine can impact you life. Just click the button below for a free meal plan and go here to learn more about our meal plan subscriptions and how to get a free trial.
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