Tag Archives: low carb

Keto Chicken Carbonara

We are talking real deal flavor here folks. This Italian night dish is worth all of the ingredients and work, not that it was too much work. It’s just about building layers of flavor into the dish so it all comes together in the end. And let me tell you, it came together great. Follow along and get ready to make a dish that anyone and everyone in your family will enjoy. Next week I will make the same, only changing from chicken to shrimp!

Ingredients:

  • 2lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small cubes
  • 6 tbs of bacon crumbles or 6 slices of bacon cut into small crumbles
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 cups of baby spinach
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 tbs grass fed butter
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • Seasoning (don’t slack on any of these, they all go together so well):
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • Salt/pepper to taste
    • Onion powder
    • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
    • 1 tbs Basil

Instructions:

Start by prepping your chicken thighs. Weigh out about 2lbs of thighs and cut into small eating chunks. I made a bit bigger than the size of a quarter. In large cooking pan, cook your thighs in 1tbs of butter. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked then remove from the pan, leaving the juices.

In the same pan, throw in your onion powder and your 2 tsp of minced garlic and sauté for about 20-20 seconds. Whisk in your heavy cream and chicken broth. Keep stirring as it starts to thicken a bit.

Once this starts to thicken, add your parmesan cheese, basil and Italian seasonings. Toss in your 6 tbs of crumbled bacon and 4 cups of spinach. Keep stirring, cooking on medium heat and let this continue to thicken for several minutes. Finally add in your chicken and let simmer.

Let your carbonara simmer for about 5-7 minutes on medium low. Taste your sauce and ensure it doesn’t need any more salt or pepper. Remove from heat, let sit a minute or 2 then plate and enjoy. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family did.

Keto Air Fried Chicken Fritter

Tonight, we found something super simple and that packed a flavor punch. These Keto air fried chicken fritters really tasted so good and were very easy to make. I’m talking less than 15 minutes of prep and about the same to cook. If you’re looking for something tasty and something easy, this one right here is for you. You can also change the seasonings to your liking. With this recipe, it comes out on the Italian side. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless breast (I assume thigh would work too)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of almond flour
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (use cheddar if you prefer)
  • Seasonings:
    • 2 tbs parsley
    • 2 tbs basil
    • 2 tbs chives
    • 1 tsp garlic powder
    • salt/pepper to taste

Instructions:

You will need to cut up your chicken into finely chopped pieces. If you don’t, your fritter will have a hard time staying together. Make sure you are using 1.5lbs. I used my scale to weigh it out and it was about 3 breasts. Chop up into small pieces.

About the size of a nickel or quarter

Now for the fun part. Take a large bowl, dump all of your ingredients in, including the seasoning. Mix this really well until you everything is mixed consistently.

All of your ingredients at once!

Time to make your fritter. Grab about a baseball size amount in your hand. Patty it up into a nice fritter shape. This mixture should make 8 so do your best to size them up. You can use a large ice cream scoop too if that helps. I just used my hands. Line your air fryer basket with parchment paper (trust me, this will help). Place your fritters in the basket. Continue making patties until you use up all the mixture.

Place basket into air fryer and air fry for about 16 minutes at 400 degrees. You will need to flip at halfway. Tongs can be used, your fritter should hold together well enough. Flip them and let them get nice and brown on top. Remove from air fryer, plate and enjoy. Dip your fritter in ranch or Rao’s marinara, you won’t be dissapointed.

Keto Buffalo Chicken Strips

Nothing complex here. Just your typical Keto style air fried chicken strips. Only this time, we are using buffalo sauce instead of egg. And let me tell you, it has the perfect twang to it. It’s super low carb, super Keto friendly, and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Large breast, cut into chicken strips (trust me, it’s cheaper to but breast and make your own tenders rather than buying tenders at the store)
  • 1 bottle buffalo sauce of your choice
  • 1 bag of your favorite pork rinds
  • 4 tbs almond flour

Instructions:

Prepare your breading. Add your pork rinds to the blender and put in 4 tbs. of almond flour. Blend for 15-20 seconds. Pour into a batter friendly dish.

Pour your buffalo sauce into a large bowl. Take your pre-cut chicken tenders and dip into the buffalo sauce. Remove and add directly to the pork rind batter. Coat both sides real well. Place on air fryer rack. Continue this process until all of your tenders are coated.

Place into your pre-heated air fryer and cook for 12-14 minutes at 400 degrees. You may need to flip if you don’t have a racked air fryer. Remove when done and enjoy. It’s that simple, and that good!

Keto King Ranch Casserole

Guys, if you love casseroles, then you will love this one. Plus, it’s super simple to make and jammed with flavor. You will not be disappointed, I promise. This dish is something we had all the time prior to living the Keto lifestyle and now we can enjoy it once again!

Ingredients:

  • 2 large chicken breast, boneless/skinless
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tbs grass fed butter
  • 2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup grated natural cheddar cheese
  • 1-1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 slices natural cheddar cheese slices
  • 2 cans (4oz each) green chillis (optional but you should use)
  • 1 can Rotel (homemade tomato sauce would be a better option)
  • 8 homemade Keto tortillas. Here is the link to my previous post making them –>https://justaketoguru.com/2020/09/27/keto-tortillas-the-real-deal/
  • 1/2 cup chopped white onion (optional)
  • Seasonings of choice (salt, pepper, mango habanero, cayenne)

Instructions:

Start with slow cooking your chicken. You can use any method you want but options should be either in the crock-pot or stove-top for a few hours to get your chicken shred tender. I suppose you could buy pre-shredded chicken but why when cooking your own is so simple.

We cooked ours stove-top in chicken broth and seasonings. Just cook to a boil then simmer until done. Let cool then shred. Start with caramelizing your onions in butter, then add your broth and chicken. Throw in a can of green chilies as well.

In the same pot you cooked your chicken (don’t drain the broth), add your shredded cheddar, green chillies, shredded mozzarella, sour cream, heavy cream and Rotel, seasonings of choice and mix well.

Get your casserole dish out and line the bottom with about 1/2 of your mixture.

After you have the 1st half of your mixture in, add 6 of the homemade keto tortillas. Dump the other half of your chicken mixture on top, put your slice cheese (in smaller squares) on top, add the last 2 tortillas (in cut pieces), and 1 can of green chillies. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella on top if desired (you should).

Cover in foil, bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and put oven on broil for a few minutes to crisp and melt the cheese topping. Let cool a minute, serve and enjoy!

Keto Guru Pig in a Blanket

Guys, you want a super easy, super tasty Keto meal? This was whipped up in less than 30 minutes. Not to mention, the possibilities are endless with these things. I kept it simple and went with a slice of Gouda cheese and Kielbasa sausage and it was phenomenal. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups low moisture mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 8 slices of Gouda cheese (any slice cheese you want)
  • 8 Kielbasa sausage links (get creative, add ham, bacon or any protein of choice)
  • Seasonings of choice (I used Flavor God ranch and cheese)

Instructions:

In a large bowl, add your mozzarella and seasonings and microwave for 1 minute 45 seconds. Remove and give it a good stir.

At this time, add in 1/2 a cup of the flour. It’s much easier to mix 1/2 at a time. After that’s mixed in, add your final 1/2 cup of flour. If you need to microwave again to make it easier to mix, do so. Just do it 20-30 seconds at a time.

Once you have the cheese and flour mixed, lay out a sheet of parchment paper and plop your dough down. Add a another sheet of parchment paper on top and get to rolling it out. It doesn’t have to be perfect but try to make a square. If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can use your forearm. We are looking for it to be about 1/16″ thick.

Once you have it rolled out, cut the dough down the center then 8 equal parts, or as close as you can get. I use a pizza cutter.

Lay a piece of cheese on each one and 1 sausage link. Roll them as tight as you can. Leave the seam on the bottom. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue until all 8 are made.

Set your oven to 375 and cook 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. At the end, I put them under the broiler for about 2 minutes to get some nice color. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. They will be hot, especially the sausage. Plate and enjoy!

Keto Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is real deal here. You cannot tell a difference between the Keto version and the non. In fact, I believe the Keto version is better. You decide for yourself, whip you up a batch and let me know what you think!

Ingredients

Cake Mix:

  • 2 Cups Almond Flour
  • 3/4 Cups of Keto sweetener of choice (we use Lakanto Classic in the 3 lb bag on Amazon —> https://amzn.to/35P958w)
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/3 unflavored Isopure whey protein powder; I order mine on Amazon here because I haven’t found in stores –>https://amzn.to/35NPANB
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (8 tbs)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 coca powder (unsweetened)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup water (needed a 2nd time)

Icing/Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup coca powder (unsweetened)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 and 1/2 cup powdered Keto sweetener; (we use this on Amazon —> https://amzn.to/3caTyB3)
  • 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum (yes, you will need this) you can find here —>https://amzn.to/3628Yqn
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cake Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 325 and grease a 10 x 15 sheet pan really good. In a bowl, add the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder and salt and whisk together and set to the side.

On your stove-top in a medium sized saucepan, combine the butter, water and coca powder. Heat on medium stirring these ingredients until melted. Bring them to a boil now then remove from the heat.

In your dry mix bowl, add the eggs, vanilla, HWC and 1/4 cup of water, and hot wet ingredients and mix until it’s all combined real well.

Spread this mixture evenly in your greased sheet pan. Bake 15-25 minutes until it passes the toothpick test. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.

While your cake is cooking, let’s make the frosting. In another saucepan, add butter, coca powder, cream and water. Bring these ingredients to a simmer, continuing to stir until it’s smooth. At this point, stir in the vanilla, add your powdered sweetener, 1/2 a cup at a time, whisking really good so it will dissolve the clumps. Finally, add in the Xanthan gum and whisk it in as well. Put your pecans in and stir them in.

Once your sheet cake has cooled, pour the icing/frosting over the cake and spread with a spatula. Make sure it’s nice and even over the entire surface of the cake.

Guru Keto Biscuits and Gravy

Man have I missed biscuits and gravy. Not anymore. I’ve come up with a recipe that is quick and extra delicious! You can play around with this recipe and make it your own or leave it alone and enjoy it my way. It’s a southern thing to add the breakfast sausage in the gravy so there’s no skipping this step!

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 (1-oz) packet dry Ranch dressing mix ( I didn’t have any so I used Flavor God ranch seasoning)
  • 1-1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (optional)
  • White gravy – You can use my white gravy recipe here, just add breakfast sausage – https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/justaketoguru.com/1094

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl, add your mozzarella cheese and cream cheese. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Mix well after until combined.

Once mixed, add the baking powder, ranch mix, almond flour then add your 3 beaten eggs to the melted cheeses. I put the eggs in last because the cheese is hot and you don’t want it to cook your eggs. Mix really well for several minutes until you have a nice consistent batter. It should look something like mine.

Once your dough is made, add in the crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese. These are optional but add some great flavor. Mix really good again until you have a uniform dough. This may take a few minutes as well.

For cooking, you have 2 options. You can spray a cast iron skillet and cook in it or line a cookie sheet and cook on it. I’ve done these biscuits on both. The pan cooked more even to me but the cast iron had a better flavor. Either way, scoop out dough into balls and place on pan/cast iron. This recipe should make somewhere around 11-12 biscuits. Continue making your biscuits until you exhaust all your dough.

Place the cookie sheet or cast iron in the fridge for 10 minutes. This step should not be missed. It helps set-up the biscuits. Heat your oven at 400 while you are waiting. Once your 10 minutes are up, cook at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Mine took 20. Remove and let cool for a minute or 2.

Split your biscuits and pour on the gravy. Add an egg to jazz it up a bit more. Enjoy.

Guru PB&J Cookie Bars

Got a sweet tooth? Try this super simple recipe out. It mirrors peanut butter and jelly. In fact, it tastes exactly like it. It’s one of those simple delish recipes that you just throw all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix and done! Let’s see how this goes:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 2 tbs coconut flour
  • 1 cup keto approved sweetener (I use this from Amazon in a 3 lb bag –>>> https://amzn.to/2FFxpPe
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter… I used chunky but smooth will be ok as well
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Keto approved chocolate chips —->>>https://amzn.to/35Bv56L
  • 6-8 medium strawberries, diced

Instructions:

In your mixing bowl, put all of your ingredients except your chocolate chips and strawberries. Mix well for about 2 minutes.

After you batter is mixed, add in your chocolate chips and diced strawberries and fold them in.

Spray a small cookie pan and dump your mixture in the middle. Spread it out evenly across the entire pan. Make sure it’s nice and even so it cooks well.

Place in your pre-heated oven and cook at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Mixture is done when it’s firm but not crunchy. Of course, you will have to play with time in your oven. And if you want to take it longer and make crunchy, that’s ok too. Once finished cooking, let cool on counter, slice and serve. Enjoy!!

Keto Easy Cheesy Breadsticks

Italian night and missing bread sticks? Or, maybe you are having pizza night and wish you had some cheesy bread sticks as well. Well, miss them no more. You can easily whip these up in less than 20 minutes, including cook time.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups low moisture shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 natural shredded cheddar
  • Italian seasoning

Instructions:

In a microwave safe bowl, add your 2 cups of mozzarella and Italian seasoning and microwave for 90 seconds. Remove and give a good stir.

With your cheese still nice and hot, add 1/2 of your almond flour. Don’t put the entire 1/2 cup in at the same time because it is harder to mix. After you get the 1st half nice and mixed, now go ahead and add in the other 1/2. Mix really well until you have a uniform mixture.

Place mixture on a piece of parchment paper. Add another piece on top and spread out “dough” and form in whatever shape you like. You can use a rolling pin, empty glass, or even just your forearm. It’s best to get it about 1/4″ for a good even cook.

Before placing into oven, use a fork and poke holes all around. This will prevent the cheese from bubbling while cooking. If it does bubble while in the oven, just simply poke the bubbles and resume cooking. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until nice and golden brown.

Remove from oven and top with your parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese. Evenly distribute all over. Place back into the oven and cook another 5-10 minutes until your cheese is nicely melted and your bread sticks are really nice and golden brown. Cut into equal pieces and enjoy! Don’t be afraid to get creative. Add anything you like to your bread sticks!!

Keto Air Fried Fish (tacos)

Fried fish has never been easier. Choose the type of fish you want and follow this recipe and you will have great golden, crunchy fried fish. I was very impressed how this turned out. Used catfish because that’s what Kroger’s butcher had on hand. Threw them on some folio cheese wraps for fish tacos! Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag Kroger pork rinds, spicy or mild or both
  • 4 eggs
  • 6 tbs almond flour
  • 4 tbs coconut flour
  • 3 oz shredded parmesan cheese
  • seasoning of choice
  • 4-6 fish fillets (catfish)

Instructions:

I like to prepare the fish first. I took the fillets and quartered them to make them more taco friendly. You can do smaller nuggets or leave the fillet whole, any combination will work.

Prepare you batter station. In your mixer, add your pork rinds and blend down. Remove the lid, add your parmesan cheese, seasoning, and 6 tbs of almond flour and blend another 10 seconds or so. Pour contents into a batter friendly dish.

In a separate bowl, add your eggs and whip. I chose to add more seasoning here because I believe in flavor!! On a plate, dump out your coconut flour. Set up the station from left to right, fish —> coconut flour —-> egg —-> pork rinds.

Let’s get to battering. Add fish to the coconut flour and coat both sides really well. Dip in the egg and coat both sides in egg really good. Remove from the egg and let excess drip off. Immediately add to the pork rind mix. Pat down really good and flip. Ensure you have a nice even coating on your fish. Continue until you have completed all your fish.

When done battering, place fish in your pre-heated air fryer and air fry at 400 degrees for 14 minutes. If you have a rack system, you shouldn’t have to flip. If you don’t have racks, I suggest flipping at halfway to get both sides crispy. Just be careful flipping as your breading will want to pull off. Remove from the air fryer and rest for a few minutes. Plate, and enjoy!