40 Keto Grilling Recipes for Your Best Summer Cookout
Updated
Summer grilling is the easiest time to eat keto. Burgers, ribs, chicken, steak, and seafood are all naturally low carb. The only challenge is the buns, sauces, and sides, and I have those covered too. These 40 recipes are what I cook from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Burgers and Dogs
Bunless burgers are a workaround. These aren't. I developed keto buns that actually hold together under sauce and toppings, which is what was missing from my cookout lineup for years.
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Juicy Lucy Burgers
Two grams net carbs and a molten cheese center. The beef-to-cheese ratio took a few tries to land right, but the version here holds without leaking until you bite in.
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Juicy Low Carb Smash Burgers
I started making these because my kids wanted something fast. Smash burgers with crispy, lacy edges and zero net carbs, ready in under 10 minutes. A 4.7 star average from more than 25 ratings and no complaints.
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Grilled Keto Burger with Horseradish Sauce
Horseradish-sauced thick patties. The sauce is what carries it, sharper than the bottled stuff and worth the 2 minutes to mix.
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Keto Hamburger Buns
Fluffy. Holds together. Actually bounces back. At 3.4g net carbs for a bun that fits a full-size patty, these are the reason I stopped making lettuce wraps.
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Keto Corn Dogs
Air-fried, not deep-fried, which is how the batter stays light instead of greasy. A 4.9 rating from more than 40 readers, and the 5.5g net carbs includes the stick (kidding, sort of).
Chicken
Marinate in the morning, grill in 20 minutes. That's the entire summer chicken strategy.
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Keto Grilled Marinated Chicken
How does a marinade with that many herbs not turn bitter over heat? The acid balance keeps the lemon and garlic in check while the outside chars. Thirty-nine grams of protein per serving.
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Keto BBQ Chicken
Store-bought BBQ sauce is usually four grams of sugar per tablespoon before you even brush it on. This one is under three net carbs for the whole serving, and the smokiness reads as the real thing.
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Chicken Caprese Kebabs
Just over a gram of net carbs for chicken, fresh mozzarella, and tomato on a skewer. More than 15 ratings at 4.6 stars. The caprese component melts slightly on the grill, which is exactly what you want.
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Keto Spicy Chicken Kebabs
Spiced. Actually spiced. Not "a little heat" spiced. The marinade uses cayenne and paprika together, which builds a slow burn rather than a sharp spike.
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Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
I did these wrong for years, running the smoker too hot and getting leathery skin. The trick is low heat for the first hour, then a quick blast at the end. The fat renders completely and the skin shatters.
Ribs and Pork
Low and slow is worth the time. That said, the air fryer short rib recipe below has changed how often I make ribs on a Tuesday.
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Air Fryer Short Ribs
Eleven minutes in the air fryer for short ribs with a 4.7 star average from more than 15 ratings averaging five stars. The fat renders fast under the circulating heat, and you get a caramelized crust without the hour in the oven.
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Carnivore Smoked Beef Ribs
Six hours. Seventy-five grams of protein. Zero net carbs.
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Slow Cooker Pork Ribs
Set them in the slow cooker before noon and they're done by dinner. I've made this on long summer Saturdays when the grill was already occupied with something else. The collagen fully breaks down at low heat in a way the oven never quite matches.
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Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops
0.8g net carbs for a thick-cut chop wrapped in bacon before it hits the heat. The bacon bastes the pork as the fat renders down, so the outside layer is more smoke-lacquered than crispy.
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Keto Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary Lime Butter
Is compound butter a technique or just butter? Both, technically. The rosemary and lime melt into the resting pork and pull the flavors together in a way that plain salt doesn't.
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Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Slow cooker pulled pork takes eight hours. The Instant Pot version takes under two and has nearly identical shred texture. Rated 4.6 by more than 20 readers. I use this for cookouts when I'm also managing the grill.
Steaks and Seafood
These are the recipes I pull out when I want to impress. From a marinated flank to a dry-aged tomahawk, the prep work is lighter than it looks.
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Grilled Flank Steak
Sliced thin against the grain. Piled on a board. More than 10 ratings at 4.9 stars.
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Grilled Dry Aged Tomahawk Steak
Most people avoid tomahawk steaks because they're expensive and feel high-stakes to cook. The dry-aging does most of the work, and zero net carbs means no sauce required. Seventy-five grams of protein per serving.
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Keto Grilled Firecracker Shrimp
I tested the firecracker glaze three times before the heat-to-sweet ratio felt right. The shrimp cook in about four minutes on skewers, and the glaze sets into a lacquer on the outside. Under two net carbs.
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Easy Grilled Salmon
Ten minutes is almost too short to feel like cooking. The salmon comes out flaky and moist if you pull it at the right moment, which is when the center just stops being translucent. What's the doneness window here? Narrow, but the recipe walks through it.
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Grilled Steak Salad
Nearly six grams of net carbs for steak over greens with a tangy dressing, which is high by grilling standards but still well under a typical restaurant entree. The warm steak wilts the greens slightly, which is what makes it a salad worth eating.
Sides and Sauces
The sides table at a cookout either completes the meal or derails it. These don't derail it.
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Keto Coleslaw
Most keto coleslaw is either too sweet or too sharp. This one lands in the middle, and at 4.6g net carbs it pairs with burgers, ribs, or straight off the spoon while you wait for the grill.
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Mexican Coleslaw
I started bringing this to cookouts as an experiment and people kept asking for it. The lime and cilantro version reads Mexican, not just "slaw with lime in it," and a 4.7 star average from more than 15 ratings back that up. 3.4 grams net carbs.
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Low Carb Keto Potato Salad
Cauliflower in place of potatoes, cooked until it's soft but not mushy (the line matters). The texture mimics potato salad closely enough that it holds 4.4 stars across more than 25 ratings.
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Grilled Vegetables
What gets grilled vegetables right? High heat and enough time to char, not steam. Zucchini, peppers, and onions at 6g net carbs, done in about 8 minutes on a hot grate.
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Tangy Keto BBQ Sauce
Sugar-free. Done in 15 minutes.
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Smoked Cream Cheese
Half a gram net carbs for a block of cream cheese that goes into the smoker and comes out with a caramelized top and a molten center. Rated 4.8 by more than 15 readers. I was skeptical too, until I made it.
