How to Prepare the Best Keto Thanksgiving Celebration

Visit our list of Foods For A Glorious and Happy Keto Thanksgiving Celebration.

How to Prepare the Best Keto Thanksgiving

You don’t need to blow your diet on white bread stuffing and pies this Thanksgiving. Instead of making excuses, eat keto on turkey day. You’ll stay on your current plan without losing an ounce of flavor.

It’s natural to associate the word “diet” with bland, tasteless food, but with keto, this isn’t the case. You don’t have to give up the gravy to enjoy a fabulous holiday feast that’s keto-friendly.

So how do you do it? Where do you start?

1. Start With Soup and Salad

Sure, you can set out a few cans of nuts — but that makes you look lazy. Start your Keto Thanksgiving feast with a proper soup and salad course. People who eat soup before a large meal consume fewer calories overall, not that you’re counting over the holiday!

Try out dishes like:

• Low-carb, gluten-free Italian chicken-vegetable soup: This hearty soup warms chilly bones without a ton of calories. The peppers and tomatoes provide phytonutrients, and the sausage adds a meaty flavor.
• Autumn harvest salad with roasted delicata squash: Squash comes into season in the fall, meaning its nutrients are at their peak of freshness. Apples and pears add a satisfying crunch while cleansing the palate for the next course.

2. Add Amazing Appetizers

Give your meal an elegant restaurant feel by following with an appetizer course. If the weather permits, why not use your outdoor fire pit? Check for burn restrictions and keep a hose and fire extinguisher handy in case the wind blows sparks. After your meal, guests who smoke can indulge the habit outdoors while staying toasty.

Cranberry Walnut Brie is not only a beautiful piece on the table but tastes just as luscious as it looks. Overflowing with color and crunch, this buttery recipe has a bit of a tang and pairs nicely with a nut-based cracker or something as simple as jicama, cucumber slices, or my favorite, a spoon.

Prepare these buttery barbecue prawns the night before and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place the packages on the pit with the grill lid attached. Heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side and voila! You have an elegant second course without dirtying another dish.

Low-Carb bacon deviled eggs are as awesome as they sound! The best flavor of breakfast becomes your favorite appetizer. This recipe makes 24 halves at a time but that just might not be enough!

3. Serve Sensational Side Dishes

You don’t have to give up your stuffing and mashed potatoes! You merely have to modify them. Plus, it’s always good to get your veggies. Give these sides a try to indulge without blowing your diet:

• Keto stuffing: If the pilgrims stuffed their turkey, they probably did so with onions and herbs. Nevertheless, you don’t have to give up your favorite side with keto-friendly bread. Best of all, this dish cooks and reheats in minutes. Hello, leftovers!

• Don’t forget the gravy: Whenever you pan-fry any type of poultry or red meat, I save the drippings in a jar in my fridge. That way, when the gravy craving hits, it only takes a few minutes to prepare and cook.
• Low-Carb Pork Rind Stuffing: Rani Meren’s Low-Carb Pork Rind Stuffing Recipe will stuff a small roaster, double or triple the recipe if you want more. Pork rinds are perfect for Keto Thanksgiving.

• Don’t have time for homemade keto stuffing? Try Dixie Carb Counters Oven Stuffin’ Mix – Low-Carb Stuffing Substitute. Not the most keto option but definitely quick and easy and low-carb.
• Keto mashed cauliflower: You can enjoy the creamy richness of mashed potatoes without all the carbohydrates using this recipe. The heavy cream and butter make it rich enough without the gravy.
• Bacon-parmesan beans: Even the pickiest kids will adore eating their veggies with this side. The bacon adds richness while the onions offer tang and crunch.

• Low-Carb Lemon Dijon Asparagus: Every veggie tastes better with yummy garlic, and asparagus is no exception. Plus, this side dish looks elegant when plated.

All of these sides taste amazing on their owns. However, if you’ve got a craving for gravy, you can make a keto-friendly version with a roux and thickener combo.

4. Make Marvelous Main Dishes

Thanksgiving is all about the main meal – especially Keto Thanksgiving! Whether you have vegetarians and vegans on your guest list or cater to the carnivorous, these recipes are sure to please:

• Zesty Roast Turkey: Let’s face it, when it comes to holiday cooking, the turkey is usually the star of the show. This Low-Carb Gluten-Free Zesty Roast Turkey recipe will bring your guests to their knees weeping tears of joy.
• Low-carb garlic butter roast turkey: What’s turkey day without the main dish? Luckily, this turkey is naturally low in carbs and high in protein.
• Garlic and horseradish-crusted prime rib: If you love red meat, you’ll adore this gluten-free recipe. It’s also safe for people with allergies to nuts and dairy.
• Roasted cauliflower steaks: Do you have a veg-head attending your bash? No problem! Whip up some of these roasted cauliflower steaks you can pop in the oven 15 minutes before the turkey finishes. Voila! You’ve catered to all dietary restrictions.

5. Dole Out Delicious Dessert

Do you think you need to forego dessert to stay keto-friendly? Nonsense!

• Nothing says “I love my friends and family” more than a Low-Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake with Walnut Crust. 
• Make this fantastic keto pumpkin pie with almond and coconut flour instead of the wheat-based version. It’s rich and creamy and perfectly autumn.
• If you must have whipped cream, eschew the sugary store-bought spray cans. Make your own with heavy cream powder and coconut milk.

• What could be better than a nice latte and cake? How about both of them in one dessert? Try the Pecan Latte Gateau Gluten-Free Low-Carb Dessert Recipe from CarbSmart Low-Carb & Gluten-Free Holiday Entertaining Cookbook. Many low-carb dessert recipes fall flat, but this one is in three or four layers, each separated by plain or coffee-flavored cream! Your guests won’t guess you’re serving them “health” food. Have fun with this one by going barista on the top. Use your favorite non-sugar dessert syrups to make patterns; sprinkle it with cocoa powder or cinnamon: anything a barista can do, you can do to decorate this cake!

6. Bestow Bountiful Beverages

• Did you know wine has only 3 to 4 grams of carbs per glass? Ask guests to bring a favorite vintage to share. Post-meal, you’ll want to cozy up to the TV and watch football with your guests.
• Offer a variety of keto-friendly beers and mix a punch using a no-carb mixer. You can get a little tipsy. After all, you have a fridge full of keto-friendly leftovers to munch on.

• Low-Carb, Ketogenic Pumpkin Spice Latte: This is the time of year when people go absolutely looney for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte coffee drinks BUT they don’t want all the added sugar and poor ingredients Starbucks uses. Our Low-Carb Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe (with video) for one is a simpler, quicker version that uses brewed coffee instead of espresso shots and substitutes heavy cream for skim and 2% milk. What you get is a creamier, smoother hot coffee drink with half the calories and 2g of net carbs instead of 52g!

• Dana Carpender’s Low-Carb Irish Coffee recipe is the all-purpose Low-Carb Gluten-Free dessert because it combines dessert, coffee, and after-dinner drinks.

• Low Carb Vodka Holiday Cocktails. In honor of the season, CarbSmart’s Budget Low Carb is happy to present low carb alternatives to high carb cocktails. We’ll focus on vodka this time since it’s a fairly universal alcohol.

Make Your Thanksgiving Delicious and Keto-Friendly

You can stick to a keto-friendly diet and enjoy a conventional Thanksgiving feast. So show some gratitude for all the good things in life! (And all the good things you still get to eat!)  

Visit our list of Foods For A Glorious and Happy Keto Thanksgiving Celebration.

More articles by Dylan Bartlett.

More Low-Carb Thanksgiving options.