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Easy Keto Meal Plan: 25 Recipes to Keep Keto Simple

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Think keto is impossible? Think again. With this easy keto meal plan, a low-carb diet has never been easier.

A ketogenic diet might seem overwhelming at first. But don’t worry — the more you learn, the easier it gets. By meal prepping, planning your meals in advance, and having a stockpile of easy recipes to refer to, eating keto will become second nature.

You’ll dive into keto tips, tricks, and recipes below. But first, here’s a quick recap on the basics of a keto lifestyle.

Keto Made Easy: Basics of the Keto Diet

The purpose of the ketogenic diet is to put your body into a state of ketosis: burning fat (rather than carbs) for energy. Ketosis provides a host of health benefits, including weight loss and cognitive benefits.

Keto is a low-carb, high-fat diet. Most people can enter ketosis following these macronutrient guidelines:

  • 70-80% of calories should come from fat
  • 20-25% of calories should come from protein
  • 5-10% of calories should come from carbohydrates

On a ketogenic diet, you might only consume 30 grams of total carbs. This “starves” your body of carbohydrates, which would otherwise be converted into glucose in the liver. With no glucose available, your body burns ketones as its primary energy source, transitioning your body into a fat-burning state.

Keto Meal Prep: Foods to Eat and Avoid on Keto

On keto, follow the saying, “Cook once, eat twice.” Meal prepping helps save time, money, and energy. Set aside one day per week to make your meals in advance. Having prepared meals stocked in your fridge will prevent you from grabbing carb-heavy snacks or takeout. Read on for some tips on how to build a keto diet plan.

Eat Whole Foods: Keto-Approved Grocery List

When you hit the grocery store for the first time, stick to the basics. Focus on low-carb foods including meat, vegetables, and cooking fats, avoiding products advertised as keto muffins or keto ice cream.

When filling your shopping cart, stick to the items below.

  • Meats: Chicken (whole, thigh, breast), pork (shoulder, belly, loin), steak (hanger, flank, sirloin, chuck, filet mignon, prime rib), high-quality sausage, ground or hamburger meats (pork, beef, turkey, lamb), roast beef, ham, bacon, duck, eggs
  • Seafood: Salmon, tuna, trout, tilapia, halibut, crab, lobster, swordfish, pollock, cod, oysters, shrimp
  • Fats and oils: Olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, MCT oil, avocados and avocado oil, salad dressings made with these oils
  • Dairy: Full-fat heavy creams, grass-fed butters, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, blue cheese, sour cream (skip any low-fat dairy products)
  • Nuts: Keto nuts such as pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, macadamias
  • Low carb vegetables: Leafy greens like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, lettuce; green beans, cabbage, celery, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, eggplant
  • Low-sugar fruits: Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries
  • Condiments: Salt, pepper, sugar-free herbs and spices

Don’t get too caught up on specialty ingredients such as almond flour, coconut flour, packaged products with “keto” or “low-carb” on the label or keto-friendly sweeteners. These pantry items are nice for keto treats or gourmet meals, but aren’t necessary for a weeknight dinner.

Foods Not Allowed on a Keto Diet Meal Plan

To make your meal prep as simple as possible, it’s helpful to know which foods to avoid. Avoid the grocery aisles containing the below food groups. If they’re currently stocked in your cupboards, it may be best to throw them out, or donate any unopened packaged foods.

Foods to avoid on keto include:

  • Sugar: White sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup (read the full list of keto-approved sweeteners)
  • Grains: White and wheat bread, whole grains, oats, rice, quinoa, couscous, pasta
  • Fruit: Apples, mangoes, melons, oranges (berries can be consumed in moderation)
  • Legumes: Black beans, kidney beans, soybeans, lentils
  • Starches: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, other starchy vegetables

Easy Keto Meal Plans and Meal Planning Apps

If planning your meals seems intimidating, you might consider following a meal plan. This will take away the stress of planning and selecting meals. Perfect Keto offers two one-week easy keto meal plans for download:

There are a number of meal planning mobile apps available for download. Here are a few you might find useful:

  • FoodPlanner (free): This app allows you to browse the web for healthy recipes and download them into the app. That means you can download Perfect Keto recipes right to your phone. And the best part? A shopping list will be made for you. Simply bring your phone to the grocery store, and you’re set.
  • Paprika Recipe Manager ($5): Like FoodPlanner, Paprika allows you to browse for recipes and download them into the app. It takes things one step further, allowing you to scale recipes to fit your family needs, categorize your shopping list by aisle and check off recipes.
  • Yummly (free): Arguably the most well-known app on this list, Yummly helps you find recipes and share with friends. While not as robust as the other two options, it certainly makes it easy to find and save keto-friendly meals.

Don’t Overthink It

Find a few different meals you like and stick with them. There’s no rule saying every meal must be Instagram-worthy. Make things easy by having a list of go-to meals — those you can make without even looking at a recipe.

For example:

  • Breakfast could be an omelet fried in coconut oil with turkey sausage
  • Lunch could be a keto chili or stew with a leafy green salad
  • Dinner could be steak or crispy salmon with cauliflower rice, a salad, or side of low-carb cooked greens

25 Easy Keto Meals You Can Make Anytime

Now that you understand the basics of keto meal prepping, add these easy keto meals to your weekly line-up.

Easy Keto Breakfasts

Easy Keto Meal: Oatmeal and other breakfast ideas

Keto Oatmeal

Miss oatmeal? This keto oatmeal takes all of five minutes to prepare, and requires just three steps. Plus, it’s packed with healthy fats, protein, and 16 grams of fiber.

Savory Crustless Breakfast Keto Quiche

What’s the most difficult part of making a quiche? The crust. What part of a quiche is most heavy in carbs? The crust. By making a crustless quiche, you spare yourself the carbs, and the time and headache of baking.

Crunchy Coconut Cluster Keto Cereal

One of the most time-consuming practices in cooking is cleaning up. This keto cereal uses just two dishes (a baking sheet and a large bowl), saving you time and energy post-baking.

Chocolate Sea Salt Smoothie

Here’s a list of instructions you’ll love: Place all the ingredients into a blender, blend, enjoy. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Plus, who doesn’t love eating chocolate for breakfast?

Avocado Egg Bowls

Made with just five simple ingredients, these avocado egg bowls will be a weekly staple in your home. Plus, they’re easy to make ahead — simply double the recipe, then store in a plastic bag for breakfast throughout the week.

Keto Brunch Spread

Hard boiled eggs? Easy. Bacon-wrapped asparagus? Easy. A three-ingredient recipe? All too easy. Impress your friends with this delicable brunch spread (and fool them into thinking you spent all morning in the kitchen).

Breakfast Casserole

Casseroles are easy, go-to meals for multiple reasons. First, they’re made in a single dish and require little clean-up. Secondly, it’s easy to divide your casserole into equally-sized squares, then store each square in tin foil. Simply grab one each morning on your way to work, then toss in your office microwave.

Easy Keto Lunches

Easy Keto Meal: Easy White Turkey Chili

Smoked Salmon Pate With Cucumber

This recipe is incredibly easy to make for lunch or as a party appetizer. Once you’ve prepared your salmon pate, simply slice fresh cucumber and layer for a quick and easy recipe.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

In the colder months, nothing is more satisfying than a bowl of this slow cooker taco soup. Simply combine your seasoned ground beef, broth, and seasonings in the slow cooker for a satisfying meal.

Zesty Chili Lime Tuna Salad

This easy tuna salad takes just one dish and two steps. Simply combine all ingredients in a large bowl, then layer over your favorite salad or lettuce for a quick lunch.

Easy White Turkey Chili

There are only eight ingredients in this white turkey chili. Here, low-carb cauliflower rice is swapped in and legumes are removed for an easy, low-carb meal.

Sheet Pan Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

Here’s what you need for this recipe: Brussels sprouts, bacon, salt and pepper. That’s it. Roast on a sheet pan at 400°F for 35 minutes for a go-to weekday meal.

30-Minute Spicy Keto Ramen Bowl

Yes, ramen can be healthy. Yes, ramen can be keto. This ramen dish tastes much better than the stuff you heated up in college, and it’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

With just eight ingredients, the only thing easier than this mac and cheese recipe is the stuff you’ll find in a box. Plus, this version is much healthier, replacing carb-laden macaroni noodles with low-carb cauliflower florets. Enjoy on its own or as a healthy side dish.

Easy Keto Dinners

Easy Keto Meal:i Bebere enchiladas

 

Baked Pork Chops

Other than pork chops and parmesan cheese, all you need for this easy dinner is seasoning. It takes just 10 minutes of prep time, then toss in the oven to bake for 50 minutes.

Quick Keto Egg Roll in a Bowl

An easy, time-saving tip is to purchase a rotisserie chicken, shred it, and use it in various recipes. Here, combine shredded chicken with slaw and seasoning for a quick weeknight meal.

Super Simple Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice

The latest ingredient to grace the produce aisle? Ready-made riced cauliflower. Spare yourself the time and hassle of grating cauliflower in a food processor, and pick up a bag of riced cauliflower for this easy, Asian-inspired dish.

Spicy Beef Keto Fajitas

For an easy taco Tuesday, simply slice bell peppers, onions and strip steak. Then combine with spices in a skillet for a quick dish.

Prep-Ahead Low-Carb Casserole

Are you crunched for time on weeknights? Prepare this casserole on Sunday afternoon, then toss in the oven when you get home from work on Monday. Plus, there will be leftovers — enough to get you through several meals.

Enchilada-Style Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are one of the easiest recipes you can prepare. Simply saute the meat and vegetables in a skillet, then stuff the peppers and place into the oven. Swap out the seasonings, trading Mexican flavors for Italian, for two different meals using the exact same recipe.

BBQ Pulled Beef Sando

The slow cooker is an incredible tool when trying to save time and energy. In this pulled beef recipe, combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 10 to 12 hours. You can put the ingredients in overnight and have them ready by morning, or prepare when you wake up so it’s ready when you get out of work.

Brown Butter Buffalo Bites

If you’re a fan of meatless Monday, you might want to try these buffalo bites. They require just five ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time, and 20 minutes of cook time. Enjoy as a weeknight meal or as a party-friendly appetizer.

Savory Shrimp Keto Stir Fry

Stir fries are incredibly easy meals to prepare, require very few net carbs and typically only require one skillet. Plus, frozen vegetables (and frozen seafood, for that matter) work great in stir fry recipes. Purchase a bag of frozen mixed veggies and keep on hand — you’ll be able to prepare a delicious dinner, even when you forget to grocery shop.

Low-Carb Crispy Keto “Fried” Chicken

Want an easy keto fried chicken recipe? All you need is seasoning, crushed up seeds, chicken breasts or thighs, a Ziploc bag, and a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven and you have a soul food dinner that seems too good to be healthy.

Mushroom Bacon Skillet

This easy, weeknight meal contains just five ingredients. Simply combine bacon, mushrooms and seasonings in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee for 10 minutes, and you have yourself a one-pot meal.

Use These Recipes in Your Easy Keto Meal Plan

You don’t need to be a chef to be a low-carb maven. There are plenty of low-carb recipes that require few ingredients and even less prep time. If you lead a hectic lifestyle, use the 25 recipes above to create a weekly rotation that works for your family and schedule. Plus, it’s much healthier than takeout.

With a little preparation, a lot of patience, and some help with online resources, you can prepare nutritious, quick meals for you and your family. Browse the extensive database of keto recipes on this website for more easy keto meal plan inspiration.

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11 thoughts on “Easy Keto Meal Plan: 25 Recipes to Keep Keto Simple

  1. Been on this keto plan for about 4-5 days, haven’t cheated yet. No soda, junk food, fruit or bread etc. I’m drinking a lot of water. But, I’m not seeing any weight loss! Perhaps I’m eating too many pistachio nuts? I make my own salad dressings, oil and vinegar. Although, I have had restaurant blue cheese and Caesar dressing.
    Any suggestions?
    I even bought some keto drink on line for 60 bucks!
    I don’t want to buy any special magic potions !
    Thanks

    1. MISCONCEPTION – “THE FASTER I LOSE WEIGHT, THE BETTER MY WEIGHT LOSS DIET IS”
      Many people start diets with goals like losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks and think that the faster they shed weight, the healthier they are. The truth is that a biological organism like a human is not designed to drop weight rapidly. Our bodies are remarkable survival machines. I often wish people a slow weight loss journey, perhaps 0.5 lbs of fat per week. While people claim they want to drop 20 by next Tuesday, really the goal is to have that 20lb off, and live a much more healthful lifestyle for the rest of their life. The more effective approach is to lose that weight over a longer period of time, and get comfortable with the new habits you will form on a ketogenic diet.

      Take it easy my friend and don’t be a slave to the scale. Take some photos and check back in over the course of weeks and months. 🙂

    2. Make sure you’re staying within your calorie limits as well. Eating nuts is good but not too many. They are high in calories too.

    3. Pistachios are one of the highest carb nuts (other than cashews) switching to Pili nuts or macadamia would be a better choice.

  2. One did not gain weight in 4-5 days. It is years of eating all the stuff. Just be patient and the magic will happen. The ketosis will kick in. cut out the quantity of nuts.

  3. It took me about a week to start losing, now it is coming off at a steady rate of one pound every 2-3 days. I carefully count my carbs and use the ketosis urine testing strips, which helps me stay motivated. Keep nuts to a minimum – I do no more than 15 almonds per day. Good luck!

  4. I’e been on this for a month , the first 3 weeks I lost 4.5 lbs – this week I gained 2 lbs back what is the problem

  5. I just started and a little confused. The only thing i know right now is the recipe posts and online recipes. I’ve done that for 2 days. Is that ok just to follow the recipes. I am not eating a lot.

  6. A couple of things. For people who want to lose weight: you still have to watch your calories on a Keto diet!! Senza and other apps make this pretty easy, and I suggest tracking EVERY SINGLE THING you put in your mouth. I work out 5-6 days a week, and I cycle about 100-150 miles a week as a bicycle commuter. I am only consuming bout 2300-2500 calories per day, and I am still losing weight only slowly. Keto is a lifestyle, not a diet. So, if you eat at or below your required calories for 6 months and lose .5 – 1 pound a week over that time, you’re still going to get a serious weight loss and a massive improvement in your health. But it will not happen overnight. There will be fluctuations, up and down, every week, sometimes even sharp ones (one week, I weighed 183 and the next I weighed 200.4!!!), depending on water retention, exercise level, sodium intake, bowel contents, and many other factors, but it’s the long term numbers that really matter. Over time, if you follow a healthy Keto diet and eat slightly below your caloric needs, you WILL lose weight.

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