Pizza night is back. 43 keto Italian recipes. See the Menu →
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 39 recipes are what I cook from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
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.
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.
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. Two reviews and no complaints.
Horseradish-sauced thick patties. The sauce is what carries it, sharper than the bottled stuff and worth the 2 minutes to mix.
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.
Air-fried, not deep-fried, which is how the batter stays light instead of greasy. Thirteen reviews at 4.9 stars, and the 5.5g net carbs includes the stick (kidding, sort of).
Marinate in the morning, grill in 20 minutes. That's the entire summer chicken strategy.
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.
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.
Just over a gram of net carbs for chicken, fresh mozzarella, and tomato on a skewer. Three five-star reviews. The caprese component melts slightly on the grill, which is exactly what you want.
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.
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.
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.
Eleven minutes in the air fryer for short ribs with eight reviews averaging five stars. The fat renders fast under the circulating heat, and you get a caramelized crust without the hour in the oven.
Six hours. Seventy-five grams of protein. Zero net carbs.
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.
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.
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.
Slow cooker pulled pork takes eight hours. The Instant Pot version takes under two and has nearly identical shred texture. Four reviews at 4.8 stars. I use this for cookouts when I'm also managing the grill.
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.
Sliced thin against the grain. Piled on a board. Two five-star reviews.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The sides table at a cookout either completes the meal or derails it. These don't derail it.
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.
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 four five-star reviews back that up. 3.4 grams net carbs.
Cauliflower in place of potatoes, cooked until it's soft but not mushy (the line matters). The texture mimics potato salad closely enough that two reviewers gave it 4.5 stars before realizing what they were eating.
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.
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. Two five-star reviews. I was skeptical too, until I made it.
12 more recipes from the collection.
