Blog Categories

Popular

Keto Meal Prep Like a Pro: Pantry Essentials, Recipe Ideas, and Expert Tips and Tricks

Disclaimer

Keto meal prep is the best way to set yourself up for low-carb success. Whether you’re on keto for weight loss, overall well-being, or to save money, planning your meals in advance (even snacks) keeps you from reaching for a sugary, carb-heavy food in a pinch.

In this keto meal prep guide, I’ll help you prep smart for keto and find kitchen tools that can make your life easier. Below are money-saving tips and delicious make-ahead recipes that you’ll want to make time and time again. Get prepping!

Jumpstart your keto with this 30-day step-by-step guide to Keto Kickstart.

Getting Started

To get started on keto meal prep, I recommend you grab a calendar, plenty of storage containers, helpful kitchen tools, and some low-carb pantry staples. Label everything, and be liberal with note-taking in your calendar.

To choose the right recipes, you’ll need to know your target calories and macros for each day. If you don’t know them yet, use our Macronutrient Calculator below.

Pantry Staples

Below are some simple keto staples I suggest you keep on hand. These are going to be common ingredients in many low-carb recipes and will prevent additional trips to the store.

Check out my top pantry staples for keto meal prep:

  • Nuts and seeds
  • Nut butters
  • MCT oil powder
  • Dijon or yellow mustard
  • Coconut flour
  • Almond flour
  • Baking soda and baking powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Avocado oil
  • Coconut oil and other healthy fat oils
  • Olive oil
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Keto sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit
  • Cocoa powder
  • Sugar-free spices, such as:
    • Salt and pepper
    • Thyme
    • Oregano
    • Parsley
    • Garlic (powder or garlic cloves)
    • Celery salt
    • Red pepper flakes
    • Cinnamon
    • Pumpkin pie spice

Below are specific fridge or freezer staples that can help with keto meal preparation:

  • Butter (preferably grass-fed)
  • Eggs (preferably free-range and pastured)
  • Cheeses of your choice
  • Ground beef (preferably grass-fed — see our Grass-Fed Beef Guide)
  • Sour cream or plain, unsweetened yogurt
  • Heavy cream or high-fat coconut milk
  • Cream cheese
  • Hot sauce
  • Mayonnaise
  • Coconut aminos

Read Next: The Pescatarian Keto Diet: A Beginner’s Guide (With Food List & Meal Plan)

Kitchen Tools

Below are the basics you’ll need for quick and easy keto-friendly meals. If you don’t already have them, you can easily shop online for affordable options.

  • Cast Iron Skillet: To get the most for your dollar, invest in a cast-iron skillet that will hold up to cooking for many years. These are easy to clean and safer than using a cheap Teflon-covered pan.
  • Quality Chef’s Knife: Good knives are essential for any meal prep. High quality is crucial here as low-quality knives can slip and slide, making them a potential hazard. Look for a proper chef’s knife that will allow you to chop and slice with ease.
  • Food Processor or Blender: A food processor can help prepare cauliflower rice, homemade nut butters, keto salad dressings, keto smoothies, and healthy coffee drinks. Ninja is a good brand because it’s well-made and offers a processor and blender set at a good price.
  • Slow Cooker or Instant Pot: A slow cooker is perfect for “setting and forgetting” your keto meals as they cook. It’s easy to throw everything in and let it work its magic while you do other things. An Instant Pot is a useful tool for quickly making homemade both broth and soups.
  • Parchment Paper: Parchment paper is excellent for preventing sticking when baking, whether in a casserole dish or on a baking sheet.
  • Meal Prep Containers: Glass meal prep containers with a lockable lid will help keep your meals tasting fresh all week. After meal prepping your low-carb recipes at the start of your week, portion them and store in the containers to grab on your way out the door each morning.
  • Kitchen Scale: If you plan to weigh your food, you need a kitchen scale. This can be especially helpful if you’re new to the keto diet or struggling to stay in ketosis and want to be highly precise.
  • Immersion Blender: Immersion blenders are affordable, easy to handle, and perfect for beating eggs, blending broth, making sauces, keto mayo, whipping cream, and so much more.
  • Vegetable Spiralizer: This can save you a ton of money if you love gluten-free “pasta,” like zucchini noodles. While you can buy pre-spiralized veggies at the store, making your own at home is more cost-effective.

4 Simple Steps

Everyone meal preps a little differently, but following this basic structure is the best place to start:

  1. Decide on your menu
  2. Make your list and shop
  3. Get cooking
  4. Store your meals

Read Next: 1500 Calorie Keto Meal Plan

Decide on Your Menu

Choose one day of the week to sit down and outline your low-carb keto meal plan for the next seven days, taking multiple scenarios into account. Here’s my step-by-step guide to deciding on your menu:

  • How many meals? Calculate how many meals you’ll eat each day of the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including any snacks or desserts if you plan to have them. Put these into a calendar or make a list broken down by each day of the week. Use recipes that already have calories and macros listed so it’s easy to fit them into your plan.
  • How many portions? Account for how many people will be eating the meals and whether or not you plan to have leftovers the next day or a new meal each day.
  • How many repeats? Keep it simple by having the same meal more than once. You’ll be able to save prep time and cooking time by doubling a recipe and enjoying leftovers. Batch cooking can save you a lot of money.
  • What ingredients do I need? Write down the recipes for each meal and the exact ingredients you’ll need for them.
  • When do I shop and cook? Decide which day(s) you’ll shop for ingredients and cook the meals. Some people prefer to do it all in one day, while others prefer to break it up.

Pro tip: Choose easy recipes with just a few ingredients and find recipes with similar ingredients, such as the same meats or vegetables. This will result in a shorter shopping list, faster cooking, and less stress.

Make Your List and Shop

Using the ingredients from each recipe, compile your shopping list. Break it down by food categories, preferably starting with foods you encounter first at your grocery store.

Make sure you include exact amounts of each ingredient, and make sure that you stick to your list, too. Don’t start getting extra stuff — you planned ahead for a reason.

Remember to shop for whole foods like meat, eggs, and vegetables. I warn you, don’t get overwhelmed by packaged products advertised as keto.

A good rule of thumb is to shop the grocery store’s perimeter, where the butcher and produce sections are typically located. The aisles are where you find the most processed and most inflammatory foods.

Learn More: Best Canned Food for Prepping

Get Cooking

Time to cook — this can be a little tricky at first, but it gets easier with practice. Here are my top tips for cooking when it comes to meal prep:

  • Get out your ingredients. Have all ingredients out and ready before you begin a recipe. Reaching into the fridge or pantry for things as you read them wastes unnecessary time.
  • Pre-prep your ingredients. Pre-chop veggies and pre-prepare meats before you start cooking. You’ll be able to toss these ingredients into the oven, skillet, or food processor right away when needed.
  • Start with the longest steps. Read your whole recipe and figure out which steps take the longest. Start with those. If you need to slow-cook a chicken, for example, get that started first so you can chop vegetables or make cauliflower rice as you wait.

Once meals are cooked, separate them into containers so they’re ready to go for the week.

Pro tip: Label each container with a sticky note listing the meal inside, what day of the week it’s for, its macros, and the date it was prepared. You can never be too detailed.

Store Your Meals

Prepped meals can typically be kept in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for multiple months. Label everything with what it is and when you plan to eat it.

You can use various storage containers. I use airtight containers for a lot of prepped food to maintain flavor, but glass containers work better for meals you plan to reheat in the oven. Mason jars are good for prepped smoothies.

If you ever use plastic containers (I recommend plastic only as a last resort), look for BPA-free plastic and never reheat food in the plastic.

Money Saving Pro Tips for Meal Prep 

If saving money is one of your main goals of meal prepping, below are some additional tips I have learned from years of keto meal prepping on a budget:

  • Buy in bulk. Bulk items are often cheaper per pound, and you can freeze some items to use as needed.
  • Choose recipes with seasonal produce. In-season vegetables and fruits are usually cheaper and more likely to be on sale.
  • Visit your local farmer or farmer’s market. Speak with vendors in these types of settings. You can likely find good deals on higher-quality meats and dairy products by buying locally.
  • Avoid packaged foods as much as possible. Packaged foods are almost always more expensive. While bagged and pre-washed spinach is super convenient, it’s much pricier than washing it yourself at home. Forfeiting a little convenience in these areas can save a lot of cash.
  • Look for special offers, discounts, and coupons. Search online, look for deals at the store, or look for deals in the mail. Sign up for grocery store email newsletters to get notified about deals.
  • Make or grow your own items. If you have the time, making some of your own ingredients can save money and is usually much healthier. Here are just a few examples of items you can grow or make on your own instead of buying them at the store:
    • Bone broth
    • Keto mayo
    • Salad dressings and sauces
    • Ghee
    • Pesto
    • Sauerkraut
    • Ketchup
    • Mustard
    • Bacon or sausage
    • Coconut or almond flour
    • Coconut or almond milk
    • Sun-dried tomatoes

Keto Recipe Ideas to Get Started

Still trying to figure out what keto meal prep recipes to make? I’ve compiled my favorite healthy meal prep recipes below, each made with just a few low-carbohydrate ingredients.

I love these grab-and-go breakfast ideas, perfectly portioned lunches, scrumptious chicken recipes, and reinvented comfort food—all with very few net carbs per serving.

Breakfast 

I have found that you can still have delicious breakfasts without granola, oatmeal, and cereal in your diet! Try these keto breakfast recipes for your busiest mornings.

Read Next: What Is Safe to Drink on the Ketogenic Diet

Lunch and Dinner

Below are my favorite easy keto meals for a keto lunch or a keto dinner. Make a large batch of each on Sunday, then enjoy throughout the week.

Snacks and Side Dishes

Here’s a counter-intuitive tip: By keeping a few healthy, low-carb snacks handy at all times, you’re less likely to reach for a bag of chips, pretzels, or a granola bar to hold you over. Here are my favorite keto-friendly snacks to fight those cravings:

Desserts 

Can’t fight your inner sweet tooth? You don’t have to give up dessert when keto meal prepping. Allow me to introduce you to the secrets of low-carb desserts. Try these sweet yet keto-friendly dessert recipes:

Meal Prep Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful

Pre-planning and prepping meals in advance will make everything easier for you on the keto diet. You’ll save time, money, and sanity each week. Plus, you’re far more likely to stick to your keto diet successfully if you put a plan in place.

Use the tips in this keto meal prep ideas guide to get started, and you’ll soon develop a rhythm that works best for you.

Check out our Perfect Keto shop for all your low-carb meal prep needs.

554 Shares

Join the Internet's largest keto newsletter

We'll send you articles, product guides, and exclusive offers customized to your goals.