62 Keto Side Dishes That Complete the Plate
Updated
Mains are easy on keto. A steak is a steak. Sides are where the plate goes quiet, because the potatoes, bread, and rice all left with the carbs. This collection is how I filled that side of the plate again, and half of these get requested harder than whatever they sit next to.
What sides can you eat on keto? Vegetables carrying butter and cheese, cauliflower doing potato work, bread rebuilt on almond flour and mozzarella, and salads with dressings that earn their spot. Net carbs are on every card below, and most sit under 5g a serving.
The Bread Basket
Yes, there's bread. Five kinds.
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The Best Keto Bread Rolls
My family has requested these since 2018, and more than 100 ratings say everyone else agrees. Golden outside, fluffy inside, 4.2g net carbs each.
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Easy Keto Cornbread
Five ingredients, a microwave, and corn extract doing the flavor work. 2g net carbs, about eight minutes start to finish.
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Keto Parmesan Bread Puffs
Poppable, cheesy, and just as at home next to spaghetti as they are at a party with ranch. 1.6g net carbs each. More than 25 readers rate them 4.7.
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Gluten Free Yeast Rolls
Real yeast, a real rise, and heavy cream doing the feeding instead of sugar. Soft enough for holiday tables. 2.9g net carbs. Rated 4.7 by more than 35 readers.
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90 Second Keto Bread
Ninety seconds from bowl to bread, without the eggy taste that ruins most microwave versions. 2.1g net carbs. Toast it and nobody knows.
Cauliflower, Full Costume
One vegetable, five disguises.
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Keto Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Steamed over broth rather than drowned in water, which is the whole difference. Cream cheese and parmesan finish the job. 5.3g net carbs.
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Keto Mac and Cheese
Fifteen minutes to a sauce that is genuinely, unreasonably cheesy. 5g net carbs. A 4.9 average from more than 20 ratings, and my family treats it as a main.
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Cauliflower Tots
Cottage cheese binds them instead of egg, sneaking 9g of protein into a side of tots. 2.8g net carbs. No cheesecloth involved.
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Cauliflower Fried Rice
The trick is cooking off the cauliflower smell before the sauce goes in. Fluffy, fast, and it holds up next to any Asian main. 6.8g net carbs.
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Keto Cauliflower Gratin
Two cheeses, bacon, and a cauliflower base that eats like the potato original. 2.7g net carbs. The dish I get assigned at every holiday.
Fries, Noodles, and Stand-Ins
The replacements that survived a decade of testing.
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Keto French Fries
Crisp outside, soft center, and closer to the drive-thru than almond flour has any right to get. 2.5g net carbs. A 4.9 average across more than 40 ratings.
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Keto Tortillas & Wraps
Three ingredients and they roll, wrap, and hold like the corn originals. 0.6g net carbs apiece. Taco night runs through these.
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Shirataki Noodles
Zero carb konjac noodles, prepped the right way so the smell disappears and the sauce sticks. Twelve years on keto and these are still my pasta answer.
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Keto Grits
Sharp cheddar, jalapenos, and a creamy base built on lupin. 3.1g net carbs. The Southern side that survived the keto transition.
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Low Carb Keto Potato Salad
Roasted radishes playing the potato role convincingly enough to fool a potluck. 1.8g net carbs. The dressing does exactly what you remember.
Salads on the Side
Cold sides for cookouts and the nights the oven is full.
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Keto Macaroni Salad
A dijon-forward dressing, crunchy vegetables, and noodles that pass inspection. 4.4g net carbs. Summer cookout insurance.
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Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
An Italian vinaigrette over raw florets, with walnuts and marinated mozzarella doing the fun parts. 6.7g net carbs. Ten minutes, zero cooking.
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Avocado Cucumber Salad
Guacamole energy in salad form, with a cilantro lemon dressing pulling it together. 3.3g net carbs. Five minutes, one bowl.
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Lemon Garlic Kale Salad
Five ingredients and a jar-shaken lemon garlic dressing. 2.4g net carbs. The side that saves dinner when nothing else is planned.
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Keto Fruit Salad
Four kinds of berries under a lime poppy seed dressing, because fruit is not entirely off the table on keto. Under 5g net carbs and done in minutes.
The Holiday Table
The Thanksgiving lineup, rebuilt. Nobody at the table has ever asked questions.
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Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
Pumpkin and cauliflower impersonating sweet potatoes, under the classic topping. 2.2g net carbs. Thanksgiving passes the plate twice.
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Keto Green Bean Casserole
Homemade mushroom cream sauce with no canned soup anywhere, and crispy onions built from pork rinds. 5g net carbs. The holiday classic, fully from scratch.
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Mashed Turnips
The mash that beats cauliflower at the potato game, once the bitterness trick is applied. 5.5g net carbs. Rated 4.8 by more than 10 readers.
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Cheesy Brussels Sprouts
Fried sprouts under a cheddar and gruyere sauce with bacon on top. 2.1g net carbs. Converts sprout skeptics on contact.
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Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
Roasted first for golden edges, then loaded like a baked potato: cheddar, bacon, sour cream, green onion. 3.7g net carbs.
