15+ Keto Lunch Ideas and Recipes to Help Fuel Your Day

Looking for some delicious and nutritious keto lunch ideas? Join the club. Lunch is often the hardest meal to plan when you’re on a ketogenic diet.

Skipping breakfast in favor of keto boosted coffee is common, and you may have some time to cook and eat a scrumptious low-carb meal after work, but who has time to make lunch during a busy day?

If lunch means heading to one of the best keto fast food places, you’ll soon tire of their menu. And while the corner store and bodega is stacked with candy, granola bars, and potato chips, the low-carb options are scarce.

So, it’s time you learn the secrets to effortless keto meal prep and get your lunch game on point. 

Want keto snacks too? Take the quiz to find the best keto snacks for your tastebuds.

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Today, you’ll learn 15 yummy keto lunch options to help you reach your goals, and many of these low-carb lunch recipes are also dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly.

Keto Brunch Recipes

Many keto eaters skip breakfast in favor of boosted coffee — and perhaps because of intermittent fasting.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy breakfast at lunch or dinner. And lucky for you, eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and other breakfast staples are welcome on a low-carb diet. These savory keto recipes fit smashingly with that sweet brunch spot.

#1: The Perfect Keto Brunch Spread

This effortless show-off spread includes asparagus, bacon, and eggs for a winning combo of fat, protein, and fiber sure to start your day off right.

#2: Avocado Breakfast Bowl

Instead of a carb-laden bagel, use a rich, fatty, fiber-full avocado as a “vehicle” for your scrambled eggs and bacon. It takes less than 15 minutes to make, and you can sub out the bacon for your favorite protein like prosciutto, ham, or sausage.

#3: Turkey Sausage Frittata

Think of the frittata (or crustless quiche) like a fluffy Italian omelette since it uses beaten eggs, meat, veggies, parmesan cheese, and cream. But, unlike an omelette, this keto frittata is way more versatile — you can freeze and eat it throughout the week, just like the next few recipes.

Batch Cooking Keto Lunch Ideas

Batch cooking your low-carb lunches has plenty of benefits, including: 

• Reduced food waste
• Saved money
• More free time
• Easier to stay in keto

Check out the ultimate guide to batch cooking low-carb freezer meals for more info on how to do this like a pro. You’ll find tons of recipes to make in your slow cooker or Instant Pot, as well as recipes that can be made in advance. You can start practicing with the following recipes.

#4: Low Carb Keto Lasagna

Replacing those carb-heavy lasagna noodles with thinly sliced zucchini noodles not only makes for a healthy, low-carb lunch idea, but it also tastes the same when it comes to that soft, cheesy texture. Plus, zucchini is rich in potassium, anti-inflammatory, easily digestible, low in calories, and high in antioxidants and phytonutrients[*][*].

Prepare this keto lasagna ahead of time, and you’ll be a happy camper come lunchtime.

#5: Loaded Cauliflower Bake

This cauliflower casserole is like a loaded baked potato and packs gooey cream cheese, cheddar, bacon, butter, and cauliflower. While the secret to this bake is the green onions, you can add your favorite protein and make it different each time.

#6: Easy White Turkey Chili

You may be a keto chili expert, but if you’re looking for something different, look no further than this classic with a twist. This keto lunch recipe is made with turkey and coconut milk. Calories of coconut milk calories are 93% from fat, including those super healthy saturated fats known as medium-chain triglycerides(MCTs).

Don’t be surprised if you zip through the end of your work day with lightning speed thanks to these readily-available energy sources.

#7: BBQ Pulled Beef Sando

The secret to keto pulled beef is ditching the store-bought BBQ sauce, which is usually packed with sugar. Pile this baby high on some cloud bread, top with some greens and a dollop of keto mayo, and you’ll be amazed that this tasty lunch only clocks in under 5 net carbs.

Keto Lunch Recipes With Grass-Fed Beef

The benefits of grass-fed beef are amazing:

• There are more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef, which may decrease your risk of heart disease and reduces inflammation[*].
• It contains all three essential electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and magnesium) to ward off the dreaded keto flu.
• It boasts twice the amount of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than grain-fed beef. CLA is known for its beneficial preventative effects as well as treatment for several diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cancer[*].
• There’s less chance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria compared to grain-fed beef. In one study, 18% of grain-fed beef samples contained superbugs, or bacteria that’s resistant to more than three types of antibiotics[*].

For savory keto lunch ideas, check out the following grass-fed beef recipes.

#8: Portobello Bun Cheeseburgers

There’s no need to skip the backyard BBQ to stay in ketosis. This recipe, made with grass-fed ground beef, replaces those stale hamburger buns with seasoned portobello mushroom caps for your juicy burger’s throne.

Portobello mushrooms contain two types of dietary fiber: beta-glucans and chitin. Each plays an important role in helping you manage your weight[*]. With these dietary fibers, your satiety goes up, and your appetite goes down.

As an added bonus, one portobello mushroom is more potassium-rich than a banana (for fewer carbs and sugar). This may help you with any ketosis side effects (aka keto flu) you may suffer from before you’ve keto-adapted.

P.S.: You can’t have cheeseburgers without these low-carb seasoned oven fries.

#9: Beberé Enchilada Style Stuffed Peppers

Who says you have to give up your favorite Mexican dishes, like enchiladas or tacos while on keto?

In this gluten-free recipe, you’ll replace carb-filled tortillas with bell peppers and use beberé, a spice blend of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil, cumin, cardamom, rue, and fenugreek. This keto lunch idea takes your enchiladas from takeout to stand-out, plus it subs cauliflower for rice to save some carbs.

If you’re wondering if rice low-carb friendly, the answer may seem obvious at first glance, but it’s kind of complicated.

#10: Low-Carb Keto Meatloaf

You can never go wrong with a solid meatloaf — it’s one of those low-carb recipes you dream about at your desk.

But you can go wrong making the same ol’ meatloaf too often. So, add a bit of variety to your weekly meal prep with this meatloaf made using lemon zest, parsley, oregano, and garlic. In one hour, you’ll have six servings that each come in at just 2 net carbs.

#11: Low-Carb Keto Chili

Satisfying and easy to make in batches to freeze and reheat during the week, this chili recipe is a classic and clocks in at 5 net carbs for a whole cup. You can make the whole thing in one pot, so cleanup is a breeze for six servings worth of goodness.

#12: Superfood Meatballs

A superfood enhances the nutritional quality of your diet by providing a wealth of nutrients to reduce your risks of diseases and promote better health. The superfood in these meatballs is chicken liver.

Before you “nope” out of this recipe, chicken liver is packed with nutrients, including[*]:

• Vitamin A 
• Iron 
• B vitamins to help boost energy[*]

In under an hour, you’ll have enough meatballs for days (and you don’t have to tell anyone what’s in them unless you want to).

Weekend Low-Carb, High-Fat Keto Lunch Ideas

Sometimes you get into a routine of prepping your delicious keto meals during the week, but then you get lazy and into trouble. Combat this issue by making your weekend meals special.

These next keto lunch recipes may take a bit more time to prepare than your weekday lunch, but they’re so worth the effort.

#13: Mushroom Bacon Skillet

A dish that’s ready in 30 minutes and has little to no clean up? Yes, please. This mushroom bacon skillet serves up a smoky, rich, keto-friendly meal, and uses a mix of shiitake, cremini, and ali’i mushrooms. Just remember: the trick to cooking mushrooms is a good sear, just like with a good, juicy steak.

This is one meal you’ll want to savor at home instead of packing and reheating during the work week.

#14: Shrimp Stir-Fry With Cauliflower Rice

Shrimp makes an ideal keto protein thanks to lots of healthy fat and moderate protein. This shrimp is sauteed in bacon fat and MCT oil, which is an easily digestible fat source that’s been proven to raise your ketone levels and provide a clean source of quick energy[*].

This dish should get you through your most stressful afternoons and overtime nights, and can be served over cauliflower rice or cauli fried rice. For another fun shrimp dish to try, take a stab at these shrimp stacks served over an avocado salad recipe.

#15: Low-Carb Crispy Keto “Fried” Chicken

When everyone’s home on the weekend, it can be tempting to give in to your partner’s or kid’s requests for fast food.

Compromise by whipping up a batch of crispy keto “fried” chicken — a recipe they won’t be able to complain about. This keto fried chicken is made with ground seeds and seasoning that bakes in the oven and comes in at only 4 grams of net carbs. Serve all on it’s own or serve as a chicken lettuce wrap with romaine, tomatoes, and keto mayo.

Plus, this recipe uses other healthy ingredients, including:

• Avocado oil, which is highly nutritious on its own but helps increase the absorption of antioxidants from other foods its paired with[*].
• Sunflower seeds. Just ¼ cup of sunflower seeds contains over 60% of your daily recommended value of vitamin E to help your body balance cholesterol, fight free radicals, repair damaged skin, balance hormones, and even improve your eyesight[*][*].
• Sesame seeds, which are a nutritional powerhouse rich in linoleic and oleic acids[*].

Keto Lunch Ideas to Keep You on Track

These 15 keto lunch recipes will help you stay in ketosis and stick to your weight loss goals — and they’re so delicious and satisfying, you won’t even miss the carbs you’re cutting.

Start adding one or two of these easy low-carb recipes to your lunchbox  each week until you try all of them. The only downside is you’ll attract a little food envy from your coworkers. 

When you have a few keto lunch ideas under your belt, don’t forget to try some new keto breakfast recipes and easy keto-friendly dinner recipes to round out your keto meal plan.