Here Are 15 Weeks’ Worth of Low-Carb and Keto Meal Plans

updated Nov 3, 2021
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grid of four meals in prepping containers for a week of family friendly low carb meals
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Anna Stockwell

While most households may find it helpful to start the week with a solid meal plan, it’s practically essential if one of you is carb-conscious or following the ketogenic diet. And if you’re just starting out, you want to make sure your meals have plenty of variety to keep them interesting.

Here, we offer 15 week-long low-carb and keto-friendly plans to choose from, so you don’t have to tackle the mental mathematics of tracking macros on the fly. Follow the plans directly or mix and match the menus to find the meals that satisfy and sustain you.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Amelia Rampe

1. How to Prep a Week of Family-Friendly Low-Carb Meals

The goal of this plan is to provide a flexible week of meals that meet the dietary needs of the adults eating low-carb but can also be made balanced and not low-carb for the kids without much effort.

Get the meal plan: How to Prep a Week of Family-Friendly Low-Carb Meals

Credit: Joe Lingeman

2. A Week of Low-Carb, Veggie-Heavy Dinners

If you’re focused on keeping your carb count down at mealtime for whatever reason, but still want to load your plate with vegetables, it can sometimes feel tricky. However, there happen to be way more vegetables than you might think that are compatible with low-carb diets (think: spaghetti squash, leafy greens, bell peppers, cauliflower, zucchini, and mushrooms, for starters).

Get the meal plan: A Week of Low-Carb Dinners Packed with Vegetables

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Brett Regot

3. A Week of Cheap and Easy Low-Carb Dinners

Keeping your carb count down while also getting a dinner on the table that’s satisfying, easy, and doesn’t totally break your budget is easier than you might think. This meal plan is stacked with budget-friendly, low-carb dinners the whole table will enjoy.

Get the plan: A Week of Cheap and Easy Low-Carb Dinners

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Amelia Rampe

4. How I Prep a Week of Low-Carb Meals Packed with Veggies

This one-week meal plan replaces grains, beans, pasta, and carb-heavy vegetables with low-carb veggies and lean proteins. It sets you up with breakfast, lunches, and dinners, including options like meatball-stuffed spaghetti squash, baked chicken and vegetables, and a crispy tuna-cabbage salad. And if you want to get a head start on the weekend, the plan walks you through meal prep, step-by-step.

Get the plan: How I Prep a Week of Low-Carb Meals Packed with Veggies

Credit: Kristin Teig; Food Styling: Catrine Kelty

5. A Week of Easy Low-Carb, High-Protein Meals

If you’re focused on (or interested in) keeping dinners low in carbs and high in protein, making a meal plan can prove extremely helpful in meeting your goal. Not only do these five dinners check the boxes, but they’re also easy — and sure to be loved by everyone around the table.

Get the meal plan: A Week of Easy Low-Carb, High-Protein Meals

Credit: Joe Lingeman

6. 5 Low-Carb, High-Protein Dinners to Plan for the Week Ahead

When your meal plan is stacked with dinners such as salsa-simmered fish, Parmesan chicken kale sauté, and slow cooker brisket, you can be sure you’ll be satisfied. The low-carb meals in this plan are guaranteed to fill you up, so you won’t be reaching for a snack in an hour.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Stylist: Jesse Szewczyk

7. How I Prep a Week of Low-Carb Slow Cooker Meals

In this two-hour meal prep session, you’ll assemble a week’s worth of low-carb breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The secret to keeping it extra-easy? Your slow cooker. The appliance is great at cooking a wide range of low-carb staples like chicken and beef, which means you can let it do a lot of the work for you.

Get the meal plan: How I Prep a Week of Low-Carb Slow Cooker Meals

Credit: Olive & Mango

8. How I Prep a Week of Budget-Friendly Keto Meals

If you’re following a keto diet you know that loading your cart with keto staples, like avocados, fatty fish fillets, and grass-fed beef, can really add up. This one-week meal plan proves otherwise. It includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two people, with a grocery bill of just $65.

Get the plan: How I Prep a Week of Budget-Friendly Keto Meals

Credit: Cast Iron Keto

9. A Week of Easy One-Pan Keto Dinners

Part of the beauty of this one-week meal plan is that the dinners, like keto stuffed peppers and keto crab cakes, won’t leave you with a sink overflowing with dishes. Each keto-friendly dinners finds a way to pack in veggies and comes together in a single skillet.

10. 5 Easy Keto Dinners for the Week Ahead

Plug these five Keto dinners into your plan and get a head-start on budgeting macros for the week. This plan is full of helpful ingredient substitutions and smart ways to repurpose leftovers.

11. A Week of Easy Low-Carb Meals

This low-carb menu requires no weekday cooking, thanks to a streamlined plan and prep session and some smart make-ahead meals. Start each day strong with a vegetable egg bake and pack a tasty mayo-free Mediterranean tuna salad for lunch on alternating days. For dinner, switch between chicken taco chili and beef and broccoli bowls that are sure to satisfy even the strongest takeout cravings.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn; Food Stylist: CC Buckley/Kitchn

12. A Week of Low-Carb Meals in Just 2 Hours

Meal prep isn’t all big-batch beans and pre-cooked grains. This two-hour prep session gives you enough for a week’s worth of low-carb breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, including stir-fries, meatballs, and sheet pan shrimp.

13. A Week of Easy Keto Meals

This two-hour prep session gets you through about 80% of your meals for the week. A grab-and-go vegetable and cheese frittata will fill you up at breakfast, and herby baked salmon does double duty for lunches and dinners.

14. A Week of Keto Meals for the Grill

A great way to switch things up on the keto plan is to break out the grill (or the grill pan). This meal plan is full of flavorful marinated meat and crunchy fresh vegetables. Dinners feature grilled shrimp, spicy chicken, and beefy bacon burgers — perfect for the grill and the keto diet.

Credit: Joe Lingeman

15. 10 Easy Keto Lunch Box Ideas

Dinner gets all of the attention, but having a plan for lunch is key to success on the ketogentic diet. Mix and match nuts, cheeses, meats, eggs, and low-carb veggies and you’ll never pack the same lunch twice.