Keto Thanksgiving Recipes That Satisfy Any Crowd

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner always requires a bit of culinary juggling. You want to dazzle your guests with your food while meeting their dietary needs. If you or a loved one prefers keto recipes, you’re in luck. Use any of these keto Thanksgiving recipes to ensure everyone has more than enough food to pile on their plates.

1. Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey

Turkey is the most foundational Thanksgiving food. Research shows that 88% of Americans eat it for the holiday each year. It’s an easy protein for people on keto diets, so you might not have to change your annual menu very much. Make this easy recipe to simplify your holiday.

Ingredients

• 1 12-14 pound turkey
• ½ cup of butter
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 2 tablespoons sage
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 lemon, sliced in half
• 2 apples, quartered
• 1 cup of water

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and get your turkey pan out.
2. Remove everything from inside your turkey and pat it dry.
3. Mix the butter and seasonings in a small bowl.
4. Push the seasoned butter between the turkey skin and breast meat by hand. Continue until you cover the entire turkey in butter. 
5. Do the same with the drumsticks.
6. Place the lemon halves and quartered apples inside the turkey cavity.
7. Add the water to the pan around the turkey.
8. Flip the turkey upside down in the pan.
9. Roast uncovered for one hour.
10. After one hour, remove the bird and flip it right side up using oven mitts or towels. 
11. Cook the turkey until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the thickest part of the thigh. You can use a meat thermometer for this step.
12. If you’re unsure how long to cook it right side up, calculate six minutes per pound of your bird. A 14-pound turkey would need to cook for an additional 84 minutes.
13. After it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, let it rest for an hour or serve immediately.

Don’t forget to give everyone a quick appetizer while you’re finishing the turkey. People on a keto diet could enjoy salted almonds, which increase dopamine production while satisfying their hunger. Everyone else could eat almonds too alongside appetizers like pretzels and dip, a charcuterie board or deviled eggs. 

2. Homemade Keto Stuffing

Stuffing typically contains wheat-based bread, but it’s easy to convert to a keto recipe. Follow these steps to make a tasty stuffing for your keto-focused guests. They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness, especially if traditional stuffing used to be their favorite part of Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of keto bread, cubed
• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of chopped leeks
• 2 stalks of chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sage
• ½ teaspoon celery seasoning
• Olive oil
• ½ cup of chicken broth

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the cubed keto bread with the olive oil in a large baking pan.
3. Bake for five minutes until lightly browned.
4. Add all vegetables with a splash of olive oil and the seasonings in a saucepan on your stove. Saute for two or three minutes to combine the flavors.
5. Mix the egg into your butter and chicken broth. Add the mixture to your vegetables.
6. Transfer the combined mixture to a casserole dish.
7. Add your browned bread cubes and mix gently.
8. Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 10 minutes.
9. After 10 minutes, bake uncovered for another five minutes.
10. Serve immediately.

3. Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Treat everyone to some comfort food by serving homemade mac and cheese at Thanksgiving. You can make your favorite recipe for everyone and serve this keto mac and cheese on the side. It’s one of the best keto dinner ideas because it even pairs perfectly with a keto rum cocktail for your guests who prefer a warming run beverage over wine or beer.

Ingredients

• 6-8 cups of chopped cauliflower
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 cups of your preferred milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups (8 ounces) of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded by hand

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add the chopped cauliflower to a large bowl with one inch of water. Microwave uncovered for eight minutes.
3. Drain the cauliflower and set it aside.
4. Melt your butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
5. Add the flour slowly for three minutes, whisking constantly.
6. Whisk in the milk until smooth.
7. Lower the heat, add the spices and mix in the shredded cheese with a spatula. Stir until the sauce is smooth.
8. Add the cauliflower and stir until combined.
9. Transfer your mixture to a 9×13 baking dish.
10. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. It should be bubbling after 25 minutes.
11. Broil for 2-4 minutes to brown the top.
12. Serve immediately.

Want to make this dish more appealing to kids? Save a portion of it and mix in cauliflower-based pasta. They’ll love the combined pasta and veggies, especially if the pasta has fun shapes or colors.

4. Keto Turkey Gravy

You might make the most seasoned turkey ever, but your guests will still want gravy. Add this keto gravy recipe to your Thanksgiving meal so everyone has everything they need for the ultimate dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of turkey pan liquid
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum

Instructions

1. Save a cup of the turkey pan liquid from your keto turkey recipe.
2. Combine it with the chicken broth and butter in a gravy pot and simmer for five minutes.
3. Add the garlic powder, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
4. Whisk in the xanthan gum and let it sit on a low heat to thicken.

5. Low-Carb Pumpkin Pie

Keto dinner ideas sometimes forget about dessert. Make everything your loved ones will want when dinner ends by baking this easy pumpkin pie recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 keto pie crust
• 15 ounces pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup Swerve brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pre-bake your keto pie crust if the instructions on its packaging say so.
3. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.
4. Pour into the pie crust.
5. Bake for 50 minutes or until the filling is solid.
6. Let the pie refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Make Delicious Keto Thanksgiving Recipes This Year

Use these keto dinner ideas to host the ultimate Thanksgiving this year. You’ll make something for everyone so sticking with diet goals and health needs isn’t a challenge. You might even save these keto Thanksgiving recipes for next year because they’re such a big hit.