25 BEST Keto Thanksgiving Recipes (2024)

Planning a holiday menu when you're trying to follow a specific health plan isn't always easy. Let us help you plan your keto Thanksgiving menu or holiday dinner with our favorite low carb and keto-friendly holiday recipes!

We have 25+ of the best keto Thanksgiving recipes from your appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, sauces, and desserts! Most are from our website, a handful are from other low carb food blogs. It's a Whole Lotta Yum!

25 BEST Keto Thanksgiving Recipes (1)

Some of the dishes are low carb and might not be true keto. We have a wide variety of readers and some try to follow strict keto during the holidays, and others are just trying to keep their carbs down but want to still enjoy their favorite holiday. Just do what's best for you and your health program when planning out your keto Thanksgiving recipes!

Keto Thanksgiving Menu

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner is always one of my favorite family celebrations. For the most part, we stick to the same core dishes but it's always nice to add in a few new surprises each year.

As a general rule of thumb, here's what I serve as our Keto Thanksgiving Menu. If you can get your guests to help bring some of the dishes, even better!

My go-to holiday appetizer is putting together a simple meat and cheese board, with the addition of low carb vegetables. No one would guess it's low carb and it's ALWAYS an impressive crowd-pleaser. Even better? This is an easy dish for older kids to assemble for you. Here's what we suggest for an entire menu of keto Thanksgiving recipes:

  • 2-3 appetizers
  • turkey
  • 2-4 hot side dishes (depending on your party size)
  • salad
  • bread (whether it be keto or just bread for your non-keto guests)
  • 1-2 desserts

Holiday Meal Planning Tips

Wondering how to juggle it all and not end up stressed and frazzled by the time dinner is served? Here are my top tips after serving large holiday meals for the past 20+ years:

  • Get your guests to help! Trust me, they WANT to! Whether it be to bring a dish or help with prep, let them assist.
  • Assemble the baked dishes and desserts 2-3 days in advance.
  • Set the table the day before.
  • Don't make everything from scratch, some store-bought items like a meat and cheese tray or olives for an appetizer are just fine.
  • Make some dishes in a crockpot, Instant Pot, or air fryer to free up oven space.
  • Put older kids (and spouses!) to work. Don't try to do it all.
  • Scared of a big turkey? Cook turkey breasts instead.

Main Dish Ideas

Herb Roast Turkey Breast

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If you're cooking for a small group, our roast turkey breast recipe in the oven is the way to go. You'll love the herb butter that coats the entire breast while baking. Dare I say you won't even need gravy?

If you're wanting a whole bird, you'll love our easy roasted turkey in the oven!

Air Fryer Turkey Breast

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Do you have an air fryer yet?? Thanksgiving might just be the best time to go out and get one if it's been on your wish list! Here's our recipe for yummy crisy air-fried turkey breast that cooks in under an hour.

More of Our Air Fryer Turkey Recipes

  • turkey cutlets
  • Air fryer boneless turkey breast (from frozen)
  • turkey thighs
  • turkey legs
  • turkey tenderloin

Air Fryer Cornish Hens

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If you aren't a turkey lover, making air fryer Cornish game hens is a great alternative for Thanksgiving. Allow ½-1 hen per person. For a small group use your air fryer, otherwise, you can bake this entire recipe in the oven too.

Hot Side Dishes

Loaded Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

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You have to have mashed potatoes at your Thanksgiving meal but don't want the carbs. You won't believe how creamy and addictive our keto cauliflower mashed potato recipe is, the consistency is similar to mashed potatoes since we mix in cream cheese, cheese, and garlic. Make ultimate potatoes or top with keto gravy.

Keto Sausage Stuffing

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Our keto stuffing recipe with sausage hits it out of the ballpark! No one will ever know this is a keto dish. We show you how to make your own dried bread cubes with keto bread. It takes a bit of time, but it's totally worth it and all of the steps are super easy.

Low Carb Green Bean Casserole

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Casseroles were popular in my house growing up. But a low carb, gluten-free, keto green bean casserole?! Count me in.

It's rich, creamy, and perfect for the holidays, made with a cream cheese sauce instead of canned mushroom soup. Serve fried onions on the side or make our keto fried onions.

Pureed Butternut Squash

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You'll seriously love our low carb mashed butternut squash. So creamy and flavorful, you won't even miss sweet potatoes. This is not a strict keto recipe, but is low carb. To reduce the carbs puree half squash and cauliflower together.

Keto Baked Mac N Cheese

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In some parts of the country, having Mac N Cheese on the holiday table is the norm, if you're missing it from your Thanksgiving table this year, make a lower carb version with our keto friendly mac n cheese recipe using cauliflower. The cheese sauce is amazing!

Keto Roasted Radishes

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Before you turn up your nose at the thought of roasted radishes, you'll be surprised to hear that radishes are actually the closest-tasting cooked vegetable to our dear old friend the potato! Even our kids loved these low carb baked radishes.

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This simple Brussel sprouts casserole is made with roasted Brussels sprouts combined with a creamy cheeese sauce and bacon. I promise, even Brussels sprouts haters will love this casserole.

More Low Carb Hot Sides

Holiday Salads

While the hot veggie dishes are often prominent during the holidays when you're looking for keto Thanksgiving recipes, we suggest serving a cold salad on the side too. Here's a handful of the best everyone will love and no one would ever guess they are low carb.

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

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Aspinach salad with hot bacon dressing was always one of our favorite holiday salads, we've adapted our family recipe to make it keto friendly.

Keto Broccoli Salad

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Here’s another keto take on the traditionalraw broccoli salad, which is a holiday classic for many families. Don't be put off by the raw broccoli, it's seriously amazing. It's also the most popular salad on our website with over 500K reshares.One of the most popular recipes on our site!

Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad

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If you didn't realize you can eat Brussels sprouts raw, you can! The best way to serve them is thinly sliced and tossed with flavorful ingredients such as bacon, blue cheese, and our apple cider vinaigrette like we did in our shaved Brussel sprouts salad.

Holiday Sauces

The only two keto Thanksgiving recipes you need as far as holiday sauces go are cranberry sauce and gravy. We've included our two favorite recipes for both.

Low Carb Cranberry Sauce

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If you thought you had to skip the cranberry sauce for a keto Thanksgiving, have no fear, keto friendly cranberry sauce is easy to make and cooks in just 15 minutes.

It's very yummy on turkey, chicken, keto biscuits, and more. This is definitely something you should add to your keto Thanksgiving menu.

10 Min Make Ahead Keto Gravy

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If you can't live without gravy, and I feel ya there, we created a fantastic easyketo gravy you can make ahead that just takes 10 minutes. It's rich and thick, just the way you'll like it. We show you how add a touch of drippings on turkey day if preferred.

Thanksgiving Desserts

To plan an entire low carb holiday meal, don't forget the keto Thanksgiving recipes like a dessert or two that no one will even know is sugar free. While pumpkin is traditional, there's multiple other options if you want a variety.

Keto Crustless Pumpkin Pie

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If you're looking for an AMAZING keto pumpkin pie recipe, be sure to try our crustless recipe, it's highly rated. You can either bake it in a pie pan, bake it in individual muffin tins to make mini desserts, or bake them in ramekins.

Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

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More Low Carb Dessert Ideas

Appetizers

You'll just need a couple of keto Thanksgiving recipes that are appetizers for your low carb holiday. Two hot dishes and something simple like veggies and cheese are great options. You don't want to stuff the guests before dinner even starts.

Hot Artichoke Green Chili Dip

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4 ingredients, 15 minutes, and one happy chef. This mild artichoke green chili dip puts a kick in your guests' steps and a smile on their faces.

Antipasto Skewers

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Boursin Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers

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Stuffed Mushrooms with Bacon and Cream Cheese

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Keto Charcuterie Board

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Our favorite holiday appetizer is just putting together a meat and cheese board. All of the ingredient ideas for our low carb charcuterie board are keto friendly, other than the sliced apples (our son's favorites).

We love to shop at Trader Joe's when making a charcuterie board, they're hands-down the cheapest plus have a fantastic variety.

More Appetizer Ideas

Low Carb Breads

Low Carb & Keto Dinner Rolls

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What's a holiday meal without the dinner rolls and butter? You don't have to skip out just because you're on a health mission for yourself. This recipe uses almond flour and the bread-like texture turns out beautifully.

Find the recipe on Low Carb Maven

Low Carb Biscuits

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Also made with almond flour, these biscuits work wonders with keto gravy, or honestly a little Thanksgiving biscuit sandwich.

Keep in mind this recipe is low carb, wheat and grain-free only.

Find the recipe on Heart of a Country Home

Cheesy Cauliflower Muffins

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These little cauliflower muffins are adorable and so tasty! You can alter the amount of cheese you use, depending on how much you love cheesy foods. They make for a great appetizer, snack, bread-like side dish, and anything else you can think of, really!

Find the recipe on Kirbie's Cravings

More Keto Holiday Recipes

  • 18 Keto Side Dishes
  • 25 Days of the Best Keto Christmas Cookies
  • 12 Low Carb co*cktails to Make Your Holidays Merry and Bright

Be sure to save the keto Thanksgiving recipes pin to Pinterest for later!

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25 BEST Keto Thanksgiving Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you survive Thanksgiving on keto? ›

Here are some easy tips and swaps to keep keto this Thanksgiving while still enjoying those traditional favorites:
  1. Consider time-restricted eating (TRE). ...
  2. Eat off a salad plate. ...
  3. Choose dark meat over white meat. ...
  4. Stuffing swap. ...
  5. Sugar-free cranberry sauce. ...
  6. Sweet potato casserole. ...
  7. Mashed potatoes and gravy.
Nov 22, 2021

Should I break keto for Thanksgiving? ›

If you're unfamiliar with a keto diet, here's the quick explanation: It's extremely low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Meat, including turkey with skin, is fine to consume, but other Thanksgiving staples aren't. Mashed potatoes are off limits, along with bread stuffing, rolls, sugary cranberry sauce and desserts.

Is turkey OK for keto diet? ›

Here are the main foods that are high-in-fat, low-in-carbs and are great starting place for anyone wanting to dip their feet into keto diet: Meat: Steak, ham, sausage, bacon, turkey, and chicken. Cheese: Cheddar, cream cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, or blue cheese (always unprocessed).

How to do Christmas on keto? ›

15 Keto Christmas Dinner Ideas That Won't Make You Feel Like You're Dieting
  1. Bacon-Wrapped Turkey. Chelsea Lupkin. ...
  2. Beef Tenderloin. Ethan Calabrese. ...
  3. Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Cauliflower. Park Feierbach. ...
  4. Roast Beef. Kat Wirsing. ...
  5. Garlic Rosemary Pork Chops. Ethan Calabrese. ...
  6. Keto Meatballs. ...
  7. Tuscan Butter Salmon. ...
  8. Keto Meatloaf.
Dec 8, 2020

When should I quit keto? ›

Here Are Signs The Keto Diet Is Not Fit For You
  1. Reasons the keto diet is just not for you:
  2. The diet affects your relationship with food.
  3. You are eating too many cheat meals.
  4. You feel sick.
  5. Irregularity is periods.
  6. You are not losing enough weight.
Aug 17, 2022

What do people miss most on keto? ›

As you can see, bread is by far the food people miss the most, followed by dessert/sweets and beer. Below are our best suggestions for low-carb versions of these foods.

What is the hardest day of keto? ›

1.The First 10 Days May Be The Toughest

Before starting, you should be aware that if you drop carbs cold-turkey, the first few days you will most likely experience symptoms of your body adjusting to lack of glucose. Many people starting off keto will go through this and it's often referred to as the “Keto Flu”.

Will one slice of pizza leave ketosis? ›

Regular Crust

This type of pizza crust can have up to 33g of carbs without any added sauce or cheese. If you're limiting your carbs to 20-50 grams per day, one slice of this type of crust will likely kick you out of ketosis.

How many carbs will stop ketosis? ›

Eating more than 50 grams of carbs may disrupt ketosis.

Some people can eat more and still stay in ketosis, whereas others may need to restrict their carb intake more in order to stay in ketosis.

Which cheese is best for keto? ›

The best keto cheeses include cheddar, Gouda, goat cheese, and blue cheese, while the worst are cottage cheese and low fat and processed varieties. If you're following the keto diet or know someone who is, be sure to keep these cheeses in mind to promote ketosis and meet dietary goals.

What deli meat is best for keto? ›

Cold meats that are keto-friendly include most deli meats, like sliced turkey, ham, and roast beef. Most cold cuts and keto deli meats contain additives to extend their shelf life, so they may have small amounts of carbs.

What are the golden rules of keto? ›

The basic rules of keto are eating few carbohydrates and emphasizing fat with a moderate intake of protein. In order to be in a state of ketosis, you will likely have to track the amount of carbohydrates you eat by weighing out your food.

What is quickie keto? ›

Speed Keto is a high fat diet program meant to get you into a fat-burning state called ketosis more quickly. Speed Keto combines keto with intermittent fasting, when you eat only one meal a day. Experts say Speed Keto is unsustainable in the long term and could be unhealthy for some people.

How do I kick into keto fast? ›

Strategies for encouraging the body to enter ketosis include:
  1. Significantly reducing the carbohydrate intake. ...
  2. Increasing physical activity. ...
  3. Fasting for short periods. ...
  4. Increasing healthful fat intake. ...
  5. Testing ketone levels. ...
  6. Checking protein intake. ...
  7. Consuming more MCT oil.

What happens when you quit keto cold turkey? ›

With that said, you will probably see weight fluctuations as you increase carbs because carbs hold on to water (muscle glycogen) and you may become a bit more puffy or swollen looking than usual.

How can I go on keto without starving? ›

Make sure you are eating enough fat. Being much more energy-dense than carbohydrates, fats are also more satiating. They will also ensure that you stay in ketosis. Increase the size of your meals with nutrient-dense foods.

What happens when you cut carbs cold turkey? ›

You Might Feel Dizzy and Have Headaches

It will switch to breaking down fat into ketones, an alternative to glucose. This puts the body into ketosis, or a state with elevated ketones, which have side effects such as dizziness, weakness, fatigue and headaches.

Is there a cheat day on keto? ›

How to Enjoy a Cheat Meal on the Keto Diet. A full cheat day of consuming sugar, bread and pasta will take your body out of ketosis, which may take days to recover from. That's why Carrico suggests a cheat meal every now and then instead. You'll likely consume a lower number of carbs than you would on a full cheat day.

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