You want to start the keto diet, but you’re not sure how to make cheap and satisfying meals.
Most people think that the keto diet is expensive and hard to follow. But this doesn’t have to be the case!
We have put together 53 cheap keto meals that will help you slim down and stay satisfied. From breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes to snacks and desserts, we’ve got you covered.
What Is The Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet concept has been around for decades, in a few variations, but we’ll only cover what people today call “keto” in this article.
In a nutshell, the keto diet is generally based on keeping your food choices and calories as low-carb/high-fat as possible, while following the appropriate guidelines for your gender/age/weight/etc to be sure to avoid any unpleasant side effects.
Without diving too far into the science of how the low-carb diet works, here’s what you need to know:
- Lowering your carbohydrate intake forces your body to find an alternate energy source; in this case, fat (instead of the sugars it gets from carbs).
- As your body adjusts to using fat as your energy source (before sugars), your insulin levels stay more stable (providing a variety of benefits), your body fat burning increases, and you begin to lose weight.
- Slightly increasing the (healthy) fat content of your foods gives you a better feeling of being satisfied after a meal, helping you eat less. It also helps keep your body in fat-burn mode.
There are a lot of specifics in regard to exactly how to make sure you’re getting adequate calories and nutrition while following this diet, which we won’t cover here. And no, this isn’t your dream diet of eating ice cream and cake and magically losing weight (I’m still hoping a future generation will figure that one out).
You can read more about how to follow the keto diet here.
What Are Keto Recipes?
Let’s call them “updates” to your favorite, carb-heavy recipes.
You’ll find many quick and easy keto dinner recipes, for example, that use thinly-sliced zucchini in lasagna in place of the noodles, or a quesadilla recipe that makes the “tortilla” out of melted cheese instead of grains.
If you want even more easy keto-friendly recipes Pinterest is a great starting point. The only trick might be not getting lost in there! To help with that, we’ve rounded up a variety of recipes to cover every meal of the day, so you can dive right in and get started with transitioning to a low-carb keto diet, without spending a lot of time searching!
And after looking through these delicious, budget cheap keto meals, you might never want to eat a carb again!
Are Keto Recipes Healthy?
For most people, yes the average keto-friendly recipe you find will be a healthy choice over what you’re used to eating. The caution to that assumption is if you have a particular health problem such as a protein intolerance where a special diet on top of your special food needs probably isn’t a good mix.
(Do make sure to double-check with your doctor if following a low-carb diet is a good fit for your situation!)
You’ll find that instead of a pile of blood-sugar-spiking pasta on your plate, you’ll replace that with something like cauliflower. Anytime carbs are out and you’re eating more vegetables is definitely an improvement, for a number of reasons!
Keto recipes are clean, as well, meaning that they focus heavily on foods that are as natural and unprocessed as possible. Meats, vegetables, and pure, whole-fat dairy products are some examples.
You can also absolutely use ketogenic recipes for weight loss to be healthier overall — that’s kind of the whole point of this eating style!
If your family is trying to be healthier, having some easy keto recipes on hand will not only help you be healthier and eat well, but you’ll soon be eating better, routinely, without much effort on your part!
Cheap Keto Meals For Beginners
Even if you are already familiar with how this diet works, having a handy list of easy keto-friendly recipes for beginners is still worthwhile — just because you know what you’re doing as far as how to follow the diet, doesn’t mean you know what you want to eat!
And not to mention that all of us are constantly busy these days, so it’s worth it to have some keto meal prep recipes that are not complex, that can be cooked fast (like in your Instant pot), or that can even cook when you aren’t home!
Cheap Keto Meals – Breakfast
Even if you aren’t a breakfast person, some of these keto recipes for breakfast just might change your mind! If you start your day right and follow this low-carb diet, you’re far more likely to make sure the entire day is a “good eating” day!
1. Keto Sausage & Egg Breakfast Sandwich
Move over to McDonald’s, because there’s a new, delicious-looking low-carb keto recipe for breakfast in town! I mean, really, using the eggs as “buns” and it still looks even heartier and tastier! With this make-at-home keto breakfast fast food, you have no more excuses for the drive-thru on your way to work!
2. Low Carb Keto Breakfast Casserole
I think all we need to say here is just “yum.” The great thing about this keto breakfast casserole is that you can easily make enough food for the entire family to be well-fed and get on with their day! This would be a great keto-friendly brunch idea as well!
3. Keto Cajun Sausage Breakfast Scramble
Whether you’re simply serving up a family-sized portion of breakfast to get your crowd out the door in the morning or doing some meal prep for the week to make your days less hectic, this is the keto meal prep you need!
4. Sausage Egg and Cheese Bites
This is one of the best keto recipes we’ve seen – easy to make, bite-sized, and delicious! You definitely won’t feel like you’re on a low-carb diet eating these!
5. Keto Cream Cheese Pancakes
If you don’t like the taste of fried or baked eggs for breakfast, try these pancakes on for size! While they do technically have eggs in them, I’d consider this to fit the bill for a “keto breakfast no eggs!”
Cheap Keto Meals – Lunch & Dinner
This section of recipes is lumped under two meals for two reasons. First, these recipes could absolutely be used for either meal, cooked fresh. Second, if you’re not planning on using dinner leftovers in your keto meal prep efforts, then simply put you’re doing it wrong!
Cheap Keto Meals with Seafood
6. Keto Tuna Melt Zucchini Boats
It’s always good to find some recipes that include fish since fish is SO healthy for you! Tuna especially is a very affordable fish, making this not only a solid choice for quick and easy keto on a budget recipe, but also for simply saving some money while eating healthy!
7. Creamy Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Salmon
Salmon is probably the king of fish when it comes to healthy, affordable seafood options for the average family. It is loaded with great nutrition, and flavor to boot!
8. Creamy Baked Tilapia & Spinach Casserole
Often you’ll find fish recipes involving either broiling or frying, so it’s refreshing to find a casserole that uses fish as the meat ingredient! Sneak in other veggies, such as broccoli, to really make this dish a nutritional powerhouse!
9. Keto Garlic Butter Salmon
If you’re looking for healthy keto recipes that are packed with flavor, this one just might be topped. Salmon is so flavorful on its own, but this recipe will have your family saying “wow” after they taste it!
10. Oven-Baked Tilapia With Zucchini & Asparagus
Wow, this recipe just even looks clean and delicious! I love how readily you could mix and match in other vegetables to really make this dish a custom fit to your tastes!
11. Keto Creamy Asparagus & Shrimp Alfredo
An amazing shrimp alfredo dish that doesn’t make you sleepy after you eat it? Now THAT is healthy and clean eating!
Cheap Keto Meals With Pork
12. Easy Pork Stir-Fry Recipe With Vegetables
Who doesn’t love a good stir-fry? Really the biggest change to this recipe over a “normal” stir-fry recipe is the lack of grains (rice, pasta, etc), and a different oil for frying in. Otherwise, it would be business as usual to whip this together for a quick and cheap keto meal!
13. Easiest Instant Pot Pulled Pork (Paleo, Keto, Whole30)
Who doesn’t love some good pulled pork? It’s pretty much the ideal summer food for a backyard barbeque! Finding an easy way to get it made that for sure still fits your diet (without all the carbs found in many barbeque sauces) is a big win for summer fun!
14. Keto Pork Chops in Parmesan Cream Sauce
Just because you start eating healthier and following a keto diet doesn’t mean you need to give up the flavor! These pork chops will have you wondering why you didn’t “go keto” sooner!
15. Pork Ramen Zoodle Bowl
Are you a little bit of a noodle addict? Give a delicious bowl of these zucchini “noodles” a try and I think you’ll find yourself craving these soon instead!
16. Pork Chile Verde (Instant Pot)
If you know us at all, you know we love a cheap Instant pot meal pretty much wherever we can put it into our menu.
Carbs go well with chili, but there’s no reason you can’t swap that for something simple like roasted cauliflower!
17. Keto Carnitas Slow Cooker Lettuce Wraps
When we first discovered lettuce wraps, we almost couldn’t believe it was possible to have such a delicious, satisfying meal without using a typical grain-based tortilla. Oh, how wrong we were! This would make an excellent recipe to take for a keto lunch at work or on the go!
18. Keto Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork
A little bit of casserole, a little bit easy-to-make, a whole lot of delicious! This combines two foods I love – “mac” & cheese plus pulled pork!
19. Keto Egg Roll In A Bowl
If you love having Asian foods for lunches or dinners, but don’t love either the price tag and/or the oils used, then you’ll definitely want to make this a staple on your keto recipes list!
20. Keto Egg Salad
This quick keto egg salad recipe is perfect for those busy days! Just mix up the ingredients, roll them into balls and devour. It only takes 5 minutes of your time to make this delicious low-carb sandwich or lettuce wrap filling that will keep you full until dinner time rolls around again tomorrow night.
Plus this keto egg salad is only 2 net carbs!
21. Keto Mexican Cauliflower Rice
Taco Tuesdays just got a lot better! This Keto Mexican cauliflower rice is the perfect side dish to go with your favorite meats and veggies. It’s only 4 net carbs, so you can enjoy this tasty cauliflower rice guilt-free on National Taco Day too!
22. Keto Tuna Salad
Keto tuna salad is always a good idea for lunchtime – not only does it provide you with protein and healthy fats, but each serving also has just 1.5 net carbs! This recipe makes an easy low-carb option that tastes as amazing as its reputation sounds.
We guarantee this will become one of your favorite ketogenic dishes to whip up on demand
Cheap Keto Meals With Beef
23. Worcestershire Butter Roast Beef
This isn’t all that different from the type of roasts my grandma always made — I never understood why she rubbed butter all over a roast before cooking it, but now I do! Makes you wonder if the “old-timers” might have been onto the idea of keto meal prep long before we were, especially given the recent increasing trends in obesity!
24. Baked Italian Meatballs (Keto, Low Carb)
Yes, it’s true, you don’t have to completely give up your favorite spaghetti and meatballs dinner when you start following a keto diet! You simply have to modify it some. Your classic “lazy meal” can be one of your new and improved low-carb keto meals instead.
25. Ground Beef Stroganoff Recipe with Sour Cream (Low-Carb/Keto)
Beef stroganoff is an absolute staple on so many cheap keto meal plan menus that it would be hard to imagine life without it.
Good news, you don’t have to with this delicious low-carb keto recipe!
26. Easy Keto Low-Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Is anyone else drooling? No, just me? Ok.
This is probably the best example of why the keto diet is almost an “un-diet” — you can still eat the foods you love (yes, like your prized bacon!) and enjoy what you eat without having to lose flavor and satisfaction with every meal!
27. Instant Pot Butter Beef (Keto, Low-Carb)
Similar to the butter roast above, but Instant pot ready! Use beef tips to make this one of your go-to cheap keto dinner recipes.
28. Easy Slow Cooker Keto Taco Soup
While the thought of giving up tacos while on a keto diet (no corn, sorry!) is depressing, the ability to still celebrate Taco Tuesday is amazing!
This would be a great way to mix up your family’s taco night in the cold of winter, even if you aren’t following a keto diet!
29. Keto Butter Burgers (Savory Fat Bomb)
Any time you see “fat bomb” in keto recipes, you know it’s going to be packed with flavor and taste amazing!
30. Keto Ground Beef Taquitos with Cheese Taco Shells
Here is another excellent option for fitting Taco Tuesday into your new diet. How genius is it to make cheese shells for your tacos to replace the grain-based tortilla wraps?!
31. Keto/Low-Carb Beef & Broccoli
Beef and broccoli is literally like, a weekly meal in our house! Knowing it’s only 6 net carbs and can still fit with a keto diet dinner menu is a huge relief!
32. Shepherd’s Pie Recipe With Cauliflower Topping
Shepherd’s pie is actually already a fairly healthy and nutritious meal, given the veggies in it, so all you’re really doing is replacing the potatoes with cauliflower.
See? Who said keto recipes were hard. 🙂
33. Zucchini Lasagna
Sometimes it seems like whoever designed the keto diet simply had it out for Italian dishes, what with all their pasta ingredients. But don’t worry, you can still have an “Italian night” at your house without breaking your diet!
34. Crustless Low Carb Taco Pie
Pie isn’t just for dessert. Here’s a fun twist of a casserole-style meal, to be able to serve up a plate for the whole family quickly and easily!
35. Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (Low-Carb)
If this is the look and taste of bun-free cheeseburgers, then I think I’m totally ok with that! It’s pretty much your standard, delicious bacon cheeseburger, but eaten with a fork instead of your hands (well, for most of us at least)!
36. Keto Casserole With Ground Beef & Broccoli
A little bit cheeseburger, a little bit lasagna-Esque, this keto dinner recipe is sure to please everyone in your family! Using ground beef in your recipes will keep your keto diet meal costs low, and help you avoid food waste.
37. Low-Carb Pizza Casserole (Gluten-Free & Keto)
Ok, so maybe this more appropriately belongs under the pork section, but….what IS in pepperoni anyway? Maybe this just deserves its own category on this list since yes, the heavens have opened and answered your prayers — you can still eat pizza while on keto (with minor modifications)!
Cheap Keto Meals with Chicken
38. Lasagna-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Instead of putting chicken breast in your lasagna, you’re basically making an inside-out lasagna, that’s big on taste and much easier to serve!
39. Keto Chicken Quesadilla
Another way to get those delicious, flavorful Mexican recipes to still fit within your low-carb diet, without missing out on any flavor!
40. Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
When it comes to keto chicken casserole recipes made in an Instant pot, you literally will not find a recipe more delicious than this one. Let’s just say it is a very well-named recipe because keto crack chicken is about to become your new favorite food!
41. Crispy Keto Chicken Tenders
Keep your kids happy with this household food change, too, by making these amazing chicken tenders! I’d bet they’ll be asking for these regularly, after just one taste!
42. Keto Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Spicy, cheesy, and tasty. What else does a keto recipe (or any recipe) really need?
43. Keto Chicken Thighs With Creamy Mushroom Sauce
I think the best part about this keto recipe is its versatility. You could use it paired with a veggie for a plated, more formal dinner, or you could use fresh or frozen chicken thighs in any of the quesadilla recipes or on a salad for a nice twist in flavor.
Cheap Keto Meals – Sides & Snacks
Sure, you used the list of lunch and dinner recipes to build your keto dinner menu, but many of those were the meats only. Now you’re definitely going to need some keto dinner sides to match!
These are quite versatile, either as a side dish to complete a delicious meal or simply as a quick and satisfying snack during the day.
44. Low Carb Zucchini Parmesan Chips (Keto-Friendly)
If you’ve never tried zucchini chips you’re missing out. These are great snacks, much healthier than potato chips, and super budget-friendly snacks during the summertime!
45. Keto Low-Carb Cheesy Bread Recipe
While this isn’t really bread since grains aren’t allowed on the keto diet, let’s just say that you won’t miss bread much with a tasty keto friendly recipe like this one in your life.
46. Broccoli Cheddar Tots (Keto & Low-Carb)
I think it’s just a law of physics or something that kids love tater tots. Try making these as a healthier replacement, and get them started on the right foot to healthy eating habits in adulthood!
47. Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
Another kid-approved recipe, giving them a classic favorite, while allowing the whole family to eat healthier in the process.
48. Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
This dish could honestly even be used as an entree all by itself, with the addition of some chunks of meat mixed in! This is one of the cheap keto dinner recipes on this list that’s definitely getting short-listed!
Cheap Keto Meals – Desserts
You couldn’t possibly end your day without a little dessert, right?
That’s probably the best part about keto – how easy it is to enjoy desserts that don’t “break your diet!”
49. Chocolate & Peanut Butter Keto No Bake Cookies
I think having “cookies” and “no bake” in the same phrase is pretty dangerous for most of us. That said, these cookies look amazing whether you’re actually in need of a recipe for keto cookies or just looking for an easier-to-make treat!
50. Keto Cheesecake Fat Bombs
The best part of this keto dessert recipe is the fact that it’s made in smaller portions using a muffin tin, so you might have a harder time getting yourself in trouble with an oversized portion!
51. Easy Keto Brownie Bombs
Even on a diet, I’m not sure how long these might last in our house! These would be great keto recipes to keep on hand to act as a birthday cake replacement!
52. Wendy’s-Inspired Keto Chocolate Frosty
Another great way to get the dessert you’re craving, but without the time at the drive-thru, the money spent, or the break in your diet! For those of you who are fans of having a smoothie for breakfast, you might want to find a way to turn this into a keto breakfast shake recipe!
53. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
Is there anything else you could ask from a diet that not only lets you eat dessert but cookie dough at that? I doubt it!
Bonus: Cheat Sheet Of Foods That Fit With A Low Carb Keto Diet
Use this as your shortcut grocery shopping list when you’re getting going with cheap keto recipes and trying to implement your favorite cheap keto meals found above.
You can also use this as a handy tool to help you find acceptable substitutions that could turn your favorite family recipes into keto-friendly recipes!
Found on Word To Your Mother
Final Verdict
So, there you have it! 53 cheap keto meals that will make you slim and satisfied. These recipes are all easy to follow and can be tailored to fit any dietary need or preference.
Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian, or meat eater, there’s something for everyone on this list.
Be sure to bookmark this page for later use – these recipes are guaranteed to help keep your wallet AND waistline happy!
