21 Vegetarian Keto Recipes

While quality protein and healthy fats are certainly at the core of keto, a vegetarian keto diet is completely doable.

Whether you’re a full-on vegetarian or just trying out meatless Mondays, there are plenty of high-fat, low-carb vegetarian recipes out there. And yes, they can still help you achieve your keto goals from weight loss to improved cognitive function.

Best of all, if you know the right recipes to whip up, your keto vegetarian meal plan can be both nutritious and delicious.

All the below recipes are not only vegetarian, but they’re also paleo-friendly and gluten-free.

#1 Low-Carb Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is an all-time classic, but the traditional recipe is a no-go on keto due to the high carb count of macaroni. The solution? Switch out that pasta for some cauliflower, and you’ve got yourself a delicious, creamy, low-carb mac and cheese meal.

Recipe Type: Lunch/Dinner

#2 Zucchini Pancakes

Zucchini pancakes offer a fantastic way to add a little more nutrition to your breakfast. Each pancake contains only one net carb, and also provides five grams of protein. Ingredients like spinach, chia seeds, and coconut flour add to the nutrient density making this a well-rounded vegetarian keto breakfast option.

Recipe Type: Breakfast

#3 Avocado Brownies

Brownies are a favorite among chocolate lovers, but of course, following a keto diet, you can’t just go for any old brownie recipe. These low-carb, gluten-free brownies have a little extra love in the form of avocados to provide you with some health-promoting monounsaturated fats[*]. They’re pretty much the perfect keto-friendly dessert.

Recipe type: Dessert

#4 Veggie Keto Frittata

This frittata is loaded with veggies — red bell peppers, eggplant, carrots, onions, zucchinis — you name it. If you’re trying to get more vegetables in your diet without having to eat salads all day, this is the way to go. Each serving of this veggie frittata is only seven delicious carbs. Pro tip: If you want a little extra flavor, you can top your frittata with a sprinkle of feta cheese.

Recipe Type: Breakfast

#5 Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup is the perfect meal for a cool Fall or Winter evening. This recipe calls for chicken or beef broth, but it tastes just as flavorful with veggie broth. This creamy delight comes with only four net carbs per serving, and 21 grams of fat — so you’ll be nothing if not satisfied. Serve with a side of your favorite keto cracks or dip with some keto bread.

Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner

#6 Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Spin dip, anyone? This creamy appetizer is packed with cheesy goodness coming from cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, mozzarella, and parmesan — wow. You can use this dip as a side dish on its own, or chop up some celery, carrots, and broccoli and use it as an appetizer.

Recipe Type: Appetizer/ Side dish

#7 Vanilla Protein Waffles

Waffles are a Sunday morning classic, but most varieties are carb-heavy, with little to no protein or fat. These vanilla protein waffles turn traditional waffles on their head with 20 grams of fat, 17 grams of protein, and only 4 net carbs per serving.

Top with some keto-friendly whipped cream, monk fruit syrup, or blueberries.

Recipe type: Breakfast

#8 Crispy Kale Chips

Kale chips are one of those recipes that sounds great in theory, but can often fall short in practice. Are they cooked enough? Did you burn them? How much seasoning do you need?

This simple recipe cuts through the chaos and gives you the perfect step-by-step guide to make store-bought quality kale chips (at a fraction of the price). The best part — one cup of this keto snack is only three grams of carbs.

Recipe Type: Snack/ Side dish

#9 Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

Typically, mozzarella sticks fit squarely into the “once in a while treat” category. But what if you could switch up a few ingredients and actually make mozzarella sticks a healthy snack? That’s exactly what this recipe does. Switching out bread crumbs for almond flour, plus choosing a high-quality oil like coconut oil transforms greasy mozzarella sticks into a fresh and flavorful snack.

Recipe type: Snack/ Appetizer

#10 Creamy Avocado Pesto Green Sauce

Making your own dressing or sauce is one of the best ways to ensure quality in your meals. It’s easy to whip up your own veggies and cook your own main dish — but the sauces and dressings usually come store-bought. Unfortunately, most store-bought sauces have hidden sources of sugar in the mix.

This versatile, creamy avocado pesto sauce goes great on a salad, or even on top of some cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash. You can pretty much drizzle it on anything — and of course, there are no sneaky sources of sugar in this recipe.

Recipe type: Sauce/ Dressing

#11 Garlic Lemon Zucchini Noodles

#12 Easy Almond Flour Bread

Every keto dieter needs their go-to keto bread recipe. This simple recipe has only four ingredients; almond flour, butter, coconut oil, and eggs. And with only 2.2 net carbs per serving you can enjoy to your heart’s content.

Use this keto bread to make sandwiches, serve with soup or salad, or you could even pan fry it with some cheddar cheese for a delicious keto grilled cheese.

Recipe type: Side dish

#13 Dairy-Free Keto Quiche

If you avoid dairy on your vegetarian diet, this keto quiche is for you. You can fill it with all your favorite veggies, and top it with some avocado or salsa for some Mexican flair. Otherwise, you can enjoy it as-is — either way you’re sure to be satisfied.

Recipe type: Breakfast

#14 Green Bean Casserole

This delicious, cheesy, creamy casserole can be served as either a main dish or a side dish, depending on what you have planned. The chicken broth can be replaced with veggie broth, and you can also feel free to add in any other veggies that are calling to you. One serving of green bean casserole is only four net carbs, and 133 calories, so eat up.

Recipe Type: Side Dish/ Dinner

#15 Coconut Fat Bombs

These coconut cheesecake fat bombs are rich in healthy fats and contain only three simple ingredients — cream cheese, coconut butter, and stevia (or monk fruit). This recipe takes only five minutes to prepare (plus freeze time), and each fat bomb comes in at only one net carb. In other words — if you’re looking for an easy recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth — this is it.

Rich in healthy fat

Recipe type: Dessert

#16 Double Chocolate Muffins

If you’re looking for an on-the-go keto breakfast, these double chocolate muffins fit the bill. Bake them ahead and enjoy them as your quick and easy breakfast option all week. With 12 grams of protein per muffin, they also make a fantastic afternoon snack to keep you going.

Recipe type: Breakfast

#17 MCT Oil Sugar-Free Cinnamon Smoothie

There are plenty of vegetarian smoothie recipes out there. However, not every smoothie contains MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides). MCTs provide an excellent source of fuel when you’re in keto because they go directly to your liver to be transformed into energy that your body can use. If you have a big morning ahead of you and are looking for a solid energy source, this is the smoothie for you[*].

Recipe type: Breakfast

#18 Roasted Eggplant Chips

Eggplant chips make a tasty and satisfying keto snack that’s ready in just 30 minutes. You can switch up the spices depending on your preferences, but the salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic that this recipe calls for come together perfectly.

Recipe type: Side dish

#19 Lemon Cashew Cookies

Making cookies with nut butter is one of the greatest keto hacks out there. Cashew butter is super creamy, giving this lemon cashew cookie a fantastic mouthfeel. This recipe is ready in just 22 minutes, with each cookie containing just 140 calories with four net carbs. Serve with some almond milk or coconut milk for dipping.

Recipe type: Dessert

#20 Spicy Cauliflower Keto Buddha Bowl

This keto Buddha bowl is a smorgasbord of flavor and nutrition. As a vegetarian, you’ll want to skip the collagen powder — but otherwise, this bowl makes the perfect keto lunch or dinner.

Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner

#21 Brown Butter Buffalo Bites

These brown butter buffalo bites are the perfect stand-in for buffalo wings. Made with cauliflower instead of chicken, these bites give you all the flavor of traditional wings with none of the meat or wheat.

Serve these up as an appetizer at a party, or make a bunch and enjoy them for lunch.

Recipe type: Lunch/ Snack

Takeaway

Choosing to follow a ketogenic diet doesn’t mean you have to give up your morals or start eating foods that don’t work for your body. There are plenty of vegetarians that do excellent on keto, and even more vegetarian recipes than you could imagine.

At its core, keto is a diet that should be rich in low-carb vegetables, which also includes an abundance of healthy fats and high-quality protein.

So when you’re looking to pull together a keto meal plan, whether your vegetarian or not, try out some of these delicious meatless recipes.

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21 Vegetarian Keto Recipes - Perfect Keto (2024)

FAQs

What does the perfect keto meal look like? ›

The meal can center around a hearty protein, like fish, poultry, steak or eggs. Pair with a delicious vegetable-forward side dish and a serving of healthy fat, and viola, the perfect keto dinner. Keto soups, salads, sheet-pan meals and zoodle pasta dishes all work beautifully too.

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What is the macro ratio for vegetarian keto? ›

Choose vegetarian foods that are low in net carbs, and make sure your overall diet has a macro ratio that falls within the parameters of the standard keto macro. That means 55-60 percent fat, 30-35 percent protein and 5-10 percent carbs.

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What is easy lazy keto? ›

Lazy Keto is a simpler version of the ketogenic diet that ditches macro tracking and only consists of counting net carbs. Often times it's used for weight loss and is structured to be easy to follow.

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Is keto possible for vegetarians? ›

Can vegetarians get into ketosis? Yes. These diets are not mutually exclusive and, with proper planning, you can build a high-fat low-carb diet that keeps you in ketosis without eating meat, seafood, or poultry. The main idea is to include protein-packed veggies and pair them with high-quality fats.

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Can I eat peanut butter on keto? ›

Peanut butter can definitely be part of a keto diet, but it's best to stick to plain options that are free of extra flavors and sweeteners. Almond butter is a good choice, too, and it's slightly lower in carbs. Additionally, you should be mindful of your portion size if you're trying to lose weight.

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How many carbs should a vegetarian eat a day on keto? ›

Most vegetarians eat animal products like eggs and dairy but avoid meat and fish. Meanwhile, the ketogenic diet is a high-fat diet that limits carb intake to 20–50 grams per day. This ultra-low-carb intake prompts ketosis, a metabolic state in which your body starts burning fat for fuel instead of glucose ( 1 , 3 ).

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Can you eat too much protein on keto? ›

#1: Eating too much protein.

The body can convert the amino acids from excess protein into glucose, potentially sabotaging your weight loss efforts and keeping your body out of ketosis. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this translates to about 75g of protein at about 10-20% protein.

How do vegetarians get protein on keto? ›

Dairy: Full-fat plain yogurt and plain cottage cheese (avoid flavored high-sugar varieties), hard cheeses and butter. Eggs: This is arguably the easiest, healthiest and most complete way to get protein if you're eating vegetarian keto. Eggs also give you a nice dose of fat and have practically no carbs whatsoever.

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What is the simplest keto meal? ›

Olives, nuts and charcuterie plates are brilliant keto-friendly nibbles to kick off your meal. Then stick with high protein mains like a chicken Ceasar salad, steak, or grilled fish, and swap out starchy, carb-heavy sides for vegetables if possible.

Is bacon good for keto? ›

Can You Eat Bacon On a Keto Diet? While you may not think of bacon as diet food, most types of bacon fit perfectly into a keto diet plan since they're low in carbs yet high in protein and fat. That means bacon is perfect for snacking on in the afternoon or mixing into your chicken dinner dish for some extra flavoring.

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Are cucumbers keto? ›

Cucumber is another popular salad vegetable. It contains many essential nutrients, including vitamin K. Cucumber is also suitable for the keto diet, as its carb content is just 3.63 g per 100 g. To make the carb content lower, a person can peel the cucumber before eating it.

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What are the best vegetables for keto diet? ›

Plenty of low-carb vegetable options include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes. Those vegetables provide other benefits like reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases, containing antioxidants, and providing filling fiber.

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Is Greek yogurt good for keto? ›

Plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are nutritious, high protein foods. While they contain some carbs, you can eat them in moderation on keto. Both yogurt and cottage cheese have been shown to help decrease appetite and promote feelings of fullness (33, 34 ).

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What does a typical keto meal consist of? ›

The keto diet is typically rich in foods like butter, cheese, eggs, meat, nuts, oils, seafood, and seeds. It does not allow much, if any, room for fruits, vegetables, grains, potatoes, sweets, or other carbohydrate-rich foods.

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What is a typical day of eating on keto? ›

And the total daily allotment of carbohydrates to maintain ketosis is around 20-50 grams of net carbs for most people.” According to Kenney, the best foods to maintain ketosis include fish, meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, non-starchy vegetables, berries, and oils.

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What is the best first meal for keto? ›

What to eat in the first week of your keto diet

Breakfast: You can fry two eggs in butter and serve them with sauteed greens of your choice.
Lunch: Go with a bunless burger and top it with vegetables of your choice (mushrooms, tomatoes, or peppers) and some cheese and avocado.

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Jun 15, 2022

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What does an average keto diet look like? ›

In a typical keto diet, your nutrition centers on fatty foods. They'll make up anywhere from 60% to 80% of your daily calories. Proteins make up 15% to 20%. Carbs are restricted to no more than 50 grams.

21 Vegetarian Keto Recipes - Perfect Keto (2024)