If you’re pressed for time or just not in the mood to cook, inspired keto dinner ideas can be hard to create on the fly. But having a few delicious recipes under your belt can help keep you satisfied, full, and healthy! Find inspiration with this list of easy keto dinner ideas, ready fast. (Though nothing beats keto meals ready-to-go in 3 minutes, delivered right to your door!)
You can explore even more keto dinner ideas here the next time you’re struggling to come up with meal prep for the week, and after dinner’s done, indulge in these nutritionist-approved tasty keto dessert recipes!
Table of Contents
Skillet Baked Cheesy Jalapeño Chicken
Garlic Shrimp Zoodle Pasta
Bell Pepper Philly Cheesesteaks
Unstuffed Beef Cabbage
Shredded Chicken Zucchini Boats
Salisbury Steak with Creamy Mushroom Gravy
Turkey Bacon and Avocado Taquitos
One Pot Ground Beef and Broccoli
Buttered Basil Cod Filets
Spicy Shredded Salmon Sushi Bowl
Skillet Baked Cheesy Jalapeño Chicken
Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breasts (pre-cooked or raw)
8 oz low-fat cream cheese, softened
3 jalapeños, chopped
½ cup mozzarella, grated
½ cup bacon, crumbled
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Lay your chicken breasts (cooked or raw) flat on a lined baking sheet or covered with non-stick spray.
- Spread softened cream cheese on top of chicken, coating evenly.
- Sprinkle grated mozzarella, crumbled bacon, and chopped jalapeños on top of the cream cheese.
- Bake in oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- For raw chicken, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the cheese is bubbling.
Garlic Shrimp Zoodle Pasta
Ingredients
1 lb shrimp, washed, peeled & deveined
4 cups zoodles (or 2-3 whole zucchinis spiralized)
½ lemon zest
⅓ cup lemon juice
⅓ cup grated parmesan
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 Tbsp parsley, chopped
½ Tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Heat your olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Once heated, add shrimp to pan and season with salt, and pepper.
- After 1 minute, toss the shrimp and add minced garlic.
- Cook shrimp until golden brown and transfer to a bowl, set aside.
- In the same pan, add zoodles, cherry tomatoes, and lemon juice. Cook until tender.
- Turn off heat, return shrimp to the pan with the zoodles. Add parm, parsley, and lemon zest and toss until mixed, then serve.
Bell Pepper Philly Cheesesteaks
Ingredients
8 oz lean sirloin steak, cooked (or seasoned elk meat!)
2-4 red bell peppers, halved and cleaned
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 Tbsp olive oil mayonnaise
2 oz low-sodium mozzarella, shredded
1 sweet onion, diced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 300°F.
- Make sure your sliced bell peppers are free of the stem, seeds, and inner pith. Spread mayo on the inside and add shredded lettuce on top. Place bell peppers on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Slice your cooked sirloin steak into thin slices*, and toss in a bowl with diced onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add seasoned steak/onion mix to your bell peppers and top with shredded mozzarella.
- Bake in the oven until bell peppers are soft, and cheese is melted. Eat with a fork or as an opened-faced “sandwich.”
Note: *If you’re using our seasoned elk meat, you may want to slice the chunks into smaller, thinner pieces, so they fit into the bell pepper a little easier.
Unstuffed Beef Cabbage
Ingredients
1 large head of cabbage, chopped
1 lb ground beef (crumbled cooked beef patties will do!)
½ cup riced cauliflower
½ white onion, diced
½ cup crushed tomatoes
15 oz tomato sauce or low-sodium marinara
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
½ cup water
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Season ground beef with onion powder, salt, and pepper, then add to heated pan. (If using our pre-cooked beef patties, skip this step! Just crumble the patties and jump to step 3)
- Add diced onion, garlic, and riced cauliflower to skillet, stirring often. Add meat and cook until browned, crumbling it as you go.
- Add cabbage, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and dried oregano and continue cooking until cabbage is tender. Serve!
Shredded Chicken Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
2 medium zucchinis, halved lengthwise
1 ½ cups shredded chicken (or ground turkey)
4 oz low-fat cream cheese
½ cup baby spinach, chopped
1 cup parmesan, shredded
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ Tbsp onion powder
Pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Hollow out a shallow indent in your halved zucchinis, leaving about ¼ in border on the edges. Set the scooped-out center aside for later. Arrange zucchini boats on a large baking pan and set aside.
- For raw ground meat, heat 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Season meat with pepper and onion powder and add to the pan. Cook until browned. Let rest and cool, then shred. Proceed to next step. (If using cooked meat, skip this step!)
- Toss your cooked chicken/turkey with zucchini insides, parmesan, cream cheese, and chopped spinach in a bowl. Season with onion powder, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Scoop mixture into zucchini boats.
- Place zucchini boats back in the oven and cook until zucchini is tender. Let cool before digging in!
Note: Try these other easy keto dinner ideas using chicken!
Salisbury Steak with Creamy Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
4 beef patties
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (or butter alternative)
8 oz cremini mushrooms
½ onion, diced
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 Tbsp low-fat cream cheese, chunked
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Add olive oil to a skillet on medium heat. Add butter and diced onion to skillet and sauté until soft but not browned (about 3 minutes).
- Add sliced mushrooms to pan and further sauté until mushrooms are soft and onions are browned (about 5 minutes).
- Add beef broth, salt, and pepper and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat and add chunked cream cheese. Mix until gravy is smooth and thickened.
- Heat your beef patties (either in the microwave or in another pan with olive oil) and top with your gravy. Garnish with dried parsley and serve with your favorite veggies.*
Note: *If you’re using raw ground beef or patties, simply season your meat and cook in a pan with extra virgin olive oil on medium-high heat until browned on either side (about 10-15 minutes), then top with your gravy and garnish.
Turkey Bacon and Avocado Taquitos
Ingredients
6 slices mozzarella cheese
6 oz sliced deli turkey
3 slices of turkey bacon, cooked (or tempeh)
½ avocado, thinly sliced
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place mozzarella slices on a greased pan and bake until edges have browned, and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can handle them with your bear hands. (For more cheese suggestions to use for this keto dinner idea, check out this guide.)
- Place sliced turkey, cooked bacon, and avocado slices on one side, then tightly roll them up in the cheese. Let cheese firm and cool before eating.
One Pot Ground Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (or ~4 crumbled beef patties)
10 oz broccoli florets, raw
3 cups baby spinach, rinsed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ cup sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp onion powder
Directions
- Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion powder, and minced garlic. (For raw ground beef, season and cook on medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes until browned. Make sure to break apart the meat as it cooks! After, proceed to the next step.)
- Stir in apple cider vinegar and sesame oil. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add broccoli florets and spinach to pot and stir. Cover with lid and let your ground beef and veggies steam for 3-5 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
- Enjoy as-is or serve with riced cauliflower.
Buttered Basil Cod Filets
Ingredients
4 cod filets
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic salt
Directions
- Heat your olive oil in a saucepan on low-medium heat and add the butter, chopped fresh herbs, and garlic salt until the butter is melted.
- Add filets to the same pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, spooning the butter on top as they heat.*
- After cooking and plating, top cod with more garlic butter sauce and serve with veggies.
Note: *If cooking cod from scratch, make sure to pat the filets dry to make sure they cook properly!
Spicy Shredded Salmon Sushi Bowl
Ingredients
1 salmon filet, cooked
3 sheets of dried seaweed (nori) or wet seaweed
½ cucumber, sliced
1 small radish, sliced
½ avocado, sliced
⅜ cup shredded carrots
¾ cup rice cauliflower
¼ cup mango, diced
¼ cup tofu, cubed
½ tsp wasabi
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil mayo
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions
- Combine riced cauliflower, mayo, wasabi, and soy sauce in a bowl until rice is coated.
- In the same bowl, gently mash your salmon with a fork until it is shredded and mix into the rice.
- Top rice and salmon mix with diced cucumber, carrots, tofu, seaweed, radish, mango, and avocado. Garnish with sesame seeds. Drizzle with sriracha for more of a kick!
Note: Try our salmon sushi bowl recipe or this philly roll recipe if you want more keto dinner ideas that are closer to a traditional sushi experience.