Keto Budget Meal Plan – How To Follow A Low Carb Diet On A Cheap Budget For Beginners – Meal Ideas, Recipes and a Grocery List of essentials.
Keto Budget Meal Plan
This Keto Budget Meal Plan will show you that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to follow a low carb diet.
There are plenty of money saving tips and cheap essential keto foods to stock your kitchen with to whip up easy, tasty meals in virtually no time at all.
Keto Diet Budget Foods Grocery List
First, here’s a list of foods to add to your typical shopping list that are low carb, keto diet and budget friendly too.
This list is great whether you’re a beginner and new to the keto lifestyle or you’re planning to get back on track, needing a refresher and some low carb inspiration.
A keto diet is typically made up of 5% carbs, 25% protein and 70% fats. So, you’ll be wanting to limit your carbs and be enjoying plenty of healthy fats with every meal. (Here are more keto tips for beginners.)
Keto Healthy Fats List
So, here are ideas for budget friendly ways to include plenty of ketogenic fats in your diet:
- Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Cream – heavy, whipping, single, double and sour
- Mascarpone Cheese
- Cream cheese
- Ricotta Cheese
- Grated Cheese (just watch for hidden carbs/thickeners)
- Cheddar Cheese
Keto On A Budget – Protein List
Here are some ideas for budget friendly proteins:
- Eggs (also contain healthy fats)
- Canned Tuna/Salmon/Mackerel
- Beef Mince (aim for a high fat %)
- Cheaper cuts of meat/chicken such as offal or stewing meat
- Nuts – buy in bulk, from ALDI or stock up when on special offer
Money Saving Tips – Vegetables
In season vegetables will usually be cheaper, so just have a look at what’s in season wherever you are and the time of year it is.
Also check out local farmers markets and even grow your own vegetables to further save on your grocery budget.
Simply, pick a couple of low carb vegetables to include in your meals. I try to eat a rainbow of vegetables through the week, to obtain a variety of nutrients and keep meals interesting.
Low Carb Vegetables List
Here’ a list of keto friendly vegetables to keep an eye out for:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
- Spinach
- Zucchini
- Radishes
- Brussels sprouts
- Peppers/Capsicum
- Tomatoes
- Onion and garlic
Berries such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are the lowest carbs fruits and permitted (in small quantities) on keto. Buy fresh when in season or frozen out of season.
You can enjoy berries simply with a serve of whipped cream, in homemade chia jam or a keto breakfast smoothie.
Frozen fruit and vegetables – frozen fruit and vegetables are often cheaper, frozen when fresh and means you can always have produce available without having to go to the store.
If you’re new to Keto it’s also a good idea to make sure you’re keeping your electrolytes in check.
You can do this by ensuring you’re drinking plenty of water and getting enough salt, magnesium and potassium in your diet or supplementing to keep your levels up.
It’s also a good idea to speak with a health practitioner to ensure you stay healthy while on a low carb keto diet.
Keto On A Budget Meal Plan
Now that you know what foods to stock your kitchen with, here are ideas for recipes and cheap low carb meals to include in your keto budget meal plan.
I find that meal planning can really help save you money because you buy what you actually need, not food items for just in case, and you should also have little to no food waste as well.
Then, just stick to your meal plan to save you money – and time too. You won’t have to waste time thinking about what you’re having for your meals, you can just get on and make it.
Budget Keto Breakfast Ideas
For me, breakfast most mornings is simply eggs with a fried vegetable, such as mushrooms or broccoli and a side of cheese or sour cream to elevate the fat content.
Here are more easy keto breakfast ideas that are budget friendly:
Pizza Omelette (pictured above) – enjoy pizza for breakfast in an omelette with the flavors of pizza in an easy low carb, keto and budget friendly way.
Green Shakshuka – a cheap breakfast full of greens, eggs and feta cheese.
Scrambled Eggs – in this instance eggs are scrambled with ricotta and spinach. You could also just enjoy scrambled eggs with cheese, cream or even tuna mixed through for a super high protein breakfast.
Peanut Butter Bread – for an easy make ahead breakfast, prep a loaf of low carb peanut butter bread and enjoy topped with chia jam and peanut butter or your budget friendly toppings of choice.
Cheap Keto Lunch Ideas
There are plenty of cheap lunch ideas, there’s a whole gallery of keto packed lunch ideas and quick low carb lunches to choose from.
The above meal prep containers include:
- A bed of spinach
- Corned Beef Silverside
- Sauteed Broccoli
- Sour Cream
Here are more cheap and easy keto lunch ideas:
Tuna Salad – pretty much the easiest budget friendly low carb lunch – fill a bowl with spinach and top with a tin of tuna. You can add sour cream, mayo, avocado or any other keto salad ingredients you like.
Broccoli Cheese Soup – you can make a pot of cheesy broccoli soup over the weekend and then take it to work in a thermos.
Easy 7 Layer Salad – this easy 7 layer salad is brilliant to make ahead and enjoy for days of low carb lunches.
Broccoli Salad – this cheesy salad has only 4 ingredients and makes a lovely lunch.
Keto Budget Meal Plan – Dinner Recipes
Here are a week of easy and cheap keto dinner recipes. As I mentioned, the keto diet is not a high protein diet, so you do have to have a steak or meat every night.
I like to rotate between meaty and vegetarian meals for a balanced diet. (And wallet!)
Feel free to mix and match these keto budget meal plan recipes to suit your tastes and what’s in season near you.
Best Ever Chicken Bake – this meal has only a handful of ingredients and is always a winner with my family.
Broccoli Casserole – this is the most popular recipe on my blog for good reason – it’s easy, cheesy and so tasty.
Egg Roll In A Bowl – the ultimate budget friendly keto meal that’s great for dinner and leftovers are perfect to enjoy for lunch too.
Tuna Noodle Casserole – cabbage noodles are used in place of carby noodles in this comfort food classic.
Beef and Mushroom Soup – you can easily turn this soup into a stew and it makes a cheap keto meal all year around.
Chicken Tray Bake – made using budget friendly drumsticks and a selection of low carb vegetables.
Mushroom & Cabbage Casserole – as you can probably tell – I adore cheesy casserole dishes and this veggie casserole is a hearty comfort meal that’s wonderful to enjoy.
Yogurt Roasted Chicken – a tasty way to enjoy budget friendly roast chicken, this recipe creates a roast with super crisp skin and tender chicken within.
Make The Most Of Leftovers
And my final keto on a budget tip is to make the most of your leftovers.
Here are some leftover ideas for you:
- Turn leftover meat into the following days meaty breakfast or lunch sides, you can enjoy the same meal for days in different forms.
- Consider roasting a second chicken so you can enjoy tasty leftover roast chicken for days in salads, omelettes and soups.
- While we’re talking about soups – any vegetable leftovers or scraps can be combined together to create a creamy vegetable soup – once blended you won’t know what’s in there and plenty of cream or butter will add flavor and healthy fats.
- You can cook pretty much any leftover protein or vegetables into a hearty breakfast omelette, frittata or scramble.
Once you’ve enjoyed the above easy keto meals and you’d like a little more help with meal planning I suggest Balanced Keto Weekly Meal Plans. You’ll get weekly Keto Diet Meal Plans delivered straight to your Inbox. Get 7 days of meal planning every week – all done for you! Click here to learn more.
Keto Budget Meal Plan Video
Here’s a video talking you through more keto budget meal plan tips and meal ideas. Hit play below or click here to watch on YouTube.
More Keto Inspiration
If you’d like to join me and get started with Keto, or back onto it again, then here are some posts to inspire you:
Keto Food List For Beginners – all of the low carb friendly foods to stock your kitchen with to set you up for success.
Keto Tips For Beginners – tried and tested tips to get started with the Keto Diet.
How To Get Into Ketosis – the steps I take to get into Ketosis.
How To Do Lazy Keto – how to follow a keto diet without counting macros or calories. (And here are 15 lazy keto meals for you too.)
Disclaimer – this post is meant for informational post only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your health professional before making any dietary changes.
Disclosure – this post contains affiliate links.
