Best Keto Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes

Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving this year or just bringing some dishes to the main event, I can help you cut carbs and sugar this holiday season with these Keto Thanksgiving recipes.

This post includes everything from the Thanksgiving turkey with low-carb remakes to traditional sides like cauliflower mac and cheese, green bean casserole, and keto cranberry sauce to keto-friendly appetizers for your guests to enjoy while the meat roasts.

And, because I hope you know I love keto desserts, there are so many options like my Keto Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars too!

No matter what your goals are this holiday season, I know that you’ll be able to use these recipes to craft the perfect Low Carb & Keto Thanksgiving Dinner Menu. 

Why Share a Keto Thanksgiving Recipes Menu

In theory, holiday meals are about the people around the table. However, in reality, holidays are the worst when it comes to how we eat. 

And, from personal experience, I know that one too many “cheats” can throw you off track for weeks.

So, I decided to share this post to help those who want to stick to keto and manage carbs over the holidays season.

Healthy Thanksgiving Tips

For me, and maybe you’re better at this, my “just one meal” on Thanksgiving used to turn into weeks of poor eating that undermined all of the progress I made.

So, if you’re looking for strategies to help stay on track this holiday season, here are some tips that worked for me:

1. Decide which dishes I won’t give up and enjoy them (with modifications, if possible) and in moderation: for me, that’s candied sweet potatoes. Since there is no low carb sweet potato, I use a sugar-free keto sweetener instead.
2. Make less food (especially sides) so there won’t be as many leftovers (except things like turkey salad and turkey soup with cauliflower rice) and a day can just be a day
3. Swap traditional dishes with low-carb and keto replacements: instead of making traditional jiffy cornbread stuffing, I enjoy my keto cornbread stuffing because tastes just as good minus the carbs. Keto Cheesecakes also taste exactly like my regular cheesecakes

How to Use these Keto Thanksgiving Recipes

You can use this post to craft the perfect Thanksgiving dinner menu. To do that, I recommend the following for mixing and matching recipes in this post:

1. Choose 1-2 proteins from these Main Dishes
2. Pair those with 1-2 Appetizers for your guests to enjoy while the meat roasts
3. Add 1-2 Vegetable Side Sides to go with your turkey
4. Choose 1-2 Rolls, Sauces or Stuffing
5. Choose 1-2 Desserts

Thanksgiving Main Dishes

While turkey may be the traditional meat on your Thanksgiving table, you might want to give my Pressure Cooker Pot Roast a try. The flavor is exceptional, and it can really give your guests a break if they have more than one gathering that weekend.

Feel free to serve chicken, pressure turkey breast, or air fryer turkey tenderloin, if your family is smaller.

1. Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

At my house, we have a variety of proteins so a roast to go with the turkey is always a winner! More main proteins equals more meaty leftovers.

2. Pressure Cooker Turkey Breast

This is perfect for times when you’re having a smaller gathering and don’t feel like making an entire turkey!

3. Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken

Don’t want turkey at all? This whole chicken is another great option!

4. Keto Crab Cakes

If you’re like me and have a few pescatarians (people who eat seafood and not meat) in the house, these crab cakes are a great option that doesn’t require space in the oven!

5. Turkey Tenderloin

If you need Thanksgiving options for two or want to serve a side of turkey breast, then try this Air Fryer Turkey Breast Tenderloin recipe.

6. The Best Brined Whole Turkey

I swear by a fresh brined turkey! There is nothing juicer. This recipe takes you through the process.

Appetizers

I try not to go overboard on appetizers while the bird is cooking, so I don’t overeat across the entire day, but sometimes you just need something to munch on, especially if you serve your meal later in the day.

Shrimp and bacon make for hearty flavors in small packages. You could even serve just appetizers as a fun take on the main meal, maybe in between Black Friday deal shopping!

1. Keto Jalapeno Poppers

These are super easy to make and require just a handful of ingredients

2. Low-Carb Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Adding a salad to the menu is always a great choice!

3. Savory Bacon Cranberry Cheese Tartlets

I love the combo of sweet & savory!

4. Easy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Appetizer

It doesn’t get any better than two of my favorite things: shrimp and bacon!

5. Keto Shrimp Guacamole and Bacon

These are a quick and easy option while watching the Thanksgiving football games! Instead of making the bacon in the oven or a skillet, you can try out my air fryer bacon!

6. Low-Carb Mini Bacon Chive Cheeseballs

Cheese is another one of my favorite things. These are easy to make and bite-sized!

7. Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

8. Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms 

9. Easy Cheese Ball Recipe with Cream Cheese, Bacon & Green Onion

10. Zero Carb Thanksgiving Platter

Isn’t this adorable? What a cute way to be festive with just a little prep.

Thanksgiving Side Dishes & Vegetables

Some people say the table wouldn’t be complete without green bean casserole, so I made sure to find one that was Keto-friendly.

You can also simply roast vegetables like Brussels sprouts, which would fit just about every single dietary need. Going Keto for Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be complicated.

1. Collard Greens with Bacon

Enjoy collard greens on Thanksgiving, but also year-round with this easy recipe. No need to search for smoked turkey meat because it uses easy-to-find bacon.

2. Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Want a low-carb substitute for macaroni and cheese, this cauliflower version is delicious.

3. Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans

Just toss the green beans in a few spices and oil before adding these to your air fryer.

4. Creamed Spinach

This copycat steakhouse dish pairs perfectly with so many parts of a keto Thanksgiving dinner.

5. Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

This buttery cauliflower rice side dish is a great staple.

6. Keto Mashed Cauliflower

Swap the potatoes for cauliflower with this mashed cauliflower recipe.

7. Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts

These are super easy and include flavors like garlic and parmesan.

8. Keto Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole is a Southern staple. This recipe skips the traditional crunchy topping for one that is low in carbs.

9. Sauteed Green Beans 

This keto thanksgiving side comes together with a few ingredients and fresh green beans

10. Pressure Cooker Cabbage

Make Southern-style buttery cabbage in the pressure cooker using this recipe.

11. Air Fryer Roasted Radishes

Want a simple substitute for potatoes, enjoy these radishes!

12. Creamy Keto Mushroom Risotto

This creamy keto side dish works well for smaller gatherings when you just want to pair one side with a roast or other easy protein like my pan seared scallops.

13. Instant Pot Collard Greens

Make collard greens with smoked turkey using your pressure cooker in less than 45 minutes from start to finish.

Rolls, Sauces, Stuffing & Gravy

How amazing do these Parmesan Bread Bites look? Your guests won’t even know they are eating keto, and everyone will get to break bread together.

Cranberry sauce is another strong tradition, and you can easily make it sugar-free to fit keto or simply to make sure you save your sugar for dessert!

1. Keto Cornbread

Skip the cornmeal and use almond flour in this recipe.

2. Keto Cranberry Sauce

Make this traditional Thanksgiving side in less than 15 minutes with keto-friendly ingredients.

3. Keto Gravy

4. Keto Cornbread Stuffing

5. Keto Parmesan Garlic Bread Bites

6. Keto Pull-Apart Clover Rolls

7. Herb Sausage Stuffing

8. Keto Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Easy Keto Thanksgiving Desserts

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without pumpkin – so I’m sharing my bars. Plus, to keep the pumpkin theme, I found a mousse and a few keto pie recipes!

You won’t miss the extra sugar, but you’ll still get the satisfaction of a sweet bite to end the day. I won’t tell if you come back for seconds! I might even want to serve the Blueberry Cobbler as breakfast the next morning.

1. Keto Peach Cobbler

2. Keto Pumpkin Bars

3. Keto Pumpkin Pie Mousse

4. Low Carb Mixed Berry Cheesecake Bars

5. Keto Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bites 

6. Thanksgiving Brownie

7. Keto Praline Sheet Cake

8. No-Bake Pecan Cheesecake

9. Low-Carb Keto-friendly Blueberry Cobbler

10. Keto Apple Pie with Chayote Squash

11. Pumpkin Pie Panna Cotta

12. Sugar-Free Pecan Pie