Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and, of course, a bountiful feast. For those following a ketogenic diet, navigating the holiday spread can present a challenge. Sticking to a plan during holiday eating is usually one of the biggest challenges people have on a low-carb diet, but with careful planning and a collection of delectable keto-friendly recipes, you can enjoy a satisfying and guilt-free Thanksgiving.
Keto Thanksgiving Strategies
When it comes to holiday eats, keto is one of the hardest diets to cater to. Heading out the door? On holidays, the keto diet can be one of the toughest to cook for. When deciding how to approach Thanksgiving on keto, there are several options:
- Selective Keto: Focus on keto-friendly dishes while allowing for small tastes of non-keto items.
- Strict Keto: Prepare keto versions of all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
- Planned Splurge: Enjoy a non-keto meal and return to keto the following day.
Whatever approach you choose, being intentional about your choices is key. Having keto-friendly versions of your favorite dishes to bring to gatherings can also be a game-changer. This way you can guarantee that there is at least one keto-friendly dish.
Understanding Keto and Carbs
This diet is extremely high in fat and protein, which is often no problem when it comes to decadent dining. But on keto, it’s the carbs you need to watch out for. The standard keto diet reduces total carb intake to less than 50 grams a day. For reference, this is less than all the carbs found in one medium plain bagel. With a little creativity, you can recreate classic Thanksgiving dishes without all the carbs.
Appetizers and Sides
Deviled Eggs
Deviled Eggs have always been my favorite party food, so I always make them a part of my Thanksgiving too! My favorite variety is the BLT Deviled Eggs, I’ve been making them for over a decade. This deviled egg recipe is a little different than the traditional filling. I add sour cream to my egg mixture and it is a game changer!
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Keto Cheddar Bay Biscuits
These Keto Cheddar Bay Biscuits are super quick to make! They end up on our dinner table often.
Kale Salad
This is more of a paleo choice with figs and butternut squash, but it’s one of the ways to stretch the diet and eat some healthy fruits you might be missing. The nice thing about this salad is that it’s made ahead and I promise you not one bite will be left. It’s my most popular potluck dish ever! Shuck the candied sweets for a salad with apples, pecans, and a few roasted diced sweet potatoes. This is not the food that made anyone fat ever!
Low-Carb Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash
This Low-carb Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash is always a huge hit!
Keto Easy Cheesy Zucchini Gratin
Another favorite is this keto Easy Cheesy Zucchini Gratin.
Sausage Balls with Almond Flour
Sausage balls are a Southern tradition, new to me, and very easily made grain free. Italian Sausage Balls with Almond Flour - a unique take on the southern sausage ball.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
The Best Keto Stuffing
Stuffing is hands down my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I am the queen of leftovers and will probably eat this stuffing for 5 days in a row, it is based off a Martha Stewart recipe I saw that was obviously full of carbs. So I tweaked it to be keto-friendly and added the pumpkin bread twist. I use my Keto Pumpkin Bread recipe as the base of the stuffing. So step 1, is make that or if you are short on time you can buy a store-bought keto friendly bread. Either way, you will want to dry out the bread. The Best Keto Stuffing: made with bacon, leeks, and keto pumpkin bread!
Loaded Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"
You can’t go wrong with some mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. Cauliflower is definitely a staple in a Keto diet. It is so versatile and at least for me is just as good as any potato! Make this for Thanksgiving and make all the other people jealous that you have bacon on your mash and they don’t ;) I layered the cheese and bacon in the bowl so that pretty much every bite gets plenty. You can’t go wrong with some mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. I’ve served this as mashed potatoes in the past and no one knew the difference! It’s that good! We always make regular mashed as an alternative for guests.
Green Bean Casserole
This green bean casserole is 5 stars in my book. It’s fresh. It’s umami. It’s low carb.
Roasted Turnips
We love the roasted turnips.
Butternut Squash & Swiss Chard Gratin
This is the ultimate fall recipe! Perfect for Thanksgiving or a Friendsgiving potluck! Butternut squash is a bit higher in carbs, at about 13 net carbs per 1 cup, but if you save some room in your macros I guarantee you won't regret it! Such a cozy dish and no one will even know it is keto-friendly! What’s a table without squash at Thanksgiving? While 1/4 cup is about 4 net carbs, remember this is nutritious food.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Four-Cheese Cracked Pepper Broccoli
You need some greens in the mix on Thanksgiving and I love this broccoli dish. It’s a crowd pleaser and a kid pleaser with four different kinds of cheese!
Main Course
Bacon-Wrapped Turkey
You can’t beat a bacon-wrapped turkey.
Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
I also have to include this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast because you all know that we love slow cookers around here.
Sauces and Gravies
Keto-Friendly Gravy
Gravy is generally a mix of fat and wheat. The latter of these two ingredients isn’t allowed on the keto diet. Skip the standard gravy for this deeply flavorful, meaty mushroom drizzle.
Cranberry Sauce
It’s not Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce! There is no way I’m not having cranberry sauce.
Dessert
Keto Cheesecake
You can’t go wrong with a Keto Cheesecake.
Keto Maple Pecan Cheesecake Bars
These keto maple pecan cheesecake bars are beyond words in how good they are.
Keto Chocolate Desserts
You should always have at least one chocolate dessert at Thanksgiving. Here are twenty keto chocolate dessert recipes in one place.
Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake
There’s pumpkin pie and there pumpkin cheesecake. We all run to the pumpkin pie cheesecake that tastes like a sugar free grain free version of the Cheesecake factory pumpkin.
Grain Free Upside Down Apple Cake
For my bakers who have to turn that oven on a few days ahead of Thanksgiving, you will charm your guests with an upside down apple cake. There are times I have to have cake (haha). I do this cake in mini version for my keto home bakery and people love it so much. These are the mini cakes I was talking about.
Almond Tarts
I’m in love with almond tarts and there are many version of this here at Spinach Tiger.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
If you want to try something a little different for dessert I would highly recommend these keto-friendly Pumpkin Cupcakes, they are one of my favorite recipes. I’ve been making them since the early days of going keto and they never disappoint!
Navigating the Feast
Most Americans would never consider holding back on Thanksgiving. It’s the feast of childhood memories and it’s tradition to join family in pure carb indulgences. This might sound crazy but cutting out the bloated feeling and the effects of over-eating is wonderful.
To Cheat or Not to Cheat
Can you go ahead and have a cheat meal on keto? I’ll tell you what I do. I make most of the starchy things keto-friendly, grain free, sugar free. We will probably still eat more than we should, but here’s the thing, friends. We won’t be spiking blood sugar, getting sucked back into food addictions and feeling bad from food. Even if we over-indulge, the food is still nutritious and won’t take us into the holiday plus 8 pounds dilemma. If you still look forward to stepping off the keto train for the weekend, step off with fresh fruits and starchier vegetables you’ve been avoiding and eat the carbs that still love you back.
Leftovers
What do we do with all this left over turkey. I never throw out food. By this point, you might be over comfort food. Save some turkey and make this the following week. Just change the chicken our for the turkey.
A Personal Keto Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the best food holiday and I love how everyone’s is unique and brings different flavors and traditions into their Thanksgiving spreads! I wanted to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes that have become a part of my table over the last 5 years of following a ketogenic lifestyle. The most fun part of keto for me, is adapting recipes to work for my lifestyle, but are still DELICIOUS! My goal is always to create recipes that everyone loves- not just people who are keto. So today I am sharing my absolute favorite sides to go along with the turkey! No shortage of cheese and bacon on this menu, but that’s what the holidays are for!
tags: #keto #Thanksgiving #recipes