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It seems like everyone and their mom are looking for cheap keto dinner recipes to lose weight these days, so of course, we tried one.
Based on our experience, I would say that the keto diet produced the best results in terms of pounds lost. The weight came off quick too. I haven’t stuck with it the way Jerry has, but as long as he stays with it, we’ll keep finding new recipes and making keto friendly dinners.
While keto is effective for weight loss, one complaint I’ve heard often from people who have tried it: keto is not cheap.
Keto Meals Can Be Cheap and Easy
Making cheap and easy keto meals can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. If you eat out often, rely on convenient snack foods like low carb protein bars and beef jerky, or buy a lot of prepared keto foods instead of making your own keto meals, then going keto on a tight budget will be hard.
Dinner is usually the biggest meal of the day and often the most expensive. So that’s where I look when I’m trying to stay under our food budget or cut our grocery expenses.
I used to run out of keto dinner ideas, but over time I’ve amassed a great collection of cheap keto dinner recipes to share with you. But first here are some tips for making great tasting easy keto meals for your family.
21 Must Try Cheap Keto Dinner Recipes
I’ve tried or am planning to try each of the cheap keto recipes on my list. Your tastes are probably not the same as mine and my family’s, but I’m confident you’ll find something you and your family will enjoy. Here we go:
Low Carb Keto Soup Recipes
Soup is not just an appetizer! It can be an easy meal, especially when you choose hearty soups that incorporate a rich base with meat and non-starchy veg like cauliflower. The keto soups on my list are all tasty, filling, cheap, and qualify as a keto meal.
Low Carb Keto Sausage Kale Soup With Mushroom – Sausage, kale, mushrooms, and chicken broth combine for a nutritious keto friendly bowl of deliciousness. I love kale and could eat the whole pot.
Keto Chili – There’s much debate around whether beans belong in chili. If it’s keto chili, there’s no place for them. You won’t miss them anyway with this delish recipe. I make a double batch to have something hearty and quick on hand for lunch.
Beef Cabbage Soup – Tasty and super filling. Substitute chuck steak for the ribeye and use dried parsley instead of fresh make this recipe cheap.
Keto Broccoli Cheddar Soup – The keto version of one of my favorites! It’s not as thick as you’re used to, but it’s just as satisfying.
Buffalo Chicken Soup – Very flavorful with lots of protein and only four grams of carbs. It’s pretty cheap as is or you can sub thighs for the chicken breast to get the cost down even more.
Easy Casserole Recipes for Keto Dieters
Casseroles are budget-friendly and simple to put together, and you usually get plenty left for lunch or leftover night. Great for weeknight dinners or those low-energy times when you just don’t feel like making anything that takes a lot of effort or prep work.
There are plenty of casseroles among the articles listing easy keto recipes you find online, but I wanted to share my favorites.
Low Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole – A kid-friendly keto meal that is so cheesy, this cheeseburger casserole could become a regular part of your rotation. Easy keto recipes like this one take the hassle out of sticking to the diet.
Low Carb Deconstructed Pizza Casserole – Doing keto and giving up carbs can sometimes mean giving up favorites or other foods you’ve eaten your whole life. Like traditional pizza. This fantastic casserole is a great dish for when you get those pizza cravings. Yum!
Easy Taco Casserole – Just five ingredients and five minutes of meal prep is all it takes to get this taco casserole into the oven. You can get it from fridge to plate in about 45 minutes. Great meal when you’re in a rush.
Cheddar Chicken and Broccoli Casserole – You can use leftover chicken and fresh or frozen broccoli for this dish. Broccoli is not my family’s favorite veg, but I get no complaints with this dish. Pork rinds make for a great low-carb crunchy topping.
Chili Verde Keto Chicken Casserole – This flavorful low carb casserole recipe is cheap, easy to cook, and takes less than half an hour to make including cook time.
Low Carb Crack Chicken Casserole – Another easy keto recipe the whole family will enjoy. Chicken, cheddar, bacon, ranch, eggs, and heavy cream. That’s it! So addictive you might want to get a second or third helping of this dish.
Great One Pot Keto Dinners With Your Slow Cooker
I can’t count the number of meals I’ve made in my crock pot. I love how easy meal prep and cleanup are for one pot meals, how moist and tender everything comes out, and the aromas that fill the house for hours while it’s doing its magic.
Here are some cheap keto dinner recipes to try with your slow cooker:
Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Pie – This was a big hit with the family even though not everyone is doing the keto diet. Somewhere between a quiche and a bacon double cheeseburger. It came out great and you wouldn’t know this recipe was made in a crock pot.
Slow Cooker Chili Verde – Made with common ingredients and pork tenderloin, this spicy, fragrant dish is a perfect keto meal on a cold winter night. Good for lunch the day after as well.
Paleo Slow Cooker Pork Recipe – This low-carb diet friendly recipe is a perfect example of cooking in bulk using the slow cooker then getting three or four cheap keto meals out of it.
Easy Low Carb Beef Stew Recipe – Unlike most beef stew recipes, there’s not a ton of ingredients in this one. There’s no shortage of flavor either. If you like beef stew, this recipe won’t disappoint.
Keto Slow Cooker Turkey Stuffed Peppers – I always thought stuffed peppers would be a meal prep nightmare until I actually tried making stuffed peppers myself. Very simple to make, cheap recipe with no rice of course.
Quick and Easy Keto Instant Pot Recipes
I got an Instant Pot for Christmas two years ago. I had no idea what to make in it or how to use it. It took me a while to embrace it, but now that I get it and I found a bunch of recipes we like, the Instant Pot has earned a spot on my kitchen counter.
It hasn’t replaced my slow cooker and I don’t make every meal in it. I find it convenient and well suited to getting cheap keto meals on the table in a hurry, sometimes in 15 minutes. It’s also good for cheap keto meals like these:
Keto Beef Brisket In The Instant Pot – When you think brisket, you probably think all day low and slow in a smoker, not cooked in an Instant Pot. This recipe came out super tender and delish so have no fear.
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore – This recipe is a great substitute if you miss carb heavy Italian meals while doing keto. At 9.5 grams of net carbs, you can serve this over cauliflower rice if you need to keep that number down.
Keto Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Mac and Cheese – This recipe calls for cooked chicken so it’s a great way to get an extra meal out of any leftovers. Cream cheese and ranch dressing make it creamy and your favorite low-carb buffalo sauce supplies the heat.
Low Carb Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff – A creamy and rich dish without a high carb count, this recipe is delish and easy to make. You will need a thickener, but if you’ve been cooking keto meals for a while, you probably have some xanthan gum or arrowroot powder on hand.
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken – Cooking a whole bird in an Instant Pot is something I never thought I’d do. I figured it would come out a bland, goopy mess. Nothing could be further from the truth! Try this recipe for moist, flavorful meat and nice crispy skin. It does call for using several spices, but nothing uncommon and you probably have all of them.
Making Keto Dinners
While it can be hard to make cheap keto meals, it can be done. If you want to start or stick to a keto diet, don’t let cost scare you off. As long as you shop smart and stick to easy recipes with simple ingredients, you’ll be fine.
