11 Low-Carb Meals That Anyone Can Make (Yes, Even You)

Are you taking a stab at the keto diet? Putting a fork in your high-carb ways? If you’re just starting a low-carb diet, you'll need a few go-to, easy recipes for your arsenal. That’s why we're giving you 11, super-easy, low-carb recipes that you can make any night of the week.

Before we dive into the recipes, let's start with a giant disclaimer: Cooking low-carb meals does not have to be complicated. Carbs are a macronutrient, just like fat and protein. To follow a low-carb lifestyle, make small tweaks to eliminate foods like rice, pasta, bread, wraps, and cereal.

If you're a carb fiend, this might sound daunting. But remember that some of the most basic, simple meals are already naturally low in carbohydrates. A ham and cheese omelet makes an easy low-carb breakfast, steak and broccoli is a low-carb dinner, and a Greek salad with chicken (no croutons!) makes an easy, low-carb lunch.

As you'll see, many of your favorite dishes can become low-carb options. And for the nights where you are completely out of ideas, we’ve got you covered.

11 of the Best Low-Carb Meals You Can Make on Busy Weeknights

Again, a low-carb diet doesn’t require drastic changes. With a few simple swap-outs, you can still enjoy your favorite foods as low-carb meals. Try enjoying zoodles (zucchini noodles) instead of pasta, lettuce wraps instead of sandwiches, or even eating fajitas with a fork rather than wrapping them in a tortilla. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Low-Carb Cauliflower Lasagna

Just because you’re steering clear of carbs doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite Italian dishes. Hailed as the carb queen of cuisine, many Italian dishes can be made low carb by swapping veggies for pasta. With this low-carb, deconstructed lasagna, you’ll combine cauliflower rice, ground beef, tomato sauce, and bell peppers into a single skillet, giving you all the flavors of the classic version without the carbs (or the work).

2. Sheet Pan Sausage, Pesto, and Roasted Tomato Noodle Bowls

If you’re thinking of going low carb, one of the best investments you can make (besides a Tovala Oven, of course) is a spiralizer. With a few cranks, you can transform virtually any vegetable into a low-carb pasta substitute. This easy one-pan meal combines turkey sausage, zucchini noodles, cherry tomatoes, and a homemade pesto into a lunch or dinner that takes just five minutes to prep and 20 to cook.

3. BLT Stuffed Avocado

Here’s an easy way to make your lunchtime routine low-carb, gluten-free, and keto friendly: Replace wraps and sandwich bread with vegetables. Bread and wraps are helpful for structural purposes, allowing you to pick up your burrito or cheeseburger without creating an epic mess. Instead, you can use portabella mushroom caps as hamburger buns, butter lettuce as tortillas, or as this particular recipe instructs, a halved avocado in lieu of toast for your BLT.

4. Low-Carb Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Just in case you’ve never made them, stuffed peppers are one of the easiest, most versatile, low-carb dishes out there. You can stuff them with marinara, ground beef, and mozzarella for an Italian twist, or pack in sliced steak and swiss for a new take on a Philly sandwich. This recipe piles in taco meat, cheddar cheese, and onions for a healthy version of beef tacos.

5. Sesame Salmon and Cucumber Salad

If trying to eat low carb has you perusing the deep, dark depths of Google, you’re probably overthinking. To make a low-carb dinner, pair a protein source with a fresh, green side and call it a day. With this sesame salmon recipe, you’ll sear salmon steaks in a skillet with sesame seeds, then plate them alongside a quick salad of cucumbers, olive oil, balsamic, and radishes for a refreshing, easy dinner.

6. Spicy Thai Style Lettuce Wraps

If you love Asian cuisine, you’ll simply love lettuce wraps. Plus, they have the added benefit of being low-carb friendly. With these spicy Thai wraps, you’ll season ground turkey with ginger, chili garlic sauce, fish sauce, and onions for a marinade that will satisfy any takeout cravings. Top with radishes, shredded carrots, and other low-carb toppings to complete the dish.

7. Pizza Salad With Pepperoni Chips and Creamy, Roasted Tomato Garlic Dressing

Here’s a low-carb pro tip: Anything can be a salad. Read that sentence again. No matter what flavors you’re craving, you can pile it on a bed of greens rather than smash it between two buns or smother it over a crust. You will do just that with this pizza salad recipe, complete with parmesan cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and bell peppers.

8. California Turkey and Bacon Lettuce Wraps with Basil Mayo

If you ate the exact same turkey cold cut wrap for lunch every single day since 2011, we have news for you: You can keep the tradition going. Virtually any wrap or sandwich can be made low carb when rolled up in a leaf of iceberg lettuce instead of in a tortilla. With these California turkey and bacon lettuce wraps, you combine bacon, turkey, avocado, tomatoes, and homemade dressing into a quick lunch that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare.

9. Simple Vegetable Eggplant Pizza

While cauliflower pizzas get all the attention, there’s more than one way to reinvent the crust. With these easy vegetarian pizzas, you’ll smother sliced, roasted eggplant in marinara sauce and add all of your favorite toppings. While this particular recipe calls for zucchini, bell peppers, mozzarella, and arugula, feel free to use pepperoni, onions, black olives, or your other go-to toppings.

10. Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Sure, rice noodles are gluten-free, but they still pack a lot of carbs. If you’re partial to pho, pad thai, or noodle salad, you can recreate them as paleo and low-carb by substituting spaghetti squash for noodles. In this pad Thai recipe, you’ll drench spaghetti squash in a sauce made from fish sauce, brown sugar, and tamarind paste, then top with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, bean sprouts, and roasted peanuts.

11. Grilled Chicken Sausage Kabobs

If you hate doing dishes (you know we do), it’s time to fire up the grill. With these grilled chicken sausage kabobs, you’re creating an all-in-one, low-carb dinner with zero dishes to wash afterward. Red peppers, red onion, and sausage are stabbed with a kabob stick and then grilled to perfection. Pair with a vinegar-based coleslaw or fresh, green salad for a low carb approach to barbecue season.

If You're Looking for Low-Carb Meal Ideas, Check Out the Tovala App

Eating low carb has never been easier than it is with Tovala. With the Tovala App, there are plenty of low-carb recipes you can prepare in 20 minutes or less (many take less than 10 minutes). Recipes such as scallops and asparagus, chicken Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and balsamic-glazed chicken thighs with caprese salad are all naturally low-carb options with minimal ingredients.

And for those extra busy nights when you don’t have time to cook, let Tovala deliver chef-prepared meals right to your door. On the Tovala menu, you can use the low-carb recipe filter to discover recipes with 35 grams of carbs or less. All you have to do is select your meals, scan the barcode on your Tovala Oven, and watch as we do the cooking for you.