Cheap Keto Meals: Recipes & Tips to Do Keto on a Budget

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Many people think that doing keto and low carb on a budget is unrealistic. The fact of the matter is that you can follow a keto way of eating without spending a ton of money. In this collection, I’ll share recipes for some of my favorite cheap keto meals as well as some if my top tips for doing keto and low carb on a budget.

Cheap Keto Meal Ideas for Breakfast

Many folks on keto skip breakfast and opt to do intermittent fasting. If that’s not you, here are some simple and budget-friendly keto recipe ideas. All of them are also perfect for people on the go.

Ground meat is always a good option when you want to save. You can make a batch of these with minimal ingredients, cook them up, and store them in the refrigerator or freezer for a keto meal prep.

Chicken Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Easy homemade chicken breakfast sausage allows you to have complete control of the taste and quality of the first meal of the day. It pairs well with any breakfast or brunch main.

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These are super easy to make and cheap. Just toss them in your air fryer and you have a protein option in minutes.

Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage

Make perfectly browned Air Fryer Breakfast Sausage with this video tutorial. Helps you to manage one less pan at breakfast.

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It doesn’t get more basic than eggs. Top them with pantry staples like salt and pepper or everything bagel seasoning.

Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Eggs

Make hard boiled eggs without water using an air fryer. Perfect way to get soft or hard boiled eggs for quick recipes like tuna salad, egg salad, and deviled eggs.

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Cheap Keto Meals for Dinner

Whole Chicken are one of my favorite ways to save and meal prep. This dish requires just four ingredients.

Air Fryer Roasted Whole Chicken

This air fryer roasted whole chicken recipe uses only 4 ingredients, and only takes an hour to make. It’s juicy and tender with a crispy skin, and packed full of flavor.

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If you haven’t tried chicken thighs in the air fryer then you are missing out. You can eat these with any of these keto side dishes for chicken. Or, you can chop them up to enjoy them in salads like my keto Cobb salad.

Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs Recipe

Make Roasted Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs in less than 30 minutes with this four-ingredient recipe. Whole30. Paleo. Keto. Low-carb.

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Forget buying several types of ground beef, pork and lamb to make meatballs. This easy cheap keto main dish uses ground sausage meat to keep the meatballs moist and full of flavor without a lot of ingredients.

Keto Italian Sausage Meatballs Recipe

These Keto Italian Sausage Meatballs are loaded with bold flavors and can be yours with one pot and 30 minutes. It’s the perfect way to satisfy your meatball cravings while omitting the added carbs from breadcrumbs.

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Frozen seafood and vegetables are always cheaper than fresh. Plus, you don’t have to worry about wasting them since they can last for months if stored properly.

Air Fryer Frozen Cajun Shrimp & Broccoli

Learn how to cook frozen shrimp and broccoli in your air fryer with this easy Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp recipe. Ready in 15 minutes.

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Turn a few chicken breasts, veggies and broth into several meals with this easy one pot cheap keto recipe.

Keto Chicken Soup Recipe

Missing chicken noodle soup, but not pasta? This easy Keto Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe is a low-carb alternative. Includes juicy four-spice chicken breasts, a herb broth, and loads of low-carb veggies. 3g net carbs per serving.

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This is one of my favorite keto freezer meals. It skips out on the crust and allows you to use up any vegetables that you have on hand.

Keto Crustless Pizza Casserole Recipe

Low-Carb Keto Crustless Pizza Supreme Casserole gives you all the pizza flavors you know and love in an easy to make, low carb package. This delicious recipe feeds a crowd and is perfect for meal prep.

This super simple meal uses packaged Italian sausages, spices, and veggies. Add any of these keto side dishes to make it a filling meal.

Air Fryer Italian Sausage

An easy 4-step recipe that takes less than 20 minutes and includes vegetables cooked in sausage drippings.

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Roasts are almost always on sale and work great for feeding larger families and for creating a multi-day meal prep. Depending on your budget, you can enjoy this with my simple cauliflower mash and keto gravy.

Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Pot Roast Recipe

This Pot Roast recipe includes just 5 ingredients and is perfect for meal prep or when feeding a group. For those who are keto & low carb, I include side-dishes. I also provide options for using this meat in other easy meals!

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Drumsticks are another cheap meat. You can make homemade keto bbq sauce or pick up a bottle from a discount retailer. You might also save by buying chicken legs in bulk and using them for a wide range of recipes.

Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Want the taste of grilled bbq chicken drumsticks without starting up a grill? These Air Fryer BBQ chicken drumsticks are smoky, charred & cook in 30 minutes.

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Canned tuna fish, mayo, diced vegetables and a few spices come together nicely in this cheap keto meal. Enjoy the tuna with lettuce as a salad or roll-up.

Keto Tuna Salad

An easy, yet delicious Keto Tuna Salad is a classic turned up a notch! It’s flavorful, crunchy, and creamy. Serve on a lettuce wrap or your favorite low-carb bread, or with some veggies for the perfect, hearty meal.

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This easy keto salad recipe is perfect for a lunch meal prep. You can use the air fryer roasted whole chicken above or parts of a store-brought rotisserie chicken.

Easy Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe

Learn how to make the best chicken Caesar salad with homemade creamy Caesar Dressing in 15 minutes using this easy recipe. Perfect for a busy weeknight because you can use rotisserie or grilled chicken from the store.

Throw store-brought marinated meat right in your slow cooker using this easy recipe. To keep this keto-friendly, I read the labels to skip out on things like added sugar. I also look for simple options like carnitas or garlic and herb since they are almost always sugar free.

Easy Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Roast

An easy Ninja Foodi Slow Cooker Boneless Pork Roast recipe that requires less than 2 minutes of prep using AdapTable Meals. Perfect as part of meal prep. Includes pressure cooker directions too!

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This recipe can use shaved or ground meat. I love the combo of cheese, onions, and the roasted peppers. I top them with a simple sriracha mayo.

Easy Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers Recipe

A keto-friendly and low-carb recipe for Philly Cheesesteak using roasted bell peppers as a replacement for bread. 

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Not only is this recipe family-friendly, but it allows you to save on things like takeout. Make these up at home for a quick, flavorful option.

Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings

These keto-friendly air fryer garlic parmesan wings are crispy, juicy, and take only 40 minutes to make. They’re dripping in a buttery sauce of garlic and parmesan.

Just because you’re saving money doesn’t mean you want to cut out flavor. This crispy dish looks fancy, but uses one of the cheaper chicken cuts: chicken thighs.

Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Bites

Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Bites with marinated chicken thighs air fried to golden crispy! No breading and starch and totally lemony delicious!

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If you forgot to take out something for dinner, then don’t panic. This easy and cheap recipe uses two main ingredients and cooks from frozen.

Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs

This easy Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs recipe cooks from frozen and comes together in about 15 minutes using just two main ingredients.

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Side Dishes for Easy Cheap Keto Meals

Use these side dish recipes to turn any budget-friendly main dish into a cheap keto meal.

Frozen vegetables cost a fraction of regular vegetables. So, save some money with this cheap keto side dish.

Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli

No need to thaw our your frozen broccoli with this easy Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli recipe. Uses four ingredients and takes 10 minutes.

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This four-ingredient side dish uses less than five simple ingredients.

Air Fryer Squash (No Breading)

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One head of cabbage goes a long way with this recipe. I tend to have this as my vegetable of choice for several days in a row. Get cabbage when it’s on sale, make a bunch and freeze it.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cabbage

Learn how to make cabbage in your favorite pressure cooker like the Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi

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These green beans are super easy to make, but also cheap. I get packaged trimmed green beans, but you could buy them untrimmed by the pound depending on your budget.

Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans Recipe

Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans are a delicious, crunchy, low carb side dish. With less than 5 ingredients and minimal prep, these are a great way to eat more veggies without the fuss!

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This recipe uses bouillon, frozen cauliflower rice and other spices that you probably have on hand. It goes with almost anything.

Buttery Cauliflower Rice Pilaf Recipe

Rice pilaf is a classic American side dish, and this cauliflower rice version offers its deliciousness without grains! Make this cauliflower rice pilaf recipe in minutes.

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Jarred Keto sauce can be really expensive. One way to save money is to make your own. This recipe uses canned goods and pantry staples. Plus, since its a sauce, you can make a big pot and use it for a range of cheap keto meals.

Roasted Garlic Keto Marinara Sauce Recipe

Learn how to make no sugar added Keto Marinara Sauce in 20 minutes at home with this easy 5-ingredient recipe.

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A package of shredded coleslaw mix and a few ingredients that you likely have in the fridge make this cheap keto side dish a reality.

Easy Low Carb & Keto Coleslaw Recipe

Learn how to make creamy and tangy Low Carb & Keto coleslaw in minutes using the best keto coleslaw recipe. Perfect side dish for keto bbq and picnics. Just 2g net carbs.

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Cheap Keto Recipes for Desserts

These desserts are the perfect additions to a cheap keto meal plan. By making simple desserts at home, you can save on things like (what can be) really expensive packaged keto products.

Mug cakes are my favorite! They use just a few ingredients and take less than two minutes to make.

Keto Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Make this easy Keto Peanut Butter Mug Cake in two minutes when you’re craving something sweet. Uses common pantry ingredients.

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If you have peanut butter and eggs, you are more than halfway to having all that’s needed for this simple, cheap keto recipe.

Easy Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

Easy keto peanut butter cookies satisfy any sweet tooth without killing your diet goals. Besides being keto-friendly, they are gluten-free, grain-free, and low carb.

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When you’re craving something sweet, fluff is always to the rescue. It has all the flavors of cheesecake without requiring baking or the extra ingredients for a keto-friendly crust.

Keto Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Chocolate mousse gets an updated keto makeover with this easy recipe. Takes less than 10 minutes to make the most decadent dessert!

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Top Tips for Doing Keto on a Budget

Now that you have several cheap keto meals to make, use these extra tips to help you balance being successful on keto and low carb and staying within a tight budget. 

1. Meal Plan According to the Sales Circular or Weekly Ad

Meal planning according to what’s on sale will help reduce costs involved with keto and low carb. Make sure you’re reviewing all sales circulars (also called weekly ads) before you meal plan for the week ahead. 

2. Buy in Bulk

There are many stores that sell food and other items in bulk that can allow you to do keto and low carb on a budget. Review store circulars for wholesalers in your area such as BJ’s that can sell products in bulk for lower overall costs. Many regular markets also have bulk pricing on their regular products if you buy a minimum of three pounds.

3. Don’t Shop While Doing Intermittent Fasting

You’ve heard it before, do not go shopping on an empty stomach. This theory holds true for intermittent fasting as well. Shopping while hungry will only make you spend more money on unnecessary items. 

4. Eat Simple – Protein, Vegetable, Fat

You don’t need a ton of ingredients to make a good keto-friendly low carb meal. Just focusing on a protein, vegetable, and fat for each meal will help you stick to your keto and low carb diet on a budget with ease.

5. Buy Conventional Instead of Organic

While you may feel organic is your best option, it’s not always cost effective when trying to do keto and low carb on a budget. This is why you’ll have to be okay with buying conventional.

6. Get Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Buy meat with the bone in to save more money. You can also opt for large roasts or whole chickens to save more money on the cost of meat when doing keto and low carb on a budget.

You can buy the fattier cuts of meat to save the most money. Fatty ground beef or fatty pork chops will cost less and work just fine for your keto and low carb diet. 

7. Shop at Discount Retailers – ALDI, Trader Joe’s, 99 Cent Store

Take a peek around your local area for discount retailers that sell meats, vegetables and other options for your keto and low carb diet meal plan so that you can save the most money. If you truly want to start doing keto and low carb on a budget, then you’re going to have to be creative with where you shop.

Discount retailers can offer you a significant amount of savings for the same food you’d be purchasing at your regular grocery store

8. Search for Discount Codes for Keto Supplements & Products

There are so many discount codes for everything these days, that includes keto supplements and products. Search the internet for discount codes to save money on your keto supplements.

At minimum, DRDAVINAHS will allow you to save on many popular keto brands.

But, you should know that you do not need anything special to do keto successfully. So, feel free to skip out on these.

9. Pay in Cash

Last, but not least, when it comes to living within any budget, it’s always best to pay in cash. Bring your allotted amount of cash with you for grocery shopping so that you cannot spend more than what you’ve allowed yourself to have available for this trip. Paying in cash is an easier way to force yourself to stay on a budget while doing keto and a low carb diet.

FAQs

How do I start a keto on a low budget?

Several strategies are included in this article. Some of my favorites are to shop according to the sales circular or weekly ad and eat simply (skipping all the fancy ”keto” products)

Can you drink milk on keto?

Regular cow’s milk has a lot of natural sugars and carbs. So, you’ll notice that many people following keto will not drink it. Keto is about ketosis, a metabolic state, so whether you can stay in ketosis and drink milk is based on each individual. You can measure ketosis and how different foods impact you with a ketone meter.

How much does a keto diet cost per month?

There are no set costs so the cost to eat keto-friendly foods per month would vary by person. The included tips and recipes above will help you stick to your budget.