17 votes

What's your favorite easy low-carb recipe?

I like to cook for myself but it's often time-consuming and requires a lot of ingredients which are hard to handle in my tiny kitchen. What quick and easy recipes do you like to make?

14 comments

  1. firstname
    Link
    Different types of salads. They take me like 15 mins to make, just put a bunch of stuff together and eat it. I often use beans or tuna as a base protein source. Other then my favorite vegetables,...

    Different types of salads. They take me like 15 mins to make, just put a bunch of stuff together and eat it.
    I often use beans or tuna as a base protein source. Other then my favorite vegetables, i also have a lot of different types of seeds in them, sometimes fruits like apples as well. I like hunter gatherer food, and the salads i make follow that type of diet with ease.

    10 votes
  2. patience_limited
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    If you haven't gotten an Instant Pot and can afford one, I highly recommend it. It makes small spaces or one-pot cooking much easier and faster. There are some things that won't taste quite as...

    If you haven't gotten an Instant Pot and can afford one, I highly recommend it. It makes small spaces or one-pot cooking much easier and faster. There are some things that won't taste quite as good with a short cycle of pressure cooking, but recipes like the following will leave you satisfied, provide enough variety, and make you feel like a weeknight culinary rock star.

    Indian Butter Chicken

    New Orleans Jambalaya

    Whole Chicken

    Veggie Frittata - there are a million variations of frittatas, all relatively easy to make.

    7 votes
  3. [3]
    sudocat
    (edited )
    Link
    I love Texas chili. It's just beef and chilis, and some generic spices. It also can be done almost entirely in a crockpot, which will limit the amount of dishes you have to do at the end. Here's a...

    I love Texas chili. It's just beef and chilis, and some generic spices. It also can be done almost entirely in a crockpot, which will limit the amount of dishes you have to do at the end. Here's a recipe that I currently use: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/11/real-texas-chili-con-carne.html

    You don't necessarily need all of those ingredients like fish sauce - I sub that out and use powdered MSG instead. You can add a spoonful of sour cream on top and it's perfect. I tweaked that recipe to use leftover smoked brisket, and a roasted head of garlic (until it's dark brown and caramelized) and it's awesome. Skip the corn masa at the end!

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      FYI, The World Chili Cookoff publishes the winning recipes every year. I don't care enough for chili to make them, but they should all be pretty good and most of them look surprisingly easy to...

      FYI, The World Chili Cookoff publishes the winning recipes every year. I don't care enough for chili to make them, but they should all be pretty good and most of them look surprisingly easy to make.

      https://www.chilicookoff.com/winning-recipes

      5 votes
      1. sudocat
        Link Parent
        Wow, I love this! Thanks!

        Wow, I love this! Thanks!

        2 votes
  4. [3]
    Artrax
    Link
    Paneer (An Indian cheese which is just strained and pressed curdled milk) is mostly fat and protein. You can make any kind of curry with it, or fry it and add it to other stuff. I'm not on a...

    Paneer (An Indian cheese which is just strained and pressed curdled milk) is mostly fat and protein.
    You can make any kind of curry with it, or fry it and add it to other stuff. I'm not on a low-carb diet, so I make "normal" curries with it and serve it with rice or bread, but you could serve it with something like cauliflower rice, or fry them and add them to salad.

    3 votes
    1. Akir
      Link Parent
      I just made Paneer Tikka Masala for dinner tonight. I concur, it is delicious.

      I just made Paneer Tikka Masala for dinner tonight. I concur, it is delicious.

      2 votes
    2. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. Artrax
        Link Parent
        Your completely right. For some reason I thought that tofu has quite a lot of carbs, which is of course not true

        Your completely right.
        For some reason I thought that tofu has quite a lot of carbs, which is of course not true

        2 votes
  5. alphamule
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    I don't eat meat, so it sometimes seems like keto on hard mode. Here are some things I like: Seitan is pretty easy to make: https://lowcarb-vegan.net/basic-low-carb-seitan/ . Vital wheat gluten is...

    I don't eat meat, so it sometimes seems like keto on hard mode. Here are some things I like:

    Seitan is pretty easy to make: https://lowcarb-vegan.net/basic-low-carb-seitan/ . Vital wheat gluten is about the least expensive protein per gram you can find. You can make a bunch and then just use it with frozen stir-fry vegetables.

    Tofu scramble is also pretty easy. I steam some frozen spinach, then press and crumble the tofu. Add tumeric, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. I add a bag of veggie sausage. This is good for two breakfasts.

    I also eat keto fuel, which is super-helpful when I don't want to cook anything: https://superbodyfuel.com/shop/keto-fuel/

    For snacks, I like cheese sticks, pickled eggs, pickles and olives.

    3 votes
  6. Akir
    Link
    My favorite? A well-crafted steak. It's also extremely easy to do; rub some salt and pepper on the meat, throw it in a bag and put it in a water bath for an hour, then dry it off and finish it on...

    My favorite? A well-crafted steak. It's also extremely easy to do; rub some salt and pepper on the meat, throw it in a bag and put it in a water bath for an hour, then dry it off and finish it on a screaming hot pan. Eat it with a salad

    That being said, I can't actually afford to eat this way very often.

    2 votes
  7. MordecaiMalignatus
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    When I was on keto, I ate a lot of diner omelettes. Mushrooms, spinach, cheese, eggs and a bunch of good oil and maybe parsley or other herbs if I had them. Very little effort, always delicious,...

    When I was on keto, I ate a lot of diner omelettes. Mushrooms, spinach, cheese, eggs and a bunch of good oil and maybe parsley or other herbs if I had them. Very little effort, always delicious, and very easy to mix up. Also easy to cook and very forgiving.

    2 votes
  8. tildesatwindmills
    Link
    Flatbread pizza is my go to for quick low-carb food. I make a pizza sauce at home (to keep sugar to a minimum) and keep it in the fridge. Add toppings (motz cheese, pepperoni, Parm cheese, bacon,...

    Flatbread pizza is my go to for quick low-carb food. I make a pizza sauce at home (to keep sugar to a minimum) and keep it in the fridge. Add toppings (motz cheese, pepperoni, Parm cheese, bacon, sausage, lunchon meat, whatever I have) and toss it in the toaster oven for 8-10 minutes.

    16.9g carbs, 450 calories. It's expensive on my 30-ish grams of carbs budget but so easy and comforting. It's also huge, like 8"x14".

    I like Joseph's Lavash Flatbread best but any low carb wrap or tortilla will work.

    1 vote
  9. tea_and_cats_please
    Link
    My kitchen's tiny too, and when I cook for one it's almost always a skillet hash. You can substitute almost anything in it for whatever you have or like. Cut a fibrous veggie into cubes or bite...

    My kitchen's tiny too, and when I cook for one it's almost always a skillet hash. You can substitute almost anything in it for whatever you have or like.

    Cut a fibrous veggie into cubes or bite sized pieces. Cauliflower is nice, so's sweet potato although it has more (complex) carbs. Brussel sprouts are popular, for some ungodly reason. You can fancy it up with whatever you have lying around, mushrooms and peppers are both nice in it. I kind of use this as a fridge-cleaning out dish. Prep whatever veg you're cooking and set it aside in a bowl.

    Optionally, dice a meat like bacon or ham. Cured or pre-cooked anything you want really, go wild. Imitation meat substitute is totally allowed. Sausage, kielbasa, hotdogs, leftover protein of whatever sort. If it's something that will just get tough and dry, like leftover chicken or something, I would add it at the end instead of starting with it. You only start with it if it needs browning, like sausage or bacon. Or skip it entirely, but it adds a lot of richness that can be otherwise lacking.

    Preheat and butter or oil a cast iron skillet on about medium heat. You'll need less grease if you're using bacon, maybe none if it's really streaky bacon. Add the meat and start it browning. Dice half an onion while it sizzles. Onion is almost non-negotiable, it really makes the dish and is the one thing I would never skip or swap out. Add the onion to the skillet after the meat crisps a bit. If you're using a meat that isn't already heavily salted like bacon, add a pinch of salt to the onion and cook until it's translucent.

    While it's cooking, roughly chop some dark bitter greens. Stick with more tender ones like swiss chard or mustard, really tough ones like collard greens need to cook for too long. Skipping them entirely is an option, but I like the bitter they add.

    Add your fibrous veg to the pan, everything other than the greens. Toss to coat it in butter. Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low, cook for five minutes. Stir it up to make sure it's browning sort of evenly and poke the veggies to see if they're tender yet. If they aren't, recover and cook a few more minutes. Once they're tender, add the leafy veggies on top and a couple splashes of a vinegary liquid. Frank's Red Hot is my favorite, apple cider vinegar is a good non-spicy option. Sometimes I just do water or stock instead of vinegar, and season it a bit. Black pepper and turmeric are a good combo. Old Bay is kind of great. Whatever spices you like, really. Cover and steam the greens until they turn brighter green, about two minutes. Take the lid off and mix the green veg thru, cook for another minute to cook off the offensive notes of the vinegar, if using.

    Plate that mess, rinse/wipe out your skillet, butter it again and fry an egg. However you like, gooey yolks highly recommended. The extra richness of a gooey yolk plays really nicely with the bitter from the greens. Put that on top of the hash and you're done.

    That's one skillet with fitted lid, one knife, one bowl for prepped veggies, one cutting board, one spatula and the fork and plate you eat with.

    1 vote
  10. Deivuh
    Link
    I'm on a keto diet and I have a small kitchen too! My go to recipe when I gotta meal prep but don't want to do much is no beans chili with bacon. If I want something more tasty I do cashew...

    I'm on a keto diet and I have a small kitchen too! My go to recipe when I gotta meal prep but don't want to do much is no beans chili with bacon. If I want something more tasty I do cashew chicken. https://www.ketoconnect.net/easy-cashew-chicken/

    Sometimes when I'm really tired I just stick some sausages and cheese into the microwave. Or eat whole bag of pork rinds.

    1 vote