27 Keto BBQ Recipes for the Grill
Updated
Smoked meats and open fire already lean low carb. The problem is the sauces and sides that sneak in sugar. These 27 recipes cut that out without cutting flavor: grilled chicken, pulled pork, charred kebabs, and a homemade BBQ sauce that holds up against anything store-bought.
Chicken
Five chicken recipes that cover the full range of BBQ flavors. The jerk marinade takes 10 minutes to mix and 40 minutes to transform cheap thighs into something you would order at a restaurant. The cilantro lime one is on the other end: five ingredients, barely any prep.
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Keto Grilled Marinated Chicken
The herb marinade here uses fresh rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest. Nothing from a packet. Three point two grams net carbs and 39g protein per serving. I've made it so many times the recipe is memorized at this point.
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Huli Huli Chicken
Huli huli is a Hawaiian thing: pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar substitute, ginger. The glaze caramelizes on the grill in a way you can't fake indoors. Under six grams net carbs.
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Keto Jerk Chicken
Scotch bonnet heat. That's what sets this apart from every other jerk recipe. The spice level is real (you can dial it back), and the chicken ends up with char marks and this smoky, citrusy bark that doesn't need sauce.
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Cilantro Lime Chicken
0.4g net carbs. Five ingredients: cilantro, lime, garlic, olive oil, salt. Ready in under 20 minutes and works just as well on thighs as it does on breasts.
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Keto BBQ Chicken Tostada
BBQ chicken on a tostada sounds fussy, but the whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes. 6.2g net carbs. The crispy shell holds everything together so it doesn't fall apart mid-bite.
Kebabs
Skewers cook fast. That's the whole point. You can have shrimp done in four minutes over high heat, or let the bacon-wrapped vegetables go low and slow until the fat renders. Mix and match. Nobody said all skewers have to finish at the same time.
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Chicken Caprese Kebabs
Chicken, cherry tomato, fresh mozzarella. The tomatoes blister and get jammy. The mozzarella softens just enough without melting off. 1.3g net carbs and a 4.6 average across more than 15 ratings. People actually make this one.
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Keto Spicy Chicken Kebabs
Spicy marinade. That's the only way to describe it. The chicken gets at least two hours in it, and the char from high heat turns it into something closer to street food than backyard grilling. 1.4g net carbs.
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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Kebabs
Asparagus spears, strips of bacon, a little black pepper. The bacon crisps up on the outside while the asparagus steams inside. Not complicated. A 4.8 rating from more than 10 readers because it works exactly like it's supposed to.
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Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts Kebabs
Brussels sprouts take a while to cook through on a skewer. That's fine, because by the time they're done the bacon has fully rendered and crisped. Two grams net carbs. A side dish that ends up being the thing people ask about.
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Keto Grilled Firecracker Shrimp
1.8g net carbs, nearly 49g protein. The firecracker sauce is sriracha, butter, and a little sweetener. The shrimp cook in three minutes per side and pick up all of it. Fast and spicy.
Beef and Pork
The anchor proteins. Flank steak slices thin and feeds a crowd for a fraction of ribeye prices. The Traeger meatloaf takes a few hours but the smoke ring makes it look like you knew what you were doing the whole time.
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Grilled Flank Steak
Flank steak marinated overnight, grilled hot, sliced against the grain. One gram net carb, 36g protein. The thin slices look impressive on a board and the marinade does all the heavy lifting on flavor.
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Traeger Meatloaf
44.5g protein, 1.5g net carbs. Smoked at 225 for three hours on the Traeger, then glazed and finished hot. The smoke ring goes about a half-inch deep. Low and slow changes the whole texture of meatloaf.
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Sugar Free Keto Juicy Pulled Pork
The rub is what makes this pulled pork work: paprika, garlic, a little cayenne, zero sugar. Smoke it for eight hours, pull it, mix it back into the juices. 27.5g protein per serving. I make a double batch on Sunday.
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Juicy Lucy Burgers
How do you keep the cheese from melting out of a stuffed burger? Cold cheese going in, hot grill, fast cook. 2.1g net carbs, 26.3g protein. When it works, the cheddar runs when you bite through.
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Bacon Bourbon Keto Meatballs
Forty-eight meatballs. Bourbon glaze, bacon bits, half a gram of carbs each. More than 10 ratings at 4.7 stars. They go fast.
Appetizers and Sides
Jalapeno poppers, smoked cream cheese, grilled pizza. These are the things people circle back to the table for. The smoked cream cheese went viral for a reason. It takes 10 minutes to set up and an hour on the smoker while you focus on everything else.
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Keto Jalapeno Poppers
More than 50 ratings at 4.8 stars make this one of the most popular appetizers on the site. Bacon-wrapped, cream cheese-stuffed, baked until the bacon crisps and the jalapeno softens. Three grams net carbs.
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Smoked Cream Cheese
A block of cream cheese, a little seasoning, an hour on the smoker at 225. The outside turns golden and slightly caramelized while the inside stays soft. Serve it with pork rinds. Half a gram net carbs.
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Keto Grilled Pizza
Grilled pizza sounds like a project. It takes about 12 minutes. Fathead dough over direct heat gets char marks and a crispness you can't replicate in an oven. 5.7g net carbs, 36g protein.
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Grilled Vegetables
Zucchini, bell peppers, red onion, all charred on a grill pan or directly on the grates. Six grams net carbs. The onion gets sweet when it caramelizes, which balances the char on the zucchini.
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Keto Grilled Foil Packet Asparagus
Foil packet. Asparagus, olive oil, garlic, lemon slices, salt. Fifteen minutes on the grill, zero dishes. 3.5g net carbs.
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Grilled Bacon
Why does grilled bacon taste different from pan bacon? The fat drips onto coals and the smoke comes back up. Thick-cut, zero net carbs, a 4.7 star average from more than 15 ratings. Worth trying once.
Sauces, Salads, and Marinades
The sauce is usually where BBQ recipes fall apart on keto. Most store-bought sauces run 12-15g sugar per two tablespoons. This homemade version lands at 2.2g net carbs total and tastes like the real thing because it is, just without the corn syrup.
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Tangy Keto BBQ Sauce
Tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire, sweetener. 2.2g net carbs. About 15 minutes on the stovetop and it keeps in the fridge for two weeks. I use it on everything.
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Cilantro Lime Marinade
Four ingredients. Cilantro, lime juice, garlic, olive oil. 0.4g net carbs. Mix it Sunday, use it on chicken and shrimp all week. The acid slowly tenderizes whatever you put it on.
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Keto Big Mac Salad
A Big Mac salad sounds like a compromise. It isn't. Ground beef, shredded lettuce, pickles, diced onion, Thousand Island dressing. 3.5g net carbs, 35.6g protein.
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Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Grilled chicken sliced thin over romaine, shaved parmesan, Caesar dressing made without croutons. Four grams net carbs, 57.7g protein. This is a meal, not a side salad.
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Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Sriracha Mayo
0.3g net carbs, 34.4g protein, five ingredients. Bacon-wrapped shrimp with sriracha mayo for dipping. Ten minutes on the grill. The bacon crisps up and bastes the shrimp in fat the whole time it cooks.
